Patriots, 49ers, Bills, Bears and Rams advance to NFL's divisional round
Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, the Patriots dominated the Chargers and Josh Allen willed the Bills past the Jaguars. San Francisco, New England and Buffalo joined the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams in advancing to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs with victories in the wild-card round. The No. 6 seed 49ers will face the top-seeded Seahawks next Saturday. The No. 6 seed Bills will visit the No. 1 seed Broncos, also on Saturday. On Sunday, the No. 2 seed Bears host the No. 5 seed Rams, and the No. 2 seed Patriots will be home against the winner of Monday night’s game between the Texans and Steelers.
Purdy, 49ers eliminate defending Super Bowl champion Eagles with 23-19 win in wild-card game
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brock Purdy threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, leading San Francisco to a 23-19 victory over defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia in a wild-card game. The 49ers next face top-seeded Seattle next weekend for an NFC divisional playoff game. Purdy threw for 262 yards and had two interceptions. The 49ers might be without star tight end George Kittle, who was injured in the first half. Philadelphia struggled offensively, with Jalen Hurts throwing for only 168 yards. The Eagles' final drive ended with an incomplete pass, sealing their elimination from the playoffs.
Maye throws late TD pass and Patriots' defense roughs up Herbert, Chargers in 16-3 playoff win
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter, and New England’s defense roughed up Justin Herbert as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in an AFC wild-card playoff game. Andy Borregales kicked three field goals for the Patriots, who won a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl victory to cap the 2018 season. They’ll host the winner of Monday night’s game between Pittsburgh and Houston in the divisional round. New England held the Chargers to 207 yards of offense and sacked Herbert six times.
Josh Allen carries Bills to 27-24 win at Jags for Buffalo's first road playoff victory in 33 years
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades, 27-24 over Jacksonville. Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score. On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line. Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He was sacked just once and played turnover-free football.
World champ Malinin leads one of the strongest US Figure Skating teams ever into Winter Olympics
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates will lead a strong U.S. Figure Skating team at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Fresh off his fourth national title, Malinin aims to follow Nathan Chen's footsteps for men's gold. Chock and Bates, with their seventh U.S. championship, are also top contenders. Alysa Liu, rejuvenated after a brief retirement, joins the women's team alongside Amber Glenn. The U.S. team includes 16 athletes, with notable names like Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov.
Eagles' season-long issues apparent in playoff loss to 49ers, sideline spat between Sirianni, Brown
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A.J. Brown's frustration boiled over during the Eagles' 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC wild card game. Brown dropped a crucial third-down pass, leading to a sideline spat with coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles struggled offensively, with Jalen Hurts throwing for only 168 yards and a touchdown. The team failed to capitalize on a 13-10 halftime lead, gaining just 36 yards in the third quarter. Brown, who had 1,003 yards this season, finished with only three catches for 25 yards. The Eagles' offensive woes and missed opportunities ultimately ended their championship hopes.
49ers' George Kittle tears Achilles tendon in playoff win over Eagles
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle tore his right Achilles tendon late in the first half of a victory in a wild-card playoff game at Philadelphia. Kittle was pushed out of bounds on a 6-yard reception and grabbed the back of his lower right leg. He was ruled out for the rest of the game. Kittle is a key part of both the run and pass game for the 49ers but played in just 11 games this season because of injuries. He clapped for his teammates as he was driven to the locker room on a cart.
Barcelona beats Real Madrid again to win Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia clasico
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Raphinha scores twice as Barcelona beats Real Madrid 3-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup played in Saudi Arabia. Raphinha’s 73rd-minute winner came in a fortuitous manner after he slipped while shooting and the shot deflected off Madrid defender Raúl Asencio to fool goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Sunday's clasico final featured a hectic end to the first half when three stoppage-time goals were scored before the break, two by Real Madrid and one by Barcelona, which beat Madrid 5-2 in last year's final.
Williams scores 20 as No. 12 LSU hands No. 2 Texas its first loss, 70-65
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mikaylah Williams scored 20 points, capped by her 3 as the shot clock expired with 1:20 to go in the game, and No. 12 LSU handed second-ranked Texas its first loss this season, 70-65. Madison Booker scored 24 points, 14 after committing her fourth foul just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. Kyla Oldacre had 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Jordan Lee added 12 points for the Longhorns. Flau’jae Johnson, Milaysia Fulwiley, ZaKiyah Johnson and Jada Richard each scored 10 points for LSU, which led the entire second half and by as many as 13 points. Texas led briefly in the first half but never by more than four points.
Man United crashes out of FA Cup as club weighs up candidates for interim coach
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Managerless Manchester United crashes out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the third round. At the end of a week that saw the storied Premier League team and 13-time FA Cup winner fire head coach Ruben Amorim, the loss at Old Trafford has likely consigned United to another trophyless season and was greeted with loud jeers from home fans. Former United striker Danny Welbeck scored the decisive goal in the 64th minute. United’s only chance of silverware this term is the Premier League, which would require a remarkable turnaround with the 20-time champion currently 17 points behind leader Arsenal. United's hierarchy hope an interim coach can salvage the season by securing Champions League qualification.
