UNDATED (AP) — The AFC championship game will be played on a neutral site if the Chiefs and Bills reach that point. Buffalo’s 35-23 win over New England on Sunday coupled with Kansas City’s 31-13 victory at Las Vegas on Saturday means the No. 1 seed Chiefs can’t host the conference title game against the Bills because the teams played an unequal number of games. NFL owners approved a resolution Friday that implemented new rules for this postseason in response to the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field Monday night.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw a late interception on the final pass of what might be his last game, and the Green Bay Packers lost 20-16 to the Detroit Lions to miss the playoffs. After winning four straight games and receiving plenty of help from other teams, the Packers had control of their postseason fate heading into the final game of the NFL regular season. But they fell short against the Lions, who had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier Sunday. Seattle instead earned the NFC’s final playoff spot and will play at San Francisco in the opening round. The Packers missed the playoffs for the first time in Matt LaFleur’s four seasons as coach.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Players and fans across the NFL paid tribute to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Sunday, the first time most across the league resumed playing since his terrifying cardiac arrest during a game last week. Hamlin’s number “3” was on display everywhere across the league, outlined on 30-yard lines on fields, worn on special patches on the Bills uniforms and featured on jackets and sweatshirts and even on red hearts dangling from the tailgate tents outside the Bills home stadium.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts returned from a sprained right shoulder and threw for 229 yards under a conservative game plan in his first game in three weeks and the Philadelphia Eagles finally clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 22-16 win over the New York Giants on Sunday night. The Eagles clinched the NFC East. They also earn home field throughout the playoffs. Hurts was 20-of-35 passing and threw one interception. The Giants play at Minnesota next Sunday.
HOUSTON (AP) — Lovie Smith has been fired as coach of the Houston Texans on Sunday night after just one season where the team went 3-13-1. It’s the second straight season in which the Texans have fired a coach after just one year. They parted ways with David Culley last January after he went 4-13 in his only season.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals are still flipping out over the NFL’s plan to determine home-field advantage in the playoffs. Mixon referenced the NFL’s decision to use a coin flip as a tiebreaker Sunday by celebrating a 1-yard touchdown run against the Baltimore Ravens by taking a coin out of his glove and flicking it. He and several teammates then kicked it on the ground. The league decided to add a coin flip to settle some potential playoff scenarios after Monday night’s game between the Bengals and Buffalo Bills was declared a no-contest after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — No. 1 Georgia could become the first school to repeat as major college football champions since Alabama a decade ago, and the first to go back-to-back in the nine-year history of the four-team playoff. Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are back in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday night against No. 3 TCU. Heisman Trophy finalist Stetson Bennett and the Bulldogs have been the No. 1 team in the country in 21 of the last 23 AP Top 25 college football polls, dating back to Oct. 10, 2021. Heisman runner-up Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs are the biggest underdog to make the CFP championship game.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks says he has non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hendriks announced Sunday on Instagram that he was diagnosed in recent days. The three-time All-Star was scheduled to begin treatment on Monday. Hendriks says he is “confident” he will “make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible.” The five-year survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is 73.8%, according to the National Cancer Institute. Some forms are aggressive while others are slow growing. General manager Rick Hahn says in a statement the White Sox don’t expect to have an update on Hendriks’ status prior to opening day.
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Jon Rahm pulled off a stunner to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions after trailing by seven shots. Equally shocking was the collapse by Collin Morikawa that made it all possible. Rahm ran off three birdies and an eagle in a four-hole stretch and shot 63. Morikawa went 67 holes without a bogey to start the tournament at Kapalua. He then made three in a row. Morikawa tied a PGA Tour record for losing the largest 54-hole lead. He led by six going into the final round. Rahm has won three of his last five starts worldwide.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 30 Tampa Bay 17
Final Buffalo 35 New England 23
Final Carolina 10 New Orleans 7
Final Cincinnati 27 Baltimore 16
Final Houston 32 Indianapolis 31
Final Miami 11 N-Y Jets 6
Final Minnesota 29 Chicago 13
Final Pittsburgh 28 Cleveland 14
Final Denver 31 L.A. Chargers 28
Final Philadelphia 22 N-Y Giants 16
Final San Francisco 38 Arizona 13
Final OT Seattle 19 L.A. Rams 16
Final Washington 26 Dallas 6
Final Detroit 20 Green Bay 16
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)Purdue 76 Penn St. 63
Final (2)Houston 72 Cincinnati 59
Final Northwestern 84 (15)Indiana 83
Final Maryland 80 (24)Ohio St. 73
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Philadelphia 123 Detroit 111
Final Toronto 117 Portland 105
Final Indiana 116 Charlotte 111
Final Brooklyn 102 Miami 101
Final Memphis 123 Utah 118
Final Minnesota 104 Houston 96
Final Oklahoma City 120 Dallas 109
Final Cleveland 112 Phoenix 98
Final Atlanta 112 L.A. Clippers 108
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Winnipeg 7 Vancouver 4
Final Dallas 5 Florida 1
Final Washington 1 Columbus 0
Final Pittsburgh 4 Arizona 1
Final St. Louis 3 Minnesota 0
Final Toronto 6 Philadelphia 2
Final OT Chicago 4 Calgary 3
Final Boston 7 Anaheim 1