KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have relied on unsung and overlooked players alongside stars such as Patrick Mahomes to not only win the AFC West, but continue to fight for the lone first-round playoff bye in the conference. Jerick McKinnon is tops on the list as the journeyman running back has scored in four straight games with seven TDs over that span. He signed a one-year deal that pays him a relatively paltry $1,272,500 this season, making him perhaps one of the best values in the NFL this season. Other unsung players such as Andrew Wylie and Justin Watson have been steals for Kansas City at various points.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos have fired coach Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games. Hackett never was able to get quarterback Russell Wilson out of a season-long slump. The Broncos are 4-11 and have posted their sixth straight losing season and are missing the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. Hackett replaced Vic Fangio last January but the Broncos got worse in almost every category under the first-time head coach. Players were told during a team meeting Monday that senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg will serve as interim head coach.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has suspended for one game Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory and Rams offensive lineman Oday Aboushi for exchanging punches following their game on Sunday. Gregory and Aboushi exchanged words during the postgame handshake and Gregory threw a punch at Aboushi's helmet. Aboushi retaliated before teammates stepped in and separated them. Gregory had received two 15-yard penalties during the Broncos' 51-14 loss to the Rams. He threw his helmet on one play and then hit Rams QB Baker Mayfield in the head on the other.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Austin Ekeler scored on two 1-yard runs and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched their first playoff berth since 2018, intercepting Indianapolis quarterback Nick Foles three times to beat the overmatched Colts 20-3. Justin Herbert threw for 235 yards and Cameron Dicker made two short field goals for the Chargers, who won their third straight after getting the help they needed this weekend from Las Vegas, Miami, New England and the New York Jets. Los Angeles won on the road on a Monday night for the first time in more than a decade. Indianapolis lost its fifth straight under interim coach Jeff Saturday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the NFL’s concussion protocol. Coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that Tagovailoa was experiencing concussion symptoms when he met with team doctors on Monday, a day after the Dolphins’ 26-20 loss to Green Bay. Teddy Bridgewater is expected to get most of the first-team reps in practice this week. McDaniel said it is too early to name a starter for Miami’s game at New England on Sunday. It is the second time this season that Tagovailoa has been in the concussion protocol. The protocol itself was changed after Tagovailoa took a hard hit and appeared to show concussion symptoms but remained in a game.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Sonny Dykes says he thought about changing careers five years ago when he was finishing a season as an off-field offensive analyst at TCU after being fired at California. Instead, he's coaching the 12-1 Horned Frogs this week in the CFP semifinal Fiesta Bowl against Michigan. Dykes replaced Gary Patterson following a successful four-year stay at SMU. The 53-year-old son of the late Spike Dykes is the AP college football coach of the year. The Frogs were undefeated until an overtime loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue remained atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for a third straight week. The week also included preseason No. 1 North Carolina returning to the rankings at No. 25 and New Mexico cracking the poll for the first time in eight years. The Boilermakers earned 40 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s new poll, while fellow unbeaten Connecticut earned the other 20 to sit at No. 2 in an unchanged top. Houston, Kansas and Arizona rounded out the top five. Miami made the week's biggest jump by climbing eight spots to No. 14.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina maintained its hold on top of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Gamecocks have held the No. 1 spot for 27 consecutive weeks. That is the fifth longest run all-time. UConn has three of the top four streaks, including the record 51-week run from Feb. 18, 2008 to Dec. 10, 2010. Louisiana Tech has the second longest streak of 36 weeks. The top five teams remained unchanged as Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame stayed behind the Gamecocks. South Carolina hosts Texas A&M on Thursday.
HAVANA (AP) — The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba to represent their home country in the World Baseball Classic next year. The license could be a big step in once again turning Cuba’s national team into heavy hitters on an international stage. It clears the way for MLB stars such as Yordan Alvarez, José Abreu and Randy Arozarena to play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic in March if they choose to accept a potential invitation. It’s up to each country’s national governing body to pick the players on its team. Final 30-man rosters are due Feb. 7 for the WBC, which begins March 8 with Cuba facing the Netherlands in Taiwan.
UNDATED (AP) — Roberto Clemente remains one of the most revered figures in Puerto Rico and Latin America 50 years after his death. His graceful flare and powerful arm were unrivaled in his era. His humanitarian efforts off the field are perhaps his greatest legacy, though. Half a century after he played, many of today’s Latino baseball players credit him for paving the way. Clemente died at age 38 on Dec. 31, 1972, when his plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico as he was delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
MONDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final L.A. Chargers 20 Indianapolis 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Brooklyn 125 Cleveland 117
Final OT L.A. Clippers 142 Detroit 131
Final Miami 113 Minnesota 110
Final Houston 133 Chicago 118
Final New Orleans 113 Indiana 93
Final San Antonio 126 Utah 122
Final Portland 124 Charlotte 113