KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes sustained a right high ankle sprain in the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional playoff win over the Jaguars, a person familiar with the nature of the injury told The Associated Press on Sunday. But the All-Pro quarterback is expected to play in next weekend’s AFC championship game. Mahomes was hurt late in the first quarter Saturday when a Jacksonville defender landed on him. X-rays taken during the game came back negative, and Mahomes returned after halftime to lead Kansas City to the 27-20 victory. He had an MRI on Sunday that showed no structural damage.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chad Henne has spent most of the season holding clipboards behind Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. But when the All-Pro quarterback hurt his right ankle in Saturday night's playoff game against Jacksonville, the 37-year-old journeyman entered the game and proceeded to lead Kansas City on a 98-yard touchdown drive. Mahomes eventually returned to finish off a 27-20 victory that ushered the Chiefs to their fifth consecutive AFC championship game. But the performance by his backup amid the intense pressure of the postseason may have been what kept Kansas City's season alive.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter and San Francisco’s defense did the rest, sending the 49ers to their second straight NFC title game with a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. San Francisco advanced to play the Eagles in the NFC title game next Sunday in Philadelphia after losing in that round to the Rams a year ago. The Cowboys lost for the record seventh straight time in the divisional round and have failed to make it to the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title following the 1995 season.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes, the Bengals swarmed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on a snow-slicked field and Cincinnati advanced to its second straight AFC championship game with a 27-10 win. Damar Hamlin’s inspirational presence while watching the game from an end-zone suite was not enough to spark the Bills in a rematch of a regular-season game that was canceled Jan. 2 when the Bills safety went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati. The Bengals advanced to consecutive AFC championship games for the first time in franchise history and will again travel to play the Kansas City Chiefs.
DALLAS (AP) — Jaykwon Walton scored 18 points, Craig Porter Jr. made three free throws to give Wichita State the lead with 35 seconds left and the Shockers rallied to beat SMU 71-69. Walton made 5 of 9 shots and 8 of 12 free throws for the Shockers (10-9, 3-4 American Athletic Conference). James Rojas finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Porter hit 3 of 5 shots and all five of his free throws, scoring 11. He also blocked four shots. Zach Nutall led the Mustangs (7-13, 2-5) with 17 points and three steals. Efe Odigie added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Cincinnati 27 Buffalo 10
Final San Francisco 19 Dallas 12
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Temple 56 (1)Houston 55
Final (3)Purdue 58 Maryland 55
Final (15)UConn 86 Butler 56
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final L.A. Clippers 112 Dallas 98
Final Miami 100 New Orleans 96
Final Toronto 125 New York 116
Final Oklahoma City 101 Denver 99
Final Phoenix 112 Memphis 110
Final Brooklyn 120 Golden State 116
Final L.A. Lakers 121 Portland 112
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final OT New Jersey 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final Los Angeles 2 Chicago 1
Final Winnipeg 5 Philadelphia 3
Final Boston 4 San Jose 0
Final Arizona 4 Vegas 1