The Panthers had a first down on the Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds left, but heavy pressure by All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan a couple plays later induced an intentional grounding penalty on Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, making it third-and-25 on the Saints 34 and a required 10-second runoff left 22 seconds on the clock.
After an incompletion in the end zone on third down, Vonn Bell sacked Newton on a safety blitz, ensuring the Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings with Carolina (11-6) this season, in addition to winning their first playoff game in four seasons.
Brees’ touchdowns went for 80-yards to Ted Ginn and 9 yards to tight end Josh Hill. Fullback Zach line and running back Alvin Kamara each ran for short touchdowns.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Blake Bortles put together one decent drive all day, doing as much with his legs as his arm, and the defensive-minded Jacksonville Jaguars eked out an ugly and sometimes unwatchable 10-3 victory against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild-card game Sunday.
In the postseason for the first time since January 2008, the third-seeded Jaguars (11-6) advanced to play at No. 2 seed Pittsburgh next week.
The sixth-seeded Bills (9-8) will head home after ending the longest, current playoff drought in North American professional sports.
Bortles was a big reason Jacksonville won the game and a big reason it was so close. This was far from a passing clinic. It was more like a painful exercise in overcoming poor passing.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Marcus Mariota led Tennessee to three second-half touchdowns, incredibly throwing one of his TD passes to himself , and the Titans rallied from a 21-3 deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 on Saturday for their first playoff win in 14 years.
Mariota threw for 205 yards and two scores, including the 22-yard go-ahead strike to Eric Decker with just over six minutes left that ushered the Titans into the divisional round of the playoffs.
They’ll head to New England or Pittsburgh next week.
Derrick Henry had a career-high 156 yards rushing and another score for Tennessee (10-7), while a defense that was fileted by Alex Smith and the Chiefs (10-7) during the first half pitched a shutout in the second half – dooming the Kansas City franchise to another humiliating postseason defeat.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons showed the upstart Los Angeles Rams what playoff poise is all about.
Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey , and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a methodical 26-13 victory over the Rams on Saturday night.
Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who spoiled the Rams’ first playoff game in 13 years while showing off the postseason poise they earned from last season’s journey to the Super Bowl.
Atlanta never trailed at the Coliseum while winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Saturday in Philadelphia.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Brandon Ingram had 20 points and seven assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 132-113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.
Julius Randle had 15 points and nine rebounds in this sixth straight start, while Lonzo Ball finished with 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Los Angeles led by as many as 26 points – its biggest margin this season – and enjoyed a strong shooting night. The Lakers made 55.8 percent of their field goals, and shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range. Even free throws went in for the Lakers, who came into Sunday as the worst team in the league in that category. Los Angeles made 20 of 25.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Keita Bates-Diop scored a career-high 32 points, and Ohio State stunned No. 1 Michigan State 80-64 on Sunday.
The overachieving Buckeyes put together an electrifying 12-0 run to finish the first half and kept their foot on the gas to give first-year coach Chris Holtmann a signature win.
Ohio State (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten) won for its third straight in taking down the best team it is likely to see this season. The mistake-prone Spartans (15-2, 3-1) lost for the first time in the last 15 games, dating back to a seven-point loss to then-No. 1 Duke on Nov. 14.
GOLF
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) – A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that a No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.
Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six shots at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle. He also drove the par-4 14th hole.
He finished at 24-under 268. The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever Anton Stralman Jersey , and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.
The Milwaukee Brewers placed left-hander Brent Suter on the 10-day disabled list Friday with forearm tightness.Suter first reported the problem after his last start, when he gave up five runs over five innings against the Twins. He informed the team’s medical staff immediately but when a few days passed and the situation didn’t improve, the decision was made to put Suter on the shelf for at least one start.
”We tried our best to get it out of there,” Suter said. ”I saw the doc yesterday and he said there’s a strain so we’ve just got to be cautious with it.”
Brewers manager Craig Counsell acknowledged that forearm strains are often a red flag type of injury; a precursor to something more series. But he was confident that in Suter’s case, the situation was caught early enough that a bigger problem can be avoided.
”It’s a minor injury,” Counsell said. ”I think you’re always cautious when a pitcher has a forearm injury. At this point it’s a minor injury, but it’s important we don’t let it become something big. So that’s why we put him on the DL.
”Minor injuries happen. You want to make sure it stays a minor injury. There’s no timetable to it. We’ve got to get him pain-free.”
After bouncing back and forth between Triple-A Colorado Springs and Milwaukee last season, Suter earned a spot in the starting rotation out of spring camp and after a bit of a bumpy start, has been one of the Brewers’ most consistent starters. He’s 8-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 18 appearances this season, including two in relief, and had gone 7-2 with a 3.60 ERA in a nine-outing stretch before allowing nine runs over his last two outings.
”I was trying my best not to miss a start all year,” Suter said. ”That was my No. 1 goal coming into the season, so it’s disappointing that way. But I’ve got to listen to the docs. They know what they’re talking about.”
Suter was slated to start Saturday when the Brewers continued their four-game series with the Braves at Miller Park. Instead, right-hander Aaron Wilkerson will get the nod. The 29-year-old is 2-2 with a 2.08 in eight appearances (seven starts) for Colorado Springs this season and pitched three innings of relief for the Brewers last weekend during a loss to the Reds in Cincinnati.
”He’s on line and he’s ready to go,” Counsell said.
