Day: January 3, 2022

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Pro Football Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Antonio Brown was apparently frustrated and angry. So he walked away. From the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And possibly his NFL career. The mercurial wide receiver was kicked off the Buccaneers after a bizarre, shirtless exit from the field before Tom Brady coolly led the Bucs on a 93-yard drive in the final minutes for a 28-24 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Coach Bruce Arians said after the game Brown was off the team. “He is no longer a Buc,” Arians said. “All right? That's the end of the story. Let's talk about the guys who went out there and won the game.” Brown's mid-game meltdown came late in the third quarter with Tampa Bay trailing 24-10. He appeared anim...

By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Sports Writer LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jalen Hurts scrambled out of trouble to avoid a handful of sacks and ran the ball when needed with Miles Sanders out. He even needed to make an evasive maneuver after Philadelphia’s game at Washington was over. Hurts ran six times for 45 yards and narrowly escaped a railing collapse walking to the tunnel after the Eagles held on to win 20-16 Sunday and put themselves on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. Fans waiting for Hurts fell onto the field after a railing in the corner of FedEx Field gave way. While there was at least one on-field injury, the second-year Baltimore Ravens Jersey  quarterback came away unscathed to await other results around the league that could wrap up an NFC wild-card sp...

The four teams in contention for the final two spots are the 49ers (9-7), Eagles (9-7), Saints (8-8) and Vikings (7-8). If the Vikings lose at Green Bay, they're out and the Eagles are in. That would leave the Niners and Saints in the mix. All San Francisco would have to do to get the final NFC wild-card berth is beat the Rams next weekend. The Saints would need to win at Atlanta and they would need the Rams to beat the Niners. ___ )7:30 p.m. The AFC playoff picture came into focus with four teams clinching postseason berths Sunday. That leaves two wild-card spots to be decided next weekend. The day began with only the Chiefs having punched their ticket to the AFC playoffs, but their 34-31 loss to the Bengals dropped them b...

By KYLE HIGHTOWER, AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots squandered an opportunity to lock up the AFC East title in a humbling loss to the Bills last week. They took out their frustrations on the lowly Jaguars to earn their way back into the postseason. New England returned to the playoffs when rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes and Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for two scores apiece in their 50-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday. The victory by the Patriots (10-6) snapped a two-game losing streak and gave Bill Belichick his 20th 10-win season as a head coach, tying Don Shula for the most in NFL Jerseys for Cheap history. A loss by Miami at Tennessee secured New England’s first trip to the postseason...

By STEVE REED, AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Devin Booker scored 24 points, Jalen Smith tied a career high with 19 points and 12 rebounds and the short-handed Phoenix Suns hammered the Charlotte Hornets 133-99 on Sunday night. Chris Paul had 16 assists to help the Suns improve to 28-8 — a half-game behind Golden State for the NBA lead — after they lost three of their previous four. The Suns got 11 points and six rebounds from Bismack Biyombo, who signed a 10-day contract Saturday with four Phoenix players in the NBA's health and safety protocols, Hey Dude Women's Shoes,including starting center Deandre Ayton, starting forward Jae Crowder and backup center JaVale McGee. Coach Monty Williams also is out. Paul said acting coach Kevin Young talked ...

By DOUG ALDEN, Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored a career-high 50 points, rallying the Boston Celtics from 14 points down late in the fourth quarter to a 116-111 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. Brown scored 21 in the fourth quarter, then opened OT with his fifth 3-pointer of the game. Brown, whose previous career high was 46 against the Knicks on Oct. 20, also finished with 11 rebounds as the Celtics avoided losing for the fourth time in five games. “We needed to win. No way we could have lost this game. It wouldn’t have been good,” said Brown, who made nine of 12 shots in the fourth quarter while leading the Celtics on a frenzied comeback. Marcus Smart added 17 points, seven assists and seven Brooks Shoes  rebou...