Bills advance to AFC championship with 17-3 win over Ravens

Taron Johnson could’ve kept running into next week on a 101-yard interception that carried the Buffalo Bills to their first AFC championship game appearance in 27 years. Johnson’s pick-6 of Lamar Jackson’s pass with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter secured a 17-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens in a divisional-round playoff game Saturday night. The interception return matched the longest in NFL history and punctuated a stellar defensive outing in which Buffalo (15-3) limited the NFL’s top running offense to 150 yards on 32 carries.

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Brady outduels Heinicke, leads Buccaneers past Washington

Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past Washington 31-23 in their NFC wild-card game Saturday night for their first playoff victory since 2002. In his 42nd postseason start and first not in a New England Patriots uniform, Brady made the most of a lack of pressure to carve up the NFL’s second-ranked defense on 22 of 40 passing.

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Kamara's 6 TDs tie NFL record; Saints beat Vikings 52-33

Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record by running for six touchdowns in a game and finished with a career-high 155 yards rushing to help New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings 52-33 on Friday and clinch a fourth straight NFC South title. Wearing different colored shoes – one red and one green on Christmas Day – Kamara sprinted for a 40-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive. Kamara equaled a record set by Hall of Fame fullback Ernie Nevers in 1929 for the Chicago Cardinals.

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49ers unable to keep up with Bills in 34-24 loss

Kendrick Bourne caught a pass from Nick Mullens and celebrated an apparent touchdown that would have kept the San Francisco 49ers in the game. The play got overturned by replay and instead of being able to move the ball the final few inches for a score, the Niners self-destructed with a false start on an attempted quarterback sneak followed by an interception. It was that kind of night for the 49ers’ offense, which couldn’t keep up with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in San Francisco’s first game at its temporary new home in Arizona.

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Skidding Cardinals running out of time to get back on track

As is often the case in the NFL, opposing defenses have adjusted to the Cardinals and are making life difficult for second-year quarterback Kyler Murray. The Cardinals (6-6) have lost three straight games and four of their last five after Sunday’s 38-28 setback against the Los Angeles Rams. Kingsbury said the lack of offensive execution started to show in the team’s 28-21 loss to the Seahawks on Nov. 19.

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Chiefs rally to beat Broncos 22-16 to clinch playoff berth

Patrick Mahomes threw for 318 yards and a touchdown, Harrison Butker was perfect on five field goals, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame some red-zone woes and big mistakes that cost them two more scores to hold off the Denver Broncos 22-16 on Sunday night. Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 136 yards and the go-ahead TD grab late in the third quarter, and Tyrann Mathieu twice picked off Broncos quarterback Drew Lock – the second with 24 seconds left to seal the win – as the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth by improving to 11-1 for the second time in franchise history.

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