Carolina

The NFL play-offs have got off to a thrilling start with the Los Angeles Rams needing a late touchdown to escape a huge upset at the Carolina Panthers.

The Rams were not only heavy favourites to win on Wildcard Weekend but are among the Super Bowl favourites.

But they needed a touchdown by tight end Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds remaining to claim a 34-31 win in Charlotte.

Despite coming into the post-season with a losing 8-9 record, Carolina had home advantage having stumbled to the NFC South division title.

The Rams, who finished the regular season 12-5, looked on course for a straightforward passage to the Divisional Round after Puka Nacua scored the opening two touchdowns.

But the Panthers regrouped and rushing touchdowns by Chuba Hubbard and quarterback Bryce Young cut the score to 17-14 at half-time, before the hosts tied the game in the third quarter.

Hubbard and Jalen Coker twice put the Panthers in front during the final quarter, but the Rams replied each time with Kyren Williams then Parkinson scoring from passes by quarterback Matt Stafford, who is favourite for this season’s Most Valuable Player award.

Greg Biffle’s plane caught fire after crash-landing at a regional airport, state authorities said. Other victims have not yet been identified.

A former NASCAR driver has been identified as one of seven people who died in a plane crash in the southern United States.

Authorities said Greg Biffle and members of his family died when a private jet crashed on Thursday while trying to land at Statesville Regional Airport, north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Flight records showed the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle.

“Although the post-crash fire prevents us from releasing a definitive list of the occupants at this time, it is believed that Mr Gregory Biffle and members of his immediate family were occupants of the airplane,” state police said.

Further details about the victims were not immediately available.

Throughout his 16-year career, Biffle won more than 50 races across the three racing-circuit types offered by NASCAR, a US-based association for car races.

He placed first in 19 races at the Cup Series, considered NASCAR’s top level. He also won the Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

Biffle’s plane had taken off from the airport shortly after 10am local time on Thursday (15:00 GMT), but it then returned to North Carolina and was attempting to land there, according to tracking data posted by FlightAware.com.

Video from WSOC-TV showed first responders rushing onto the runway as flames burned near scattered wreckage from the plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were investigating the crash.

All told, the NTSB has investigated 1,331 crashes in the US in 2025.

Charlie Smyth kicked a 47-yard field goal with six seconds left on the clock to give the New Orleans Saints a 20-17 win over division rivals the Carolina Panthers.

The former Gaelic footballer from Mayobridge in County Down was making his third career start at the Superdome and also kicked a 42-yarder as well two extra points in the win.

The Saints had trailed 17-7 in the third quarter but Smyth’s first field goal of the game brought them back within a score.

Chris Olave’s touchdown grab then gave Smyth the opportunity to tie the game with the 24-year-old duly adding the extra point to make it 17-17 with two minutes and eight seconds remaining.

The Panthers could only manage one first down on their next drive to give the Saints the ball back and the chance for a second straight win.

Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough led New Orleans into position with the Saints’ cause aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty called on the Panthers’ Lathan Ransom.

Smyth’s kick then gave the side their fourth win of the season and second in succession after last week’s victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.