wildcard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades.

With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down on him, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score.

On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.

Focused on getting rid of the ball quickly and negating Jacksonville’s pass rush most of the game, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He ran for two scores, was sacked just once and played turnover-free football.

It was necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.

Buffalo (13-5) intercepted a deflected pass on Jacksonville’s final drive to seal the victory. The Jaguars (13-5) took the lead with 4:03 to play but couldn’t hold it against Allen.

The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round. The Bills had dropped eight consecutive postseason games on the road since winning at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game. It had been the NFL’s second-longest, active road playoff skid.

The NFL play-offs continued with another nail-biting game as the Buffalo Bills claimed a 27-24 win at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A late interception by Buffalo safety Cole Bishop allowed the Bills to clinch victory after Josh Allen, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, put them back in front with one minute four seconds of the game remaining.

Buffalo were the pre-season Super Bowl favourites but have had to hit the road in the play-offs having failed to retain the AFC East title, while Jacksonville won the AFC South.

The Jaguars ended the regular season on an eight-game winning streak to secure the AFC’s third seed, while Buffalo are the sixth, and most of Sunday’s Wildcard Weekend game was a tight affair.

Buffalo led 10-7 at half-time, then 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter, when the lead changed hands four times in a nerve-racking finale.

Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Allen then produced a shootout, with former number one draft pick Lawrence making touchdown passes to Parker Washington and Travis Etienne.

Buffalo replied with Allen finding Dalton Kincaid for a score before barging over for his second rushing TD, which ultimately proved decisive.

There was enough time for Lawrence to lead a game-winning drive but he was picked off by Bishop to keep alive Allen’s hopes of reaching his first Super Bowl.

This season could be his best chance yet to reach the NFL’s championship game as the Kansas City Chiefs, who knocked Buffalo out in four of the past five years, have failed to reach this season’s play-offs.

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams came through in his playoff debut, throwing a go-ahead, 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 1:43 remaining, and the Chicago Bears rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the rival Green Bay Packers 31-27 in a wild-card playoff game on Saturday night.

The NFC North champion Bears extended their resurgent first season under coach Ben Johnson with their seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory. They split two down-to-the-wire games with Green Bay in the regular season, and this one turned out to be a thriller when it looked like it would be a breeze for the Packers.

Chicago trailed 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters, only to outscore Green Bay 25-6 in the fourth on the way to its first playoff win in 15 years.

Williams found a wide-open Moore along the left sideline to give Chicago a 31-27 lead with 1:43 remaining.

Jordan Love then led Green Bay into Chicago territory. But on third down at the 28, Jaquan Brisker broke up a pass in the end zone as time expired, setting off a wild celebration — and a curt handshake between Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

The Bears will host a divisional-round game next weekend.

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.

DENVER — Sometimes, the punching bag punches back.

That was the case Sunday as the Chargers, playing their backups, put up an impressive fight against the division-rival Denver Broncos, vying for the top seed in the AFC.

The Broncos won, 19-3, but both teams were smothering on defense while failing to establish anything close to an offensive rhythm.

The seventh-seeded Chargers (11-6) will play a wild-card game at second-seeded New England (14-3), which rolled over Miami, 38-10, in Sunday’s finale.

Denver (14-3) gets a week off and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The other AFC playoff matchups feature No. 6 Buffalo (12-5) at No. 3 Jacksonville (13-4) and No. 5 Houston (12-5) at the winner of Sunday night’s game between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Sunday’s game was far more competitive than the rollicking crowd at Empower Field might have suspected, with the second-string Chargers defense battling them at every turn.

On an unseasonably warm afternoon, the Broncos were disturbingly cold.

The Chargers rested 14 of their starters, including quarterback Justin Herbert, who has played his way into the Most Valuable Player conversation. But they couldn’t generate much offense with backup Trey Lance at the helm.

Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards with an interception. He led all rushers with 69 yards, however, and in the waning moments had his team in position to score the game’s only offensive touchdown.

The outcome was never really in doubt because Denver’s defense didn’t budge. But the Broncos offense never got in sync.

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II catches a pass against Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke during the first half Sunday.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Denver failed to score a touchdown on offense — their lone such score came on a pick-six — and got four field goals from Wil Lutz.

It was the lowest-scoring game for the Broncos since a 10-7 win over Las Vegas in Week 11.

The matchup was the Chargers’ Next Man Up versus a down Bo Nix, who threw for 141 yards with a lackluster 78.4 passer rating.

Each quarterback was sacked four times.

Denver came into the game with the NFL’s second-ranked defense, behind Houston, with a club-record 64 sacks already in the books. The Broncos wore throwback uniforms from 1977 — blue helmets, orange jerseys, white pants — and their defense swarmed like those “Orange Crush” days of yesteryear.

Granted, it’s now a 17-game season, but the Broncos got to 14 victories for the first time since 1998, the final season of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

But these Chargers are no pushovers. They were looking to go undefeated in AFC West games, and got to 5-0 with an array of understudies, particularly along the offensive line.

This game was only huge for one Chargers regular: receiver Keenan Allen, who needed six receptions and nine yards to hit contract bonuses totaling $1 million. He achieved both.

Besides Herbert, members of the Chargers offense who didn’t play included receivers Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, and the entire starting line.

On defense, the Chargers sat starters Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Daiyan Henley and Elijah Molden.

Denver running back RJ Harvey is tackled by Chargers defenders during the second half Sunday.

(C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)

Basically, they had no business being in this game, and the score was 10-3 at halftime. The Broncos rolled up 81 yards on their opening drive… and a total of 32 yards the rest of the half.

With so much at stake for his team, Broncos coach Sean Payton was determined to keep precision football the focus. That included an extra padded practice in the week leading up to the game, and no crowd-distracting games on the videoboard. He wanted the crowd to be as loud and zeroed-in as possible.

At once, the Broncos were uncompromising — they were determined to win — and unconvincing.

United States tennis legend Venus Williams returns to the Australian Open for the first time since 2021.

Seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams has been handed a wildcard to the Australian Open aged 45, becoming the oldest woman to play at the season-opening tennis Grand Slam.

The American, who has played only a limited number of singles matches in recent years, will compete in the main draw at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2021.

“I’m excited to be back in Australia and looking forward to competing during the Australian summer,” Williams said on Friday.

“I’ve had so many incredible memories there and I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career.”

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon champion and also won two US Opens.

She was an Australian Open singles finalist in 2003 and 2017.

She will become the oldest woman to play at the Australian Open since Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round in 2015.

Williams, a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, is set to begin her preparations for the January 18-February 1 tournament at the Auckland Classic next week, having returned to the circuit at the US Open last year after a 16-month break.

She will then head to the Hobart International immediately before Melbourne.

Two-time Grand Slam champion and fellow American Coco Gauff said it was “incredible” to see Williams still turning up for tournaments.

“She’s a legend of the sport, so it will be cool to see her back in action,” she said.

“It’s incredible the longevity of her career. She’s one of the people I looked up to, so looking forward to seeing her back on court.”

Venus Williams is set to become the oldest female player to compete in the Australian Open main draw at the age of 45.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has received the final women’s wildcard for the tournament, which begins on 18 January.

Williams last appeared at Melbourne Park in 2021 when she was beaten by Italy’s Sara Errani in the second round.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career,” she said.

The American, twice a runner-up in the first Grand Slam event of the year, will surpass the record of Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played at the event in 2015.