ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in an AFC wild-card playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard. Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. The second-seeded Bills advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. The Steelers' season ended after they surged into the playoffs with wins in their final three games behind longtime backup quarterback Mason Rudolph.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead the resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 32-9 wild-card playoff victory over Jalen Hurts and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs won for the sixth time in seven games to advance to a NFC divisional round matchup on the road next Sunday against the Detroit Lions. David Moore scored on a 44-yard reception in the first quarter. Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a TD that put the Bucs up 25-9 late in the third quarter. Mayfield also threw a 23-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills get a third shot at Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. This time, Buffalo gets to play at home. Mahomes will play his first road playoff game next Sunday night against the Bills, who advanced to the AFC divisional round with a 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. The other AFC divisional game will be the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens hosting the Houston Texans. In the NFC, Green Bay will play at San Francisco and Tampa Bay will play at Detroit.
ATLANTA (AP) — Bill Belichick signaled he’s ready to get back to coaching less than a week after parting with the New England Patriots, speaking with the Atlanta Falcons about their vacant position. The Falcons announced Monday night they have interviewed the 71-year-old Belichick, who left the Patriots on Thursday after 24 seasons and a record six Super Bowl championships. The fifth of those Super Bowls came nearly seven years ago against the Falcons in a game Atlanta led 28-3 in the third quarter before Tom Brady rallied the Patriots to a 34-28 overtime victory. The Falcons are seeking a successor to Arthur Smith, who was fired shortly after the conclusion of his third straight 7-10 season.
Jim Harbaugh has interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancy, a week after he led the University of Michigan to a national title. The Chargers announced Harbaugh’s interview on Monday without saying exactly when it took place. He is the eighth coaching candidate to interview with the Chargers, but his resume stands out from the rest. The 60-year-old Harbaugh has an 89-25 record in nine seasons coaching his alma mater. Before that, he went 44-19-1 in four seasons as San Francisco’s coach and took the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — From 10-1 to one-and-done, the Philadelphia Eagles’ collapse is complete. The defending NFC champions won’t be going back to the Super Bowl. They’re heading into a potentially turbulent offseason after an early vacation that few could’ve imagined heading into December. A 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card game on Monday night turns up the pressure on owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni. Despite a 34-17 regular-season record and three playoff appearances in three seasons, including coming up just short in the Super Bowl last year against Kansas City, the heat is on Sirianni.
UNDATED (AP) — Connecticut jumped to No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. It marks the Huskies' first appearance at No. 1 since the 2008-09 season. The reigning national champions replaced Purdue after the Boilermakers lost to Nebraska to fall to second. Kansas, North Carolina and Houston rounded out the top five. The week also saw Gonzaga fall out for the first time since 2016. The Zags had been in 143 straight polls. No. 19 TCU, No. 21 Dayton, No. 22 Mississippi, No. 24 Iowa State and No. 25 Texas Tech were the week's new additions.
UNDATED (AP) — John Wooden took UCLA to unprecedented heights that may never be reached again. Starting in 1962, the Bruins won 10 national titles in 12 years, including a record seven straight from 1966-73. Wooden’s 10 national titles are twice as many as the next coach on the all-time list, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. UCLA won 88 straight games from 1971-74 and 38 straight NCAA Tournament games, both records. UCLA went wire-to-wire at No. 1 in consecutive seasons as part of a record streak of 46 straight weeks on top of the AP Top 25 poll.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams has formally entered the NFL draft. The Heisman Trophy winner is leaving USC after two prolific seasons. Williams is widely considered the favorite to be the No. 1 selection in the draft, which begins April 25. The Chicago Bears currently hold the top pick. Williams passed for 10,082 yards with 93 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during three collegiate seasons at Oklahoma and USC. He became the Trojans’ eighth Heisman Trophy winner in 2022 after following coach Lincoln Riley from Norman to the West Coast.
MONDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Buffalo 31 Pittsburgh 17
Final Tampa Bay 32 Philadelphia 9
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (17)Marquette 87 Villanova 74
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Philadelphia 124 Houston 115
Final Dallas 125 New Orleans 120
Final Detroit 129 Washington 117
Final Orlando 98 New York 94
Final Atlanta 109 San Antonio 99
Final Memphis 116 Golden State 107
Final Cleveland 109 Chicago 91
Final Boston 105 Toronto 96
Final OT Miami 96 Brooklyn 95
Final Utah 132 Indiana 105
Final L.A. Lakers 112 Oklahoma City 105
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Buffalo 3 San Jose 0
Final Pittsburgh 3 Seattle 0
Final SO Columbus 4 Vancouver 3
Final Boston 3 New Jersey 0
Final OT Anaheim 5 Florida 4
Final Los Angeles 5 Carolina 2
Final Vegas 4 Nashville 1
Final Minnesota 5 N-Y Islanders 0
Final Montreal 4 Colorado 3
Final Philadelphia 4 St. Louis 2