ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes and the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to their sixth straight AFC championship game following a 27-24 divisional round playoff win over the Buffalo Bills. Isiah Pacheco scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run 40 seconds into the fourth quarter in a game the teams traded leads five times. The Chiefs clinched the win by running out the clock after Buffalo’s Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right with 1:43 remaining. The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs move on to face the conference’s top-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills' season ended in familiar fashion. For the third straight year, the Bills were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs. And for the third time in four seasons, it was the Kansas City Chiefs who ended Buffalo's postseason run. Two years ago, it was “13 Seconds” — the amount of time it took Patrick Mahomes to lead the Chiefs to a tying field goal at the end of regulation. On Sunday night, the key words were “wide right.” Tyler Bass missed a field goal with less than two minutes left that would have tied the game.
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes and the Detroit Lions beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in a divisional-round playoff game, lifting the long-suffering franchise into the NFC championship for the first time in 32 years and just the second time in franchise history. The Lions won two playoff games in a season for the first time since 1957, the last year they won the NFL title. They will play at San Francisco, the NFC’s top seed, next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl — a game they have never played in. Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes for the Bucs but he was intercepted by Derrick Barnes to end Tampa Bay's chances.
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Nick Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour, making a 6-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over Christiaan Bezuidenhout at The American Express on Sunday. Dunlap, the 20-year-old University of Alabama sophomore and reigning U.S. Amateur champion, is the first amateur winner since Phil Mickelson at the Tucson Open in 1991. He’s only the seventh amateur since 1945 — and the third since 1957 — to win a tour event. Dunlap, the only amateur in the 156-player field, surged into a three-shot lead with a sizzling 60 in the third round. He closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 29-under 259 and break the tournament scoring record as a 72-hole event.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Led by Kasean Pryor's 25 points, the South Florida Bulls defeated the Wichita State Shockers 72-68. The Bulls improved to 11-5 with the victory and the Shockers fell to 8-10.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Caitlin Clark said she was “OK” after she was accidently knocked down by a fan running onto the court after No. 2 Iowa was upset by Ohio State on Sunday. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith went to the Hawkeyes locker room and apologized to Clark and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff also issued an apology.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas coach Rodney Terry has apologized for his postgame rant about Central Florida players doing a “horns down” hand sign after beating the Longhorns earlier in the week. Terry made his comments Saturday after Texas beat No. 9 Baylor 75-73. The “horns down” sign has long been used by Texas rivals and Terry's criticism of Central Florida players as “classless” drew wide ridicule on social media.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest coach in major college basketball history, passing former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career victory when No. 8 Stanford beat Oregon State 65-56. At 70 years old and a head coach since age 24, VanDerveer celebrated on her team’s home floor at Maples Pavilion with a couple dozen former players on hand to cheer the Hall of Fame coach on for yet another milestone in a decorated 45-year career filled with memorable accomplishments.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Taylor Swift blew a kiss after someone greeted her by yelling “Bills by a billion,” upon arriving at Highmark Stadium to watch boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 27-24 in a divisional playoff game. The pop music superstar was escorted by a heavy security presence to a suite overlooking the west end zone. After catching a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, Kelce threw the football into the crowd, then turned and made a heart gesture with his hands toward the suite where Swift was seated in the opposite corner of the stadium.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Detroit 31 Tampa Bay 23
Final Kansas City 27 Buffalo 24
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Tulane 81 (10)Memphis 79
Final (14)Illinois 86 Rutgers 63
Final (23)FAU 112 UTSA 103
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final L.A. Clippers 125 Brooklyn 114
Final Denver 113 Washington 104
Final Orlando 105 Miami 87
Final Boston 116 Houston 107
Final Phoenix 117 Indiana 110
Final L.A. Lakers 134 Portland 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Ottawa 5 Philadelphia 3
Final Minnesota 5 Carolina 2
Final Detroit 2 Tampa Bay 1
Final OT N-Y Islanders 3 Dallas 2
Final N-Y Rangers 5 Anaheim 2