Raiders booted by Dolphins
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed a 41-yard pass to Mack Hollins while being dragged down by the facemask and the Miami Dolphins moved one step closer to a playoff berth when Jason Sanders’ 44yard field goal with one second remaining gave them a 26- 25 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night.
The Raiders chose to run down the clock for a go-ahead field goal instead of trying for a touchdown with Josh Jacobs going down on purpose at the one and Derek Carr taking a knee to set up Daniel Carlson’s 22-yard field goal with 19 seconds left.
The Dolphins (10-5) moved a half-game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC playoff race and can clinch a wild-card berth with a win next week at Buffalo.
The Raiders (7-8) were eliminated with their fifth loss in six games and will be out of the postseason for the 17th time in 18 seasons.
Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the only half he needed to play and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on to rout the host Detroit Lions 47-7, sealing a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
The Buccaneers set a franchise record with 588 yards and snapped the NFL’s second-longest postseason drought behind Cleveland’s 18-year run that can end Sunday. Tampa Bay rested Brady ahead 34-0, its largest halftime lead in franchise history.
Third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard threw three touchdown passes, Jeff Wilson ran for 183 yards, and visiting San Francisco won 20-12 dealing a brutal blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes.
The Cleveland Browns will try to make the playoffs without four wide receivers, including Jarvis Landry, along with their starting middle linebacker and his likely replacement, because of a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing. the year and the conference newcomer of the year by the Associated Press.
“Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, Ty Jordan,” Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham said in a statement.
In Dallas, Trey Ragas scored on a one-yard plunge with 7:16 left and No. 19 Louisiana (10-1) beat Texas San Antonio (7-5) 31-24 in the First Responder Bowl. ... In Mobile, Ala., redshirt freshman Cornelius “Quad” Brown threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead Georgia State (6-4) past Western Kentucky (5-7) 39-21 in the LendingTree Bowl. ... In the Cure Bowl, Alex Barbir’s 44-yard field goal in overtime lifted Liberty (10-1) to a 37-34 win over No. 12 Coastal Carolina (11-1) in Orlando, Fla.
The USC men’s basketball team will play host to Santa Clara instead of Long Beach State on Tuesday. The Beach had to cancel because of ongoing COVID-19 issues in its program. ... The UCLA women’s basketball game at Oregon State on New Year’s Day was postponed indefinitely. The Beavers announced a confirmed case of COVID-19 on Dec. 20.
Canelo Alvarez will take on 168-pound WBC mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 in a homecoming bout in his birthplace of Guadalajara.
— Manouk Akopyan
Lakers star LeBron James was announced as the winner of the Associated Press’ male athlete of the year award for a record-tying fourth time. ... Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a tiebreaking jumper with 1.4 seconds left and finished with 24 points, helping Oklahoma City hold off Charlotte 109-107 in the Thunder’s opener. ... Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers earned his 945th victory, moving ahead of Bill Fitch into sole possession of 10th place after the 76ers’ 109-89 rout of the New York Knicks.
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard is questionable to play Sunday against Dallas after receiving eight stitches in his mouth because of a laceration, according to the team. Leonard was accidentally elbowed by teammate Serge Ibaka in the fourth quarter of their game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
— Andrew Greif
Corey Kispert recorded career highs with 32 points and nine three-pointers, leading No. 1 Gonzaga (7-0) to a 9875 romp over 16th-ranked Virginia (4-2), the most recent NCAA champion, in Fort Worth. ... In Lexington, Ky., Carlik Jones made two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining for 20 points, and Louisville held off rival Kentucky 62-59. The Cardinals (6-1) won their second consecutive game while the Wildcats (1-6) dropped their sixth in a row.
In Edmonton, Canada, Dylan Cozens had a hat trick and three assists and defending champion Canada opened the world junior hockey championship with a 16-2 victory over short-handed Germany. ... Matthew Boldy had a hat trick to spark the United States’ 11-0 rout of Austria.