The New Orleans Saints qualified for the National Football League playoffs for the first time in six years on Sunday despite a 16-10 loss to the Washington Redskins, reaching the post-season when their only remaining pursuer -- Carolina -- was eliminated from the division race by a loss to Pittsburgh.
Jason Campbell threw for 204 yards and a 31-yard touchdown to Santana Moss, and Shaun Suisham kicked two field goals of 37 yards and another of 22 to topple New Orleans at arm's length.
Chargers 20, Chiefs 9
At San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson turned a simple off-tackle play into an 85-yard touchdown run, lighting up Qualcomm Stadium.
Tomlinson finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to take over the NFL rushing lead from Kansas City's Larry Johnson. It was Tomlinson's eighth straight 100-yard game.
Ravens 27, Browns 17
In Baltimore, Kyle Boller threw two touchdown passes, including a 77-yard strike to Williams, to lead Baltimore into the playoffs after it blew a 14-point lead. Jamal Lewis ran 22 times for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Ravens (11-3), who are assured a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Bears 34, Buccaneers 31, OT
In Chicago, the Bears recovered after blowing a 24-3 second-half lead, getting big plays Rashied Davis and Adrian Peterson in overtime to set up Robbie Gould's 25-yard field goal and earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Bills 21, Dolphins 0
In Orchard Park, New York, J.P. Losman overcame wet and blustery conditions and threw three touchdown passes to keep Buffalo's slim playoff hopes alive.
Buffalo (7-7) has won five of its last seven, rallying from a 2-5 start to the season.
The Dolphins (6-8), coming off a 21-0 win over New England, were eliminated from postseason contention despite losing for only the second time in seven weeks.
Jets 26, Vikings 13
In Minneapolis, Chad Pennington threw for 339 yards and one touchdown in leading the Jets to their third straight road victory and keep their playoff hopes alive. Brad Johnson was benched for the third time this season and a late touchdown was insufficient to keep the Vikings from losing their sixth in eight.
Packers 17, Lions 9
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's career completions record, but Green Bay had to overcome three interceptions by the three-time MVP for the win.
It was only the second home victory all season for the Packers (6-8), who have won two in a row.
Titans 24, Jaguars 17
In Nashville, Tennessee, the Titans defense returned turnovers 83, 92 and 61 yards for TDs and Tennessee won its fifth straight. Adam "Pacman" Jones returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter for a 7-0 Tennessee lead. Then the Titans broke open a 10-10 game in the third quarter despite the Jaguars running 32 consecutive offensive plays.
Patriots 40, Texans 7
In Foxborough, Massachusetts, New England recovered from its worst loss of the season, intercepting David Carr four times and dominating Houston.
Steelers 37, Panthers 3
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Willie Parker rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score and ran for another. Parker's day included a 41-yard touchdown run.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite