The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East Division title by crushing the Buffalo Bills 34-3 on Sunday, securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
New England (13-2) quarterback Tom Brady gave a clinical performance, completing 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, as the Patriots took their winning streak to seven games and claimed their seventh division title in eight years.
“It’s nice to be in the position we are in, we’re happy about it,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters. “Hopefully we can continue to improve ... we’ll be ready for Miami next week and whatever comes after that.”
PHOTO: AFP
It was another record-smashing day for Brady, who has now thrown 319 consecutive passes without an interception to break the old mark of 308 set by Bernie Kosar with the Cleveland Browns during the 1990-1991 season.
Brady has not thrown an interception since Oct. 17 and in that span has tossed 24 touchdowns.
Since a loss to Cleveland, the Patriots’ offense has been firing on all cylinders, scoring more than 30 points in each of their last seven games without a turnover.
“I didn’t realize he had broken [the record] to be honest,” Belichick said. “Tom does a great job managing the game and taking care of the ball. I think he deserves [the record]. He’s pretty careful with the ball.”
With their 15th consecutive victory over the Bills (4-11), the Patriots have placed a major hurdle in front of any AFC team dreaming of a trip to the Super Bowl — a win in Foxborough.
Gillette Stadium has been a virtual fortress, the Patriots having beaten every team there, with Brady posting an NFL record 27 consecutive home wins.
The contest was played in freezing temperatures and steady flurries so the Patriots turned to their ground game.
Rob Gronkowski, Brady’s favorite target, grabbed a pair of eight-yard touchdown catches, while Alge Crumpler also caught a touchdown pass.
The Bills opened the scoring on a Rian Lindell 26-yard field goal, but the Patriots hit back in punishing style by powering to a 24-3 halftime lead.
Woodhead scampered 29 yards for New England’s first score before Brady tossed second-quarter touchdowns to tight ends Gronkowski and Crumpler, while Shayne Graham chipped in with 34-yard field goal.
New England kept up the pressure in the second half, which saw Jarrad Page intercepting Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick with Brady quickly converting the turnover into another eight-yard strike to Gronkowski.
Graham added a 26-yard field goal to close out the scoring, while the Patriots’ swarming defense shut down the Bills, forcing seven turnovers on three interceptions and four fumbles.
RAMS 25, 49ERS 17
The San Francisco 49ers have fired coach Mike Singletary, the team announced in a statement on Sunday after a 25-17 loss to the St Louis Rams in St Louis meant they missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year.
Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula will take over the head coaching duties for San Francisco’s meaningless Week 17 season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
Singletary was brought in as the interim coach midway through the 2008 season and was offered the job on a full-time basis in December that year.
He went 8-8 in his first full season at the helm last year, before floundering to a 5-10 mark this season when the 49ers were expected by many to capture the NFC West Division.
Known for his straightforward and often confrontational approach with players, Singletary’s emotion sometimes boiled over.
He engaged in a heated exchange on the sidelines with quarterback Troy Smith on Sunday before benching him in what would be Singletary’s final game as coach.
“I don’t know about coaching etiquette,” Singletary told the team’s Web site following San Francisco’s defeat, but preceding the news he had been fired. “I’m sure there’s a right way and there’s a wrong way. The bottom line is you have to do what you think is right.”
RAVENS 20, BROWNS 10
In Cleveland, Ohio, Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes as the Ravens clinched their third straight playoff appearance.
Ed Reed intercepted rookie Colt McCoy twice as the Ravens (11-4) stayed in contention for the AFC North title. They remain tied with Pittsburgh for the division lead with one game left.
McCoy threw three interceptions and the Browns (5-10) did nothing to help embattled coach Eric Mangini, who fell to 10-21 in two seasons and will await a postseason review by president Mike Holmgren.
In other NFL action, it was:
‧ Chiefs 34, Titans 14
‧ Bears 38, Jets 34
‧ Redskins 20, Jaguars 17, OT
‧ Lions 34, Dolphins 27
‧ Buccaneers 38, Seahawks 15
‧ Bengals 34, Chargers 20
‧ Packers 45, Giants 17
‧ Colts 31, Raiders 26
‧ Broncos 24, Texans 23
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS