Category Sports News

The San Francisco 49ers came from behind twice in the final quarter to knock out defending champions Philadelphia as a thrilling NFL play-off series continued on Sunday.

The Eagles were the NFC’s third seed so had home-field advantage for Wildcard Weekend but fell at the first hurdle as the sixth seed 49ers produced a 23-19 upset.

The AFC’s sixth seed also won on the road, with the Buffalo Bills claiming a late 27-24 win at third seed Jacksonville.

That kept alive Josh Allen’s hopes of reaching his first Super Bowl, with the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player having put the Bills back in front with one minute four seconds remaining.

The New England Patriots then beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 to claim their first play-off victory since the team’s sixth Super Bowl win in 2019.

That ended a nail-biting start to this season’s play-offs, with the first four games having all featured game-winning touchdowns inside the final three minutes – with the winning margin no more than four points.

San Francisco’s trip to Pennsylvania meant a repeat of the AFC Championship game in 2023, when the Eagles denied 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy a Super Bowl appearance in his rookie season.

The 49ers set up the chance to avenge that defeat after reaching this season’s play-offs despite a host of injuries, but they lost star tight end George Kittle to a torn Achilles during the game as Purdy and his offence again struggled for most of the contest.

The Eagles also found the windy conditions challenging but two touchdowns by tight end Dallas Goedert helped them lead 16-10 heading into the final quarter.

San Francisco’s head coach Kyle Shanahan then dialled up a trick play in a bid to get his offence going and receiver Jauan Jennings made a 29-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey.

Jennings’ only other career pass came in the 2024 Super Bowl and also led to a McCaffrey touchdown as the 49ers were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Purdy’s second interception gave Philly the chance to edge in front with a field goal with eight minutes left but the 26-year-old bounced back to lead a game-winning drive, culminating with his second touchdown pass as McCaffrey claimed his second score with 2:54 left.

Although Philly did not concede any turnovers and had possession for 11 minutes more than San Francisco, the 49ers held on to earn a trip to divisional rivals Seattle in next week’s Divisional Round.

New England ended Buffalo’s recent dominance of the AFC East to win the division for the first time since Tom Brady left the team in 2020.

Current Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is one of the favourites to be this season’s MVP and after New England led the Chargers 9-3 going into the final quarter, he found tight end Hunter Henry for the game’s only touchdown.

Buffalo were the pre-season Super Bowl favourites but New England’s division title meant the Bills had to hit the road in the play-offs, while Jacksonville won the AFC South after ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak.

They played out a tight affair in Florida, with Buffalo leading 10-7 at half-time, then 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The game then turned into a quarterback shooutout, with the Jaguars’ former number one draft pick Trevor Lawrence making touchdown passes to Parker Washington and Travis Etienne, either side of a Josh Allen strike to Dalton Kincaid.

Allen then barged over for his second rushing touchdown, which proved decisive as on the first play of what could have been a game-winning drive for Jacksonville, a Lawrence pass was tipped into the arms of Buffalo safety Cole Bishop.

That clinched victory for the Bills, who are aiming to reach their first Super Bowl since 1994, and this could be the best chance yet for 29-year-old Allen to reach the NFL’s championship game.

Kansas City knocked Buffalo out of the post-season in four of the past five years but the Chiefs have failed to reach this season’s play-offs.

Conference seed in brackets

Saturday, 17 January

San Francisco 49ers (6) @ Seattle Seahawks (1)

Buffalo Bills (6) @ Denver Broncos (1)

Sunday, 18 January

Los Angeles Rams (5) @ Chicago Bears (2)

The San Francisco 49ers came from behind twice in the final quarter to knock out defending champions Philadelphia as a thrilling NFL play-off series continued on Sunday.

The Eagles were the NFC’s third seed so had home-field advantage for Wildcard Weekend but fell at the first hurdle as the sixth seed 49ers produced a 23-19 upset.

The AFC’s sixth seed also won on the road, with the Buffalo Bills claiming a late 27-24 win at third seed Jacksonville.

That kept alive Josh Allen’s hopes of reaching his first Super Bowl, with the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player having put the Bills back in front with one minute four seconds remaining.

The New England Patriots then beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 to claim their first play-off victory since the team’s sixth Super Bowl win in 2019.

That ended a nail-biting start to this season’s play-offs, with the first four games having all featured game-winning touchdowns inside the final three minutes – with the winning margin no more than four points.

San Francisco’s trip to Pennsylvania meant a repeat of the NFC Championship game in 2023, when the Eagles denied 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy a Super Bowl appearance in his rookie season.

The 49ers set up the chance to avenge that defeat by reaching this season’s play-offs despite a host of injuries, but they lost star tight end George Kittle to a torn Achilles tendon during the game as Purdy and his offence again struggled for most of the contest.

The Eagles also found the windy conditions challenging but two touchdowns by tight end Dallas Goedert helped them lead 16-10 heading into the final quarter.

San Francisco’s head coach Kyle Shanahan then dialled up a trick play in a bid to get his offence going and receiver Jauan Jennings made a 29-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey.

Jennings’ only other career pass came in the 2024 Super Bowl and also led to a McCaffrey touchdown as the 49ers were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Purdy’s second interception gave Philly the chance to edge in front with a field goal with eight minutes left but the 26-year-old bounced back to lead a game-winning drive, culminating with his second touchdown pass as McCaffrey claimed his second score with 2:54 left.

Although Philly did not concede any turnovers and had possession for 11 minutes more than San Francisco, the 49ers held on to earn a trip to divisional rivals Seattle in next week’s Divisional Round.

New England ended Buffalo’s recent dominance of the AFC East to win the division for the first time since Tom Brady left the team in 2020.

Their current quarterback Drake Maye is one of the favourites to be this season’s MVP and after the Patriots led the Chargers 9-3 going into the final quarter, he found tight end Hunter Henry for the game’s only touchdown.

Buffalo were the pre-season Super Bowl favourites but got into the play-offs in a wildcard spot so had to visit Jacksonville, who won the AFC South after ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak.

They played out a tight affair in Florida, with Buffalo leading 10-7 at half-time, then 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The game then turned into a quarterback shooutout, with the Jaguars’ former number one draft pick Trevor Lawrence making touchdown passes to Parker Washington and Travis Etienne, either side of a Josh Allen strike to Dalton Kincaid.

Allen then barged over for his second rushing touchdown, which proved decisive as on the first play of what could have been a game-winning drive for Jacksonville, a Lawrence pass was tipped into the arms of Buffalo safety Cole Bishop.

That clinched Allen’s first play-off win on the road and his eighth overall – the most by a quarterback who has not reached a Super Bowl – and this could be the 29-year-old’s best chance yet to reach the NFL’s championship game.

Buffalo have not reached the Super Bowl since 1994 and in four of the past five years they were knocked out of the play-offs by Kansas City, who have failed to reach the post-season for the first time in 11 years.

Conference seed in brackets

Saturday, 17 January

San Francisco 49ers (6) @ Seattle Seahawks (1)

Buffalo Bills (6) @ Denver Broncos (1)

Sunday, 18 January

Los Angeles Rams (5) @ Chicago Bears (2)

Manager Danny Rohl enthused about many aspects of Rangers’ controlled 2-0 victory away to Aberdeen, including his side’s “clean sheet mentality”.

A fifth successive victory keeps Rangers three points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.

Since Rohl took over in October, his side have shipped just eight goals in 14 league games, winning 11 of those, while keeping the opposition out on eight occasions.

Rangers kept one just one blank in Russell Martin’s seven Premiership games, a soporific Old Firm derby stalemate.

“We defended until the end and we got a clean sheet,” Rohl told RangersTV.

“This is the basis and if we do this again and again we will be in a fantastic way. Keep on the front foot, stay hungry, stay ambitious, and be humble in the right moments.”

In the wind and rain at Pittodrie, Aberdeen were limited to five efforts on target, with Jack Butland’s only save of note thwarting Leighton Clarkson in the first half.

“Big, big pride in my group, to come to a really tough place,” said Rohl in his post-match media conference. “We showed again different faces, which is what we need.

“We played good men’s football, we were ready in the duels, second balls.

“We understood when to play in behind, then we understand also to keep the ball in the right areas.

“The result was enjoyable, of course, it’s great to see.

“We were really focused until the end and it is outstanding what we have done, five wins in a row.”

Rangers solidity is all the more impressive when you consider first choice centre-backs John Souttar and Derek Cornelius have been missing.

The Canada international has been out since early November, while Souttar was absent for six matches.

However, it is no surprise that the Scotland defender’s return coincides with the current five-game winning run.

Souttar made a great early block from Nicolas Milanovic at Pittodrie and was constantly marshalling the backline, keeping the occasionally errant Emmanuel Fernandez close and focused.

Fernandez may be prone to the odd lapse but the 24-year-old, who was playing in England’s League One last season, is an imposing figure.

He has four goals from his run of 11 successive starts and was denied another by a debatable VAR review in Aberdeen.

Injury denied Connor Barron a return to his former club and the tenacious midfielder is facing up to three months out after an impressive run of form.

Rangers made light of his absence as Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande dovetailed to do the dirty work and Thelo Aasgaard knocked in his third goal in five outings to get the ball rolling.

“Danny Rohl is squeezing every ounce out this squad,” remarked Motherwell’s former Ibrox player Andy Halliday on Sportscene.

“They weren’t spectacular but they looked so, so comfortable.”

A few hours before kick-off, Tochi Chukwuani was announced as the club’s first January recruit and he is expected to add muscle and pace in the middle of the park.

“Tochi will bring a good physical side,” Rohl explained. “Big experience also in Europe.

“But it is also very important to understand, we have also a group today on the pitch. They worked really hard.

“They also deserve big, big credit. And this is exactly what we need. We need the challenge in some positions.

“But we have also to understand our development in the last 10-12 weeks. It is outstanding from some players.

“And again, look to Thelo. He scored again and he is the next one who goes in the right direction.”

Reigning champion Shaun Murphy and current UK title holder Mark Selby were both eliminated on a thrilling opening day of the Masters at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Murphy lost 6-2 to China’s Wu Yize in the first round, before Selby, who won the UK Championship last month, was defeated by the same score against another Chinese debutant, Xiao Guodong.

Murphy lost the opening three frames and, despite taking frame four, then lost the fifth on a black-ball finish.

Wu, 22, is ranked 13th in the world and picked up his first ranking title in November when he won the International Championship in Yanjing in his home country, beating world champions Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong and John Higgins along the way.

On his Alexandra Palace debut, Wu made a superb clearance of 137 in frame two and a break of 56 in frame seven.

“I felt a bit of pressure when I entered the stadium because it was the first time I’ve played in such a big stadium and the fans were so enthusiastic,” said Wu.

“After the first frame, I felt a bit more relaxed and I totally enjoyed the atmosphere. It’s definitely a great achievement for myself – my first time playing at the Masters and the first time beating Shaun Murphy.”

For 43-year-old Murphy, who reached the semi-final of the UK Championship last month, it was a disappointing afternoon with him failing to register a single break of 50.

“I’ve been looking forward to today for a year, walking out as champion, but I enjoyed the first 10 minutes,” said Murphy, who beat Kyren Wilson to win the Triple Crown event for a second time a year ago.

“I’m very disappointed. None of it was there. I felt everything I touched was not there. I’ve been working very hard, practising hard, playing a lot of snooker, so I didn’t expect to play like that and I’m as shocked as anyone.

“I didn’t play well, certainly the worst performance of my season, maybe the worst in the Masters.

Wu will now face a quarter-final on Thursday against compatriot Xiao, who played superbly to defeat three-time champion Selby in the evening session.

Xiao, 36, made breaks of 95, 62, 76 and 77 as he won the opening four frames, with Selby’s highest break at that stage only being 21.

But the four-time world champion threatened a superb comeback as he made breaks of 101 and 76 to bring it back to 4-2.

Xiao had not potted a ball in 46 minutes but then made an excellent break of 118 to move one frame away from victory, which he clinched by edging a scrappy eighth frame.

“The venue is good, the people watching are good and everything is perfect – this was my first time playing in the Masters,” said Xiao.

“We both played good and I won the first four frames and gave Mark a bit of pressure but then he came back so it was a good game.

“Nobody thought I could win. I just told myself ‘enjoy, be more relaxed and not think about winning or losing’. A lot of people were supporting me and that gives me confidence.”

Selby, 42, had no complaints about the result and said: “In the first four frames I didn’t have many chances. Every time Xiao came to the table, I made it easy for him.

“I did well to make it 4-2 and felt I had some momentum, then I missed and Xiao punished my mistakes.