🏈 Fresh Faces and Familiar Failures

Good Morning! We hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend filled with family, friends, and, most importantly, football. Some fans had it better than others, but we’re not going to name names. Super Wild Card Weekend didn’t exactly boast a bunch of barn-burners; however, it did sport some unforgettable weather, a pair of historic victories, and a trio of titanic collapses (again, we’re not going to name names). Six games, six winners, six losers, and eight teams left standing. Today, we’ll recap every matchup and then take a look at next week’s highly-anticipated Divisional Round. We also had another massive weekend of upsets in college basketball, a slew of winning streaks snapped in the NHL, and a cold-blooded buzzer-beater in the NBA. Plus, if you can believe it, there’s some important stuff going on outside of America. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: The NFC East is the first division in NFL history to have two 11-win teams lose their playoff opener by 15-plus points (Cowboys and Eagles).

🏈 Patriots hired Jerod Mayo as their head coach on Friday after parting ways with Bill Belichick - Mayo, a former linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, has served as New England’s linebacker coach since 2019 and is the youngest head coach in the NFL at age 37

🏈 Alabama hired former Washington HC Kalen DeBoer as their head coach on Friday following Nick Saban’s retirement - DeBoer, 49, went 25-3 in two years at Washington following the Huskies’ 4-8 campaign in 2021 under a previous coaching regime

🏈 Washington hired former Arizona HC Jedd Fisch as their head coach on Sunday following Kalen DeBoer’s exit to Alabama - Fisch took over an Arizona program riding a 12-game losing streak in 2021 and led the team to a 10-3 record in 2023

🏈 USC QB Caleb Williams, the projected first overall pick, officially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft on Monday - Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy Award and is considered by some as a generational prospect

🏈 Fresh Faces & Familiar Failures

NFL Playoffs - Super Wild Card Weekend

Monday

• NFC | #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) 32, #5 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) 9: After dropping five of their last six games to end the regular season, many believed an early playoff exit for the Eagles was inevitable. They were correct. With AJ Brown (knee) sidelined, Philadelphia looked out of sorts from the start, and Tampa Bay jumped out to a 16-3 lead in the 2nd quarter before Baker Mayfield (22/36, 337 YDS, 3 TDs) threw two touchdown passes in the second half to send home Jalen Hurts (25/35, 250 YDS, 1 TD) and the Birds with an emphatic L, ending Philly’s tailspin in a fiery crash - Trey Palmer put the game away in the 3rd quarter with a 56-yard touchdown, and Eagles HC Nick Sirianni may be on the hot seat despite leading his team to the Super Bowl last year

• AFC | #2 Buffalo Bills (11-6) 31, #7 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) 17: Mason Rudolph (22/39, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the TJ Watt-less Steelers hung around, but Josh Allen (21/30, 8 CAR, 277 Tot. YDS, 4 TDs) was simply too much as the Bills superstar had an electrifying 52-yard touchdown scamper and threw for three more, including a sensational game-sealing, catch-and-run to Khalil Shakir (3 REC, 31 YDS, 1 TD) in the 4th quarter to put away Pittsburgh in Buffalo, setting up a mouth-watering 2021 and 2022 playoff rematch against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs - the game was initially scheduled for Sunday but was postponed to Monday after Buffalo received more than two feet of snow, and Steelers HC Mike Tomlin left the postgame presser early after being asked about his future with the team

Sunday

• NFC | #3 Detroit Lions (12-5) 24, #6 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) 23: “Detroit, for the first time in 32 years, your Lions have won a playoff game!” In their first home playoff game since 1992, David Montgomery (14 CAR, 57 YDS, 1 TD) and Jahmyr Gibbs (8 CAR, 4 REC, 68 Tot. YDS, 1 TD) ran for 1st-quarter touchdowns to help give Detroit a 21-17 halftime lead, and although Matthew Stafford (25/36, 367 YDS, 2 TDs) and the Rams cut the lead to one with 8:10 remaining, Jared Goff (22/27, 277 YDS, 1 TD) and the Lions held on at Ford Field to end their record nine-game postseason losing streak - Goff, who had the entire stadium chanting his name pregame, completed a game-sealing pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown (7 REC, 110 YDS) with two minutes left, and Detroit booed Stafford as he took the field

• NFC | #7 Green Bay Packers (9-8) 48, #2 Dallas Cowboys (12-5) 32: Welp, it’s the same old Cowboys. In an all-time meltdown, Dallas looked spooked from the opening kickoff, as Aaron Jones (21 CAR, 118 YDS, 3 TDs) gashed them on the ground, Jordan Love (16/21, 272 YDS, 3 TDs) carved them apart through the air, and Darnell Savage intercepted Dak Prescott (41/60, 403 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) for a 64-yard, pick-six to give the Packers a 27-0 late in the 2nd quarter, as the Cowboys’ 16-game home winning streak came to an end with an epic implosion at the worst possible time - Green Bay’s offense scored touchdowns on six of their first seven drives, and Prescott threw two costly picks in the first half before two meaningless touchdowns in garbage time

Saturday

• AFC | #3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) 26, #6 Miami Dolphins (11-6) 7: In minus-4 degrees weather with a minus-27 wind chill, Saturday night at Arrowhead marked the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, but Patrick Mahomes (23/41, 262 YDS, 1 TD), Rashee Rice (8 REC, 130 YDS, 1 TD) and the Chiefs were able to brave the elements to oust Tua Tagovailoa (20/39, 199 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Dolphins, who were shutout in the second half and have now dropped 11 straight games in sub-40 degrees temperature - Miami has now lost in the Wild Card Round in their last five playoff appearances (2023, ‘22, ‘16, ‘08, ‘01) with their last postseason victory coming in 2001

• AFC | #4 Houston Texans (10-7) 45, #5 Cleveland Browns (11-6) 14: At 22 years old, CJ Stroud (16/21, 274 YDS, 3 TDs) became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game, as last year’s second overall pick tossed three touchdown passes in the first half, while 38-year-old Joe Flacco (34/46, 307 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs) tossed a pair of pick-sixes in the second half to help the Texans secure their first postseason victory since 2019 - it was the Browns worst postseason loss since 1968, and the Texans won three games last season

See the full box scores here.

Divisional Round Schedule

Saturday

• AFC | #4 Houston Texans (10-7) @ #1 Baltimore Ravens (13-4) 4:30pm ET, ESPN

• NFC | #7 Green Bay Packers (9-8) @ #1 San Francisco 49ers (12-5) 8:15pm ET, FOX

Sunday

• NFC | #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) @ #3 Detroit Lions (12-5) 3:00pm ET, NBC

• AFC | #3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) @ #2 Buffalo Bills (11-6) 6:30pm ET, CBS

See the full NFL playoff bracket here.

NBA - Top Games

• Milwaukee Bucks 143, Sacramento Kings 142 (OT): Dame Time! Damian Lillard (29 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST) produced the highlight of the weekend on Sunday as the Bucks star splashed a deep trifecta at the buzzer to give Milwaukee a thrilling overtime dub over De’Aaron Fox (32 PTS, 5 AST) and Sacramento - Kings HC Mike Brown was ejected in the 4th quarter and pulled out a laptop in an epic postgame rant

• Memphis Grizzlies 116, Golden State Warriors 107: Draymond Green (24 MIN, 7 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) received a rain of boos on Monday in his first game back from a 12-game suspension for striking Suns C Jusuf Nurkic on Dec. 12, but his return did not spark the struggling Warriors as Vince Williams (24 PTS, 7 REB) and GG Jackson (23 PTS, 6 REB) led Memphis past Stephen Curry (26 PTS, 8 AST) and company - Golden State is now 3-8 in their past 11 games and has the fourth-worst record in the West at 18-22

• Philadelphia 76ers 124, Houston Rockets 115: After missing the last three games with left knee inflammation, Joel Embiid (41 PTS, 12-21 FG, 10 REB) made his latest return from injury and put on a show Monday to lift the Sixers over Jalen Green (20 PTS, 5 REB) and the Rockets on Monday - Embiid has played just three games this month after previously missing four games in early January

• Dallas Mavericks 125, New Orleans Pelicans 120: With Luka Doncic (ankle sprain) sidelined for his third consecutive game, Kyrie Irving (42 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST) had his second 40-point outing since Thursday, and Tim Hardaway Jr. (41 PTS, 9-15 3PT) also filled it up as the Mavs edged out Zion Williamson (30 PTS, 6-11 FT, 3 AST) and the Cans in Dallas on Monday - New Orleans beat Dallas on Saturday, and both teams are 24-17

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | TCU 68, #2 Houston 67: Following their upset win over No. 9 Oklahoma on Wednesday, TCU earned their second straight top-10 victory on Saturday as Emanuel Miller’s (13 PTS, 5 AST) go-ahead layup with six seconds to play gave the Toads a massive W over Jwan Roberts (20 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST) and Houston, who has now dropped two consecutive games after a 14-0 start

• NCAAM | #3 Kansas 78, #9 Oklahoma 66: The Jayhawks rebounded from Wednesday’s loss to UFC by easily handling Javian McCollum (17 PTS, 4 REB) and the Sooners on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse behind big afternoons from Hunter Dickinson (24 PTS, 11-19 FG, 14 REB) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (21 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) - Kansas is now 14-2 while Oklahoma is 13-3

• NCAAM | Texas A&M 97, #6 Kentucky 92 (OT): Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard (13 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) knocked down a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining in regulation to force overtime, but Wade Taylor IV (31 PTS, 6-13 3PT, 6 REB, 5 AST) and the Aggies outscored the Wildcats 8-3 in the extra period to stun Big Blue on Saturday in College Station - Tyrece Radford (28 PTS, 9 REB) also came up big for the Aggies, who are now 10-6

• NCAAW | #9 USC 73, #2 UCLA 65: Freshman phenom JuJu Watkins (32 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST) led USC to a 34-19 lead at the break, and the Trojans didn’t look back to cruise past Charisma Osborne (25 PTS, 4 AST) and the Bruins for a top-10 win on Saturday

• NCAAW | #5 Colorado 71, #8 Stanford 59: In another top-10 Pac-12 matchup on Saturday, Quay Miller (13 PTS, 10 REB) and four other Buffaloes scored in double-figures to pull away from Kiki Iriafen (19 PTS, 17 REB) and the Cardinal, handing Stanford their second loss of the season while improving to 15-1

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the full women’s scoreboard here.

NHL - Top Games

• Minnesota Wild 5, New York Islanders 0: Marc-Andre Fleury (21 SV) moved past the great Patrick Roy for sole possession of second place on the all-time goaltender win list, as the 39-year-old posted his 552nd NHL victory with his 74th career shutout on Monday to lead Joel Eriksson (2 G) and the Wild past the Islanders in Minnesota

• Anaheim Ducks 5, Florida Panthers 4 (OT): After seeing their nine-game win streaking come to an end with a 4-1 loss to the Devils on Friday, the Cats lost their second game in a row on Monday as Erik Haula (1 G) put New Jersey up 3-0, which was more than enough breathing room for Nico Daws (36 SV) to secure a W in Florida

• Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Seattle Kraken 0: The Kraken also saw their nine-game heater doused as Sidney Crosby (2 G) buried a pair, and Tristan Jarry (22 SV) earned the shutout to top Seattle in Pittsburgh on Monday

• Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (SO): The Blue Jacket’s Dmitri Voronkov (2 G) extra hockey with a game-tying goal in the 3rd period and after a scoreless overtime, Kirill Marchenko notched the only goal in a shootout to end Vancouver’s winning streak at five games on Monday - the Canucks (29-11-4) still hold the league’s best record and have an NHL-high 62 points

• Edmonton Oilers 2, Montreal Canadiens 1 (OT): The Oilers now have the league’s longest active winning streak as Leon Draisaitl (1 G) tied the game in the 3rd period, and Evan Bouchard (1 G) won it with a power-play bingo in overtime, giving Edmonton their 10th consecutive win on Saturday

See the full NHL box scores here and the current standings here.

International Soccer - Top Matches

• Spanish Supercopa Final | Real Madrid 4, Barcelona 1: 23-year-old Vinicius Junior (7’, 10’, 39’ Pen) tallied a hat trick in the first half, and Rodrygo (64’) put on the finishing touches as Real Madrid demolished Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the Spanish Supercopa, avenging last year’s Final loss to their bitter rivals - it’s Real Madrid’s third title since the tournament expanded to four teams in 2019-20

• English Premier League | Tottenham Hotspur 2, Manchester United 2: Rasmus Hojlund (3’) and Marcus Rashford (40’) each gave United one-goal leads, but Richarlison (19’) and Rodrigo Bentancur (46’) both delivered equalizers for Tottenham, forcing the Red Devils to settle for a disappointing draw at Old Trafford on Saturday - Tottenham (12-4-5) sits fifth in the table while Manchester United (10-2-9) sits in the seventh position

See the full int. soccer scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

ATP Australian Open - Round 1, Top Matches

• Men’s | #1 Novak Djokovic def. Dino Prizmic (6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4)

• Men’s | #3 Daniil Medvedev def. Terence Atmane (5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0, Retired)

• Men’s | #4 Jannik Sinner def. Botic Van De Zandschulp (6-4, 7-5, 6-3)

• Women’s | #1 Iga Swiatek def. Sofia Kenin (7-6, 6-2)

• Women’s | #2 Aryna Sabalenka def. Ella Seidel (6-0, 6-1)

• Women’s | #4 Coco Gauff def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (6-3, 6-0)

See the full Australian Open results here.

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On Saturday, CJ Stroud became the youngest starting quarterback to win a playoff game in NFL history, doing so at 22 years and 102 days old. Who held the record before him?

A. Ben Roethlisberger

B. Michael Vick

C. Mark Sanchez

D. Rich Gannon

On January 16, 2019, Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to make eight or three-pointers in three consecutive games. Curry dropped 41 points and went 9-for-17 from beyond the arc in a 147-140 Warriors win over the Pelicans to reach the mark. The two teams also combined for an NBA record 43 three-pointers, breaking the mark of 41 that Golden State and the Sacramento Kings set just 11 days prior. Throughout his historic three-game stretch, Steph made 28 total threes in 48-, 31-, and 41-point performances. He finished the year averaging 27.3 points, shooting 43.7% from downtown. However, the two-time defending champion Warriors failed to three-peat after falling to Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in the Finals. In the 2022 Finals, Curry had his all-time streak of 233 straight games with a made three-pointer end in a Game 5 win over the Celtics - he owns the two longest streaks of consecutive games with a made three at 233 (2018-22) and 196 (2014-16)!

NBA

• Denver Nuggets @ Philadelphia 76ers 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Sacramento Kings @ Phoenix Suns 9:00pm ET, Local

• Oklahoma City Thunder @ Los Angeles Clippers 10:00pm ET, TNT

NHL

• Seattle Kraken @ New York Rangers 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Los Angeles Kings @ Dallas Stars 8:00pm ET, Hulu / ESPN+

• Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers 9:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: Florida @ #6 Tennessee 5:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: #2 Purdue @ Indiana 7:00pm ET, Peacock

• NCAAM: #3 Kansas @ Oklahoma State 9:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: Kansas @ #11 Texas 8:00pm ET, Longhorn Network

• NCAAW: Wisconsin @ #2 Iowa 9:00pm ET, Peacock

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

ATP Australian Open

• Men’s & Women’s Singles Round 2 7:00pm-2:00am ET, ESPN2

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Trivia Time Answer

B. Michael Vick. At 22 years and 102 days old, CJ Stroud passed Michael Vick as the youngest starting quarterback to win an NFL playoff game. Vick held the record since 2002, after leading the Falcons to a 27-7 win over the Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round when he was 22 years and 192 days old,

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The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. See ya tomorrow, and thanks for reading!