🏈 Wild Card Weekend, Patriots New Coach, + More!

Good Morning, Blitzers!

Hope you all had a great weekend filled with NFL playoffs! Just a reminder, we’ve got the Vikings vs. Rams tonight. But we have a lot to recap, so let’s dive right into it!

WTF Stat: Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in an NFC wild-card game last night for the franchise’s first playoff win in 6,945 days.

We also had the first 32-12 score ever:

🏈 The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their 16th head coach. Vrabel, a former linebacker for the Patriots from 2001-2008, was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams. He previously served as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023, compiling a 54-45 regular-season record and a 2-3 playoff record. Vrabel takes over from Jerod Mayo, who was fired after a disappointing 4-13 season.

🏒 Eric Staal's No. 12 jersey was retired by the Carolina Hurricanes in a ceremony before their 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Staal, a key figure in the franchise, spent 12 of his 18 NHL seasons with the Hurricanes, scoring 455 goals and 608 assists over 1,365 games. He served as team captain from 2009 to 2016 and won MVP honors at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. Staal, who retired in July, is the fourth player to have his number retired by the team, joining Rod Brind'Amour, Ron Francis, and Glen Wesley.

NFL Wild Card Playoffs

→ Commanders win on ‘doink’ field goal - In what turned out to be the best game of the weekend, the Commanders came away with the win thanks to a last-second 37-yard field goal off the goal post from Zane Gonzalez. Someone forgot to tell rookie Jayden Daniels that this was a playoff game, because he looked cool, calm, and collected per usual. Playing in front of a hostile Tampa crowd, Daniels put up 268 yards passing, 2 TDs and added another 36 yards on the ground. Dyami Brown and Terry McLaurin both had strong games, each putting up 89 yards receiving and a TD.

→ Ravens run up, down, over, across and through the Steelers defense - A dominant performance from Ravens RB Derrick Henry and QB Lamar Jackson. The Ravens, on the day, compiled 299 yards on the ground on 50 carries. Meanwhile, the Steelers put up a total of 29 yards rushing on 11 carries. The Ravens went into halftime 21-0 and never looked back, winning 28-14. Derrick Henry may be charged with assault for this stiff arm:

→ Eagles bully Packers in win - This game was neither pretty nor that fun to watch, but the Eagles got it done. It was a pretty disappointing game for the Packers, who had four turnovers and a missed field goal. RB Saquon Barkley was his usual dominant self, and QB Jalen Hurts made just enough plays to help the Eagles win 22-10. This play really just sums up the bully-ball that the Eagles displayed all game:

→ Turns out the Bills are way better than the Broncos - The Broncos took an early 7-0 lead, and for a second, it looked like it could be an upset in the making. Then the Bills proceeded to put up 31 unanswered points and 471 yards of offense on their way to a 31-7 victory. The biggest difference was simply the Bills coming up clutch on third and fourth down (10/17), while the Broncos were the opposite (3/12).

→ Texans defense smother Chargers - This was a pretty ugly-looking game for QB Justin Herbert. He went 14/32, with 4 interceptions, 4 sacks, and a 13 QBR. CB Derek Stingley Jr., who continues to put himself in the conversation for best CB in the NFL, was a recipient of two of those interceptions. Offensively, WR Nico Collins was the go-to guy when they needed a big play (7 receptions, 122 yards, 1 TD), and RB Joe Mixon (25 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD) helped put the game away by racking up a ton of tough runs at the end of the game to milk the clock. Final score 32-12 Texans.

🏈 Tonight

Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams (in Arizona due to fire) @ 8 PM EST (ABC)

Top NBA Games

Celtics 120, Pelicans 119: Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 38 points and 11 rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 11 boards. The Pelicans were boosted by Zion Williamson's return from a one-game suspension, where he scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 28 minutes. Trey Murphy III also contributed 30 points for New Orleans.

Nuggets 112, Mavericks 101: The Nuggets overcame a 19-point deficit late in the third quarter and a 12-point deficit early in the fourth to defeat the Mavericks 112-101. Russell Westbrook had a strong all-around performance with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Nikola Jokic contributed 19 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Knicks 140, Bucks 106: Jalen Brunson scored 44 points to lead the Knicks to a 140-106 victory. Brunson, who also contributed 6 assists and 5 rebounds, had 23 points in the first quarter and briefly left the game in the third after appearing to get injured. However, he returned to help secure the win. Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who shot 58% from the field.

Full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Games

Ducks 3, Hurricanes 2: Cutter Gauthier scored twice, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to lift Anaheim over Carolina 3-2. Jansen Harkins also scored for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 35 saves to snap Anaheim's three-game losing streak.

Golden Knights 4, Wild 1: Pavel Dorofeyev scored two power-play goals and added an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-1 victory. The Golden Knights broke a 1-1 tie with three third-period goals, including a tiebreaker by Keegan Kolesar and a goal from Tomas Hertl, who also had an assist. Vegas moved into a tie for the NHL lead with Washington and Winnipeg, avoiding a three-game losing streak.

Senators 3, Stars 2: Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves in his Ottawa home debut, leading the Senators to a 3-2 victory, snapping Dallas' seven-game winning streak. Merilainen, coming off his first NHL shutout the previous night, was supported by goals from Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, and Matthew Highmore.

Full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1962, Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 73 points in Warriors' 135-117 win over Chicago Packers. At the time, it was the most points scored in NBA regulation game, and remains tied for 3rd-highest total.

Unlike his 100-point game (the conspiracy theorist in me wants to question its validity) there is actual footage of his 73-point game: