Bills win for Hamlin in regular-season finale, will host Dolphins in wild-card round | CBC Sports

Nyheim Hines ignited an emotionally charged atmosphere celebrating injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns, and Buffalo clinched the AFC’s second playoff seed with a 35-23 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

With the game in hand, Bills players held up three fingers in honour of Hamlin’s number with the crowd chanting “Hamlin! Hamlin!”

The Bills (13-3) closed their season by winning their final seven games and overcame an emotional week in which the team was left devastated in watching Hamlin collapse after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night.

What followed was progressive good news of Hamlin’s remarkable recovery in which he was not only able to breathe on his own, but also managed to address his teammates while saying “Love you boys” on Friday.

And leave it to receiver Stefon Diggs, who made a point to visit Hamlin in the University of Cincinnati Medical Center immediately following the game, to seal the victory with a 49-yard touchdown catch from Josh Allen to put Buffalo ahead 35-23 with 8:51 remaining.

On the ensuing kickoff, which went for a touchback, the Bills special teams players all raced into the end zone and motioned to the crowd. The fans, as one, stood up and let out a massive roar.

Allen finished 19 of 31 for 254 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

On a day the Bills celebrated No. 3, and with Hamlin watching and live-tweeting from his hospital bed in Cincinnati, two touchdowns by Hines proved key.

The crowd had barely settled into its seats following a pre-game ceremony honouring Hamlin when Hines returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a score.

His second put the Bills ahead for good, coming 13 seconds after Nick Folk hit a 24-yard field goal to put New England up 17-14 midway through the third quarter.

Acquired by Buffalo in a trade with Indianapolis two months ago, Hines became the NFL’s 11th player to return two kickoffs for scores in a game, and first since Seattle’s Leon Washington in 2010.

The Patriots needed only a win to clinch a playoff berth, but wound up stumbling in closing the season by losing five of their last seven.

Bengals beat Ravens to set up playoff clash

Joe Burrow threw for a touchdown and Joe Mixon ran for another as the Cincinnati Bengals took advantage of four Baltimore turnovers to beat the Ravens 27-16 on Sunday and set up a rematch in the first round of the playoffs next week.

The AFC North champion Bengals (12-4) — playing on the same field where Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in a horrifying scene six days ago — beat a Ravens team that rested some key players ahead of the postseason.

Cincinnati’s chances at the No. 2 seed in the AFC ended when Buffalo beat New England.

The Ravens (10-7) fought gamely behind rookie third-stringer Anthony Brown, who got the start after throwing just five passes all season. But rather than go all-out for the slim chance of getting a home playoff game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh ensured the Bengals will see a somewhat different team when sixth-seeded Baltimore returns to Paycor Stadium next weekend.

Baltimore was without its two top quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson hasn’t practiced since his knee injury in a Dec. 4 game against the Broncos, and it’s unclear whether he will be available for the playoffs. Backup Tyler Huntley has also been banged up and was inactive on Sunday. The Ravens also rested two of their biggest offensive weapons, Mark Andrews and J.K. Dobbins.

Dolphins punch ticket to playoffs with win over Jets

Jason Sanders kicked a go-ahead 50-yard field goal with 18 seconds left, helping the Miami Dolphins to their first playoff berth since 2016 after squeaking by the New York Jets 11-6 on Sunday.

Miami will play at Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs next weekend. The AFC East rivals split the season series with each winning at home.

Sanders’ kick came after the Dolphins were helped by a 15-yard horse-collar tackle penalty on Quincy Williams.

The Jets (7-10) ended the season with six straight losses, finishing a disappointing collapse for Robert Saleh’s squad. New York failed to score a touchdown in its final three games.

On the Jets’ last-ditch effort with time running out, they lateraled the ball a few times before Elijah Moore fumbled, the ball was recovered by Garrett Wilson and he was ruled to be tackled in the end zone for a safety.

Brady breaks own record as Bucs fall to Falcons

Rookie Desmond Ridder’s first two career touchdown passes powered the Atlanta Falcons to a 30-17 win over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday after Tom Brady added to his imposing list of records.

Brady broke his own NFL record for most completions in a season before leaving the game late in the first half. Brady left with the score tied 10-10 in the second quarter but had to watch the remainder of his first career loss to the Falcons from the sideline.

The Falcons haven’t been allowed to forget the epic Super Bowl collapse, but they can now claim to be responsible for Brady’s first losing final record in a regular season.

Brady and Tampa Bay’s other healthy regulars started even though the Buccaneers (8-9) clinched the NFC South title by beating Carolina 30-24 last week and were locked in as the NFC’s No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

Brady had winning records in 21 consecutive regular seasons with New England and Tampa Bay before this season.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles used backup Blaine Gabbert behind Brady before second-year quarterback Kyle Trask made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Tyler Allgeier rushed for 135 yards on 24 carries to end the fifth consecutive losing season for Atlanta (7-10). The Falcons finished with back-to-back wins under second-year coach Arthur Smith.

Brady already holds many NFL career passing records, including for yards, completions and touchdowns.

Brady completed 13 of 17 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown, giving him 490 completions for the season. Brady capped Tampa Bay’s opening drive with an eight-yard scoring pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph.

AFC title game will be at neutral site if Buffalo faces Kansas City

The AFC championship game will be played on a neutral site if Kansas City and Buffalo reach that point.

Buffalo’s 35-23 win over New England on Sunday coupled with Kansas City’s 31-13 victory at Las Vegas on Saturday means the No. 1 seed Kansas City (14-3) can’t host the conference title game against the Bills (13-3) because the teams played an unequal number of games.

The Bills were trailing the Bengals 7-3 in the first quarter when Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated after making a tackle. The league chose to cancel the game to avoid disrupting the start of the postseason and impacting the remainder of the playoff field.

The 24-year-old Hamlin is breathing fully on his own while also able to speak, though he was still listed in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. His neurological function was deemed excellent on Saturday.

If the Bills would’ve defeated the Bengals, they would have earned the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs because a 24-20 win in Kansas City in October gave Buffalo a tiebreaker edge. Instead, the Bills finished with the No. 2 seed and will host the Miami Dolphins (9-8) in a wild-card game next weekend.

The Bills lost a thrilling overtime game at Kansas City in the divisional round last year. Kansas City has hosted the last four AFC championship games, going 2-2. They would host it again if their opponent is not Buffalo.