1/27/25 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday
27 January 2025 Sports
From Wayne Mausser
Patrick Mahomes’ threw for 245 yards passing and a touchdown, rushed for two more scores and some key stops by the Kansas City defense preserved a 32-29 victory over the Bills in the AFC championship game and sent the Chiefs to their third straight Super Bowl. Kansas City will face Philadelphia with a chance to do what no other team has done….win three straight Super Bowls. The Chiefs beat the Eagles two years ago in the championship game.
It’s the fourth time since January 2021 that the Chiefs have ended the Bills’ season in the playoffs. And like all the rest, it came after a heavyweight fight between two of the top teams in the AFC, one that was tied 29-all after Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen found Curtis Samuel in the back of the end zone to set up a little more drama in the conference championship game.
Mahomes was simply unflappable, though. He completed four consecutive passes on the ensuing possession, setting up Harrison Butker’s go-ahead field goal with 3:33 left, and put the Bills in another do-or-die situation in Kansas City.
Allen got their drive going by running for a first down, but his next two throws were batted at the line of scrimmage. He hit Amari Cooper for a short gain on third down, and the Bills chose to go for it — they were 4 of 5 on fourth downs at that point — and the Kansas City blitz forced Allen to loft up a prayer that Dalton Kincaid was unable to corral deep downfield.
The Chiefs took over, picked up a couple of first downs and began to celebrate once again.
Kareem Hunt had a touchdown run and Xavier Worthy had six catches for 85 yards and a score for Kansas City, which became just the fourth franchise to reach at least three consecutive Super Bowls with its ninth consecutive playoff victory.
Josh Allen threw for 237 yards and two scores for Buffalo, while James Cook ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Yet the Bills still have not been to the Super Bowl since a run of four straight during the 1990-93 seasons.
The Bills and Chiefs have become well acquainted over the years, meeting eight times now since Kansas City beat Buffalo under the exact same circumstances — the AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium — to reach the Super Bowl in January 2021.
Buffalo has won all four games in the regular season. Kansas City has won the four that mattered in the postseason. The Bills still have not been to the Super Bowl since a run of four straight during the 1990-93 seasons.
The Chiefs are headed to the Big Easy to face the Eagles in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. In the first game, they rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit with Harrison Butker hitting a 27-yard field goal for the 38-35 win.
Saquon Barkley dashed 60 yards for a touchdown on Philadelphia’s first play and finished with 118 yards and three scores, Jalen Hurts rushed for three TDs and the Eagles soared into the Super Bowl with a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Including the playoffs, Barkley extended an NFL record Sunday with his seventh rushing touchdown of 60-plus yards in a season.
Hurts and the Eagles are in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons, and this time Barkley is along for the ride. They will play former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
The 55 points are the most any team has scored in a conference championship game since the 1970 merger.
Hurts, wearing a brace on his left knee, also threw for 246 yards and a touchdown pass and the Eagles had a towel-waving crowd in a frenzy for the NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.
A.J. Brown caught six passes for 96 yards and a touchdown — and faked tossing the NFC championship trophy off a platform — and an Eagles team at just 2-2 headed into the bye week scored a season high in points to usher the franchise into their fifth Super Bowl.
The Commanders played a role in getting the NFC title game to Philly with two straight road wins — including last week’s stunner at No. 1 seed Detroit that set the stage for the second-seeded Eagles to host.
Jayden Daniels threw for 255 yards with one touchdown, one interception and fell short in his bid to become the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl. The Commanders were doomed by four turnovers, including a lost fumble by Austin Ekeler in the third quarter and the Commanders down 34-23.
The Eagles won their only Super Bowl in the 2017 season and Nick Foles, the QB in that game against New England, was the honorary captain.
The Eagles head to New Orleans for a Feb. 9 matchup against the two-time defending champion Chiefs. Barkley turns 28 that day. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 two years ago in Super Bowl 57.
John Tonje scored 27 points and No. 18 Wisconsin never trailed while routing Nebraska 83-55 on Sunday to hand the Cornhuskers their sixth consecutive loss.
Wisconsin (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten) bounced back from an 85-83 loss at UCLA that snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Wisconsin grabbed a 19-2 lead less than five minutes into the game by shooting 7 of 8 from the floor and 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. Nebraska responded with a 19-5 spurt that included Wisconsin going scoreless for over six minutes, but the Badgers answered with a 16-2 run and never looked back.
John Blackwell scored 14 points and Kamari McGee added 11 for Wisconsin.
Brice Williams had 11 points to lead Nebraska (12-8, 2-7). Wisconsin transfer Connor Essegian scored eight points while facing his former team for the first time.
The Badgers are in the midst of an eight-game stretch in which they play at home only twice, so they need to make the most of these rare Kohl Center appearances. They did just that Sunday.
Wisconsin shot 17 of 37 from 3-point range to match its third-highest, single-game total for 3-pointers in school history.
Wisconsin visits Maryland on Wednesday.
Stevie Mitchell matched a career high with 21 points and No. 10 Marquette continued its recent domination of Villanova by beating the Wildcats 87-74 on Friday night.
Chase Ross added 18 points and Kam Jones had 16 to help Marquette (17-3, 8-1 Big East) beat Villanova for an eighth consecutive time and tie No. 20 St. John’s (17-3, 8-1) for first place in the Big East.
The Golden Eagles haven’t lost to Villanova since Shaka Smart took over as Marquette’s coach in 2021.
Jordan Longino had a career-high 27 points to go along with seven assists for Villanova (12-9, 5-5). Eric Dixon, who entered the night with a Division I-leading 24.9 points per game, scored 15 of his 18 points after halftime.
Marquette committed just six turnovers and had a 16-2 edge in points off turnovers.
Marquette is at Butler on Tuesday night.
Ripon College beat Grinnell College 102-85 Saturday. Cade Tackmier scored 23 points to lead the Red Hawks while and Luke Meinholz added 22 as four players scored in double figures for Ripon. Kai Te Huki scored 35 points for Grinnell to lead all scorers. The Red Hawk improve to 8-19 oveall and 5-4 in the Midwest Conference while Grinnell drops to13-5 and 6-3 in conference play.
UW-Oshkosh beat UW-River Falls 81 to 68 Saturday. Carter Thomas had 22 points and Joey LaChappell had 22 as four Titans scored in double figures. Zach Johnson had 26 for River Falls to lead all scorers. Oshkosh improves to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the WIAC while River Falls drops to 7-11 overall and 1-6 in the conference.
In women’s college hoops Saturday Ripon College beat Grinnell College 50 to 47. Laney Halovitz led the Red Hawks with 14 points and Ella Ten Pas added 10. Bailey Strovers scored 14 to lead Grinnell. Ripon improves to 14-4 overall and 8-1 in the Midwest Conference while Grinnell fell to 11-7 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
The UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball team had its 17 game winning streak snapped at UW-River Falls Saturday, 64-59. Sammi Beyer led the Titans with 14 points while Kayce Vaile had 12 and Avery Poole added 11. Oliva Hoerl led River Falls with 17 and Zoey Buchan scored 17. Oshkosh drops to 17-1 on the season and 6-1 in the WIAC while River Fall improves to 11-7 and 3-4 in the conference.
In the NBA Saturday night the Milwaukee Bucks lost on the road to the Clippers 127 to 117. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and Damian Lillard had a triple-double with 29 points, 10 points and 10 assists but it wasn’t enough. Milwaukee remains in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-13 record while the Clippers improved to 28-19, good for sixth in the Western Conference.
Milwaukee plays at Utah on Monday night,
The Wisconsin Herd, NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, beat the Windy City Bulls 91-81. Henry Ellenson steered the Herd to victory with a double-double of 32 points and 14 rebounds while Stephen Thompson Jr. followed with 21 points off the bench. James Akinjo added a double-double of 17 points and 13 assists. Ibou Badji set a Herd franchise record for most blocks in a game with 10 blocks tonight alongside 10 rebounds.
The Windy City Bulls’ top scorers were Adama Sanogo, with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Jordan Hall, with 17 points
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Wisconsin will take on the Delaware Blue Coats this Wednesday at home with the tip set for 6:00 P.M. CST
On Friday night the Herd lost to the Capital City Go-Go 144-98.
In boys basketball tonight Oshkosh West is at Ripon. The tipoff is at 7:15 and the game can be heard on The Wave.
Wegauwega-Fremont at Berlin
Kewaskum at Ozaukee
Shiocton at Winneconne
Laconia at Randolph
Wautoma at Princeton-Green Lake
(Girls)
Washington Home School at Campbellsport
Oakfield at Mayville
Lourdes Academy at Saint Mary’s Springs
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