GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers apparently will have to make their entire postseason run without two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that Alexander is undergoing surgery to repair the knee injury that has kept the 2018 first-round pick from playing for most of the past two months. Alexander’s absence creates a major hurdle for the Packers in their bid to make a Super Bowl run as a wild card.
This weekend’s NFC North matchup between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings will make for a playoff situation like never before in the NFL. Both teams are 14-2 and the winner will get the division title while the loser will drop to the fifth seed in the playoffs and become the first 14-2 wild-card team in NFL history. The previous high came in 1999 when Tennessee went 13-3 and lost the AFC Central to Jacksonville. The NFC North is set to be the winningest division since the NFL realigned to eight divisions of four teams each in 2002, with 43 wins for the four division teams with two head-to-head games remaining.
ATLANTA (AP) — Texas avoided the first big upset of the College Football Playoff, hitting a fourth-and-long touchdown pass to keep the game going and beating Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime when an interception by Andrew Mukuba finally ended a Peach Bowl quarterfinal classic. The teams traded touchdowns on their first overtime possessions, and Quinn Ewers put Texas ahead with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Matthew Golden. The fourth-ranked Longhorns finally put No. 10 Arizona State away when Mukuba picked off Sam Leavitt’s pass at the 3 to end the game. The Sun Devils were two-touchdown underdogs. Texas moves on to face Ohio State in the semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — No. 6 Ohio State roared into the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 41-21 victory over No. 1 Oregon in the 111th Rose Bowl. Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three long touchdown passes while Ohio State went ahead 34-0 in a sensational first half. Howard passed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long TD pass and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes, who emphatically blew out the CFP’s No. 1 seed. Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth in the national title game.
Brooklyn will try to break its three-game skid when the Nets play Milwaukee. The teams match up Thursday for the first time this season. Milwaukee is 15-13 against the Eastern Conference, and Brooklyn is 6-17 against conference opponents. Pregame at 6:30pm. Tipoff at 7pm on AM1240, 96.5FM.