AP Sports SummaryBrief at 7:07 p.m. EST

Hamlin in their hearts, the NFL pays tribute to No. 3

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Players and fans across the NFL paid tribute to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Sunday, the first time most across the league resumed playing since his terrifying cardiac arrest during a game last week. Hamlin’s number “3” was on display everywhere across the league, outlined on 30-yard lines on fields, worn on special patches on the Bills uniforms and featured on jackets and sweatshirts and even on red hearts dangling from the tailgate tents outside the Bills home stadium.

Bills win for Hamlin and eliminate Patriots from playoffs

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — 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 No. 2 playoff seed with a 35-23 win over the New England Patriots. The loss, coupled with Miami beating the New York Jets, eliminated the Patriots from the playoffs for the second time in three years, and just the fourth time in 23 seasons during Bill Belichick’s coaching tenure. Buffalo will now host their division rival Dolphins in the wild-card round next weekend. With the game in hand, Bills players held up three fingers in honor of Hamlin’s number with the crowd chanting “Hamlin! Hamlin!” in honor of the safety who is recovering in a Cincinnati hospital after going into cardiac arrest on Monday.

Dolphins clinch playoff berth after beating Jets 11-6

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jason Sanders kicked a go-ahead 50-yard field goal with 18 seconds left and helped send the Miami Dolphins to their first playoff berth since 2016 after barely squeaking by the New York Jets 11-6. The Dolphins snapped a five-game losing streak and then had to wait a few minutes for Buffalo to defeat New England 35-23 to make their postseason appearance official. “We’re In” was displayed on the videoboard at Hard Rock Stadium. The Jets ended the season with six straight losses and finished a disappointing collapse for Robert Saleh’s squad. New York failed to score a touchdown in its final three games.

Bengals’ Mixon celebrates TD with coin flip

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Mixon and the Cincinnati Bengals are still flipping out over the NFL’s plan to determine home-field advantage in the playoffs. Mixon referenced the NFL’s decision to use a coin flip as a tiebreaker Sunday by celebrating a 1-yard touchdown run against the Baltimore Ravens by taking a coin out of his glove and flicking it. He and several teammates then kicked it on the ground. The league decided to add a coin flip to settle some potential playoff scenarios after Monday night’s game between the Bengals and Buffalo Bills was declared a no-contest after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field.

Bengals beat Ravens to avoid coin flip, set up home rematch

CINCINNATI (AP) — 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 and set up a rematch in the first round of the playoffs next week. The AFC North champion Bengals beat a Ravens team that rested some key players ahead of the postseason. Cincinnati finished the season with eight straight wins and avoided a coin flip to determine the site of its playoff game against Baltimore. But the Bengals’ chances at the No. 2 seed in the AFC ended when Buffalo beat New England. Third-string quarterback Anthony Brown started for the Ravens. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Bucs’ Brady breaks own record but suffers 1st losing season

ATLANTA (AP) — Tom Brady broke his own NFL mark for most completions in a season, quickly gaining the needed nine connections in Tampa Bay’s 30-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He played into the second quarter and then was taken out to avoid injury with the playoffs just a few days away. The loss dropped the NFC South champion Buccaneers to 8-9, the first time a team quarterbacked by Brady has finished a season below .500. Brady had a record 485 completions with the Buccaneers in 2021, and the 45-year-old began the day only nine away from a new mark.

Bears get No. 1 pick after Texans rally for win at Indy

CHICAGO (AP) — Thanks to an old friend, the Chicago Bears are on the clock for the NFL draft. Chicago will pick No. 1 for the first time since 1947 after it lost 29-13 to the Minnesota Vikings in its season finale. It was the 10th straight loss for the Bears, extending a franchise record. Even with all that misery, the Bears were headed for the No. 2 selection before Lovie Smith coached Houston to a wild 32-31 victory at Indianapolis. The 64-year-old Smith coached the Bears from 2004-12, going 81-63 and making the playoffs three times.

Shiffrin shows her emotions after matching Vonn’s record

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin has matched Lindsey Vonn’s women’s World Cup skiing record with her 82nd win. Shiffrin led from start to finish to win a giant slalom and can now break Vonn’s mark in a night slalom scheduled for Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday. Already with eight wins this season, Shiffrin is also quickly approaching Ingemar Stenmark’s overall record between men and women of 86 victories. Vonn retired four years ago when injuries ended her pursuit of Stenmark.

Different Dakota: SD State wins 1st FCS title over ND State

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Mark Gronowski threw for three touchdowns and ran 51 yards for another one as South Dakota State won its first national championship with a 45-21 win over North Dakota State. The Bison lost for the first time in their 10 FCS title game appearances. Nearly 20 months after losing in their only other Football Championship Subdivision title game, the 14-1 Jackrabbits are national champs in coach John Stiegelmeier’s 26th season at his alma mater. Amar Johnson rushed for 126 yards and Isaiah Davis had 119 while both scored TDs for South Dakota State. Cam Miller threw two TD passes and two interceptions for the 12-3 Bison.

Bills’ Hamlin selling shirts to benefit first responders

CINCINNATI (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is selling shirts to benefit first responders and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center amid his recovery from cardiac arrest. He tweeted about the shirts after the Bills beat the New England Patriots 35-23 Sunday in their first game since Hamlin’s health scare. His tweet included an image of three shirts, each with Hamlin’s hands forming a heart and “Did We Win?” in big print. Hamlin’s first question after he awoke Thursday was whether the Bills had beaten the Cincinnati Bengals in the game when he collapsed on the field. Fans have already contributed over $8.5 million to Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation as of Sunday evening.