MONDAY SPORTS: PACKERS, LIONS MOVING ON
NFL
PACKERS 48 COWBOYS 32
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Jones ran for three touchdowns, Jordan Love threw for three more in his postseason debut, Darnell Savage returned an interception 64 yards for a score and the Green Bay Packers handed the Dallas Cowboys their first home loss since the 2022 opener in a 48-32 wild-card stunner Sunday.
“This was my dad’s team,” Jones, who shared a moment with Cowboys star Emmet Smith before the game and now has 488 yards in four career games against the Cowboys, said of his late father. “You always want to be like your father, so that’s how it became my team. Dallas is a special place to me, so it’s a full-circle moment. It feels like home.”
Even against a team that had won 16 consecutive home games.
Green Bay (10-8) will visit top-seeded San Francisco in the divisional round next weekend.
Dak Prescott threw two interceptions before three mostly empty touchdown passes in another playoff flop for him and the No. 2 seed Cowboys (12-6).
The first home loss for the Cowboys since now-retired Tom Brady and Tampa Bay beat them 16 months ago was also the most points the franchise has allowed in a postseason game. The previous high was 38.
The Cowboys, who haven’t reached an NFC championship game since the most recent of their five Super Bowl titles 28 years ago, didn’t trail by more than eight points at AT&T Stadium this season before falling behind 27-0 in the first half.
The loss will raise questions about the future of Dallas coach Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys lost their playoff opener at home for the second time in three postseasons under the former Green Bay coach.
Dallas is the first team to win at least 12 games in three consecutive playoff seasons without making a conference title game.
The Cowboys surged to the NFC East title in the final two weeks and had a chance to be home at least twice this postseason. Instead, they head into a suddenly uncertain offseason.
“Just shocked, honestly,” Prescott said. “From the beginning of the game, we got beat. There’s no which way around it. There’s no way to sugar coat it. Shock.”
LIONS 24 RAMS 23
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw for a touchdown and completed a pass for a victory-sealing first down against the team that cast him away, and the Detroit Lions won a playoff game for the first time in 32 years, beating Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 on Sunday night.
The Lions (13-5) ended a nine-game postseason losing streak — the longest in NFL history — that dated to a victory over Dallas on Jan. 5, 1992. They lost a home playoff game two years later and hadn’t hosted one since.
“It means a whole lot to this city,” Goff said. “We knew what it meant when this season started to get into the playoffs and then to get this win. And, you know, it’s just the beginning for us. We’ve got some run left.”
Detroit, the NFC’s No. 3 seed, will have two home playoff games for the first time in franchise history, hosting either Tampa Bay or Philadelphia in the divisional round next Sunday. Second-seeded Dallas was routed by Green Bay.
WHL
BLADES 6 PATS 1
SASKATOON, Sask. — Tanner Molendyk had a goal and two assists as the Saskatoon Blades knocked off the visiting Regina Pats 6-1.
Egor Sidorov, Easton Armstrong, Brandon Lisowsky, Misha Volotovskii and Rhett Melnyk also scored for the East Division-leading Blades (29-8-2-2), who outshot the visitors 29-12.
Kolten Bridgeman scored for the Pats (15-214-2), who trailed 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 heading into the third.
Elsewhere in the Dub on Sunday:
HITMEN 6 AMERICANS 4
Ethan Moore scored twice, including once in a four-goal third period outburst, as the Calgary Hitmen beat the visiting Tri-City Americans 6-4 in Western Hockey League action on Sunday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
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WHEAT KINGS 6 RAIDERS 4
BRANDON, Man. — Quinn Mantei scored a goal and added an assist as the Brandon Wheat Kings defeated the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 6-4.
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CHIEFS 5 OIL KINGS 2
EDMONTON, Alta. — The visiting Spokane Chiefs spotted the Edmonton Oil Kings a 2-0 lead, before storming back to post a 5-2 victory at Rogers Place.
Shea Van Olm scored twice for the Chiefs (15-20-4-0), while Ty Cheveldayoff and Conner Roulette each had a goal and assist. Berkly Catton netted a single.
Marc Lajoie scored both goals for the Oil Kings (14-24-1-1), who outshot the visitors 39-30.
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SILVERTIPS 7 WILD 3
WENATCHEE, Wash. — Julius Miettinen scored two goals and had two assists, Dominik Rymon scored twice and the visiting Everett Silvertips rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Wenatchee Wild 7-3.
Beau Courtney, Teague Patton and Carter Bear also scored for the U.S. Division-leading Silvertips (27-14-1-2), who trailed 2-1 after the first period, but led 4-3 heading into the third.
Graham Sward scored twice for the Wild (24-14-3-0), while Maddix McCagherty netted a single. Kenta Isogai chipped in with two assists.
NHL
RANGERS 2 CAPITALS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere scored first-period goals and Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves as the New York Rangers snapped a four-game NHL losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday:
RED WINGS 4 MAPLE LEAFS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Andrew Copp scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:40 remaining in the third period and Detroit won for the fifth time in its last six games.
Dylan Larkin had a goal and an assist, and Daniel Sprong and Lucas Raymond added the other goals for Detroit. James Reimer made 28 saves.
NHL ALL STAR
NEW YORK – Rick Bowness of the Winnipeg Jets and Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks will join Boston’s Jim Montgomery and Peter Laviolette of the New York Rangers as head coaches at the NHL all-star game in Toronto.
The league issued a release on Sunday saying the head coaches of teams with the highest points percentage in each of the four divisions through Saturday’s games will guide the four all-star rosters.
The Central Division-leading Jets (28-10-4) have the best points percentage in the NHL at .714.
The Pacific Division-leading Canucks (29-11-3) are next at .709 ahead of the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins (.702, 25-8-9) and the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers (.659, 26‑13‑2).
CFL
CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders have re-signed linebacker Cam Judge to a contract extension.
The 29-year-old Judge was slated to become a CFL free agent after the 2024 season but is now signed with Calgary through the ’25 season, according to a league source. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as the Stampeders haven’t formally announced the deal.
Contract details weren’t immediately available but the six-foot-two, 234-pound Judge, a 2022 CFL all-star, reportedly becomes the CFL’s top-paid Canadian defensive player.
Judge had a career-high 90 defensive tackles (two for loss) last season along with two sacks, five interceptions (one for a TD), two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Over five seasons with Saskatchewan (2017-19), Toronto (2021) and Calgary (2022-23), Judge has registered 283 tackles, 22 special-teams tackles, 14 sacks and nine interceptions.
(Canadian Press)
