NFL: Patriots rally past Bills, clinch 11th straight division title

Rex Burkhead's 1-yard run with 5:06 remaining gave the New England Patriots a 24-17 victory against the visiting Buffalo Bills on Saturday, clinching another AFC East Division title.

The Patriots scored the game's final 11 points to defeat the Bills for the second time this season and the seventh time in a row. It's the 11th year in a row in which New England (12-3) has won its division, extending their post-merger (since 1970) NFL record.

Buffalo (10-5) surged ahead with a strong third quarter, but it couldn't put away the Patriots. It marked only the second road loss of the season for the Bills, who had won at Dallas and at Pittsburgh during the past month.

The Bills needed to win Saturday and then have a pair of games go in its favor on the final day of the regular season in order to secure the AFC East title.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 26 of 33 passes for 271 yards and one touchdown without an interception, with his rating of 111.0 snapping a career-long streak of nine games with a rating below 100. New England running back Sony Michel gained a season-high 96 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns. He finished 13-for-26 for 208 yards without an interception, but his heave to Cole Beasley on fourth-and-goal from the 15 was knocked away by J.C. Jackson with 1:05 to play.

The Bills had only 268 yards of total offense compared to New England's 414.

Nick Folk's 51-yard field goal in the third quarter gave New England a 13-10 lead.

The Bills went back ahead at the 7:25 mark of the third on Allen's 53-yard pass play to John Brown, who snuck behind safety Devin McCourty on a corner-post route.

Folk's 20-yarder early in the fourth quarter closed the gap to 17-16.

After Burkhead, who had only five carries in the game, capped the seven-play, 59-yard winning drive, the Patriots tacked on a two-point conversion to Julian Edelman to go up seven.

The scoring began for Buffalo on Stephen Hauschka's 35-yard field goal in the first quarter.

The Patriots bounced back to score on Brady's 8-yard pass to Matt LaCosse.

New England went up 10-7 on Folk's 36-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Buffalo responded on Allen's 1-yard pass to left tackle Dion Dawkins -- who lined up at his normal position but reported as an eligible receiver on the play -- with one second left in the first half to forge a 10-10 halftime tie.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NFL: Patriots must beat Jaguars for Super Bowl return

There is a new challenger standing in the way of the New England Patriots' path to another Super Bowl.

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Patriot's traditional rivals Pittsburgh, 45-42, on Sunday to set up a meeting with New England in Massachusetts for the American Football Conference (AFC) championship next Sunday.

The winner goes on the Super Bowl on February 4 in Minneapolis where they will meet either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles and Vikings will decide the National Football Conference (NFC) title in Philadelphia next Sunday.

The Patriots, who will be appearing in their seventh consecutive AFC title game, made it out of the divisional round with a 35-14 rout of the Tennessee Titans.

The reigning Super Bowl champions have had little trouble with the Jaguars in the past, winning seven consecutive meetings for a 10-1 edge. They last met in 2015, a 51-17 New England victory.

This will be Jacksonville's first AFC championship appearance since the 1999 season.

Philadelphia and Minnesota also have not appeared in conference championships recently. The Eagles last played for an NFC title in the 2008 season and the Vikings in the 2009 season. Both lost.

Philadelphia advanced over the weekend with a 15-10 divisional round win over the Atlanta Falcons and the Vikings outlasted the New Orleans Saints, 29-24, scoring a touchdown as time expired.

Philadelphia and Minnesota are dead even in all-time games, each winning 13.

The Eagles took the last one, 21-10 in Philadelphia in 2016, but the Vikings have a special incentive.

A victory over the Eagles would enable Minnesota to become the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Two teams have made Super Bowl appearances in their home market but played the game in different stadiums.

The San Francisco 49ers, who played in Candlestick Park, beat the Miami Dolphins in Stanford Stadium in the 1985 Super Bowl, and the Los Angeles Rams, who home field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Panthers pulverise Cardinals, to meet Broncos in Super Bowl

The Carolina Panthers, led by all-around quarterback Cam Newton and a defense that forced seven turnovers, mauled the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in Charlotte on Sunday to set up a Super Bowl 50 clash against the Denver Broncos.

Newton ran for two scores, soaring above defenders at the goal line, and threw for two others to set off a victory party at Bank of America Stadium by reaching the Feb. 7 National Football League championship game outside San Francisco.

Earlier, Denver and veteran quarterback Peyton Manning edged last year's champion New England Patriots and their signal caller Tom Brady 20-18 for the AFC title.

Carolina scored the first three times they touched the ball in racing out to a 17-0 lead and led 24-7 at halftime, taking advantage of four turnovers against a shaky Arizona attack.

Three more interceptions of beleaguered quarterback Carson Palmer and cool execution by Newton in the second half turned the title game into a rout.

Newton completed 19 of 28 passes for 335 yards and added 47 yards on 10 rushes.

Palmer, pressured continually by the Carolina pass rush, threw four interceptions and fumbled twice to provide the Panthers with six turnovers. Patrick Peterson fumbled a punt return in the second quarter for Arizona's other giveaway.

(Editing by Andrew Both)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cheaper tickets lure locals to Super Bowl

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ticket prices for upper-level seats at the Super Bowl plummeted 38 percent since the conference championship games, the largest drop for the week in six years, as frigid temperatures discouraged football fans from braving the elements to sit in the stands at New Jersey’s MetLife stadium.

Lows of 22 Fahrenheit forecast for Sunday’s game, the first Super Bowl played outdoors in a cold-weather city, drove ticket prices as low as $1,309, said Meredith Owen, TicketCity.com Communication Director, but they have risen since then to an average of $1,609.

Those who did buy tickets, preferred the partially covered premium seats at the lower levels of the stadium.

“Fans are going to be paying a premium for the promise of a buffer from the wind,” said Owen.




The rise in sales of premium tickets made them 54 percent more expensive than upper-level seats – compared with last year’s 30 percent, he said.

Further hampering sales is the distance that separates the New Jersey stadium from the hometowns of the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. Those thousands of miles are proving too far to travel for the championship teams’ fans.

Lower ticket prices drew renewed interest from residents of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, who led visits to TiqIQ.com, a site that resells tickets to the public.

“It is a very good deal to check the Super Bowl off the bucket list and not have to miss a day of work to do it,” said Jesse Lawrence, CEO of TiqIQ.com.


The rise in ticket sales to locals may shrink the $500 million to $600 million the NFL Host Committee estimates the game will generate in economic activity for the region, as fans have no need to pay for hotels or other travel expenses.

Fifty-five percent of hotels within the 3.7 mile-radius of the stadium, and 70 percent of hotels in Manhattan still have vacancies, according to data from Orbitz.com. Hotels close to the stadium are posting an average room rate of $181 on the site, an 8 percent decrease since Wednesday.

“If you look at economic impact, the big factor at the end of the day is dependent on the teams that play, and if they travel,” said Robert Tuchman, President of Goviva, a sports and entertainment events company. “The teams that are in it are really far away, and it’s a long trip. Without a doubt, you are going to find in this market there are a lot of locals.”

But the New York Hotel Association remained optimistic that the game will bring a wave of tourists to the region.

“The weather prediction for Sunday is good, and we’re optimistic that people will come to enjoy the game and stay in the city as well,” said Lisa Linden, the association’s spokeswoman.

As weather forecasts grow more positive, ticket prices are rising again from their weekend low.

“We may be seeing the market coming back from here,” said Lawrence.

It would not be the first comeback in Super Bowl prices.

In 2011, prices fell 19 percent in the first week after the conference championship on fears of bad weather in Dallas before it became the most expensive Super Bowl in history, with prices climbing to an average of $3,649 per ticket, Lawrence said.

“I think it was a similar scenario,” he said.

For those looking for a true respite from the cold, $25,700, the most expensive ticket on the site, buys fans access to a 20,000 square foot indoor facility, an open bar, food and multiple televisions, he said.

(Reporting By Marina Lopes; editing by Barbara Goldberg and Gunna Dickson)

source: 560wgan.com

Studio 23 to air Azkals vs Aussie U-23 tonight

MANILA, Philippines -- Studio 23 will be airing the friendly game between the Philippine Azkals and Australia's Qantas Under-23 team on Thursday night.

The Nationals will wrap up their 10-day training camp as they face the Aussie team in Dubai.

The kick-off will take place at midnight (Manila time).

Studio 23's coverage begins at 11:30 pm.

The Azkals are coming off a 3-1 win over Qatar's Al Ahli after bowing to the Uzbekistan Olympic team, 0-3.

The friendlies are part of their preparations for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup in March.

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/02/16/12/studio-23-air-azkals-vs-aussie-u-23-tonight