Unai Emery rues missed opportunity after Aston Villa fail to close gap on Arsenal

 Unai Emery conceded Aston Villa “lost a very good opportunity” after defeat against Everton, but he called for a sense of perspective after his side missed the chance to return to second in the Premier League.

Villa are seven points behind the leaders Arsenal and level on points with Manchester City, with all three teams dropping points in the title race over the weekend; City lost against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and Arsenal were held to a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest.

Emery alluded to the bigger picture after Thierno Barry’s goal secured victory for David Moyes’s side at Villa Park. Villa face Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday, ­hoping to secure their place in the last 16 before a trip to Newcastle.

“We are doing a fantastic season,” Emery insisted. “When we played at Everton [in September], we drew and we were worse than now.

Rams survive Bears' clutch play to win in overtime

 CHICAGO -- Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams survived an incredible throw by Caleb Williams that forced overtime, beating the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday night to advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Harrison Mevis kicked a 42-yard field goal in OT after Kam Curl intercepted a deep pass by Williams on the Bears' first possession of the extra period. Stafford completed a 16-yard pass to Puka Nacua to get the Rams into field goal range and set up Mevis, known as the "Thiccer Kicker," for the kick. Mevis was mobbed by teammates while a crowd that was rocking earlier watched in near silence.

The Rams will visit NFC West rival Seattle next Sunday in their first trip to the conference championship game since the 2021 team won the Super Bowl. The Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 on Saturday night and opened as 1.5-point favorites over the Rams in the NFC title game, per DraftKings odds.

Los Angeles led Chicago 17-10 in the final minute, and the Bears faced fourth-and-4 from the Rams' 14-yard line when Williams backpedaled to avoid the pass rush and heaved the ball to Cole Kmet for the tying touchdown with 18 seconds left. Although officially a 14-yard pass, the ball traveled 51.2 yards in the air, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats.

Williams threw for two touchdowns but was intercepted three times for the Bears, who pulled off a series of improbable wins under first-year coach Ben Johnson but came up short this time.

Cairo Santos makes another field goal, keeping his place in Bears' history

 The Chicago Bears are engaged in a tight battle at Soldier Field, but Cairo Santos has continued to write his name in the team’s record books.

Santos, who made all three field goals he attempted in last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers, was called upon to attempt a 48-yard field goal in the late stages of the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams.

His 51-yard field goal last week against the Packers was the longest in Bears postseason history, and the 48-yarder on Sunday is now the third-longest, according to Pro Football Reference’s Stathead tool.

The second-longest field goal in Bears history was hit in the 2007 NFC Divisional Round by Robbie Gould, who banged through a 49-yard field goal to capture the 27-24 victory in overtime.

Unfortunately for the Bears, the Rams matched that field goal as the clock expired in the second quarter, tying things up at 10-10.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills lament 'missed opportunities'

 DENVER -- The lectern in the bowels of Empower Field at Mile High Stadium stood empty for minutes.

The first arrival after every Buffalo Bills game is quarterback Josh Allen, quick to give his postgame news conference in full uniform as soon as the team breakdown in the locker room ends and things begin to settle. Even after the toughest and most emotional of losses.

This time, his arrival was not speedy. A public relations staff member came out two minutes prior to his arrival. And then eventually, about 16 minutes after the game came to a close, in walked Allen.

His face was visibly red as he looked down, sniffled and fidgeted, hitting his fingers against the wooden lectern. Tears were in his eyes and on his face. He was emotional throughout his news conference.

The reigning MVP was asked how hard it was to get to the AFC divisional round of the playoffs and have this outcome happen again.

"It's extremely difficult," Allen said with his voice choked up. "I feel like I, feel like I let, let my teammates down tonight."

His teammates, however, felt much differently.

"We know we wouldn't have a shot in hell to win a football game without him there," right tackle Spencer Brown said.

The Bills lost in the divisional round for the fourth time in five seasons, falling to the Denver Broncos in overtime 33-30. The loss continues the Bills' streak of not reaching the Super Bowl since losing four straight from 1990 to 1993. And it extends their record of the most wins in a seven-season span without a Super 

Sunday could see double the snowfall in round 2 of weekend snow

 After the city saw roughly an inch of snow to start the weekend, a second event could bring double the amount of snow on Sunday -- and the action has already started.

A significant change to Sunday's storm has now moved its trajectory westward, triggering weather advisories in the event we see truly plowable snow.

Although snow will be the star attraction on Sunday, it gets to take a break midday after the morning flurries are finished with their fun. The snow is expected to be off-and-on through the rest of the morning before a brief pause around lunchtime.

When the action picks back up in the afternoon -- likely around 3 p.m. -- be ready for more snow. Once it starts again, don't expect a break until late tonight.

How much snow are we expected to see once things wrap up? Those in the city, out on Long Island and central New Jersey may have anywhere from 1-3 inches to contend with. While areas more north and west could see up to 5 inches, potentially.

Once Sunday’s system clears the region, a rush of cold air will deliver our coldest temperatures of this winter so far. 

By Tuesday and Wednesday morning, temperatures in New York City will bottom out in the mid to upper teens. Highs on Tuesday will languish in the 20s! And beyond that, for the balance of the week ahead, we’ll be feeling the chill. Temperatures will be below normal all week long.

 DENVER -- Roughly an hour after the Denver Broncos had left the field awash in the emotions of one of the franchise's most dramatic playoff wins, coach Sean Payton stepped back into an interview room to confirm what was already swirling in the aftermath as a rumor.

Payton began with "not good news," and then said quarterback Bo Nix had fractured his right ankle three plays before Wil Lutz kicked a 23-yard field goal in overtime that gave the Broncos a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills in Empower Field at Mile High on Saturday.

Payton said Nix will have surgery to repair the fracture Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama. It means Nix will miss whatever remains of the Broncos' postseason run and Jarrett Stidham will be the team's starter. 

"[Nix] is a tough cookie,'' Payton said. "I said, 'Listen I believe you're the second quarterback in his second year to take his team to the [conference] championship game and the first is [Patrick] Mahomes.' ... We'll rise up for the next challenge."

On a first-and-10 from the Buffalo 36-yard line with 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in overtime, Nix was tackled for a loss of 2 yards on a designed run. He quickly jumped up after the tackle to get back in the huddle but did have a slight limp.

He threw a deep incompletion intended for wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. on the next play as Buffalo cornerback Tre'Davious White was flagged for pass interference. The ball was moved to the Bills' 8-yard line after the penalty, and Nix took the next snap and kneeled to stop the play.

On the kneel-down, his right ankle twisted awkwardly and Nix grimaced as he showed a pronounced limp as he moved back to the Broncos' sideline. Nix underwent X-rays following the game, and many of the Broncos' players had left the locker room by the time Payton announced Nix's injury, "so, in essence I'm telling them now,'' Payton said.

Nix finished Saturday's win 26-of-46 passing for 279 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The victory was also the sixth time this season Nix has led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Seahawks dominate 49ers from jump, advance to NFC title game

 SEATTLE -- Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Kenneth Walker III rushed for three scores and the Seattle Seahawks advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a dominant 41-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass and got his first career playoff win in his first season with the Seahawks (15-3), who will host either the Chicago Bears or the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake

Really proud to be a part of this team and this organization," Darnold said.

The Seahawks led 7-0 13 seconds into the game thanks to Shaheed, who fielded the opening kick and took it 95 yards to the end zone. It was the fourth kickoff return for a touchdown to open a playoff game since 2000 and the longest postseason kick return in franchise history.