Sports
2023-2024 NFL playoffs clinching scenarios: Bills head to Miami with hopes of securing AFC No 2 seed
The race to the playoffs comes down to this.
The NFL is entering the final week of the regular season and nine teams have already clinched their spot in the postseason. With just one game left on the schedule and five spots remaining, fans can expect to see some of the most exciting football of the year.
Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce (31) celebrates a kickoff return for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns at NRG Stadium in Houston on Dec. 24, 2023. (Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Among the scenarios heading into the weekend, the Buffalo Bills have one of the more interesting breakdowns.
A win against the Miami Dolphins would guarantee the Bills the division title and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Without a win, Buffalo could also advance with a loss or tie by the Pittsburgh Steelers, a loss or tie by the Jacksonville Jaguars, or a tie between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
Interestingly, there is a scenario (a complicated one) that could see Buffalo go in the opposite direction.
If Pittsburgh were to pull off a victory over the top-seed Baltimore Ravens, and the Jaguars defeated the Titans, and the Texans-Colts game ended in anything but a tie, and the Bills fell short on Sunday, Buffalo’s season would come to an end.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter, Dec. 17, 2023, in Orchard Park, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
All four things would need to happen for this outcome, but nothing is guaranteed.
LIONS’ DAN CAMPBELL ADMITS TRYING TO CONFUSE COWBOYS DEFENSE BEFORE CONTROVERSIAL PENALTY
The Bills have had an up-and-down season. Entering the bye week, the Bills held a 6-6 record and their hopes of reaching the playoffs were in question. But after returning to the field, Buffalo pulled ahead, winning four straight.
“I really think it’s just about our players continuing to grow every week,” head coach Sean McDermott told reporters Monday after a win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
“Our coaches have done a phenomenal job of working on things with them, developing players at the individual level and then at the unit level as well. I really believe that the players have taken on that challenge head-on, and they’ve come together and formed an identity as a football team. I’ve just been very impressed by that over the last few weeks in particular.”
Several other teams face similar situations with just one game left. Read below to see which teams are sitting comfortably, which will be waiting on the final whistle, and which teams will have to watch the playoffs from home, per the NFL.
MOVING ON
AFC
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens high-fives a fan at halftime of the game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California, on Dec. 25, 2023. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
1. Baltimore Ravens
Record: 13-3, AFC North division title
2. Miami Dolphins
Record: 11-5, 1st in AFC East
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Record: 10-6, AFC West division title
4. Cleveland Browns
Record: 11-5, 2nd in AFC North
NFC
Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals, Dec. 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
1. San Francisco 49ers
Record: 12-4, NFC West division title
2. Dallas Cowboys
Record: 11-5, 1st in NFC East
3. Detroit Lions
Record: 11-5, NFC North division title
4. Philadelphia Eagles
Record: 11-5, 2nd in NFC East
5. Los Angeles Rams
Record: 9-7, 2nd in NFC West
IN THE HUNT
AFC
Case Keenum (18) of the Houston Texans hands the ball off to Devin Singletary during the second half, Dec. 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Houston Texans clinch AFC South division title with:
1. HOU win + JAX loss or tie
Houston clinches playoff berth with:
1. HOU win OR
2. HOU tie + JAX loss + PIT loss or tie
–
Indianapolis Colts clinch AFC South division title with:
1. IND win + JAX loss or tie OR
2. IND tie + JAX loss
Indianapolis clinches playoff berth with:
1. IND win OR
2. IND tie + PIT loss or tie
–
Jacksonville Jaguars clinch AFC South division title with:
1. JAX win OR
2. JAX tie + HOU-IND tie
Jacksonville clinches playoff berth with:
1. JAX tie + PIT loss or tie OR
2. PIT loss + DEN loss or tie + HOU-IND doesn’t end in tie
–
Pittsburgh Steelers clinch playoff berth with:
1. PIT win + BUF loss OR
2. PIT win + JAX loss or tie OR
3. PIT win + HOU-IND tie OR
4. PIT tie + JAX loss + HOU-IND doesn’t end in tie OR
5. JAX loss + DEN win + HOU-IND doesn’t end in tie
NFC
Taylor Heinicke (4) of the Atlanta Falcons hands the ball off to Tyler Allgeier during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts, Dec. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Atlanta Falcons clinch NFC South division title with:
1. ATL win + TB loss
–
Green Bay Packers clinch playoff berth with:
1. GB win OR
2. GB tie + SEA loss or tie + NO loss or tie OR
3. GB tie + SEA loss + TB loss OR
4. GB tie + SEA tie + TB loss or tie OR
5. MIN loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss OR
6. MIN loss or tie + SEA loss + NO loss
–
Minnesota Vikings clinch playoff berth with:
1. MIN win + GB loss + SEA loss + TB loss OR
2. MIN win + GB loss + SEA loss + NO loss
–
New Orleans Saints clinch NFC South division title with:
1. NO win + TB loss or tie OR
2. NO tie + TB loss
New Orleans clinches playoff berth with:
1. NO win + SEA loss or tie + GB loss or tie OR
2. NO tie + SEA loss + GB loss
–
Seattle Seahawks clinch playoff berth with:
1. SEA win + GB loss or tie OR
2. SEA tie + GB loss + TB loss or tie OR
3. SEA tie + GB loss + NO loss or tie
–
Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch NFC South division title with:
1. TB win OR
2. TB tie + NO loss or tie
Tampa Bay clinches playoff berth with:
1. TB tie + SEA loss + GB loss or tie
Week 18 kicks off with the Ravens hosting the Steelers on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET and closes out with the Bills in Miami on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET.
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Sports
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game
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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.
Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.
Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.
He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.
After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.
“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”
MAGIC’S ANTHONY BLACK MAKES INCREDIBLE DUNK OVER FOUR DEFENDERS IN HISTORIC NBA GAME
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.
He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins
BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.
Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.
It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.
In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.
Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.
Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.
After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.
Sports
Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card
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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June.
But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract.
White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card.
Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City. ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))
“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”
White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it.
UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT
The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan.
On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter.
UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready.
“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”
Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.
Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote.
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion.
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