Sports
Buccaneers take down struggling Eagles as Baker Mayfield tosses 3 touchdowns to move on in playoffs
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers throttled the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-9, to move on to the divisional round.
Tampa will now travel to face the Detroit Lions next week.
David Moore, the six-year veteran who had just five catches for 94 yards with a touchdown during the regular season, was the first to find the end zone in this one thanks to shotty Eagles tackling.
Trey Palmer #10 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with his teammates after scoring a 56 yard touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
After the Bucs kicked a field in the opening possession of the game, they forced a punt on the Eagles that set up a chance to pull away early. That’s exactly what Baker Mayfield did when he found Moore streaking through the middle of the field.
Two Eagles defenders collided, allowing Moore to get tons of opening field with blockers ahead. Still, Philly had a chance to tackle Moore with multiple defenders around him. However, he slipped out of a few attempts and scurried into the end zone for a 44-yard score.
And it was quite the birthday present for Moore, who turned 29 on Monday.
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The Bucs were able to score on their first four drives, though three of the four were field goals. That left the Eagles in the game, where they got a field goal of their own before Dallas Goedert scored a short touchdown.
However, the Eagles’ struggles on Monday night could be wrapped up in a single play: A rare, failed “Tush Push.”
After the Bucs jumped offsides on the extra point following Goedert’s touchdown, Jalen Hurts set up for his classic quarterback sneak. But the Bucs were able to snuff it out despite the high success rate when the Eagles run it to keep the game at 16-9.
In the second half, both teams struggled to get anything going on offense, but points still got on the board when the Bucs’ defense forced an intentional grounding from Hurts, who was in the end zone.
As a result, it’s an automatic safety, making it 18-9.
Then, just two plays later, Bucs rookie receiver Trey Palmer turned on the jets after catching a short pass from Mayfield and making Eagles corner James Bradberry miss a tackle, scoring a 56-yard touchdown.
With a 25-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucs knew they just needed to continue providing pressure on defense. Meanwhile, the Eagles just continued to hurt themselves, getting into Bucs’ territory and committing penalties.
It happened on the ensuing drive, where the Eagles found themselves at third-and-21. They ended up getting it to 4th-and-5, but Hurts couldn’t find DeVonta Smith, his leading receiver with A.J. Brown sidelined with a knee injury, for the score.
Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up prior to an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images))
Then came the dagger drive for Mayfield and the Bucs’ offense, as they killed over six minutes worth of clock in the fourth quarter and it ended with a 23-yard strike to Chris Godwin to make it 32-9 with 5:42 left to play.
This was the first true playoff victory for Mayfield, who had a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Browns during the 2020 season that ended with a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mayfield finished with 337 yards through the air on 22-of-36 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And while he didn’t have a touchdown, tight end Cade Otton was Mayfield’s top target, hauling in eight of his 11 targets for 89 yards.
Mike Evans also finished with three catches for 48 yards, though he could’ve had more with a couple of drops in the first half, one of which came close to the end zone.
For the Eagles, Smith was a bright light in a rather dim performance offensively, as he had 148 yards on eight catches. Hurts finished 25-of-35 for 250 yards with one touchdown. The Bucs also kept him to just five rushing yards on a single attempt.
Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The reigning NFC champions are out of the playoffs just like that, as the Bucs will look to play spoiler against the Lions next week.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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