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NFL divisional playoffs primer: Get ready for Baker Mayfield vs. Jared Goff

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NFL divisional playoffs primer: Get ready for Baker Mayfield vs. Jared Goff

They have experienced their share of NFL ups and downs, but at the moment, these onetime No. 1 picks are riding high.

Quarterbacks Jared Goff of Detroit and Baker Mayfield of Tampa Bay will meet in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

The Buccaneers advanced to the second round Monday night by knocking off Philadelphia 32-9 a day after Goff’s Lions beat the Rams — his former team — to keep their Super Bowl dreams intact. (Mayfield, too, had a brief stint with the Rams last season.)

In the divisional round, Houston will play at Baltimore on Saturday, followed by Green Bay at San Francisco. On Sunday, the Buccaneers play at the Lions, followed by Kansas City at Buffalo.

It was a fizzling finish for Philadelphia, defending NFC champion, which lost five of its final six games in the regular season. Conversely, behind the strong play of Mayfield, the Buccaneers won five of their final six regular-season games.

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Goff was the No. 1 overall pick by Los Angeles in 2016, and Mayfield was taken first by Cleveland two years later.

By beating the Rams, the Lions snapped a nine-game postseason losing streak and collected their second playoff victory in club history — and first in 32 years. They are one of four NFL teams who have never played in a Super Bowl, along with Cleveland, Jacksonville and Houston.

The Lions posted a 20-6 victory at Tampa Bay this season in Week 6. The Lions improved to 5-1, winning their fourth straight game for the first time since 2016 and four straight by double digits for the first time since 1991.

Although Green Bay and San Francisco did not face each other this season, the franchises have a rich rivalry in the playoffs.

Since winning their last Lombardi Trophy in the 1994 season, the 49ers have made 12 trips to the playoffs. In 10 of those — counting this season — they have played the Packers.

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will face the Green Bay Packers defense in the NFC divisional playoffs.

(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

San Francisco won five of those past six meetings, most recently a 13-10 victory at Green Bay in the divisional round two years ago.

Still, these current teams don’t know each other well. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy hasn’t faced the Packers, and Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love has not played San Francisco.

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The Packers began the season with the NFL’s youngest roster, and the 49ers are among the league’s oldest teams.

Twice this season, the 49ers looked to be running on fumes. They lost three consecutive games around midseason, and stumbled a bit at the end of the year.

Kyle Shanahan rested his starters at the end of the season, plus his players were spectators for wild-card games, so many last played a meaningful game on New Year’s Eve. This game should be a good indicator if that rest paid off.

When Houston plays at top-seeded Baltimore, the game will pit quarterbacks likely to be accepting big awards at NFL Honors. The Texans’ C.J. Stroud is the leading candidate for offensive rookie of the year, and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens is in line to win his second most valuable player award.

Neither quarterback played especially well when Houston and Baltimore met in their 2023 season opener, with Jackson’s passer rating (79.5) only slightly better than Stroud’s (78.0).

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The Ravens won that game, 25-9, but Baltimore coach John Harbaugh predicted at the time that the Texans were headed for a big season: “I’ve said this before about certain teams early in the season — ‘They’re going to win a lot of football games this year.’ Mark it down. You’ll see. That’s a good, young football team.”

Ravens rookie Zay Flowers had nine catches in that game, but the offense largely looked out of sync under new coordinator Todd Monken. Still, Baltimore pulled away in the second half and kept the Texans out of the end zone.

Both teams look markedly different now.

“From there to where we are now, we’ve definitely grown,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters. “[We are a] completely different team. They are a completely different team.”

One aspect of the NFL that has remained consistent in recent years is that Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes versus Buffalo’s Josh Allen has been a marquee quarterback matchup.

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Their teams met in the divisional round in Kansas City two years ago, and Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 42-36 overtime victory.

In that game, Kansas City won the coin toss to start the extra period and Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce on the opening drive. It was such an abrupt ending that it helped prompt a rules change. The NFL tweaked its overtime rules for the postseason to ensure each team gets a possession.

This year marks the first time since the 1993 AFC Championship Game that the Bills have played host to the Chiefs in the postseason.

Buffalo has reached at least the divisional round in each of the past four seasons and has won a home playoff game in each of those. The Bills routed Pittsburgh on Monday 31-17 with the game postponed for a day because of a snowstorm.

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Olympic medalist suffers serious injuries after ‘death-defying’ skateboarding stunt

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Olympic medalist suffers serious injuries after ‘death-defying’ skateboarding stunt

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An Olympic medalist and 13-time X Games winner suffered serious head injuries after a stunt went wrong.

Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris in 2024, said he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket.

“A harsh reminder how death-defying skating massive rails can be…” Huston wrote in an Instagram post which included a photo of himself in a hospital bed. “Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day.”

 

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Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men’s street prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 3.  (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports)

The post also featured Huston being treated by first responders and friends, along with another photo showing a large black-and-blue mark on Huston’s eye.

Numerous skating legends showed their support for Huston, who is considered one of the best skateboarders in the United States today.

Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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“Been watching @nyjah grow up into one of the best skaters to ever do it and it amazes me the amount of grit this kid has,” Shaun White shared on his Instagram story, via Pro Football Network. “You got this brother. Heal quick!”

Even Tony Hawk shared well-wishes on Huston’s Instagram post.

“Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” the skateboarding legend wrote.

“Man.. prayers for healing brother!” added Ryan Sheckler.

It is unknown whether Huston was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.

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Nyjah Huston, of the United States, celebrates during the men’s skateboard street final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Huston has seven gold medals and five silvers in world championships. He has not competed since the 2024 Olympics, but the California native has his eyes set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

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Prep talk: JuJu Watkins returns to Sierra Canyon on Friday

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Prep talk: JuJu Watkins returns to Sierra Canyon on Friday

JuJu Watkins is returning to Sierra Canyon High on Friday, the place where she was a high school basketball All-American.

The school will hold a ceremony retiring her jersey at halftime of the boys’ basketball game between Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

She will be presented with a framed jersey.

Watkins is sitting out this season at USC while recovering from a knee injury.

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Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball coach Alicia Komaki said, “She raised our standards, which was hard to do because we had won four state championships. She was an incredibly talented player.”

Watkins was also making a huge impact in the college game until her injury last season during the NCAA playoffs.

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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Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game

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Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game

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The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, coming away with a narrow victory over Ole Miss, 31-27, in an all-time postseason contest. 

The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks to see who they will play on Jan. 19. But Miami will do so on their home turf, with the National Championship Game being played at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of their home games. 

The game began slowly for both teams, with only Miami getting on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a field goal on their 13-play opening drive. But the fireworks came out from there for the Rebels thanks to the speed of running back Kewan Lacy.

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Charmar Brown of the Miami (FL) Hurricanes celebrates a run in the first quarter of the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Steve Limentani/ISI Photos)

On just the second play of the second quarter, Lacy was off to the race, finding a seam and busting out a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 7-3 after the extra point.

But this game was back and forth for quite some time, including the ensuing Hurricanes drive as quarterback Carson Beck led the way on a 15-play touchdown series with a CharMar Brown rushing score from four yards out.

The game was deadlocked at 10 apiece when Beck decided to air it out to Keelan Marion, and it was worth the risk. Marion made the grab for a 52-yard touchdown to help Miami go up 17-13 at halftime.

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The third quarter was an odd one for both squads, as their opening drives resulted in a missed field goal apiece. Then, after Beck threw an interception, the Rebels were able to cut the lead to 17-16 in favor of the Hurricanes heading into the fourth quarter for the ages.

There was no absence of electric plays when it mattered most in the final 15 minutes, as Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got his team downfield enough to take a 19-17 lead with a field goal.

But the speed of Malachi Toney changed the scoreboard for Miami in the best way possible, as he took a screen 36 yards to the house, capping a four-play, 75-yard answer drive for the Hurricanes right after Ole Miss took the lead.

Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

With a 24-19 lead and five minutes left to play in the game, Chambliss and the Rebels’ offense had quite enough time to retake the lead. He did just that, finding trusty tight end Dae’Quan Wright for 24 yards to send the Rebels faithful ballistic.

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Ole Miss wanted to go for two in hopes of making it a three-point lead, and Chambliss came through again, finding a wide open Caleb Odom for the key score.

It was up to Beck and the Miami offense to keep the game alive with at least tying the game at 27 apiece. On a crucial third-and-10 just inside field goal range, Beck was confident with his pass to Marion to get well within range. Another pass to Marion made it first-and-goal, and it was clear Miami wasn’t trying to force overtime. They wanted to win it all.

How fitting was it that Beck, scanning the field, found a seam to his left and just sprinted for the colored paint to score the game-winner with 18 seconds left.

But things got fascinating at the end, with Ole Miss going 40 yards in just a few seconds to set up a Hail Mary for the win. Chambliss had the space to loft a pass to the end zone, and though it hit off the hand of a teammate, it landed incomplete for the Miami victory. 

Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona.   (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

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In the box score, Beck was 23-of-37 for 268 yards with his two passing touchdowns and an interception. Marion was a key player in the victory with seven catches for 114 yards, while Mark Fletcher Jr. set the tone in the ground game with 133 yards rushing on 22 carries. Toney also tallied 81 receiving yards for Miami.

For Ole Miss, Chambliss also went 23-of-37 for 277 yards with his touchdown to Wright, who finished with 64 yards on three grabs. De’Zhaun Stribling was five for 77 through the air, while Lacy rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries.

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