 | Today we're previewing the second round of the NFL playoffs. Plus, the latest on the Australian Open, more ski cross medals for Canada, and a farewell to the incomparable Bob Uecker. | | | The NFL playoffs heat up (and cool down) this weekend
| | | The opening round of this year's NFL playoffs was reasonably entertaining, at least based on what we've come to expect since the league added a seventh team in each conference in 2020.
Yes, the average margin of victory was 12 points, we saw predictable blowouts by AFC powers Buffalo (over Denver) and Baltimore (over Pittsburgh), and NFC No. 2 seed Philadelphia's 22-10 win over Green Bay was fairly dull. But small upsets by Houston (over the Chargers) and Washington (over Tampa Bay when a last-second field goal doinked off the upright and in) spiced things up before the Rams shredded the 14-3 Vikings on Monday night.
Not bad. And now the road to the Super Bowl gets more interesting this weekend as defending champion Kansas City and fellow No. 1 seed Detroit come off their byes before Buffalo and Baltimore collide in what could be the best (and coldest) game of the year on Sunday night.
Here's a quick look at all four second-round matchups (team records include playoffs):
Houston Texans (11-7) at Kansas City (15-2) — Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET
K.C. has won two straight Super Bowls and lost only one meaningful game all season, back in mid-November at Buffalo. They're also very well rested after clinching the AFC's No. 1 seed and a bye on Christmas Day, allowing the champs to keep Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and company out of harm's way for more than three full weeks.
Kansas City returns to action as eight-point favourites to reach their seventh consecutive AFC championship game after drawing a Texans team missing two of its three playmaking receivers. But K.C. outscored their opponents by only 59 points this season (just the 11th-best margin in the league) and won five games by a field goal or less. Is this the week their luck runs out?
Washington Commanders (13-5) at Detroit Lions (15-2) — Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
Despite having not won a championship since 1957 (a decade before the Super Bowl was born), Detroit is the betting favourite to win its first Lombardi Trophy after leading the league in scoring this season under aggressive head coach Dan Campbell. Quarterback Jared Goff is no MVP, but he's surrounded by explosive playmakers like running back Jahmyr Gibbs and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and he's good at getting them the ball in co-ordinator Ben Johnson's inventive offence.
The Lions, favoured by nine points, are less certain about their banged-up defence. It'll try to contain Washington's dynamite rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who instantly turned the woeful Commanders around with his Lamar Jackson-like package of rushing and passing skills.
Los Angeles Rams (11-7) at Philadelphia Eagles (15-3) — Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
L.A. turned Sam Darnold into a pumpkin on Monday night, sacking the Vikings QB nine times and forcing two turnovers in a 27-9 blowout to squash his Cinderella season. Philly's Jalen Hurts is harder to bring down, and he threw only five picks this year for an Eagles offence that leans heavily on 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley.
If the Rams' sub-par defence sells out to stop Barkley, Hurts can turn to his excellent receiver tandem of DeVonta Smith and bookworm A.J. Brown. And if that doesn't work, Philly's top-rated defence might step up again after forcing four turnovers against Green Bay. The Eagles have a lot of outs, which is why they're favoured by six against QB Matthew Stafford and the Rams' dangerous offence.
Baltimore Ravens (13-5) at Buffalo Bills (14-4) — Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET
Can a second-round game be bigger than the Super Bowl? No. But this might be a better matchup, and the winner could emerge as the top championship contender.
The main characters here are Buffalo's Josh Allen and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, the top two candidates for regular-season MVP. Stylistically, they're a bit different. Jackson is the more electrifying athlete, while Allen plays a brawnier (and sometimes riskier) game. But they both possess an incredibly exciting blend of passing and rushing ability that gives their teams top-shelf offences despite limited talent at receiver. One argument against Jackson in the MVP debate is that he had a near-2,000-yard rusher in Derrick Henry at his side to lighten the load.
The surging Ravens look, to me, like the best team in the NFL at the moment, and they're favoured by one point despite being on the road in the league's wildest stadium. It's going to be extremely cold and maybe a bit windy in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday night, which might seem good for Baltimore because who wants to tackle the big, bad Henry in that kind of weather? But Buffalo could say the same for Allen, and we've seen visiting teams freeze up in Orchard Park many times before. | | |  | Lamar Jackson and the red-hot Ravens roll into frigid Buffalo for a big playoff showdown on Sunday night. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
| | | Quickly…
| | | Some other things to know:
1. Leylah Fernandez is the last Canadian standing in Australian Open singles.
The women's No. 30 seed is all that remains at the year's first Grand Slam event after Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo were eliminated from the men's draw last night with second-round losses to 16th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and 19th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, respectively. Earlier yesterday, 29th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in the second round to 66th-ranked Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Rebecca Marino lost in the first round on Tuesday.
Fernandez, who's into the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, is scheduled to face third-seeded American Coco Gauff on Friday at 3 a.m. ET. In women's doubles, the second-seeded team of Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe play in the second round tonight.
The spiciest moment of the day came when 10th-seeded American Danielle Collins got into it with booing fans after defeating an Australian opponent. After mocking them by blowing kisses towards the stands, Collins thanked the jeerers who "bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me — it's all going toward the Danielle Collins Fund." She said she planned to spend some of her prize money on a "five-star vacation" with her friends. "We like big boats," she added. "We like yachts."
2. Quinn signed with Vancouver of the new Canadian women's soccer league.
The veteran national-team midfielder is the highest-profile signing yet for the Northern Super League, set to kick off its inaugural season in April with teams in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
Quinn has played in the past two Women's World Cups and three Summer Olympics, including Canada's gold-medal victory in Tokyo, where they became the first openly transgender, non-binary athlete to win an Olympic medal. The 29-year-old has six goals in 104 matches with the national team.
Quinn spent the past six seasons with the Seattle Reign of the National Women's Soccer League, helping the team win the regular-season title in 2022 and reach the championship final in 2023.
Desiree Scott, a teammate of Quinn's on the Canadian national team, came out of retirement this week to sign with the Northern Super League's Ottawa team. But Quinn is the first national-team player to join the NSL while still in their prime. Read more here.
3. Another Canadian won ski cross gold.
Hannah Schmidt captured gold and India Sherret took bronze today in Austria as Canada's women's ski cross racers continued their World Cup success. Canadians Courtney Hoffos and Brittany Phelan just missed the four-skier final, but they were the top two in the "small final" to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.
Canadians have now won four of the six women's events so far this season, with two victories by 2014 Olympic champion Marielle Thompson and one each for Schmidt and Sherret. Germany's Daniela Maier (two wins) remains atop the World Cup standings, followed by Sherret, Thompson and Schmidt. Thompson and Maier were both eliminated in the quarterfinals today.
On the men's side for Canada, two-time winner Reece Howden fell from second to fourth in the World Cup chase after failing to get past the qualifying stage. Seventh-place Kevin Drury was the top Canadian man today, finishing 11th.
Another set of women's and men's races will take place tomorrow at the same venue. Watch them live at 4:45 a.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
In other winter Olympic sports news, Lindsey Vonn fell near the end of a downhill training session today at Italy's Cortina d’Ampezzo. The American star, who recently came out of retirement at age 40, appeared to be hurting after getting up and completing the course, but she did not break any bones, according to her team.
Vonn is preparing for World Cup downhill and super-G races this weekend at Cortina, which will host the women's alpine events at next year's Olympic Games. Canada's Val Grenier, who took bronze in the Cortina downhill last year, placed 12th in today's training.
| | | And finally…
| | | Goodbye, Bob Uecker.
Calling it "one of the most difficult days" in the team's history, the Milwaukee Brewers announced today that the beloved broadcaster has died at the age of 90. Uecker's family said he had battled lung cancer since 2023.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Uecker played six big-league seasons as a backup catcher for four different teams in the 1960s. He won a World Series ring with St. Louis in '64 but batted just .200 for his career with 14 homers. "Career highlights? I had two," he quipped. "I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax, and I got out of a rundown against the Mets."
But Uecker was a Hall of Fame story- and joke-teller, and opening for stand-up comic Don Rickles at an Atlanta club in 1969 led to an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He became a Carson favourite, invited back more than 100 times, and it was Johnny who gave him the nickname "Mr. Baseball."
Uecker became the voice of the Brewers in 1971 and later worked as a colour commentator on network TV broadcasts of the World Series. He's best known to some for his comedic roles in Miller Lite commercials, the '80s sitcom Mr. Belvedere and (my personal favourite) the 1989 movie Major League, where he plays a juuuust-a-bit-outside version of himself. Here's more on the one and only "Ueck."
| | | That's it for today. Talk to you tomorrow.
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