On the very first play of yesterday’s game against the Patriots, Nyheim Hines returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. He did it again in the second half, this time 101 yards.

It was an emotional day in Buffalo, made easier by the fact that Hamlin’s condition had improved enough in the six days since he collapsed on the field in Cincinnati that he was able to live-tweet the game from his hospital bed. “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he tweeted after Hines ran the opening kickoff back.

“I can’t remember a play that touched me like that in my life,” Josh Allen said while holding back tears. “It was spiritual. I was just going around to my teammates saying, ‘God is real.’ You can’t write or draw that up any better.”

The game, and others around the league, were full of touching displays of unity and support for Hamlin. Bills receiver John Brown gave his touchdown ball to assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who performed CPR on Hamlin. Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, who was on the other end of the hit that led to Hamlin’s collapse, warmed up in the “Love for Damar” shirt that many NFL players wore this weekend—and got a shout-out on social media from Hamlin. Colts safety Rodney Thomas, Hamlin’s high school teammate, posed near the 30-yard line, where the 3 had been outlined in red in Hamlin’s honor, after intercepting a pass against the Texans.

The Bills took care of business and ended the regular season on a high note with a 35–23 win, but the focus was on the player who wasn’t on the field.

“It was a spirited game. I knew we would come out spirited,” Hines said. “We have received support from not only the fans but every team in the NFL. It was all about 3. It was all about Damar.”

The playoffs are set

Buffalo’s win eliminated the Patriots from playoff contention, allowing the Dolphins to claim the final postseason spot in the AFC. The NFC field wasn’t finalized until the very end of the night when the Lions held on to beat the Packers, ending Green Bay’s season and putting the Seahawks in the playoffs. (Detroit would have made it if Seattle had lost earlier to the Rams.) You can see the entire schedule for this weekend’s games here.

The most interesting part of the Packers-Lions game, though, might have been when Detroit rookie Jameson Williams tried to swap jerseys with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers declined, saying, “I’m gonna hold on to this one.” Speaking with reporters after the game, Rogers was vague about whether he’ll be back next season.

At the other end of the standings, the Texans-Colts game had major draft order implications. Late in the fourth quarter, after Indianapolis kicked a 54-yard field goal to take a seven-point lead, Houston went for it on fourth-and-12 from near midfield and converted. Davis Mills threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Akins four plays later on fourth-and-20 with 50 seconds left. A successful two-point conversion gave the Texans the win and gave the Bears the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. Houston fired coach Lovie Smith almost immediately after the game after just one season with the franchise.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Carlos M. Saavedra (Bennett); Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports (Duggan)

Today’s Daily Cover features our staff’s predictions for Georgia-TCU.
Tonight’s national championship is a reminder of the South’s dominance over college football, Ross Dellenger writes.
Pat Forde looks back at TCU’s nomadic football life that led it from conference to conference and eventually to the title game.
Richard Johnson has a schematic breakdown of the game.
White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has been diagnosed with cancer.
Jim Harbaugh will reportedly interview for the Broncos’ coaching vacancy.
The Browns fired Bernie Kosar from their broadcast team after he violated the NFL’s gambling policy.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game in Saudi Arabia will be against … PSG and Lionel Messi.

The top five...

… moments from Week 18 of the NFL:

5. J.J. Watt’s 113th career sack in his final game.

4. Jakobi Meyers’s concentration on a toe-tap touchdown.

3. The Chiefs’ hilarious trick play that was sadly called back due to a penalty.

2. The Lions’ hook-and-ladder while running out the clock against the Packers.

1. Detroit running back Jamaal Williams’s postgame interview in which he seamlessly transitioned from tearfully paying tribute to his recently deceased great-grandfather to talking trash about everyone who doubted the Lions.

SIQ

TCU has two national football championships in its history, most recently following the 1938 season. Who did the Horned Frogs beat in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, 1939, to finish 11–0?

Tennessee
Holy Cross
Notre Dame
Carnegie Tech

Friday’s SIQ: The Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians played the longest game in NBA history on Jan. 6, 1951, with Indianapolis emerging victorious in six overtimes. What was the final score?

75–73
92–81
115–109
145–140

Answer: 75–73. Can you believe that? They scored only a combined 18 points in the overtime periods!

The low scoring can be blamed on the lack of a shot clock, which wasn’t introduced until 1954. The second and fourth overtimes were scoreless. Accounts of the game are hard to come by, but it isn’t hard to imagine the teams holding the ball for the entire length of an OT period to get the last possession.

As long as the game was, it very nearly went to a seventh overtime. According to The Indianapolis Star, the winning basket was scored by the Olympians’ Ralph Beard on a fast break with one second left to play.

The longest game of the shot clock era was a Nov. 9, 1989, matchup between the Bucks and SuperSonics that Milwaukee won, 155–154. That’s right: Both teams in that game scored more than Indianapolis and Rochester combined.

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