ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin’s old high school teammate clutched the ball he had just intercepted, jogged to the 30-yard line, gingerly placed the pigskin at the top of the red-outlined “3,” raised his hands over his head and formed them in the shape of a heart.

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With the Chicago Bears’ season mercifully ending Sunday in a 29-13 loss to Minnesota, focus turns to the prospects for building a new stadium in Arlington Heights.

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Week 18 of the NFL season is near completion and positioning for the 2023 NFL Draft continued, most notably in Indianapolis, where the Houston Texans trailed the Colts by seven in the final minute of the game, but scored a touchdown and added a two-point conversion — costing themselves the No. 1 pick after the Bears lost to the Vikings.

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The 2022 NFL playoff picture is officially set. After the Lions upset the Packers in dramatic fashion on Sunday night, knocking Green Bay out of postseason contention and elevating the Seahawks into the final wild card spot, the schedule for Super Wild Card Weekend is complete. Now, the real games can begin. The postseason is a fresh slate for 14 contenders, and only time will tell which ones are ready to make a run at the Lombardi. In the meantime, here’s how we’d rank them going in:

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The final week of the NFL season kicked off with a doubleheader on Saturday.

The first game of the day took place in Las Vegas, where Kansas City destroyed the Raiders 31-13. It was a huge win for the Chiefs, who have now clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC and the first-round bye that comes with it.

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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Southern Illinois men’s basketball saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end Saturday on the road at Northern Iowa as the Panthers defeated the Salukis, 69-57 at the McLeod Center.

“Give credit to Northern Iowa. They played better than us today no doubt about it,” head coach Bryan Mullins said postgame. “We didn’t play our best basketball and we can’t take an extended amount of time off and expect to come back and win.”

When asked about his squad’s slow start to the first and second half Mullins said: “There wasn’t much momentum apart from a six to eight-minute gap there. I just don’t think we played very well and give credit to Northern Iowa.”

Down 13 points in the first half, the Salukis rallied back to cut the Northern Iowa lead to six points at intermission thanks in part to an 11-4 run over the final six minutes of the half. During the run, SIU held UNI to 2-for-9 shooting.

Southern (12-5, 4-2 MVC) would rally in the second half though, cutting the UNI lead to two points with under four minutes remaining before the Panthers (8-8, 4-2 MVC) were able to pull away.

Lance Jones paced the Salukis with 17 points on the day while Marcus Domask chipped in eight and JD Muila and Xavier Johnson scored seven each.

UNI was led by Bowen Born who scored a game-high 27 on 8-for-15 shooting. As a team, the Panthers were 48.1 percent (25-52) from the field while Southern finished at 41.9 percent (18-43). UNI won the battle on the boards 35-25, including 10-3 on the offensive glass leading to 10 second chance points.

Jones connected on 9-of-10 from the free throw line and shot 4-for-12 from the field in the game. The senior added a pair of steals and assists in the loss. Domask was held at bay for much of the game battling UNI double teams nearly every time he touched the ball. The Waupun, Wisconsin native finished 3-for-9 from the field for eight points while leading SIU with six rebounds and four assists.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will travel to Terre Haute for a meeting with Indiana State on Wednesday. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Hulman Center.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have formally requested, and received, permission from the New Orleans Saints to interview Sean Payton for the Broncos’ vacant head coaching job

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The Week 18 NFL schedule for the 2022 season is stacked with great matchups, and we got you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game and a bold prediction for each matchup.

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Illinois guard Skyy Clark is stepping away for personal reasons after appearing in 13 games this season, the freshman announced Friday. Clark entered this season as the highest-ranked prospect in Illinois’ 2022 recruiting class, which ranked No. 7 nationally, according to 247Sports.

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Four days after arriving in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Bills safety Damar Hamlin continues to be on the road to a “remarkable” recovery — which doctors announced Thursday — as he is reportedly delivering a message to his teammates on Friday. Hamlin, 24, suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle in Monday’s game against the Bengals, requiring CPR and resuscitation before being taken by ambulance to the hospital’s intensive care unit.

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