Patriots clinch AFC East as Eagles edge Bills while Browns shatter Steelers: NFL week 17 – as it happened
Playoff picture as it stands:AFC 1) Denver 13-3; 2) New England 13-3; 3) Jacksonville 12-4; 4) Pittsburgh 9-7; 5) Houston 11-5; 6) LA Chargers 11-5; 7) Buffalo 11-5.Bubble: Baltimore 8-8NFC 1) Seattle 13-3; 2) Chicago 11-4; 3) Philadelphia 11-5; 4) Carolina 8-8; 5) San Francisco 11-4; 6) LA Rams 11-4; 7) Green Bay 9-6-1.Bubble: Tampa Bay 7-9Buffalo drop to the seventh seed.Ouch.And I will leave you with the big one between Chicago and San Francisco to come.
I have a sneaky feeling the 49ers are going to to come away with a win to take the NFC race for the No 1 seed to the wire with a showdown next week with the Seahawks.We shall see, goodnight!(11-5) Buffalo Bills 12-13 Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)The New England Patriots seal the AFC East title for the first time since 2019 after Buffalo’s last-gasp defeat.Bills 12-13 Eagles, final scoreThe two-point try is NO GOOD! Josh Allen’s throw is incomplete.The Eagles survive scoring zero points in the second half.Khalil Shakir is open but Allen misses.
They got so close.Tough loss for the Bills but the Eagles’ defensive performance for the most part was just too strong.J Allen rush for one yardAre they going to go for the two-point try?!NO TOUCHDOWN! Bills 6-13 Eagles 0:18, 4th quarterDawson Knox makes the short grab and dives over but his elbow hits the turf a half-yard short.Bills 6-13 Eagles 0:23, 4th quarterBrandin Cooks.Brandin.
Cooks.“A ridiculous throw and catch,” says Tom Brady.Yep.Josh Allen throws a high ball to the marauding receiver deep in the middle of the field.Cooks leaps and secures the ball using his helmet and body for 36 yards.
How he hangs on is anyone’s guess.Next Josh Allen scrambles forward, takes a hit then fights to the three-yard line.3rd down now.Bills 6-13 Eagles 1:51, 4th quarterBuffalo, on 3rd and 9, go for the screen pass but go nowhere.Pathetic play calling.
Death or glory now on 4th down,Whaddaya got?! WHAT?!!!! Shavers catches the ball short of the sticks and he flips it to Ty Johnson who goes over the line for a 25-yard gain and new set of downs,Cojones to dial up the trick play with the game on the line,Bills 6-13 Eagles 3:22, 4th quarterBuffalo are flying as they rock Saquon Barkley behind the line of scrimmage,Greg Rousseau then knocks the running back down again.
3rd and 12 coming up,The Eagles have gone three and out three times in a row, is a fourth coming? Hurts throws one long to DeVonta Smith,The throw is on point but the receiver cannot hold on,Eagles punt again,They have 19 yards of offense in the second half.
Is Josh Allen going to pull off another comeback?!Ty Johnson is stuffed brining up 3rd down.They run the tush push agains the Eagles no less.Allen is rammed over the line by his big men.An easy touchdown for the QB’s 13th on the ground of the season.Mike Badgley misses the extra point after a great block on the line of scrimmage.
Bills 0-13 Eagles 6:09, 4th quarterSpencer Brown is down for the Bills after being punched in the throat (by accident) by Jalen Carter.Buffalo are 2nd and 1 and about two yards shy of the touchdown.Can they finally get on the scoreboard?!Josh Allen’s near miss on a scramble.Just shy of the score in the 3rd quarter that turned the ball over on downs.Bills 0-13 Eagles 8:02, 4th quarterJames Cooks powers through the Eagles on 2nd down to put the Bills just shy then takes another hand off and moves the chains.
About 30 yards to go now,This is a gotta have it drive,Ty Johnson takes it to the 25 on the next play,Bills 0-13 Eagles 11:02, 4th quarterAnother punt in the monsoon bowl, this time for the Eagles, brings up the 12th of the game,Not one for the neutrals this.
The complete drive chart this half reads: Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Downs, Punt, Punt, Punt,Sexy,(2-14) Las Vegas Raiders 10-34 New York Giants (3-13)So the Raiders look very likely to have the top pick now in next year’s draft,They slump to a 10th defeat in succession,Which means they actually started the season quite well.
Sort of.Ah yes, of course, they beat the AFC LEADING 13-3 New England Patriots 20-13.Makes sense.SACK! Bills 0-13 Eagles 12:49, 4th quarterOooh.Philadelphia block out a touchdown as the defenders get in between the ball and James Cook after a pretty throw up the sideline.
Then Josh Allen takes another huge sack after holding on to the ball far too long.No one is open so he buys time but is caught by Jalen Carter.Another punt for Buffalo.They can’t capitalise on brilliant field position.A sea of ponchos.
Bills 0-13 Eagles 15:00, 4th quarterPhiladelphia punt after a quick three and out.Buffalo take over on Philadelphia’s 40-yard line.TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 10-34 Giants 3:40, 4th quarterJ Dart rush for two yardsThe rookie QB hits a hat-trick of touchdowns to salt this one away.Las Vegas will be picking first in next year’s draft if they lose to Kansas City next week.Bills 0-13 Eagles 1:34, 3rd quarterOn 3rd and Goal the Eagles stuff James Cook at the line of scrimmage.
What do you do here? Go for it? Yep.Josh Allen takes the snap … evades the pass rush … dives for the line and is SHORT! He is so, so, so close.Maybe six inches shy after planting his hand in the turf to keep his run going.Zack Baun makes the touchdown-saving tackle.Bills 0-13 Eagles 3:34, 3rd quarterThe rain continues to not limit the offenses at all as Josh Allen uncorks a 32-yard bomb to Tyrell Shavers.
He holds on to the ball despite having a defender’s hand in his face.Unbelievable, Josh.Bills 0-13 Eagles 4:44, 3rd quarterThe rain continues to stream down in Buffalo which is limiting the output of both offenses.Josh Allen airs on out on 3rd down.The receiver can’t make the grab but the refs call a pass interference on Quinyon Mitchell.
Buffalo across midfield now,Bills 0-13 Eagles 6:14, 3rd quarterThe Smith catch is overturned into an incompletion,It did look like he stabilised the ball with the ground,The Eagles punt it away,Bills 0-13 Eagles 6:24, 3rd quarterUnbelievable grab by DeVontaa Smith.
He goes up HIGH in the pouring rain, but does he “survive the ground”? Would be a 17-yard gain if it is good moving the Eagles away from their own end zone,Meanwhile, Geno Smith has left the field for the Raiders after taking another huge hit as he threw the interception,He had been sacked three times and had taken nine hits before exiting,PICK! Raiders 10-27 Giants 12:41, 4th quarterGeno Smith’s nightmare season just gets darker and darker as he throws another interception,The veteran QB is 20/28 for 176 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Bills 0-13 Eagles 6:28, 3rd quarter3rd and 15: incomplete with pressure bearing down on Allen again.Another punt on the way for Buffalo.That is five boots by the Bills offense now.Philadelphia look to be returning to Super Bowl contention on the basis of the performance so far.Bills 0-13 Eagles 7:15, 3rd quarterNice pick up on 3rd down by the Bills to move them across midfield.
Dawson Knox makes the grab.Then Josh Allen is sacked four a fourth time.This time by Moro Ojomo.The Eagles are winning easily at the line of scrimmage.Bills 0-13 Eagles 10:15, 3rd quarterBuffalo are driving as James Cook picks up a 1st down with a 10-yard dash.
Ray Davis then follows suit with a 12-yard gain on a short pass,Bills are on their 40-yard line,D Banks 95 yard kick-off returnOoooh baby! What a return! Deonte Banks takes it the house for the 95-yard touchdown off the kick-off!!! He just runs straight through the Raiders untouched,Game off!Here you go, a nice summary of all the thrills and spills from the games already in the books,TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 10-20 Giants 0:31, 3rd quarterG Smith to T Lockett for four yardsOn 3rd and Goal, the Giants blitz and one onrushing defender smashes Geno Smith as he releases the pass while the other batts the ball down.
On the next the QB takes his revenge,Game on,Bills 0-13 Eagles 13:25, 3rd quarterPlastic v leather gloves is the chat coming from Tom Brady in the commentary box,Are we still talking football or something extra curricular? Meanwhile, a drop from Khalil Shakir as the wet ball slips by forces a Bills punt,Bills 0-13 Eagles 14:52, 3rd quarterBuffalo have a chance to reel Philadelphia in as they receive to start the second half.
They need to make some serious adjustments on offense to overcome a fierce showing from the Eagles.Josh Allen has been sacked three times, has fumbled twice and has just 90 yards passing.Plenty of time for a comeback though.I hear he is rather good at them.On the return Buffalo are called for holding.
They have given away a lot of penalties so far.That would be the fifth by my count.Bills 0-13 Eagles, half-timeAs we stand New England will clinch the AFC East in what would be a first division title for the Patriots since 2019.Buffalo have won the past five.It’s GOOD! Raiders 3-20 Giants 7:17, 3rd quarterB Sauls 23 yard field goalJaxson Dart races the Giants into the red zone with a 17-yard scramble
Dagenham’s sewing machinists did not go on strike primarily for equal pay | Letters
In her long read article (‘Pretty birds and silly moos’: the women behind the Sex Discrimination Act, 18 December), Susanna Rustin details some of the women who campaigned to make illegal the many forms of legal discrimination against women in services and in the workplace. One of the key groups of women she cites in this campaign were the “187 sewing machinists at Ford’s Dagenham Plant” who “forced the issue” with their 1968 strike for equal pay.The sewing machinists did not go on strike primarily for equal pay. They were outraged that the 1967 new grade structure introduced by the Ford Motor Company had evaluated the their work as grade B. The sewing machinists believed their work was at least semi-skilled and should have been graded C
Andy Whitelaw obituary
A chapter in Andy Whitelaw’s memoir is called “Brainwashing (literally)”. Flushing out blood clots from a newborn’s brain to prevent damage was just one technique evolved by the pioneering neonatologist, who has died aged 79. Among his other innovations was temporarily cooling oxygen-deprived newborns to prevent brain damage.In the 1970s, when Whitelaw began his career, he said the human brain was largely a mysterious “black box”. But improvements in scanning technology made it possible to discover (and therefore treat) conditions in babies that would otherwise have only been found at autopsy, after the baby had died
Vulnerable people still living in unsafe supported housing in England two years after law was passed
People are dying in unsafe accommodation and communities are being irreversibly damaged due to delays to a new law to clamp down on unregulated supported housing in England.It has been more than two years since the Supported Housing Act, a private member’s bill brought by the Conservative MP Bob Blackman, that applies to England and Wales, was given royal assent but it has yet to be implemented due to delays in creating the regulations.It was designed to tackle the scandal of “exempt” supported accommodation, in which unscrupulous landlords are making millions of pounds via housing benefit, providing poor-quality homes for vulnerable people, often providing little or no support.Supported accommodation is typically used to house people who have recently been released from prison, people with substance abuse issues, people fleeing domestic violence or people with mental health problems who require support to live independently.The government launched a consultation on new regulations for the sector in February as part of the act but has yet to publish its response, and campaigners fear it could be years before the law becomes a reality
Vulnerable people ‘set up to fail’ in Birmingham’s streets of unregulated ‘supported’ housing
In just four years, John Freeman has lived in about 30 different “exempt” accommodation properties in Birmingham, his stay in each place frequently breaking down without support for his mental health and his addictions.Use of exempt accommodation, a type of unregulated supported accommodation for vulnerable people, has soared across the country in recent years, particularly in Birmingham which now has about 30,000 units.“It’s terrible. Putting people with mental health problems in a house of people with mental health problems with no supervision is not helping anyone,” the 37-year-old said. “They say they’re going to do this and that, but as soon as they get you in there, they’re not interested
Equal pay settlements for female council workers pass £1bn
Equal pay settlements for female workers at local councils have passed the £1bn mark, with thousands more expected next year.Legal claims have been brought against local councils on behalf of people in female-dominated roles, such as cleaners or carers, who for years have been denied the conditions and benefits given to employees in traditionally male-dominated jobs.The trade union GMB said it had secured settlements for thousands of workers at six local councils totalling £1.1bn.The union said that almost 30,000 claims had been settled so far, all out of court, for an average amount of about £30,000
‘They can open doors’: the community-based project helping people into work in Teesside
“We’ve had quite a few people on the estate get jobs,” says Bryan Stokell, who found work as a full-time security guard thanks to Stockton-on-Tees’s JobsPlus project. The 47-year-old father has since become a “community champion”, encouraging his neighbours to enrol.“It got to the point where even my little boy was coming home and saying, ‘my friend’s mam and dad are looking for work’,” he grins. “They [the project] have a lot of contacts, they can open doors into places.”Stokell has had health problems, and was struggling to find a suitable role before his caseworker, Khialah Wilson, helped him with his CV and job applications
DIY chains enjoy bumper year as UK property market slows
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Patriots clinch AFC East as Eagles edge Bills while Browns shatter Steelers: NFL week 17 – as it happened