So rushed was Glenn Phillips' call-up to the New Zealand squad that he didn't have a numbered shirt when he took the field on the opening day. Dragged off the beach, having almost missed the phone call from selector Gavin Larsen, and racing through traffic to catch a plane across the Tasman, he was making his debut 12 hours later when Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls were laid out by the flu.

The team liaison helped get shirts printed up and by the second session, Phillips had '23' on his back. On the third day, he earned a more significant number, 52, in his first Test innings. It has become a tour of accidental success for New Zealand's batting, which has, on the whole, been overwhelmed by Australia's bowling. This innings was the first time Australia had been forced to take the second new ball in the series as Phillips followed Tom Blundell's rearguard century at the MCG in giving them momentary relief from the disappointments.

"Everyone gets called up a different way and mine was a little more entertaining than others," Phillips said. "It certainly gives me a story to tell the kids and grandkids one day."

ALSO READ: Report - Australia pull ahead after Lyon, Cummins bowl New Zealand out

He rode his luck. Nathan Lyon twice spilled return catches, with Phillips on 2 and 17, while he was also caught at deep square-leg off a James Pattinson no-ball, on 28. But there was enough evidence of his pedigree and the development from someone previously regarded as a T20 player - he made his international debut in the format in 2017 - to a much more rounded all-format player.

The numbers had started to come in domestic cricket where he was the third-highest run-scorer in last season's Plunket Shield - 610 runs at 76.25 - and there was a century for New Zealand A against England in November.

After walking in following the loss of two wickets in three balls, and given the early life by Lyon, his first Test boundary was a powerful pull off the spinner. Two more consecutive boundaries came off Lyon then against the second new ball he produced a pristine straight drive off Mitchell Starc and a pull for six off Pat Cummins before another swivel-pull took him to fifty off 113 balls.

It did not take long from the moment he marked his guard for the first time in Test cricket for an eye-catching comparison to gain plenty of interest: an uncanny similarity to Steven Smith's technique. Phillips said that some of it was coincidental, but that the backlift had been borrowed.

"I used to shuffle across every second or third ball, then over the winter I just struggled to move my feet one day and decided to do it every ball and it brought a little more rhythm to my technique," he explained. "I did take one thing out of Smudgers' [Smith's] technique where his bat goes way out from his body. For me, when I brought my shoulders back into line everything came down a bit more central, as opposed when I first started with [the bat] straight behind me it would pop out the other side and I'd get into trouble between the gate."

Two deliveries after the fifty, however, and the fourth chance Australia had to remove him went into the scoreboard when Cummins produced a beauty that nipped back through the gate to take off stump. "Obviously something in the universe was saying after 50, you've got no more chances, mate. It's just been that sort of lucky day, lucky couple of days," he said. "Things swing both ways. Today, it swung my way. I wish I could have gone on a little bit longer with that luck but as I said, one slight mistake and that's all it takes to end your innings at this level. For a Test debut, other than potentially getting a hundred, it's not a half bad start."

While Phillips more than held his own, it was a case of what might have been for the rest of the New Zealand's top order with five others falling between 20 and 49. Blundell was bowled through his legs, Jeet Raval had played well following his illness before being pinned lbw by Lyon; Tom Latham drove loosely to mid-on and Ross Taylor was trapped in front to remain 21 short of becoming New Zealand's highest Test run-scorer. The most exasperating dismissal, though, belonged to Colin de Grandhomme who was run out coming back for a second when he took on Matthew Wade's arm at deep square leg.

They managed to edge past 250 for the first time in the series as Matt Henry had his broken thumb targeted by Mitchell Starc before Lyon completed his first home ground five-wicket haul. When Australia, unsurprisingly, did not enforce the follow-on it meant that come Monday New Zealand will have fielded on all 12 days of the series.

Although there has been some small improvement over the last two innings, the batting has just not been able to withstand the sustained pressure from Australia. At some point on the fourth day - weather permitting - they will begin their final innings in pursuit of a draw which will need more than one piece of personal success to achieve.

It has taken a while for Nathan Lyon but he has finally got a five-wicket haul on his home ground. And by doing it against New Zealand, he has completed a set against every team he has faced.

Four more wickets in the second innings will give him his most prolific home season (last summer he took 25 wickets across six Tests) while his average of 24.68 is his best since his first campaign in 2011-12. It was the first five-wicket haul for an Australia spinner at the SCG since Nathan Hauritz's 5 for 53 against Pakistan in January 2010 at a ground where the average for spinners had been over 50 in the previous decade.

On a slow surface that was taking turn, Lyon came to the fore as he defied a spilt thumb, sustained when he dropped one of two caught-and-bowled chances off Glenn Phillips, to finish with 5 for 68. The final rewards came against the tail, but he had been a threat throughout the day and claimed the first two wickets of the innings which took 49 overs to secure as New Zealand's top order dug in.

"It's quite special to go up on the honours board and take five wickets at your home, in front of your family and friends, and to take five at one of your favourite venues from around the world," he said. "To be honest with you, I split my thumb but I was more frustrated about dropping a pretty easy catch, in my eyes.

"I pride myself on my fielding, especially the fielding off my own bowling. I know how hard it is to take Test wickets and when you're dropping catches off your own bowling it doesn't sit really well with you. So the thumb is fine. It is what it is. I'm more disappointed in my standards to be honest."

The SCG pitch has not been dissimilar to the two surfaces produced for the Sheffield Shield this season - although not quite as slow and low as the one against Western Australia - but while it has made life tough for the quicks, Lyon has found enough from the rough to keep him interested.

"I don't mind if it's slow if there's a bit of bounce, obviously spin as well, and there's starting to be some variable bounce," he said. "I'm very lucky I've got big Mitch Starc running down the middle of it, which is quite nice of him. That's one of the reasons I love playing with Starcy. It's about me bowling my best ball over and over and over again, challenging these guys' defence."

While it was a day of personal success, Lyon's thoughts - like so many in Australia - remained with those battling the catastrophic bushfires around the country. Earlier in the match, the Australian bowlers joined the mass of sportspeople and organisations pledging donations to the relief fund with A$1000 for each wicket they take during this Test.

"The true heroes in Australia right now are the firefighters and volunteers," he said. "It's such a small thing for us to donate $1000 a wicket. It puts cricket into perspective and it's showing Australia's true colours and how everyone rallies behind a country or people when they're having a hard time and really getting behind them. I'm proud to be an Australian in hard times, and we're getting around them."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady would be foolish to leave the New England Patriots as a free agent, and Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick would be even more foolish to let him leave. Brady as a Los Angeles Charger? Brady as an Indianapolis Colt?

Yeah, I know. It's no more absurd than Michael Jordan as a Washington Wizard.

But as much as Brady would love to do something Jordan did not -- win a seventh championship ring -- the modern-day athlete who might serve as a better comparison is another former Michigan man, Derek Jeter, who understood the power of being a one-uniform icon and who might enter the Baseball Hall of Fame later this month as its second unanimous inductee.

Jeter was big in New York. Brady is bigger in New England. If the 42-year-old quarterback had a perfect end-of-career situation waiting for him, such as a chance to play for the hometown team of his childhood dreams, then maybe this would be a pretty tough call. The problem is that the would-be successor Brady conquered, Jimmy Garoppolo, has that job nailed down in San Francisco. It's funny how life works out sometimes.

If nothing else, you should understand this after Tennessee made everyone remember the Titans on Saturday at a Gillette Stadium wrapped in a London fog: You have not seen the last of Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. in shotgun formation. After he initially deflected a news conference question about his future following the Titans' 20-13 AFC wild-card victory ("I just came off the field," he said), Brady called the possibility of retirement "pretty unlikely."

Given his restraint when it comes to saying anything of substance for public consumption, this was Brady clearly Gronk-spiking any chance that the pick-six he threw to former teammate Logan Ryan will go down as his 11,614th and final NFL pass.

Brady has said more than once that he might play beyond age 45. In September, his father said Brady was in the best shape of his life and capable of going another five or six seasons. Tom Sr. also talked to ESPN.com at the time about his son's decision to put his Brookline, Massachusetts, estate up for sale (the price has reportedly been slashed to a bargain-basement steal, at $33.9 million).

"You don't want the house sitting on the market two, three, four years if you get cut," Tom Sr. said. "It's a two-way street. The Patriots may feel they have the arsenal to continue on for many years after Tommy's gone, and that makes Tommy disposable. You know as well as I do that Bill is not the least bit sentimental with his ballplayers. If Tommy regresses in Bill's eyes, then he becomes expendable, and Tommy would have no choice but to go somewhere else."

Although Brady played this season at around the same declining level at which he played in 2013, right before Belichick drafted Garoppolo to replace him, he just won his sixth Super Bowl title 15 minutes ago. He's still good enough to win No. 7 with some improved playmakers on the outside and with the return of his left tackle, Isaiah Wynn, and his center, David Andrews. Brady played the entire season without his starting center -- and without Rob Gronkowski as a bailout option -- and managed to go 12-4, an improvement on last season's 11-5.

Brady was still good enough to win the AFC East for the 17th time. Then he was asked after this gutting defeat if his 11th consecutive division title would be a factor to consider as he enters free agency for the first time. Brady was essentially asked why he would walk away from the AFC East when nobody has succeeded in taking it from him.

"I just don't know what's going to happen," he said, "and I'm not going to predict it. And no one needs to make choices at this point. I love playing football. I love playing football for this team. I've loved playing for this team for two decades and winning a lot of games. And again, I don't know what it looks like moving forward, so we'll just take it day by day."

Right from the start Saturday, the fans tried to make Brady's decision for him. "PLEASE STAY TOMMY" pleaded one large sign in the stands. When Brady took the field for New England's first possession, the crowd welcomed him with a profound roar. Fans chanted throughout the game: "Bray-dee ... Bray-dee."

But it wasn't meant to be for the man who had won 20 of his previous 23 playoff games at home and whose 30 postseason victories were four better than the combined total of the other 11 starting QBs in the tournament. Brady delivered a few vintage passes, including a third-down dart to Julian Edelman late in the third quarter that cut through four Tennessee defenders, but his offense couldn't score a single point in the second half, marking only the third time that Brady's Patriots went scoreless in a half in his 41 postseason starts. What's more, New England's league-leading defense couldn't stop Derrick Henry, who was good for 182 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries.

Down 14-13 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds left and the ball at his own 11, Brady heard the fans chant for him one more time. He answered by going three-and-out, but only after his cherished target for eternity, Edelman, dropped an easy ball that would have earned a first down and might have rewritten the story of the entire night.

In the end, pinned on his 1-yard line in the final seconds, Brady watched Ryan make good on the almost certain pick-six he dropped near the close of the first half, leaving the Patriots to star in a tragicomedy that was the kickoff return that finished their season.

"Thank you for being the best fans in the NFL," the public-address announcer told the crowd as fans headed into the wet and miserable night. "Please arrive home safely."

Looking stunned, Brady engaged in a series of handshakes and hugs with a Titans team that features a wide circle of players, coaches and executives who learned their trade under Belichick's watch in Foxborough. Meanwhile, after he was finished with his midfield handshakes, Titans coach Mike Vrabel ran off the field like a kid running to see his new puppy.

A three-time champion linebacker with the Patriots, Vrabel was the right guy to put his old team to bed. Asked about "the Patriot Way" during the week, he joked that Patriot Way is the name of the street the local movie theater is on. Yet Vrabel embodied Belichick's system as much as any player who passed through it. He had 56 sacks, 11 interceptions and 10 receptions -- all for touchdowns, including two in Super Bowls -- during his New England career. He clubbed St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner in the head (no flag thrown) on the pick-six he threw to Ty Law in Belichick's first Super Bowl victory, and he recovered the onside kick against the Giants to preserve the Pats' 16-0 regular season in 2007.

A jokester who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, Vrabel sometimes gave Belichick suggestions for what he should run on defense. "When you're a coach and you're calling the defenses," Belichick told him then, "you should go ahead and do that."

Vrabel did that Saturday night, and he sent his former teammate, Brady, reeling into the most important offseason of the rest of his life. Would Brady really follow offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels out the door? Would he really leave New England behind if Kraft and Belichick don't finally pay him market value -- or close to it?

"I love the Patriots," Brady said. "I mean, this is the greatest organization, and playing for Mr. Kraft all these years and for Coach Belichick, there's nobody that's had a better career, I would say, than me, just being with them. So I'm very blessed, and I don't know what the future looks like, and I'm not going to predict it."

This should be an easy call for the quarterback and the people who employ him. The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls broke up after winning title No. 6, and their lead actors -- Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson -- all played and coached after their premature end in Chicago.

Even if he's intrigued by the idea of winning without Belichick, Brady should not leave for the unworthy franchises that appear to be fits for him. He was born in California to be a one-uniform lifer in New England. It's time for Mr. Brady to sign back up.

It's time for No. 12 to get to work on ring No. 7.

SAN FRANCISCO -- As speculation regarding his future abounds, Pistons big man Andre Drummond reiterated that he wants to spend the rest of his career in Detroit.

Drummond, who has spent his entire eight-year career with the organization, did not hesitate when asked why he would like to stay in Detroit.

"I'm not a quitter, for one," Drummond said after scoring 14 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in Saturday's 111-104 win over the Golden State Warriors. "I was never brought up to be a quitter. If I start somewhere, I try to finish there, try to complete the mission, which is to win a championship here. It will never be me that wants to go anywhere ... I love being here. I would love to play here the rest of my career."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that the Pistons have engaged in "serious" talks with the Atlanta Hawks in a package centering around Drummond, and they are having conversations with several other teams as well.

Drummond has a $29 million option for next season that he can turn down and become a free agent.

The 26-year-old took the news of trade talks in stride on Saturday night as reporters asked about his reaction. He brushed off the idea that trade rumors had any impact on his game.

"I've been dealing with this since the year I signed my contract so the trade rumors will always come around, so this is another year for me," Drummond said. "It's always that time of year around January where trade talks come. Nothing's happened. Obviously, the talks have started, so these questions will start to come. I've been looking forward to them coming, but for me, I'm just going to continue to play the game I play, play here in Detroit where I love to be, and whatever happens, happens."

Pistons coach Dwane Casey said he spoke to Drummond about the news prior to Saturday's game.

"I had a conversation with Andre, but I'm not going to talk about what it was," Casey said before the game. "But most of the players in this league understand there's always going to be rumors -- and if you're about anything, you're always going to have interest. If you're not producing or not getting the job done, nobody's going to be calling, you're not going to be seen in the rumors section. But if you're doing a good job or elite at what you do, people are going to call and have interest in you. There's always going to be rumors."

While discussing the conversation, Drummond said he did not get the sense any deal was "imminent."

"It wasn't really much to talk about," Drummond said. "He just said it's that time of the year again. It's nothing that's imminent. It's not like they're going to move me tomorrow. Obviously, they're listening. But I think I'm where I'm at."

CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers star Kevin Love showed his frustration several times on the court during Saturday night's 121-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but afterward he denied having any problems with his teammates.

Love, who has been the subject of trade speculation all season, became annoyed late in the second quarter, when Collin Sexton didn't throw him the ball as he was getting position in the lane. The veteran forward threw his arms in the air and slowly walked toward Sexton at the top of the key.

After receiving the ball, Love threw a low pass to Cedi Osman, who bobbled the ball before shooting a 3-pointer.

"We were making a playcall," Love said. "We were in the bonus, and Chris Paul was on me, so I felt swing it to me and try to throw it in the post, see if they double-team and get a good shot out of that. That's not what we did, and yeah, I was frustrated."

In an Instagram post following Saturday's game, Love shared a photo of himself with his arm around Sexton and wrote, in part, "I love my teammates."

View this post on Instagram

A lot of non truths being shared...but I've learned that we live in a world where people remember accusations and not rebuttals. Let them paint whatever picture they want. Fact is - I love my teammates. ??????

A post shared by Kevin Love (@kevinlove) on Jan 4, 2020 at 8:55pm PST

Cavaliers coach John Beilein took blame for the playcall as the clock was winding down but said he doesn't want his players to show frustration on the court.

"If I do it, if anyone does it, it really doesn't make you a better player or a better coach at that time," Beilein said. "It's like carrying a suitcase around with you, that you have extra baggage. We don't need to do that. ... So as it's pointed out to me or I see it, we try to address it the best we can."

According to a report by The Athletic, Love yelled at Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman earlier Saturday about a recent fine. Citing anonymous sources, The Athletic said the incident took place following the team's shootaround, and Love was screaming in front of teammates, coaches and front-office staff.

The report in The Athletic said Love, 31, was fined $1,000 for his outburst on the bench during Tuesday's game in Toronto, in which he pounded a chair in frustration as he came off the court during a timeout.

Love's name has come up in trade talks as the rebuilding Cavaliers (10-25) are looking to the future. He's in the second season of a four-year, $120 million contract extension.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

How do you optimise your marathon performance through nutrition? Peta Bee reports

Sports nutrition is ever-evolving and what was once considered the right way to prepare nutritionally for a marathon may be scientifically old news. So what are the new rules of eating and drinking to perform at your best on the big day? We ask the experts.

Don’t fall into the fat trap

In recent years, the theory that carbs are the most important fuel for a marathon runner has been challenged, with suggestions that proportionately more fat and protein will have a greater effect on distance running performance primarily because the body’s fat reserve is much larger than its carbohydrates reserve.

However, a study at the Australian Catholic University tested the theory on a group of competitive half-marathon runners by blocking their bodies’ use of fat. For the trial, the male runners were asked to run on a treadmill until reaching a pace 95 per cent of their best half-marathon time and until they reached exhaustion.

Prior to and during the test they ate a calorie-free or carbohydrate-based meal and also took nicotinic acid to prevent their fat stores from being utilised.

If fat was a prime provider of fuel for the athletes, their performances would have plummeted. Instead, the researchers found that
not only was their running unaffected, but blocking fat use did not affect the way they used carbohydrates.

In fact, 83 to 91 per cent of the energy used to fuel their run came from carbs. Granted the study focused on the half-marathon distance, but the findings are relevant to the full classic distance, too.

“Competitive runners should focus on dietary strategies that will increase carbohydrate availability before and during competition to optimise race performance in events lasting up to 90 minutes in duration,” says Jill Leckey, primary author of the study. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking otherwise.

Race day tactics

Resist the urge to overeat. Don’t think you need to consume all of the calories needed to fuel you through 26 miles on race day. The idea is that you will have consumed a carb-rich diet in the preceding days to top up glycogen stores.

“Before the race it is simply a case of eating what works for you,” says John Brewer, a professor of sport. “Leave two to three hours after a breakfast of high carbohydrate foods such as toast, bread, honey, jam cereals or porridge and avoid high fat and high protein foods which take a long time to digest.”

If you can’t stomach breakfast – and many runners say they cannot – then try something like a yoghurt with bananas and an energy drink. Although not ideal, it is better than nothing.

“In-race nutrition should be something you have tried before,” Brewer says. “Don’t accept snacks on the way which could upset your stomach.”

Try real food for energy

A 2019 Mintel Sports Nutrition Trend Analysis reported that athletes across all sports are moving away from commercial energy products containing additives and artificial ingredients in favour of real food.

How might this work for marathon runners, you might wonder? Matt Cole, course leader in sport and exercise nutrition at Birmingham City University, says there are plenty of options.

“Commercial products are no better nutritionally than foods you might find in your cupboard or fridge,” he says. “Dried apricots, raisins and sultanas are all great energy boosters.”

A 2012 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found raisins worked as well as energy chews in improving the 5km times of a group of runners when compared with water. There were no differences in gastrointestinal effects between the sports drinks and dried fruit, although researchers at the University of California said the raisins won overall as they were more nutritious and “all-natural”.

Another paper, published a year earlier, showed how raisins improved cycling performance as effectively as sports jelly beans when eaten as a snack on a cycle ride and a recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found a dollop of mashed potato to be as effective at boosting energy in endurance events as expensive gels.

“Potatoes are a promising alternative for athletes because they represent a cost-effective, nutrient-dense and whole-food source of carbohydrates,” wrote professor Nicholas Burd, a researcher in community health at the University of Illinois who led the research.

“Furthermore, they serve as a savoury race fuel option when compared (with) the high sweetness of (carbohydrate) gels.”

Hydration rules

Whether it’s warm or not, a hydration plan is essential. “Start hydrating the day before (your race) and the night before keep a glass of water by your bed so that you can sip through the night,” says Brewer. “It’s best to reach a state of full hydration an hour before you start, after which avoid drinking large quantities to give you time to empty your bladder.”

During the race, don’t be tempted to take fluid whenever it is offered. “If stations are every mile, then at most drink one third of a small bottle of water,” Brewer says. “Top up energy and electrolytes with the isotonic drinks provided, but always make sure you have tested them before.”

In the hours after your race, drink milk. Early in 2019, scientists from Loughborough, Newcastle and Northumbria universities reviewed the benefits of cow’s milk and reported it to be “uniquely suitable as a post-exercise recovery drink”.

Like commercial sports drinks, it is isotonic (meaning it has a similar concentration to body fluids) and improves hydration, the synthesis of muscle protein, replaces some carbohydrates and can help to reduce muscle soreness.

They concluded that “milk is at least comparable and often outperforms most commercially available recovery drinks but is available at a fraction of the cost”.

Recovery focus

Rest, recuperation and replacing carbs and electrolytes (body salts) lost in sweat is essential after a marathon. But what to eat? At Appalachian State University, exercise scientists reporting in the journal PLOS One gave endurance athletes either 225ml of a sports drink or half of a banana every half an hour or giving them only plain water to drink.

Blood tests revealed inflammatory markers were lower when the banana or sports drink were consumed but that the bananas had the added benefit of altering the activity of some genes and had a more potent anti-inflammatory effect.

This, they suggested, could mean bananas aid recovery so eat them after you finish a long run. A 2015 study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found beef jerky to be as effective at replacing the salts lost in sweat as commercial sports drinks.

“The salt it contains encourages you to drink and replace fluids, which is important after a marathon,” Cole says.

HOUSTON -- Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen said he could learn from his first career playoff start, a 22-19 overtime loss to the Houston Texans in an AFC wild-card game Saturday.

Allen noted that every possession matters. He said his fumble early in the fourth quarter cost the Bills three points, which was ultimately the difference in the game.

Allen completed 24 of 46 passes for 264 yards, ran for 92 yards on nine carries and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass on the game's opening drive. His fumble was costly, but he did enough to put Buffalo in position to tie the score in the game's waning seconds.

Still, as the quarterback and captain of his team, Allen said he took the loss personally.

"Every loss is personal, and if I can go out there and execute differently -- hindsight is 20/20, but there's some things we should have hit on," said Allen, who is in his second season. "I put that on my shoulders, especially with how well our defense played today. Teams go how their quarterbacks usually go, and I've got to be better for this team."

Their season freshly halted, Allen's teammates sat at their lockers in a stunned silence.

After building a 16-0 lead, Buffalo watched the Texans score 19 consecutive points before Stephen Hauschka's field goal tied the score with five seconds remaining in regulation. But Ka'imi Fairbairn's 28-yard field goal in overtime brought the Bills' feel-good season to an abrupt end.

"It's hard. It's frustrating. We didn't do enough to get it done," Buffalo receiver Cole Beasley said. "Our feeling was it was our game to win. It didn't work out that way."

Experiencing a season-ending loss is something the Bills are familiar with. They have not won a playoff game since 1995, a streak that will continue until at least the 2020 season.

Even after a game they seemed comfortably in control of, Bills players insisted losses hurt the same, no matter the magnitude.

"I'm yet to win a Super Bowl," safety Micah Hyde said. "Each and every loss that I've had -- whether it's the playoffs or, last year, not making it to the playoffs -- it's the same thing. It doesn't matter if you lose by one or lose by 20, a loss is a loss

"The way you go out stings at first, but at the end of the day, you realize that no matter what, losing and not winning a championship is really daunting itself."

Bills coach Sean McDermott, who is one of three coaches in franchise history to make the playoffs twice in his first three seasons, knew there was nothing he could say to "take the pain away" in a locker room that was feeling plenty of it.

Even after he reminded his team how proud he was of its fight, players were still left with a feeling of disbelief.

"He was trying to just be compassionate with us. He knows it's a sucky feeling," guard Jon Feliciano said. "It really sucks. Honestly, I don't think anyone thought we would be going home right now. I love this team. I love Coach, [general manager Brandon] Beane, and I am just so happy to just be here.

"Honestly I just can't believe we are going home."

Home is where the Bills will prepare for an offseason in which they'll have roughly $90 million in salary-cap space. It's also where they'll make decisions on several impending free agents, including starting defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, defensive end Shaq Lawson and guard Quinton Spain.

Phillips made his stance known after a season in which he recorded a team-high 9.5 sacks.

"I hope this isn't my last game with the Bills," he said. "I love the Bills. I hope they bring me back. But it's up to them now.

"We are a young team. We are young. We like to have a lot of fun while we are out there. We don't get this group of guys together very often, so when you do, you have to make the most of it. If we can bring this team back, this won't happen again."

But the stench from this loss won't soon disappear. Whether the Bills learn from it or dwell on it is up to them.

"It's gonna haunt us for sure in the offseason," cornerback Tre'Davious White said. "We'll be back, and it's just gonna make us stronger going forward."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A winter storm named Henry rolled through New England on Saturday. That's also what rolled through the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

The Tennessee Titans rode Derrick Henry to a 20-13 win against the New England Patriots in the wild-card round, as the back ran for 182 yards -- the most against a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team in a playoff game.

Henry is the first player to gain over 100 yards against the Patriots in the playoffs since Seattle Seahawks back Marshawn Lynch gained 102 yards in 2015, and he joined Hall of Famer Marcus Allen as the only former Heisman winners in NFL history to record multiple 150-yard rushing games in the playoffs.

Tennessee's game plan was to get the game into the fourth quarter with a lead and use a steady dose of Henry to close it out. Playing on his 26th birthday, Henry set the tone early by picking up over 100 yards in the first half. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound back carried the ball five times for 50 on the final drive in the second quarter.

Henry also caught a screen pass for 22 yards that set up his one-yard touchdown plunge to give the Titans the lead for good.

"We were just locked in, we wanted it," Henry said on CBS after the game. "And I thing that was our mindset, just coming in here and doing what we do in all three phases, no matter what happens in the game."

The Titans handed the Patriots their earliest playoff exit since 2009 when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens in in the wild-card round. Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel secured his first playoff win at the expense of his former team and coach, Bill Belichick.

Now the Titans have a date with the top-seeded Ravens in Baltimore in the divisional round next Saturday.

"It's a great win against a great team in a hostile environment," Henry said. "It's a credit to my team. I am just happy we are able to advance."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Running back Derrick Henry steamrolled through the New England Patriots in what could be quarterback Tom Brady's final game with the franchise, as the Tennessee Titans knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs with a 20-13 victory at Gillette Stadium.

The loss marks the earliest the Patriots have exited the playoffs since a 33-14 wild-card round loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 10, 2010.

The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry finished with 182 yards on 34 carries and one touchdown, which is the most rushing yards ever against a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team in a playoff game. With one catch for 22 yards, Henry had 200 total scrimmage yards, becoming the first player since Calvin Johnson in 2011 to have 200 scrimmage yards in a season finale and their first playoff game that same year.

The sixth-seeded Titans will visit the No. 1 Ravens in the AFC divisional round.

Meanwhile, the Patriots enter the offseason earlier than they are accustomed to, and with a major question looming over them.

Since Brady is a free agent after the season for the first time in his career, and the Patriots can not assign him the franchise tag, it set up a scenario that has never been in play in Brady's 20-year career: The possibility this was his final game.

The crowd acknowledged Brady before the first snap Saturday with chants of "Brady! Brady! Brady!" and others brought signs to acknowledge him, with one reading, "Don't leave Tommy." On Thursday, Brady had said he hadn't thought about the possibility.

The Patriots' inability to gain a yard on back-to-back drives in the second quarter was a critical part of the game, with the Titans decisively slamming the door.

After stopping fullback Elandon Roberts on a third-and-1 dive near midfield five minutes into the quarter, the Titans then stiffened on the Patriots' ensuing drive after the Patriots advanced to the 1-yard line.

The Patriots attempted three straight runs -- with running back Sony Michel losing 1 yard on first down, running back Rex Burkhead held just short of the goal-line on a 1-yard run on second down, and then Michel dropped for a loss of two yards, as linebacker Rashaan Evans was in on all three tackles.

The Patriots settled for a 21-yard Nick Folk field goal to go up 13-7, and the Titans quickly responded with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 1 minute, 41 seconds in which Henry accounted for all 75 yards.

After taking a 14-13 lead into halftime, the Titans' defense then held the Patriots scoreless in the second half. According to ESPN's Stats & Information, it was just the third time the Patriots were held scoreless in a half in 41 playoff games (82 halves) since 2001.

Also, with the Titans coached by former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, Belichick has now lost his most recent game against each of his former assistants and players that are active head coaches -- Vrabel, Miami's Brian Flores (2019, Week 17), Houston's Bill O'Brien (2019, Week 13) and Detroit's Matt Patricia (2018, Week 3).

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets are sliding.

After holding a 16-point first-half lead, the Nets lost to the Toronto Raptors 121-102 on Saturday night at Barclays Center. It was Brooklyn's fifth consecutive loss and sixth in its past seven games. Brooklyn's overall record fell to 16-18.

On Saturday, the Nets were competitive through most of the game but crumbled in the fourth quarter, giving up 38 points in the final period.

"These things happen," Joe Harris said of the slump. "You stick with the process, you stay level-headed and you trust in the process that we are going to figure it out and get it back on track."

The loss put a damper on the long-awaited return of guard Caris LeVert, who underwent surgery on his right thumb in mid-November. LeVert finished with 13 points in just under 16 minutes, and said that once he was on the floor, he didn't think about the thumb very much.

"Obviously we wanted to win," LeVert said. "But just me personally, I feel pretty good."

Now Brooklyn must pick up the pieces. LeVert's return means the Nets are as close to healthy as they've been since their October big-free-agency-summer honeymoon phase.

From November until early January, the Nets scrambled to fill in injury holes. Guard Kyrie Irving has been sidelined since Nov. 14 with a shoulder injury and doesn't seem to be close to returning to the floor. On Saturday, Irving spoke with reporters for the first time in nearly two months and did not give any indication that he is nearing a return.

Forward Kevin Durant is out for the season. LeVert missed seven weeks. Brooklyn was without forward Wilson Chandler (suspension) for 25 games. Its lineup seemed to change with the weather.

So the Nets filled in the gaps. Guard Spencer Dinwiddie moved into the starting lineup and thrived. In Dinwiddie's second-unit absence, David Nwaba took on a larger role with that bench group. The Nets signed Iman Shumpert as part of their lineup triage.

Faced with a roster capacity conundrum as Chandler inched toward his return, the Nets waived Shumpert. But then the injury bug bit again. Nwaba tore his Achilles tendon and was waived. Garrett Temple missed a game with a sore knee. The once impressively resilient Nets started to skid.

The Nets still have adjustments to make that could give them more firepower and help them seal a victory. Against the Raptors, LeVert was on an undisclosed minutes restriction. Coach Kenny Atkinson said that he gave no thought to keeping LeVert in past that limit, even though the Nets were entangled in a close contest. Before his injury, LeVert was a starter, and Atkinson will likely move him back into that primary group eventually.

"When I first started this job," Atkinson said, "We had 20 wins and were the worst team in the league, so we've been through the losing streaks. This will test us, test our character. I have enough confidence in the team. We have to stick with our habits and our principles and trust what we do and we'll get out of this."