Sports In Review From The Weekend

The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense of their Super Bowl title continues.

The Eagles defeated the Bears 16-15 on Sunday evening in Chicago, narrowly escaping as Cody Parkey’s 43-yard attempt at the winning field goal hit the left upright, bounced off the crossbar and fell forward into the end zone. It was a sad and ironic finish for Parkey, who had hit the left upright four times in a single game earlier in the season. An Eagles player said he tipped the kick at the line.

The San Diego Chargers built a 20-3 lead and then held off the Ravens 23-17 in Baltimore, also on Sunday. Michael Crabtree caught a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter for the Ravens, who lost a fumble near midfield with 19 seconds left.

Saturday’s games saw the Dallas Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks 24-22 and the Indianapolis Colts top the Houston Texans 21-7. The Cowboys were the only home team in the first round of the playoffs.

The matchups for the coming weekend: Colts at Kansas City Chiefs, Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Chargers-New England Patriots, Eagles-New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

College football:
The long-anticipated College Football Playoff championship game is Monday night in Santa Clara, Calif. No. 1 Alabama plays No. 2 Clemson.

College basketball:
No. 1 Duke, which hadn’t played since Dec. 20, dispatched Clemson 87-68. No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Virginia also won, while No. 5 Kansas fell to Iowa State and No. 6 Nevada, previously unbeaten, lost to New Mexico.

Golf:
Xander Schauffele won the Sentry Tournament of Champions title in Kapalua, Hawaii. After a bogey on the opening hole on Sunday, Schauffele played the last 16 in 12 under par with two eagles and eight birdies, tying the course record of 62.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman