The New England Patriots are in danger of missing out on a first round playoff bye, and could be entering the post season as a wild card entry for the first time since 2009.
The Pats lost their second game in a row on the road, a 17-10 setback to the Steelers in Pittsburgh, and with a 3-5 record away from Gilette Stadium, it does not bode well should they be a wild card entry. They won't have the protection of playing at home, and they'd need to win three games in a row to make it to the Superbowl, something no Bill Belichick-led Patriots team has ever been able to do.
The Steelers had been on a three game losing skid but righted the ship against the Pats by letting the sails out for rookie running back Jaylen Samuels, who rushed for a season-high 142 yards in just his second NFL start.
The Pats offense was stifled mostly by their own sloppiness, the team flagged 14 times for 106 penalty yards, a very uncharacteristic showing. The Pats can still win one of their final two games of the regular season to secure the franchise's tenth straight AFC east division title, but to get a first round bye they would need a loss by the Houston Texans in their final two games, because the Texans beat the NY Jets yesterday and they now own the first round bye.
If the Patriots limp into the playoffs and lose early in the wild card round, it will be that debacle in Miami two weeks ago when they couldn't stop the 'Fins from scoring on the last play of the game from their own 30 yard line that will be the reason, albeit indirectly, why.
The NY Giants are officially out of the playoff picture after a 17-0 loss to the Tennessee Titans, with Derrick Henry torching the Giants for 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
In the NHL the Boston Bruins hosted a rejuvenated Buffalo Sabres team, and battled back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 with a tying goal by Torey Krug with about five minutes to go in the third, but the combination of former BU star Jack Eichel and his new linemate this season Jeff Skinner proved to be too much for the Bruins to handle. Skinner scored his second goal of the game on a nifty backhand pass out in front of the crease by Eichel for the go-ahead and eventual game winner in Buffalo's 4-2 win at the Garden.
In men's college basketball, the UVM Catamounts saw their leading scorer Anthony Lamb held to just two points in the first half, but Lamb made up it in the second, scoring 15 of his 17 game high points in the latter frame to lift UVM to a 75-70 win over Northeastern at Patrick Gym yesterday, the Catamount's fifth straight victory.
UVM had to eke out the victory without Ernie Duncan, who did not play in the second half after falling awkwardly to the floor in the first half and leaving with an injury.
In women's college basketball Vermont Tech came into their contest against St. Michael's with an 8-5 record while the Purple Knights had just two wins on the season.
V-T also sported a ranking of 13th in the latest Division II national poll, so the outcome was fairly stunning as the Purple Knights rolled all over Vermont Tech 110-52 for their third win of the year, and their largest margin of victory over an opponent since 1983.
St. Mike's got a monster game from senior Emily Ferreri, who recorded a triple double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, a career high in that category. She got plenty of help from Alyssa Breunig, who had a career high 18 points and 10 rebounds in the home victory at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester.
Finally, the NY Mets have reportedly agreed to a two-year, $19 Million contract with veteran catcher Wilson Ramos, who played for the Phillies last year. Ramos is a solid defensive catcher with a career .273 batting average so he can hit a little as well.
