The NFL confirmed Friday that New York Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin has been suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy.  

According to league spokesman Brian McCarthy, Austin is appealing the suspension. The league will have no further comment.

There is no indication Austin was betting on NFL games, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. However, the person said Austin was placing bets on other professional sports leagues, which violates the rules for NFL coaches and team personnel. Players are allowed to gamble on other sports leagues and even college football, however. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Austin’s lawyer, Bill Deni, said in a statement that the 10-year NFL veteran placed wagers from a legal mobile account on ‘table games and non-NFL professional sports’ while maintaining he did not gamble on the NFL. 

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Austin, 38, is in his second season coaching the Jets wide receiving corps and began his coaching career as an offensive quality control coach with the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. He had spent the two previous seasons as a pro and college scouting intern with the Dallas Cowboys, the team he played for in eight of his 10 NFL seasons.

With the Cowboys, Austin made two Pro Bowls and was voted the 2009 Most Improved Player by the Pro Football Writers’ Association of America. Austin spent the final two seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns (2014) and Philadelphia Eagles (2015). 

Austin played collegiately at Monmouth and is a New Jersey native. 

In April 2014, after his time with the Cowboys had concluded, Austin made a deep run in the World Poker Tour World Championship but finished short of the prize threshold. 

This is the second gambling controversy connected to the NFL this year. In March, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley — then on the Atlanta Falcons — was suspended for a year because he made less than 10 bets while on injured reserve with a non-football illness. Ridley, however, was betting on NFL games and sometimes the Falcons, the league said. 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

CHARLOTTE — A few plays after Chuba Hubbard broke a 33-yard run late in Saturday’s second quarter, the Carolina Panthers’ sixth run of 20-plus yards in the first half, the T.I. song, “Whatever you like,” came blaring over the sound system at Bank of America Stadium.

The song and its chorus — “You can have whatever you like” — was a fitting description for what the Panthers did to the Detroit Lions on Saturday, steamrolling their way to a season-high 320 yards rushing and dealing a blow to the Lions’ playoff hope with a commanding 37-23 victory.

The Lions had won three straight games and six of seven to claw into postseason contention after a 1-6 start.

They still have about a 22% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.com, but likely need to win their final two games against the Chicago Bears next Sunday and Green Bay Packers on Jan. 8, and will need help from other teams.

The Washington Commanders and New York Giants hold the final two wild-card spots in the NFC, and the Seattle Seahawks (7-8) remain ahead of the Lions in the standings based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

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The Lions (7-8) had played like one of the best teams in the NFL since early November, beating playoff contenders each of the past three weeks, but were listless from the start Saturday.

Hubbard ran for 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage and had a 35-yard gain after a false start on the next play.

Raheem Blackshear capped Carolina’s five-play, 78-yard opening drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Carolina scored on four of its next five possessions to build a 31-7 lead in the third quarter.

Playing in 20-degree weather with wind gusts that made temperatures feel like single digits, the Lions struggled to disengage from blocks and missed tackles on defense, and had none of the turnover luck they’d enjoyed the previous seven weeks.

Jared Goff led an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown drive on the Lions’ opening possession, completing third-down passes to DJ Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and later was in position to give the Lions an early lead. But he lost a fumble on the second play of the second quarter off the snap from Frank Ragnow.

The turnover was Goff’s first since a Week 9 win over the Green Bay Packers.

The Panthers recovered, started the ensuing possession at their own 9-yard line, and went 91 yards in eight plays for a score. D’Onta Foreman had a 38-yard run on the second play of the drive, and Sam Darnold scored on an option keeper.

The Lions went three-and-out on their next four possessions, while the Panthers continued to run at will.

Foreman capped Carolina’s second 90-plus-yard drive of the half, this one an 11-play, 92-yard march, with a 4-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left in the second quarter, and Hubbard had a 33-yard run a minute later to set up a Panthers field goal for a 24-7 advantage at halftime.

Both Hubbard and Foreman set career-highs in rushing: Hubbard finished with 125 yards on 12 carries, Foreman had 165 yards on 21 carries and the Panthers averaged 8.8 yards per play and 7.4 yards per rush. The Lions had allowed 167 yards rushing total in their previous three games.

The Panthers finished with seven runs of 20 or more yards — 21, 21, 28, 30, 33, 34 and 38 yards — and the Lions gave up their most rushing yards since allowing 328 yards in a 1998 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Goff finished 25 of 42 passing for 355 yards with three touchdowns, all to backup tight end Shane Zylstra.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

As soccer legend Pelé’s health has reportedly worsened, one of his daughters took to social media to post an emotional tribute.

Kely Nascimento, who has been keeping the world updated with regular social media posts on her father’s condition, shared a touching photo Friday of herself hugging Pelé in his hospital bed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

The caption, written in Portuguese, reads: ‘We continue to be here, in the fight and in faith. One more night together.’

A statement from Albert Einstein hospital Wednesday said Pelé’s cancer has advanced, and he is under ‘elevated care’ related to ‘kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.’

Pelé, 82, was hospitalized Nov. 29 to treat a respiratory infection aggravated by COVID-19. He has been undergoing chemotherapy to fight cancer after he had a tumor removed from his colon in September 2021.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin passed another legend, and only The Great One is ahead of him. 

He scored his 801st and 802nd goals of his NHL career against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night to tie and move past late Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for sole possession of second place on the all-time goal list.

Ovechkin is now 92 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s 894. Ovechkin, 37, is signed for another three seasons beyond this one, giving him a good chance to set the record.

“Step by step, guys,” Ovechkin said after posing with sons Sergei and Ilya and the milestone pucks. “Still a long way.”

Ovechkin tied Howe at 18:22 of the first period with a snap-shot from the right wing on a pretty sequence.

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Ovechkin scored No. 802 into an empty net with one minute to go, flicking the puck toward the net while players converged on him along the left boards.  

There was a brief pause in play as teammates poured onto the ice in celebration. A video message from Hall of Famer Mark Howe, the son of Gordie Howe, played and Ovechkin then took a spin to salute the crowd.

“It’s nice to get it done at home, in front of our house, family, our friends – obviously fans,” Ovechkin said. “It’s a big thing.”

He shook hands with every member of the Jets – the franchise he’s scored more goals against than any other – after the game, a 4-1 Capitals win.

“He’s done so much for this league,” Jets forward Adam Lowry said of Ovechkin. “He’s a great personality and it’s just a sign of respect to really let him know we appreciate all he’s done for the league, all he’s done for us as players. The milestone, it’s an incredible accomplishment.”   

Ovechkin now has 22 goals in 36 games this season, keeping him just on pace for yet another 50-goal season.  

Gretzky’s mark was once thought unbreakable, but Ovechkin, the 2004 No. 1 overall pick who scored twice in his NHL debut and had 65 goals in his third season, has been considered the most likely to do it. He has kept up the excellence that allowed him to win nine goal-scoring titles.    

Blessed with a blistering shot and durability, he was fastest to go from 600 to 700 goals (154 games) and from 700 goals to 800 (162 games), with Gretzky coming in second both times. He reached 800 goals on Dec. 13 in Chicago with the 29th hat trick of his career.

Ovechkin has moved past many of the league’s biggest names in recent years.

Since early January 2020, he has passed Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Mike Gartner, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull, Jaromir Jagr and Howe.

Last season, he broke Dave Andreychuk’s power-play goal record and tied the NHL records for most 40- and 50-goal seasons. 

This season, he broke Howe’s record for most goals with one franchise, plus broke Gretzky’s record for road goals and Jagr’s mark for most game-opening goals. He also broke Raymond Bourque’s record for shots in Thursday night’s game.  

There will be a playoff game for the New York Giants next Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Not officially, of course, but in reality, no matter the frustration and angst that followed a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings after kicker Greg Joseph sent Big Blue home for Christmas with a 61-yard field goal as time expired Saturday afternoon.

If the Giants (8-6-1) beat the Indianapolis Colts next week, they’ll make their first trip to the postseason in six years. The facts of that might not immediately soften the blow of what transpired in Minnesota in a Christmas Eve showdown between two playoffs contenders, however. The Vikings (12-3) have already clinched the NFC North, so they’re headed to the playoffs. The Giants, on the other hand, are forced to wait for their celebration.

They got what they needed to have that opportunity against the Vikings with the Seahawks losing in Kansas City and the Lions getting upset by Carolina. Instead the Giants will have a win-and-in scenario at home next weekend.

‘I look at it as, let’s get ready for the Colts,’ Giants coach Brian Daboll said in his post-game news conference before adding later: ‘You never feel good after a loss.’

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A Giants-Vikings rematch in the playoffs is certainly a possibility if the Giants get there. But Minnesota is currently the second seed and a game ahead of San Francisco with two games to play, provided the 49ers beat Washington on Saturday.

San Francisco will be favored to win out, although their matchup with Washington is the toughest game on paper. The Vikings close with the Packers and Bears. So if the Giants end up qualifying and finish as the sixth seed, they’ll be set to visit the third seed.

Here are other takeaways from the performance for the Giants:

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PLAYOFF PICTURE: Who’s in, who’s out and who’s on the bubble?

Too many mistakes to overcome

A lost fumble by rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger at the 24-yard line going in as the Giants were driving.

An interception by Patrick Peterson of a Daniel Jones pass at the 18 with the Giants, again, driving to the end zone.

‘You can’t have those mistakes,’ Daboll said. ‘The fumble took away three points. The interception took away three points, at minimum.’

But the worst of them all was the blocked punt with 4:02 remaining. The Vikings broke through the middle and Josh Metellus got a piece of Jamie Gillan’s kick, allowing them to retake possession at the Giants’ 29.

Five plays later, Kirk Cousins fired a strike to Justin Jefferson, who was doubled, and he shook free for a 17-yard touchdown and an eventual 24-16 lead.

‘We didn’t play a clean game,’ Giants co-captain Julian Love, ‘and that’s what games down the stretch come down to.”

The Giants had other missed chances, too, the biggest being an interception by rookie Cor’Dale Flott that was overturned as an incompletion when replays showed the ball hit the ground and he did not complete the catch.

Another statement from Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones carried the Giants again, and he continues to show why he has earned respect this season. However that plays out in terms of a contract and an anticipated return as the franchise’s quarterback remains to be seen.

But it’s clear that the Jones’ criticism on social media will never stop. There was a faction of Giants’ fans who never embraced Eli Manning, and he won two Super Bowls, so … yeah.

Jones was certainly not the reason for Saturday’s loss. He’s the reason they even had a chance.

He completed 30 of 42 (71.4%) for 334 yards, a touchdown and an interception with a 2-point pass to Bellinger that tied the score at 24 with 2:01 remaining. Jones also rushed for 34 yards, including a critical 8-yard run on third down that set up Saquon Barkley’s touchdown run on fourth and short.

His leading receivers Saturday were Richie James (8-90) and Isaiah Hodgins (8-89-1).

Live and die by the blitz

Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will adjust, but he isn’t going to change what he believes. He loves to blitz, and the defense excelled throughout much of Saturday’s game because of the schematic advantages gained by Martindale’s approach.

The Giants were aggressive again on the final offensive play that set up Joseph’s game-winning kick, and the Vikings countered with a screen to star receiver Justin Jefferson that went for 17 yards on third-and-11.

Love said the Giants were willing to live with stopping Jefferson short of what had been Joseph’s career long.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, Kansas City shut down Geno Smith and Seattle’s slumping offense and the Chiefs rolled to a 24-10 victory over the Seahawks on Saturday.

Travis Kelce had six catches for 113 yards, and Kadarius Toney and Jerick McKinnon had touchdown catches as the AFC West champion Chiefs (12-3) remained tied with Buffalo for the conference’s best record with two games to go.

The Chiefs stopped the Seahawks (7-8) twice on fourth down, picked off their Pro Bowl quarterback in the end zone and dealt coach Pete Carroll’s team their fifth loss in six games along with a near-knockout blow to their playoff hopes.

Kenneth Walker III was the biggest bright spot for Seattle, running for 107 yards but failing to reach the end zone.

Kansas City has won 16 consecutive regular-season games against NFC opponents.

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Much like the rest of the country, the cold weather that flooded the Midwest produced some frigid temperatures — the wind chill was minus-2 at kickoff, and that was an improvement over the previous two days. In fact, it had been so cold the tarp was frozen to the field when workers tried to remove it three hours before kickoff.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft invited Jerry Edmond — the fan who was harassed at the end of the team’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders — to Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kraft greeted Edmond before the game at Gillette Stadium where he had previously promised him sideline passes and had another surprise for him.

He invited Edmond to watch the game in the owner’s suite rather than sit in the chilly conditions.

Kraft told Edmond, ‘What you did was so classy. You represent what our whole franchise is about, building bridges.’

During the CBS broadcast of the Patriots-Bengals game, Edmond was spotted sitting next to Kraft in his box.

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Last week, a video of a woman wearing a Raiders Derek Carr jersey yelling at Edmond, who was wearing a Patriots Tom Brady jersey, went viral. The clip picked up momentum in part because Edmond stood still and kept looking straight ahead throughout the encounter.

Edmond, a Connecticut resident, commented on the post and identified himself as the fan, saying it was his first NFL game.

‘I didn’t want to ruin my experience by retaliating towards that (woman),’ he said.

After hearing about Edmond’s story, Kraft reached out and left him a voice mail inviting him to the Week 16 game.

USA TODAY Sports+ producer Victoria Hernandez contributed to this story.

Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is expected to announce a transfer to Oregon State.

Reports began circulating Friday night, first by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, that Uiagalelei had found a home since he entered the NCAA portal a few days after being benched in the ACC Championship game.

It seems like a good fit.

Uiagalelei, a California native, would be back on the West Coast and closer to family. His younger brother, Matayo Uiagalelei, a five-star defensive end, signed this week with Oregon.

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DJ was rumored to be going to Oregon as well, especially if Matayo picked the Ducks over Ohio State and Southern Cal. For the older brother, it would’ve been a situation similar what Oregon did for Bo Nix, who struggled at Auburn but became an NFL prospect again with the Ducks. Nix, however, announced he would return to Oregon for one more season. Oregon also added four-star quarterback Austin Novosad during the early signing period.

Oregon State, meanwhile, seemed a quarterback away from making the Pac-12 Championship game. The Beavers lost to eventual league champion Utah, 10-win Washington and league runner-up Southern Cal.

Chance Nolan started the first five games for Oregon State but suffered a neck injury and is now in the transfer portal. Redshirt freshman Ben Gulbranson took over and finished with 1,455 passing yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.

Uiagalelei would have two years of eligibility and a favorable chance to earn the No. 1 spot for a Power Five team with plenty of upside. The Beavers went 10-3 in 2022 and beat Florida, 30-3, in the Las Vegas Bowl. 

Uiagalelei threw more interceptions than touchdown as a first-year starter in 2021. This season, he got off to a solid start and threw 22 touchdowns with seven interceptions, but he was just 10-for-34 in his last two games. Freshman Cade Klubnik was called in to lead Clemson to the ACC championship win against North Carolina.

Clemson (11-2) plays in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 against Tennessee (10-2) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.

About a half-hour after Baltimore (10-5) took care of the Falcons, New England lost to Cincinnati to put the Ravens in the playoffs. The Ravens won for the second time in three games without quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has been out with a knee injury.

Gus Edwards ran for 99 yards and J.K. Dobbins rushed for 59 for Baltimore. Huntley’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson in the second quarter was the first TD catch by a Ravens wide receiver since Week 3.

Huntley ran for a 2-point conversion that put the Ravens up 14-0 – and Baltimore’s defense has allowed more than 14 points in a game just once since the start of November.

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PLAYOFF PICTURE: Who’s in, who’s out and who’s on the bubble?

Atlanta (5-10), which entered just a game behind first-place Tampa Bay in the NFC South, has lost four straight – including rookie QB Desmond Ridder’s first two starts – and six of seven.

The temperature at kickoff was 17 degrees, the lowest for a home game in franchise history. Although both teams were expected to rely on the run instead of their shaky passing games, Huntley did connect with Sammy Watkins for 40 yards and Mark Andrews for 36. Those two drives both ended in field goals, and the Ravens led 6-0.

Atlanta (5-10) went for it on fourth down near midfield, and Ridder found Drake London for a gain of 20. But London fumbled at the end of that play, and the Ravens took over at their own 30.

Baltimore then ran the ball on the first 11 plays of the ensuing drive, which ended with Huntley’s short touchdown pass.

The Ravens caught a break near the end of the first half. On first-and-goal from the 1, Ridder was called for intentional grounding – it appeared he was hit as he threw – for a loss of 13. The Falcons settled for a field goal.

On the first possession of the second half, a holding call on receiver Olamide Zaccheaus nullified a touchdown by Cordarrelle Patterson, and Atlanta kicked a field goal again.

Down 17-6 in the fourth, the Falcons had first-and-goal from the 4, but four straight runs were stopped short of the end zone. Tyler Allgeier was unable to convert on fourth down from the 1.

Atlanta pulled within eight on a field goal with 2:03 remaining, but the Falcons had let so much time run off that the kickoff brought the clock down to the two-minute warning. Atlanta did have two timeouts remaining, but the Ravens were able to get a first down and seal the win.

INJURIES

In addition to Jackson, the Ravens were without DE Calais Campbell (knee) and CB Marcus Peters (calf). … Atlanta TE Feleipe Franks was evaluated for a head injury.

UP NEXT

Falcons: Host Arizona next Sunday.

Ravens: Host Pittsburgh next Sunday.

There was nothing artistic about what went down at the igloo named Solider Field Saturday afternoon, but the Buffalo Bills did the only thing they needed to do: Win the game.

And because they defeated the Chicago Bears 35-13, they are AFC East champions for the third year in a row, and they maintain their tenuous grip on the No. 1 seed in the AFC bracket for yet another week.

The Bills started sluggishly in a poorly played first half, kicked things into gear just long enough in the third quarter to grab the lead, and then slogged it out the rest of the way for their sixth consecutive victory, though coach Sean McDermott will have plenty to discuss with his team given all the mistakes that were made.

Let’s be honest: Had the Bills been playing most other teams as opposed to the now 3-12 Bears, it might have made for a disappointing Christmas that in Buffalo is already being ruined by the blizzard of the century.

What stood out Saturday is that the Bills won with Josh Allen playing one of those games that just make you scratch your head and say, “I thought he was beyond days like this?”

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Allen has had a great season, there’s no denying that. It’s scary to think where the Bills would be without him. But he has been unnecessarily careless with the ball at times and this was certainly one of those games.

He threw two more interceptions, both on just absolute bone-headed decisions, now has 13 which is tied for the league lead, and he could have had at least two other picks.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Who’s in, who’s out and who’s on the bubble?

However, with Allen struggling most of the way, the Bills turned to their running game and hammered the Bears for a season-high 254 yards as James Cook (99 yards) and Devin Singletary (106) ran through gaping holes even though the Bills did not have center Mitch Morse, and then lost his replacement, Ryan Bates, for a short time.

And they relied on a defense that had a terrible first drive of the game, but then played outstanding the rest of the way and made Bears quarterback Justin Fields irrelevant.

Given the brutally frigid conditions, it was easy to predict that this was going to be a struggle for the Bills, and it certainly was in the first half which saw Buffalo trailing 10-6.

On the first series of the game, the Bears marched down the field as if the Buffalo defense was still in the warm locker room. Eight plays, 64 yards, ending with Fields hitting Dante Pettis with a six-yard touchdown pass as the Bills blew a coverage.

Seven of the eight plays gained at least five yards including a 28-yard run by David Montgomery. The Bears even overcame a nullified Montgomery TD run due to a holding penalty.

The Bills answered right back with their only productive possession of the half, a six-play, 71-yard drive which was as easy for them as it was for the Bears offense.

Allen started it with a 24-yard strike to Dawson Knox, Cook ripped off a 24-yard run, and then Gabe Davis got wide open in the left corner of the end zone and hauled in Allen’s 19-yard pass. Here, a woeful day for the Buffalo special teams began in earnest as Tyler Bass missed the extra point.

In the second quarter, Nyheim Hines made a bad decision not to fair catch a punt and the ball rolled to the 2. When the Bills couldn’t get off the goal line, they punted and the Bears had a drive start at the Buffalo 38.

However, the defense stood up and limited Chicago to a 37-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.

The Bills had one more scoring chance late in the half, but three straight Allen incompletions from the Bears 20 forced Bass to try a 38-yard field goal and once again, the wind foiled him and he missed it badly to the right.

It was a different Bills team that emerged from the locker room for the final 30 minutes. Backed up at their own 14 after a Siran Neal penalty wiped out a nice kick return by Hines, the Bills flew down the field in eight plays to take the lead.

Allen hit Devin Singletary for a 10-yard gain to convert one third, he ran 11 yards to convert another, and then Singletary ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run with a great cut near the line to get into the clear. Allen found Khalil Shakir wide open in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion that made it 14-10.

Moments later, Dane Jackson forced a Montgomery fumble which was recovered by Tim Settle at the Bears 33 and three plays later, Cook broke a 27-yard TD run straight up the middle and Bass’ extra point – after a penalty wiped out a successful two-point conversion pass to Davis – had the Bills up 21-10.

The Bills then had several opportunity to, no pun intended, put this game on ice, but their repeated mistakes that hurt them all day continued. A Spencer Brown holding penalty killed one possession, and then a Davis fumble at the Bears 33 at the end of the third quarter killed another.

And on the next play, Fields hit Jones for a 44-yard gain to the Buffalo 23 and the momentum was clearly on the Bears side, but again, the defense stood tall and Chicago had to settle for a field goal.

From there, the Bills finally dropped the hammer as Allen capped a 56-yard drive with a four-yard TD run, and after a turnover on downs at the Chicago 20, Allen found Knox for a 13-yard TD on a fourth-and-3.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.