Kendrick Lamar is king of Grammys, so far, with 5 wins

Kendrick Lamar is the king of the Grammy Awards — so far — picking up five awards in the first hour of the big show.

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 file photo, Kendrick Lamar accepts the award for video of the year for "HUMBLE." at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Four of the five album of the year nominees at the 2018 Grammys are rap and R&B-based albums from black or Latino artists, including Lamar. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Lamar won best rap album for "DAMN." and best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty," with Rihanna, during the live telecast at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"This is special man. I got a lot of guys in this building that I still idolize today," said Lamar, naming Jay-Z, Nas and Diddy as inspirations.

At the end, Lamar closed with: "Jay for president."

In the pre-telecast, Lamar won best rap song, best rap performance and best music video for "HUMBLE."

Lamar, nominated for seven awards, kicked off the Grammys with a powerful and poignant performance featuring video screens displaying a waving American flag behind him, as background dancers dressed as army soldiers marched and moved behind. He was joined Sunday by U2's Bono and The Edge, and also Dave Chappelle — who told jokes in between Lamar's performance.

Benj Pasek, right, and Justin Paul accept the best musical theater album award for "Dear Evan Hansen" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

At one point, Lamar's background dancers, dressed in red, were shot down as he rapped lyrics, later coming back to life as fire burst to end the six-minute performance.

Lamar and Mars walked into Grammy Awards with multiple wins, putting them as favorites for top awards like album and record of the year.

Mars won best R&B album, best R&B performance and best R&B song in the pre-telecast. Posthumous Grammys were also handed out to actress Carrie Fisher, singer Leonard Cohen and engineer Tom Coyne, who worked on Mars' "24K Magic" album.

A shaking Alessia Cara won best new artist, winning over SZA, Julia Michaels, Khalid and Lil Uzi Vert.

Rihanna, left, and Kendrick Lamar accept the award for best rap/sung performance for "Loyalty." at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

"Thank you to my parents and my brother for believing in me," she said, also urging the crowd to "support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot."

Double winners included Jason Isbell, Justin Hurwitz, CeCe Winans and Chris Stapleton.

"This is unbelievable," Stapleton said onstage.

The Rolling Stones picked up the third Grammy of their career — for best traditional blues album for "Blue & Lonesome," while Ed Sheeran won best pop vocal album. Emmy and Golden Globe winner Childish Gambino, who picked up best traditional R&B performance, gave a smooth and sultry performance of "Terrified" in all-white featuring screeching high notes. Gambino was joined by young singer-actor, JD McCrary, who matched his vocals and sings on the original track.

Ben Fielding, left, and Brooke Ligertwood, of Hillsong Worship, pose in the press room with the best contemporary Christian music performance/song award for "What A Beautiful Name" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Little Big Town, who sang their Taylor Swift-penned No. 1 hit "Better Man," also won best country duo/group performance with the song. Lady Gaga won over the audience with a rousing performance of the songs "Joanne" and "Million Reasons," while Sam Smith gave a powerful performance of the song "Pray

The Weeknd, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Reba McEntire, LCD Soundsystem, Portugal the Man and Shakira also won early awards. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, both Oscar and Tony winners, won best musical theater album for "Dear Evan Hansen," shared with Tony winner Ben Platt.

Lamar beat out Jay-Z for the five awards he won. Either artist could make history and become the first rapper to win record of the year and the third to win album of the year. And the Grammys are almost guaranteeing that this year will be historic: Four of the five album of the year nominees are rap and R&B-based albums from black or Latino artists. The other big awards of the night — song and record of the year — also are dominated by hip-hop, R&B and Latin music.

Reba McEntire poses in the press room with the best roots gospel album award for "Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith & Hope" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

It comes a year after The Recording Academy was heavily criticized when Adele won album of the year over Beyonce. "Lemonade" was seen as an album that moved the needle and dominated pop culture in different ways than Adele's colossal sales. Critics felt the Academy failed to recognize the creative and artistic elements of an R&B-based album, in the same ways they have passed over albums by Kanye West, Eminem and Mariah Carey over the years for projects by rock, country and jazz artists.

Jay-Z is the star of Sunday's show, leading with eight nominations, including album for the year for his revealing "4:44," song of the year for the title track and record of the year for "The Story of O.J." Mars also is nominated for the big three; "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, is up for record and song of the year; and both Lamar and Gambino are nominated for album and record of the year.

Chris Stapleton accepts the best country solo performance award for "Either Way" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

"What you see in nominations is a reflection of the voting membership of the Academy. You have to remember that this is a peer award and it's unique in that way. It's not about sales or charts or popularity or fan votes or whatever, it's the professionals in the industry who are making the judgment," Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So when you look at the work that's been done, and Jay would be one example, and there's that level of excellence, we have a very sophisticated voting membership that is able to recognize that. And that's how we want it to be."

However, Lorde's critically acclaimed sophomore album, "Melodrama," still has a strong chance in the album of the year category. And Julia Michaels, a talented songwriter who has written hits for Bieber and Selena Gomez, is nominated for song of the year for her single, "Issues."

Performers include Mars with Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Pink, Gambino, Emmylou Harris and Chris Stapleton, Elton John and Miley Cyrus, Rihanna with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller, Sting and SZA, the most nominated female act with five.

Ledisi speaks at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

The night also will feature some serious moments. Earlier this week, key music executives called on artists and employees to wear a white rose at the Grammys in support of Time's Up and #MeToo, the movements against sexual abuse and harassment. Singers Halsey and Dua Lipa, as well as Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody, were some of the first to say they would wear white roses.

Kesha, who earned her first pair of Grammy nominations for an album reflecting her battle with former producer and mentor Dr. Luke, will honor victims during her performance. Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne, who were performers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas where a gunman opened fire on fans, killing 58 and injuring hundreds more, will honor victims killed at live music events this past year onstage. And Patti LuPone and Ben Platt will pay tribute to Broadway as the Grammys return to New York City after 15 years for its 60th anniversary.

The Grammys is airing live from Madison Square Garden.

Lily Cornell, from left, and Toni Cornell, daughters of the late Chris Cornell, and Vicky Karayiannis, Cornell's widow, arrive at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen got his much-needed rest while still extending his starting streak to 135 consecutive games with an opening-play handoff. James Cook got his NFL rushing title, becoming Buffalo’s first player to do so since O.J. Simpson in 1976.

And the Bills produced a fitting send-off, playing what’s likely their final game at the 53-year-old Highmark Stadium on Sunday before moving into their new digs across the street next season.

Now comes the hard part: the playoffs.

Whatever warm feelings the Bills got by having fans serenade them off the field following a 35-8 thumping of the Jets must be put aside with sixth-seeded Buffalo (12-5) traveling to play AFC South champion Jacksonville (13-4) in the wild-card round on Sunday.

The outing presents a new challenge for Allen and the Bills in opening the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2019. That’s when Allen, in his second NFL season, made his playoff debut in a 22-19 overtime loss at Houston.

Though much has changed since for a player and team that would go on to win five straight AFC East titles, several familiar questions remain.

For all of Allen’s remarkable exploits, the NFL's reigning MVP is still missing one major career checkmark — a Super Bowl appearance.

The same goes for coach Sean McDermott.

In his ninth season at the helm, McDermott deserves plenty of credit for transforming the franchise into a perennial contender. After going 17 seasons without a playoff berth, Buffalo finally broke through in McDermott’s first year, ending with a 10-3 loss in the 2017 wild-card round at Jacksonville.

And yet McDermott carries the stigma of a coach who can lead his team only so far — a criticism mentor Andy Reid faced in Philadelphia before finally winning three times in Kansas City.

In the Bills’ favor is an AFC field that doesn’t include familiar nemesis Kansas City, which has eliminated Buffalo in four of the previous five playoffs. Joe Burrow and the Bengals, who eliminated the Bills three years ago, are out, too.

Buffalo has held its own in going 3-3 against this year’s playoff teams, with the three losses decided by a combined eight points, including a 23-19 loss at Houston in November.

At issue is having to hit the road, where the Bills are 0-5 in the postseason under McDermott. Including two Super Bowl appearances, Buffalo has lost its last 10 playoff outings outside of Orchard Park, New York, since a 29-10 win at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game.

More daunting is the prospect of having to win three straight road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. Only five teams have done so, beginning with New England in 1985 and ending with Tampa Bay in 2020.

Buffalo’s only hope at playing one more home game features the long-shot scenario of the Bills hosting the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC championship game.

McDermott doesn’t need to be reminded of what’s at stake; he previously addressed the team’s playoff shortcomings in August.

“We take a lot of pride in what we’ve done here. And nobody has more internal drive and internal expectations than I do or we do. And very confident in who we are,” McDermott said. “There’s one thing that remains. We know what that is. But you can’t get there tomorrow.”

Some four months and 12 regular-season wins later, tomorrow has arrived.

A James Cook-led running attack in which the fourth-year player led the NFL with 1,621 yards. Buffalo’s 2,713 yards rushing this season are the third most in team history, and best since 2,974 in 1975.

A shaky run defense. Though Buffalo limited its past two opponents to a combined 151 yards rushing, the team still allowed 2,315 yards overall, the most since 2012. The 24 touchdowns rushing scored against Buffalo are the second most in team history.

RB Ray Davis. The second-year backup had a career-best 151 yards rushing and a TD catch while filling in for Cook, playing in front of a line featuring four backups.

WR Josh Palmer. The prized offseason free agent fails to play up to expectations, managing just one catch on three targets for 1 yard while on the field for 63 of Buffalo’s 72 offensive snaps.

McDermott listed rookie CB Maxwell Hairston (ankle) as week to week and said he's unlikely to play this weekend. K Matt Prater was listed as day to day after aggravating a quadricep injury to his kicking leg. McDermott said the Bills will bring in kickers for tryouts as a precaution in case Prater can't play.

6,000 — With 6,397 yards of offense, the Bills topped 6,000 for a sixth consecutive season and seventh time overall.

The Bills are 0-2 against Jacksonville in the playoffs, including a 30-27 loss in the 1996 wild-card round in what was Buffalo Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly’s final game.

This story has been corrected to reflect the Bills losing five straight playoff road games under McDermott and 10 straight road games overall.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) hands off to running back James Cook III (4) in the first half of an NFL football game between the Bills and the New York Jets Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) congratulates wide receiver Joshua Palmer (5) after the Bills scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)