NFL – National Football League – Week 16
Sunday
Detroit Lions 30, Minnesota Vikings 24
Atlanta Falcons 29, Indianapolis Colts 10
Chicago Bears 27, Arizona Cardinals 16
Lions 30, Vikings 24 – Lions hang on to beat Vikings 30-24 and clinch 1st division title since 1993
The Detroit Lions have clinched their first division title in 30 years. They used two rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and 106 receiving yards and a third-quarter go-ahead score by Amon-Ra St. Brown to overtake the injury-ravaged Minnesota Vikings 30-24. Ifeatu Melifonwu picked off Nick Mullens at the 5-yard line with 49 seconds left for Detroit’s fourth interception of the game an off-target pass to an open Justin Jefferson. That came three plays after Jefferson’s leaping grab in double coverage on third-and-27 kept the last-minute drive alive. Jared Goff passed for 257 yards without a turnover and David Montgomery had a rushing touchdown for the Lions (11-4) in another prolific performance by one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.
Bears 27, Cardinals 16 – Fields throws for a TD, runs for another score, leading the Bears past Cardinals 27-16
Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, and the Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-16. Tight end Cole Kmet caught four passes for a career-high 107 yards despite missing the second half because of a knee injury. Khalil Herbert ran for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears got the bounce-back win they were seeking coming off a late collapse at Cleveland a week earlier. Chicago scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half to go up 21-0 against Arizona.
Falcons 29, Colts 10 – Heinicke lifts Falcons in 29-10 win to cool Colts’ playoff hopes
Taylor Heinicke provided the turnover-free leadership at quarterback Atlanta has sought all season, passing for 229 yards and a touchdown to lead the Falcons to a 29-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Falcons benched Desmond Ridder this week for the second time this season following two straight losses, providing an opportunity for Heinicke to boost the team’s fading playoff hopes. Heinicke delivered, throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Tyler Allgeier added a 31-yard touchdown run.
Sunday
Las Vegas Raiders 20, Kansas City Chiefs 14
Philadelphia Eagles 33, New York Giants 25
Baltimore Ravens 33, San Francisco 49ers 19
Raiders 20, Chiefs 14 – Raiders stun sloppy Chiefs with 2 defensive TDs in 20-14 victory on Christmas Day
Las Vegas got a pair of defensive touchdowns for the second straight week, and the resurgent Raiders held off the sloppy Kansas City Chiefs 20-14 on Monday to keep their postseason hopes alive. Bilal Nichols returned a fumble 8 yards for a touchdown, and Jack Jones took an interception 33 yards for another score a mere 7 seconds later, helping the Raiders snap a six-game losing streak to the Chiefs. Kansas City wasted a chance to clinch its eighth consecutive AFC West title while dealing a crippling blow to its chances of earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
Eagles 33, Giants 25 – Eagles end 3-game skid, maintain control of NFC East with 33-25 win over Giants
Jalen Hurts scored on the “tush push” that gave him the NFL record for most rushing scores by a quarterback in a season, threw for a touchdown, and the Philadelphia Eagles maintained control of their NFC East title hopes with a 33-25 win over the New York Giants. The Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak. The losses to San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle essentially ended Philadelphia’s bid for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Eagles need to win their final two games against Arizona and a rematch against the Giants to clinch the NFC East.
Ravens 33, 49ers 19 – Lamar Jackson leads the Ravens past the 49ers 33-19 in a showdown of the top 2 teams
Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes in a span of 18 seconds in the third quarter and the Baltimore Ravens intercepted Brock Purdy four times in a 33-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Jackson and the Ravens turned a highly anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the NFL into a lopsided win thanks to strong performances on both sides of the ball. Kyle Hamilton and the defense set the tone early by intercepting Purdy on three of the first four drives of the game for the 49ers before Jackson started to take the game over.
Other Week 15 Scores
L.A. Rams 30, New Orleans 22
Pittsburgh 34, Cincinnati 11
Buffalo 24, L.A. Chargers 22
Cleveland 36, Houston 22
Green Bay 33, Carolina 30
N.Y. Jets 30, Washington 28
Seattle 20, Tennessee 17
Tampa Bay 30, Jacksonville 12
Miami 22, Dallas 20
New England 26, Denver 23
NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.
Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.
Indiana Pacers at Houston Rockets, 8:00 p.m.
NCAAMBB – MSU PG Jeremy Fears recovering after Illinois shooting
A freshman point guard from Michigan State is recovering after he was shot while on holiday break in his hometown. The university says Jeremy Fears was shot in the leg sometime late Friday or early Saturday morning in the Joilet, Illinois, area. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said in the statement that Fears underwent surgery Saturday morning and was resting comfortably. The Joliet Police Department did not respond to messages but issued a statement saying an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-woman were shot at a residence early Saturday morning and the gunman was still at large. The statement didn’t identify the victims.
NCAAMBB – Florida Atlantic has highest ranking ever in AP Top 25. Purdue remains No. 1
Florida Atlantic jumped seven places to No. 7 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll following a double-overtime win over No. 4 Arizona. It’s the Owls’ highest ranking ever after being No. 10 in the preseason AP Top 25. They made a surprising run to the Final Four last season and returned nearly everyone from that team. Purdue remained at No. 1 for the second straight week, with Kansas, Houston, Arizona and UConn rounding out the top five.
NCAAWBB – South Carolina stays unanimous No. 1 in women’s AP Top 25.
South Carolina remained the No. 1 team in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday. The Gamecocks received all 36 votes from a national media panel, marking the seventh consecutive week that they’ve been No. 1. South Carolina had a run of 38 straight weeks as the top team over the previous two seasons before LSU was the preseason No. 1 this year. With most teams having a light schedule last week ahead of the holidays, the top 10 were unchanged. UCLA, North Carolina State, Iowa and Texas followed the Gamecocks. Southern California, LSU, Colorado, Stanford and Baylor were next. West Virginia entered the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2021 while Washington fell out.
NCAAFB – College Football Bowls
Today
Quick Lane Bowl – Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota, 2:00 p.m.
Servpro First Responder Bowl – Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas TX
Texas State vs. Rice, 5:30 p.m.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Kansas vs. UNLV, 9:00 p.m.
NCAAFB – EMU apologizes to South Alabama for player’s punch that sparked brawl
Eastern Michigan’s athletic director has apologized to South Alabama, a day after an EMU player raced onto the field after the 68 Ventures Bowl and punched an opposing player in the head. The confrontation happened as South Alabama’s players, cheer squad and band lined up to sing the school song following a 59-10 rout of Eastern Michigan. An unidentified EMU played charged into the group and punched a South Alabama player in the back of the head. Another South Alabama player dragged the EMU player onto the field, sparking a free-for-all among members of both teams. Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee says “what happened was completely unacceptable.”
NCAAFB – Sainristil becomes Michigan’s best player on defense after playing on offense
Position switches in college football often occur when a player isn’t producing. That wasn’t the case with Mike Sainristil at Michigan. In his third season at wide receiver in 2021, he was a key target and his highlight-worthy catches seemed to set him up for a bright future on offense with the Wolverines. Jim Harbaugh had another idea entering spring ball last year, suggesting Sainristil switch to defensive back.The AP All-Big Ten cornerback is about to face a tough test in his third straight College Football Playoff appearance. Michigan plays Alabama on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl to compete for a shot at the national championship.