Volume 41

NFL Updates

• The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 38-37

  • The Seahawks moved ahead of the Rams for first place in the division and in the NFC

  • Los Angeles was up by 16 at one time, but blew it during their eventual loss

• The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 29-18

  • The Eagles clinched their second consecutive NFC East crown

• The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 22-16

  • The Bears recovered an onside kick that Green Bay’s top receiver couldn’t hold

• The Buffalo Bills beat the Cleveland Browns 23-20

  • Myles Garett recorded half a sack. He is now half a sack from tying, and one sack from breaking the NFL single season record

• The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-17

• The Tennessee Titans beat the Kansas City Chiefs 26-9

  • One week after Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL, Gardner Minshew was also injured

• The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Miami Dolphins 45-21

  • Quinn Ewers made his first career start at QB for Miami

• The New Orleans Saints beat the New York Jets 29-6

  • The Saints have had three straight wins to become 5-10 after a 2-10 start. The three-game win streak has included wins versus both the Panthers and Buccaneers, who are battling each other for a division title

• The Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Giants 16-13

• The Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20

  • Carolina moved one game ahead of the Buccaneers

  • Tampa Bay and Carolina will meet again in Week 18– most likely with a playoff berth and division title on the line

• The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Denver Broncos 34-20

  • Denver dropped into a tie with New England for the AFC’s #1 seed

• The Atlanta Falcons beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-19

• The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions 29-24

  • Pittsburgh is 9-6 and will keep Mike Tomlin’s .500 or better streak intact

• The Houston Texans beat the Las Vegas Raiders 23-21

• The New England Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 28-24

  • After scoring a TD to take an 11-point lead, Derrick Henry didn’t touch the ball again– a real head-scracher by Baltimore

  • Drake Maye led the Patriots to a comeback win

• The San Francisco 49ers beat the Indianapolis Colts 48-27

  • Brock Purdy threw five TD passes

Playoff Picture:

The Patriots, Bills, Jaguars, Broncos, Chargers, Eagles, Bears, Packers, Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams have all clinched playoff berths.

The Eagles are the only team who have clinched their division (NFC East).

The Steelers clinch the AFC North with a win or a Ravens loss.

The Texans clinch the playoffs with a win or a Colts loss.

The Broncos clinch the AFC West with a Chargers loss.

The Jaguars clinch the AFC South with a win and a Texans loss.

The Patriots clinch the AFC East with a win and a Bills loss.

The Panthers clinch the NFC South with a win and a Buccaneers loss.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are riding a six-game win streak, have a record of 27-2-7, and have 61 points. Yes– you read that right. They only have two regulation lossed so far this season. Forward Nathan MacKinnon has 30 goals and defenseman Cale Makar has 32 assists. The Avs are dominating hockey and having already played 36 games, they have scored a similar amount of points to what NHL bottom feeders will have after 82 games. Only three teams have played less games than the Avalanche (all are at 35 games played). The next best teams in their division have played two more games than them. Colorado is having a great season and looks to continue their success. 

College Football Playoffs

Oregon Ducks beat James Madison Dukes 51-34.

The Ducks played a great ball game versus the heavily overmatched Dukes. Oregon hosted James Madison in Eugene and now advances to the Orange Bowl versus Texas Tech.

Alabama Crimson Tide beat Oklahoma Sooners 34-24

The Tide rolled back from a 17-0 deficit to get a road win in Norman and advance past their conference foes. Bama advances to face 

Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

Ole Miss Rebels beat Tulane Green Wave 41-10.

Ole Miss destroyed the American Conference-winning Tulane Green Wave for a second time this season. The Rebels dominated their way to a rematch with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia is the only team who has beaten Ole Miss this season.

Miami Hurricanes beat Texas A&M Aggies 10-3.

In a very defensive battle, the away team prevailed. The Canes scored the game’s only TD late in the fourth quarter to give them a 10-3 victory.  It was a matchup that Miami was set to win all along, as the Aggies were well past their best games and put up a fight, but couldn’t pull it out. Miami advances to face Ohio State where they will be heavy underdogs. The Canes meat the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl.

Predictions:

Texas Tech upsets Oregon

I have the Red Raiders of Texas Tech taking down Oregon as 2.5 point underdogs. Oregon lost their only real test of the season versus Indiana. Texas Tech has a great defense. The Red Raiders only loss came when their starting QB was injured and they have dominated everyone else.

Indiana beats Alabama

Indiana is such a well-rounded team that it is hard to see them losing to the flawed Crimson Tide. The Indiana Hoosiers are good at every position on the field. Alabama, meanwhile, has a QB who can’t handle pressure, no running game, a weak defense, and a weak run game. But possibly the most important factor is that Bama has lost three games this season and Indiana has lost none. Indiana’s game planning will be a lot easier than Alabama’s due to the fact that they can look at how FSU, Oklahoma, and Georgia have beatenthe Crimson Tide. Bama has no road map on how to beat Indiana.

Georgia beats Ole Miss

It’s simple– Georgia is the better team. I’m not trying to say Ole Miss is bad. It’s just that Georgia is better. UGA has proved themselves where Ole Miss hasn’t. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss is good but he will need to play like Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning mixed to beat the Bulldogs. Georgia is a great team and should steamroll Ole Miss and advance.

Miami upsets Ohio State

This one will be controversial. But read and find out why I have the Canes shocking the Buckeyes. Reason #1: the Canes defense can stop OSU’s offense. As proved versus Texas A&M, Miami can stop elite offenses. Reason #2: Carson Beck is more experienced than Julian Sayin. Beck is a 6th-year senior and Sayin is a redshirt freshman. Beck has more experience and will make smarter throws, as he has been in the playoffs before. Reason #3: The travel factor. Miami will have much less distance to travel and therefore less tiredness and more practice. This is the perfect recipe for an upset. Miami over Ohio State.