🏈 Lions & Packers Game Comes Down to Final Play, College Football & NFL Weekend Preview, + More!

Happy Friday, Blitzers!

Happy Feel Good Friday! The A’s are moving up in the world. The franchise notorious for never spending money is backing up the Brink trucks for their new Las Vegas stadium. Estimated cost for the futuristic stadium is $1.75 billion.

The curved scoreboard looks cool and all, but I’m interested in some of the other amenities. Some of the additional costs are going towards “under-seat cooling”, money well spent if you ask me. While we’re doing this, might as well throw in a cup-holder cooling system as well right? Why has this technology not been invented? Let’s get into the Morning Blitz!

WTF Stat: Dan Campbell has done the impossible with the Lions:

🏈  The Lions have secured a playoff spot with their 34-31 victory over the Packers thanks to a 35-yard field goal as time expired. The win marked their 11th straight victory, setting a franchise record, and pushed them to a 12-1 record, maintaining their lead in the NFC North. In a game that had four lead changes in the second half, QB Jared Goff shined, passing for 283 yards and 3 TDs. WR Tim Patrick had his first two TDs of the season in the win.

• Lions Takeaways: All I can think about is Dan Campbell going for it on 4th and inches from the 21 yard line, with 43 seconds left in easy field goal range. It’s one of those plays that if they don’t make it, it’s talked about for a long time to come and he’s taking 100% of the blame. It took a lot of guts/balls/lack of brains, but they got it. It is interesting to note that ESPN had the Lions win percentage at 91.6% before the play and 91.8% after they got the first down… So not much gained from the analytics side of things.

• Packers Takeaways: Tough loss, silver lining is the Packers can definitely stick with the NFC’s best team. They had so many opportunities that didn’t go their way. Biggest were the late offensive PI to negate a TD (right call), and the inability to get off the field as the Lions went 4/5 of 4th Downs and possessed the ball for 36 minutes. If they play them in the playoffs, feed RB Josh Jacobs.

🏈 Six time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick, has had discussions with the University of North Carolina about their vacant head coaching position. The 72-year-old Belichick, who stepped down from the Patriots following the 2023 season, has expressed interest in coaching again and is open to opportunities in both college and NFL football.

• 🔥Take: Not much shocks me in the sports world, but if Bill Belichick gets a college football job, it would break my brain. Everything about him screams NFL. Can you imagine him dealing with Tyler from Spartanburg, negotiating NIL deals with 17-year-olds, and having to deal with recruiting/alumni/media/athletic directors and all the other headaches that come with college football, at 72? I’m convinced that he just loves Lawrence Taylor so much he wanted to check out his alma mater.

🏒 The Chicago Blackhawks have fired head coach Luke Richardson after a disappointing 8-16-2 start to the 2024-25 season, marking the worst record in the NHL. Richardson, who had been with the Blackhawks since 2022, struggled during the team's rebuild, compiling a 57-118-15 record over three seasons.

College Football Conference Championship Week

Mountain West

#20 UNLV (10-2) at #10 Boise State (11-1) - Fri. 8:00 PM (FOX)

What’s At Stake: The Group of Five playoff spot is at stake. Tulane could have been in the running, but their loss to Memphis eliminated them. It will come down to the winner of UNLV and Boise State. The headliner is Bronco running back Ashton Jeanty who has rushed for 2,288 yards (5th all-time) and 28 TDs (9th all-time) and is the likely winner of the Heisman. However, the Rebels were one of the only teams to keep Jeanty in check. If this game was at a neutral site (WHY IS THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP AT BOISE STATE’S STUPID BLUE TURF MOUNTAIN WEST?!), I’d be tempted to go with the Rebels. Alas, the home field advantage in Boise is real.

The Pick: Boise State -4

Big 12

#16 Iowa State (10-2) at #15 Arizona State (10-2) - Sat. 12:00 PM (ABC)

What’s At Stake: Iowa State and Arizona State both emerged out of the Big 12 chaos with strong finishes. The Sun Devils are one of the best stories of the season that no one paid attention to. Led by do-it-all RB Cam Skattebo, they’ve had a heck of a season. Iowa State was a dark horse candidate at the beginning of the season, and they started strong. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas were thought to be backbreaking, but they won out and got some help from other teams. Thanks to these giant conferences, these two teams didn’t face off during the regular season. I’m all in on Skattebo. Forks up!

The Pick: ASU -2

SEC

#5 Georgia (10-2) at #2 Texas (11-1) - Sat. 4:00 PM (ABC)

What’s At Stake: Back in October the Bulldogs served up a big slice of humble pie to the then #1 Longhorns. Despite three Carson Beck INTs, Georgia still won by 15 points. Both teams have big time talent, no denying that. Both teams have QBs that have underwhelmed this season. I think this game will come down to which signal caller sucks the least. It doesn’t help Texas that this is basically a home game (it’s at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta) for the Dawgs. Both teams are in the playoff, but Georgia will get the bye.

The Pick: UGA +2.5

ACC

#17 Clemson (9-3) at #8 SMU (11-1) - Sat. 8:00 PM (ABC)

What’s At Stake: Just what we all thought, the SMU Mustangs against the Clemson Tigers…with the Mustangs being the favorite. Is the ACC a joke? Maybe it should have been the ACC to bite the dust and not the PAC—not the time, Matt, not the time. SMU has one of the best QB’s you’ve never heard of because ESPN put all of their games on the Ocho: Kevin Jennings. However, the Mustangs played the easiest conference schedule possible. No Clemson. No Miami. No Syracuse. Fraud watch. I’ll take the points since they’re giving them, but this game could be a blowout…that is if Cade Klubnik remembers that he’s a stud.

The Pick: Clemson +2

Big Ten

#3 Penn State (11-1) at #1 Oregon (12-0) - Sat. 8:00 PM (CBS)

What’s At Stake: Another conference championship where the two teams did not face off with each other during the regular season. Penn State was the beneficiary of Ohio State’s epic choke. Now, not only are they already in the playoffs, but they have a shot at a bye. These two teams are remarkably similar. Some games they look like juggernauts, other times extremely average. Oregon almost lost to Idaho, Boise State, and Wisconsin and Penn State nearly lost to Bowling Green, USC, and Minnesota. If PSU can slow the game down and turn this into a grind, they have a shot to win.

The Pick: PSU +3.5

NFL Week 14 Preview

Atlanta (6-6) at Minnesota (10-2) - 1:00 PM (FOX)

The View: I’d call this a revenge game, but I just don’t think Kirk Cousins holds that kind of hate in his heart. Cousins does need to find a little bit of an edge after losing four of six and throwing 0 TDs and 6 INTs. The good news for Atlanta is that the NFC South is again a weak division and the Falcons are a decent team. On the other side, Minnesota just keeps winning, but they win ugly against good teams. Therefore, I’ll take the six points and pick the Falcons.

The Pick: Dirty Birds +6

Seattle (7-5) at Arizona (6-6) - 4:05 PM (CBS)

The View: These two teams squared off two weeks ago and the Seahawks stifled QB Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, 16-6. Seattle won a close game over the Jets last week and the Cardinals choked away the game against the Vikings to give the Seahawks a one game edge in the division. Arizona is definitely improved this season, but I just don’t trust Murray to win a big game.

The Pick: Seahawks +2.5

Buffalo (10-2) at LA Rams (6-6) - 4:25 PM (CBS)

The View: Ever since losing back-to-back games against the Ravens and the Texans, the Bills have passed every test the league has thrown their way including a beatdown of the Niners in the snow last week. The Rams are a weird team, some games they look like the Super Bowl team of a few years ago, then they look like a middling, ho-hum squad. I’m tempted to think Matthew Stafford rises to the challenge and they upset the Bills…nahhhh, ride the hot hand.

The Pick: Bills -3.5

Chicago (4-8) at San Francisco (5-7) - Sunday 4:25 PM (FOX)

The View: We’ve got two broken teams going at it in this one. Matt Eberflus finally got the ax after the most head scratching time management I’ve ever seen against the Lions. Seriously. Even Mike McCarthy was like, “Damn, bro.” But you do know what comes after a head coach firing, that new coach boost! In the Bears current six game skid, they’ve lost four of those games by a field goal or less (*cough* look at the spread cough). The Niners lost CMC, again, and it just seems like a lost season in the Bay.

The Pick: Bears +3.5

LA Chargers (8-4) at Kansas City (11-1) - Sunday 8:20 PM (NBC)

The View: Are the Chiefs just the worst 11-1 team in the history of the NFL? Only two of their 11 wins are by more than 10 points. Recently, they needed late game heroics to beat…the Panthers and the Raiders. But, the Chiefs have won six in a row against the Chargers. I love Jim Harbaugh, I want him to win, but teams just don’t win at Arrowhead. Plus, the Chiefs are really, really good against the run and without a consistent run game, the Chargers are too beatable.

The Pick: KC -4

D-Man’s Gambling Corner

→ Dolphins -5.5 - Tua Crushes in division games against bad teams, and the jets are a bad team.

→ Browns +6.5 - Tomlin and the Steeler are not great as big favorites. Hopefully the Lord answers Jameis’ prayers.

→ Buccaneers -6.5

NFL Gambling Record:

D-Man: 6-7

Jean Machine: 41-18 (10-0 in last two weeks 👀)

Full NFL Schedule click here

NBA Top Games

Cavaliers 126, Nuggets 114: Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and Darius Garland added 24 as Cleveland defeated Denver, improving their home record to 13-1. The Cavs set a season-high with 22 three-pointers and extended their streak of games with at least 10 made threes to 28. Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from beyond the arc.

Warriors 99, Rockets 93: Jonathan Kuminga scored a career-high 33 points, leading the Warriors to a 99-93 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak. Kuminga made two crucial layups in the final minute to secure the win. Andrew Wiggins contributed 23 points, and Brandin Podziemski grabbed 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who were missing starters Stephen Curry (knee) and Draymond Green (calf).

Pelicans 126, Suns 124: Brandon Ingram scored 29 points in his return from a five-game absence, leading the Pelicans to a 126-124 win, snapping a nine-game losing streak. Herb Jones, playing his first game back from a shoulder injury, had a key block on Devin Booker’s last-second shot to secure the win. CJ McCollum added 25 points but missed a free throw with 3 seconds left, giving the Suns one final chance. Booker, who scored 28 points, had his shot denied by Jones as time expired.

See full NBA scoreboard NBA here and standings here.

NHL Top Games

Panthers 7, Flyers 5: The Florida Panthers held off a late rally by the Philadelphia Flyers, winning 7-5 despite blowing an early 3-goal lead. Sam Reinhart scored the go-ahead power-play goal with 1:59 remaining, and Matthew Tkachuk sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds. Tkachuk also had four assists, marking his fourth career five-point game.

Blues 3, Flames 2: Colton Parayko scored the overtime winner as St. Louis defeated Calgary 4-3. Parayko capitalized on a rebound, muscling the puck past Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar. Robert Thomas had a strong performance, contributing a goal and two assists.

Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 3: The Hurricanes snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Avalanche. Martin Necas led the way with a goal and an assist, while Andrei Svechnikov had a career-high four points (one goal, three assists).

See full scoreboard here and standings here.

On this day in 1992, San Francisco 49ers WR Jerry Rice set the receiving touchdown record with his 101st touchdown reception, breaking Steve Largent's record. Check it out here:

https://www.49ers.com/video/nfl-throwback-jerry-rice-catches-his-101st-career-touchdown

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which NHL rookie had the most points in their first season?

B) Teemu Selanne - Selanne holds the record for the most total points scored and most goals scored. He scored 132 points in his 1992–93 rookie season. It was the most points he would score in a season in his 21 year Hall of Fame career.

Check back on Monday for today’s trivia answer and more info!