🤠 Cowboys Collapse

Rise and Shine! We had a loaded slate of NFL ball this weekend, and it did not disappoint. The Cowboys did the most Cowboys thing imaginable. The Bills let James Cook. Cris Collinsworth was finally Raven about a quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes. Joe Flacco is elite. The Niners are nasty. And in a touching tribute to Macaulay Culkin, the Panthers won while home alone. We also had a monster weekend of men’s college hoops, with four top-ten teams going down, and the kickoff of college football bowl season. Plus, Steph Curry saw his historic streak snapped, two beasts in the East dueled in the NHL, and Tiger and Charlie Woods are still awesome. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: If you placed $10 on every Blitz Prime bet this weekend, you would have made $107.80 - our team of experts went 6-2 against the spread and 2-0 on parlays. Sign up here for our weekly premium sports betting newsletter!

🏈 Wagons Circle in Week 15

NFL - Week 15 Recap

Sunday

• Buffalo Bills (8-6) 31, Dallas Cowboys (10-4) 10: The Cowboys’ road woes aren’t an unlucky coincidence; they’re an alarming concern. In the game of the week, Josh Allen (7/15, 94 YDS, 2 TDs) was solid but didn’t have to do much because James Cook (25 CAR, 2 REC, 221 Tot. YDS, 2 TDs) rushed for 179 yards, and the Bills absolutely bludgeoned Dallas on the ground, while Dak Prescott (21/34, 134 YDS) and the Cowboys scorching offense couldn’t get anything going, as Buffalo rolled to a blowout W at Orchard Park to keep their playoff hopes alive - the loss snaps a five-game winning streak for Dallas, who is 3-4 on the road but still clinched a playoff berth before the game

• Baltimore Ravens (11-3) 23, Jacksonville Jaguars (8-6) 7: It was a sloppy showing for the Jags on Sunday Night Football, as they had four scoring chances in the first half but failed to cash in on any of them, and although Trevor Lawrence (25/43, 264 YDS, 1 TD, 2 FUM) and Jamal Agnew (2 REC, 70 YDS, 1 TD) got Jacksonville on the board with a 65-yard strike in the 3rd quarter, Lamar Jackson (14/24, 12 CAR, 268 Tot. YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Ravens finished the game on a 13-0 run to clinch a playoff berth with their fourth straight victory - it’s the Jags third loss in a row, leaving them tied with the Colts and Texans atop the AFC South, Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell (9 CAR, 73 YDS) suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Lawrence entered concussion protocol after the game

• San Francisco 49ers (11-3) 45, Arizona Cardinals (3-11) 29: The 49ers are back-to-back NFC West champs. Kyler Murray (26/39, 6 CAR, 260 Tot. YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs) and the Cardinals put up a fight, but Brock Purdy (16/25, 242 YDS, 4 TDs) and Christian McCaffrey (18 CAR, 5 REC, 187 Tot. YDS, 3 TDs) were simply too good and led the Niners to their sixth straight W to clinch the division - Purdy threw a pair of touchdowns to McCaffrey, and two more to Deebo Samuel (4 REC, 48 YDS, 2 TDs), and the Eagles also clinched a playoff berth with the win

• Cleveland Browns (9-5) 20, Chicago Bears (5-9) 17: Joe Flacco did it again! Despite being down 17-7 entering the 4th quarter, Flacco (28/44, 374 YDS, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) found Amari Cooper (4 REC, 109 YDS, 1 TD) for a game-tying, 51-yard touchdown pass with 3:08 remaining and then set up a go-ahead Dustin Hopkins (2/2 FG, 2/2 XP) field goal with 32 seconds to play. And on the final play of the game, Justin Fields’ (19/40, 7 CAR, 196 Tot. YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs) Hail Mary to the endzone was deflected right into the arms of Darnell Mooney, but the Bears receiver couldn’t make the grab, and the pass wound up being picked to seal a wild win for Cleveland at the Dawg Pound - it’s the Browns fourth win this season with a game-winning score in the final minute

• Miami Dolphins (10-4) 30, New York Jets (5-9) 0: For the 13th straight season, the New York Jets have missed the playoffs. Raheem Mostert (15 CAR, 42 YDS, 2 TDs) scored his 19th and 20th touchdowns of the year to set Miami’s single-season record, Jaylen Waddle (8 REC, 142 YDS, 1 TD) erupted with Tyreek Hill (ankle) sidelined, and Tua Tagovailoa (21/24, 224 YDS, 1 TD) and the Fins led 24-0 at halftime en route to another blowout victory over the Jets - Trevor Siemian (14/26, 110 YDS, 2 INTs) replaced Zach Wilson (4/11, 26 YDS) at halftime after Wilson left the game with a concussion

• Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) 27, New England Patriots (3-11) 17: It wasn’t pretty at times, but Patrick Mahomes (27/37, 305 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) and the Chiefs overcame a slow start at Gillette Stadium to take down Bailey Zappe (23/31, 180 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Patriots, who led 10-7 midway through the 2nd quarter only to give up 20 straight points - New England is now just one game back of Carolina for the first overall pick in the upcoming draft

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) 34, Green Bay Packers (6-8) 20: Baker Mayfield (22/28, 381 YDS, 4 TDs) threw for three touchdowns in the second half, and the Bucs got their third straight victory by blowing out Jordan Love (29/39, 284 YDS, 2 TDs) and the Packers at Lambeau to keep pace with the Saints atop the NFC South while handing Green Bay their second loss in six days - it was the third straight season in which Mayfield faced the Packers at Lambeau in December (each time for a different team) and his first win

• Los Angeles Rams (7-7) 28, Washington Commanders (4-10) 20: Matthew Stafford (25/33, 258 YDS, 2 TDs) connected with Cooper Kupp (8 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD) for a 62-yard touchdown to put the Rams up 20-0 early in the 3rd quarter, and although Jacoby Brissett (8/10, 124 YDS, 2 TDs) sparked a late Commanders comeback, Los Angeles hung on for their fourth win in five games - Brissett replaced Sam Howell (11/26, 102 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) in the 4th quarter after Howell’s second pick of the game

• Houston Texans (8-6) 19, Tennessee Titans (5-9) 16 / OT: With CJ Stroud (concussion) out, veteran QB Case Keenum (23/36, 229 YDS, 1 TDS, 1 INT) made his first start of the year and helped Houston erase a 13-3 halftime deficit to force overtime, where Ka’imi Fairbairn (4/4 FG, 1/1 XP) nailed a 54-yarder for a walk-off win over Will Levis (17/26, 199 YDS, 1 INT) and the Titans - Levis took an ugly looking sack late in the game but says he’s okay, and Devin Singletary (26 CAR, 4 REC, 170 Tot. YDS) had a huge day

• New Orleans Saints (7-7) 24, New York Giants (5-9) 6: Tommy DeVito (20/34, 4 CAR, 213 Tot. YDS) failed to find any Italian magic and was sacked seven times, while Derek Carr (23/28, 218 YDS, 3 TDs) and Alvin Kamara (16 CAR, 5 REC, 110 YDS) carved up New York’s defense for a much-needed win in NOLA - the loss halts a three-game winning streak for the G-Men

• Carolina Panthers (2-12) 9, Atlanta Falcons (6-8) 7: On a rain-soaked afternoon at an empty Bank of America Stadium, Desmond Ridder (12/20, 152 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) threw a brutal pick inside Carolina’s red zone with Atlanta up 7-6 midway through the 4th quarter, and then Bryce Young (18/24, 167 YDS) led the Panthers down the field to set up Eddy Piniero’s (3/3 FG) game-winning kick from the one-yard line as time expired, giving Carolina their first win since Week 8 - the loss knocks Atlanta out of first place in the NFC South

Saturday

• Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) 27, Minnesota Vikings (7-7) 24 / OT: In a thriller featuring two backup quarterbacks, the Bengals’ Jake Browning (29/42, 324 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT) shined against the team that cut him three times, Tee Higgins (4 REC, 61 YDS, 2 TDs) tied the game in the final minute with one of the best touchdowns of the season, and Evan McPherson (2/2 FG, 3/3 XP) nailed the game-winning field goal late in overtime to give Cincinnati a home win over Nick Mullens (26/33, 303 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) and the Vikings

• Indianapolis Colts (8-6) 30, Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) 13: The Steelers have now dropped three consecutive games as Mitch Trubisky (16/23, 169 YDS, 1 TD, 2 TDs) struggled for a second straight week in place of the injured Kenny Pickett (ankle sprain), while Gardner Minshew (18/28, 215 YDS, 3 TDs) matched a career-high with three touchdown passes, and the Colts bolstered their playoff chances with their fifth win in six games

• Detroit Lions (10-4) 42, Denver Broncos (7-7) 17: Jared Goff (24/34, 278 YDS, 5 TDs) threw for five scores, including three to rookie TE Sam LaPorta (5 REC, 56 YDS, 3 TDs), and the Lions jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead on their way to a bounce-back win over Russell Wilson (18/32, 223 YDS, 1 TD) and the Broncos following a disappointing Week 14 loss to the Bears

Monday Night Football

• Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) @ Seattle Seahawks (6-7) 8:15pm ET, ESPN

See the full Week 15 box scores here and the current NFL standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #3 Purdue 92, #1 Arizona 84: In a highly-anticipated top-three matchup at the Indy Classic, Arizona kept Zach Edey (22 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST) somewhat in check, but Fletcher Loyer (27 PTS, 5-9 3PT, 3 AST, 4 STL) and Braden Smith (26 PTS, 4-7 3PT, 4 REB, 3 STL) were on fire from the outside, and helped the Boilermakers pull away in the second half to top Caleb Love (29 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) and the Wildcats on Saturday - it was Arizona’s first loss of the season

• NCAAM | #5 UConn 76, #10 Gonzaga 63: The Huskies handed the Zags their second loss in a week on Friday, as Donovan Clingan (21 PTS, 8 REB) and Cam Spencer (15 PTS, 4 REB) led the defending champs to a wire-to-wire victory at the Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off - Gonzaga lost to Washington on Dec. 9

• NCAAM | #14 Kentucky 87, #9 North Carolina 83: The young Wildcats overcame blowing a 10-point lead in the first half thanks to big performances from freshmen Rob Dillingham (17 PTS, 3 REB) and DJ Wagner (14 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST), who helped Kentucky edge out RJ Davis (27 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) and the Heels in crunch time for an impressive victory at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta

• NCAAM | Michigan State 88, #6 Baylor 64: Once the fourth-ranked team in the preseason, the Spartans entered Saturday with a 4-5 record, having lost two straight games and three of their last four. But Tom Izzo’s squad reminded everyone why expectations were so high in East Lansing, as Tyson Walker (25 PTS, 4 AST, 5 STL) and Michigan State blasted Baylor, leading 45-17 at halftime before cruising to an upset win in Detroit

• NCAAW | #10 Baylor 75, #24 Miami 57: Sarah Andrews (18 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST) and four other Bears scored in double figures as they cruised past previously unbeaten Miami at the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio on Saturday - Baylor is 9-0

• NCAAW | #17 UConn 86, #18 Louisville 62: Aaliyah Edwards (22 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST) and the Huskies only led by four at the break but outscored Louisville 40-20 in the final two quarters for their second ranked win in a row after beating No. 24 North Carolina eight days ago

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the full women’s scoreboard here.

College Football - Top Bowl Games

• LA Bowl | UCLA (8-5) 35, Boise State (8-6) 22: George Holani (17 CAR, 138 YDS, 2 TDs) and Boise State took a 16-7 lead into intermission, but when UCLA QB Collin Schlee (11/16, 20 CAR, 205 Tot. YDS, 1 TD) was injured in the 3rd quarter, backup Ethan Garbers (9/12, 3 CAR, 190 Tot. YDS, 2 TDs) answered the call, and sparked a massive Bruins rally for a win over the Broncos at SoFi Stadium, giving the Bears their first bowl victory since the 2015 Alamo Bowl - UCLA HC Chip Kelly made some great points about the current college football landscape after the game

• Independence Bowl | Texas Tech (7-6) 34, California (6-7) 14: Jaydn Ott’s (16 CAR, 45 YDS, 1 TD) one-yard score gave Cal a 14-7 lead in the 1st quarter, but it was all Texas Tech from there, as Behren Morton (27/43, 256 YDS, 3 TDs, 1 INT) and the Red Raiders rattled off 28 unanswered points to win the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, and finish the season above .500

• New Orleans Bowl | Jacksonville State (9-4) 34, Louisiana (6-7) 31: In their first FBS season, Jacksonville State won its first bowl game in school history as Zion Webb (14/26, 1567 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs) found Perry Carter (4 REC, 69 YDS, 1 TD, 1 FUM) for a game-tying touchdown with 1:46 left in regulation before Garrison Rippa (2/2 FG, 4/4 XP) nailed the game-winning field goal in overtime - Rippa had never attempted a collegiate kick before Saturday!

Other Bowl Games

• New Mexico Bowl | Fresno State (9-4) 37, New Mexico State (10-5) 10

• Cure Bowl | Appalachian State (9-5) 13, Miami (OH) (11-3) 9

• Celebration Bowl | Florida A&M (12-1) 30, Howard (6-6) 26

• Myrtle Beach Bowl | Ohio (10-3) 41, Georgia Southern (6-7) 21

See the full box scores here and the entire bowl schedule here.

NBA - Top Games

• Golden State Warriors 118, Portland Trail Blazers 114: Klay Thompson (28 PTS, 5-10 3PT, 4 REB) had another nice shooting night to lead the Warriors to their second straight win yesterday. However, Stephen Curry (7 PTS, 2-12 FG, 0-8 3PT, 8 AST) went 0-for-eight from deep, ending his NBA record of 268 consecutive games with a made three-pointer - Curry began the streak on Dec. 1, 2018

• New York Knicks 139, Phoenix Suns 122: The performance of the weekend goes to Jalen Brunson (50 PTS, 9-9 3PT, 6 REB, 9 AST), who went a perfect nine-for-nine from beyond the arc on Friday for a career-high 50 points, leading the Knicks past Kevin Durant (29 PTS, 6 AST) and the Suns at the Garden - New York lost to the Clippers 144-122 on Saturday, and the Suns beat the Wizards 112-108 yesterday

• Milwaukee Bucks 146, Detroit Pistons 114: Damian Lillard (33 PTS, 6-14 3PT, 5 AST), Giannis Antetokounmpo (22 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) and the Bucks waxed the Pistons on Saturday, extending Detroit’s franchise record losing streak to 23 straight games, the third-longest skid within the same season in NBA history

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

NHL - Top Games

• New York Rangers 2, Boston Bruins 1 (OT): In a Saturday showdown between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, Vincent Trocheck (2 G) tied the game for New York in the 3rd period before winning it in overtime, as the Blue Shirts topped Jeremy Swayman (32 SV) and the B’s in Boston to go 2-0 this weekend - the Rangers (21-7-1) are the only team in the Eastern Conference with 20 wins

• Vegas Golden Knights 6, Ottawa Senators 3: The Knights’ four-game heater came to an end with a 5-2 loss to the Sabres on Friday, but the defending champs rebounded in emphatic fashion on Sunday by dropping six on the Sens, improving to 12-3-2 at home

• Washington Capitals 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (SO): Carolina’s Sebastian Aho (1 G) and Washington’s Martin Fehervary (1 G) traded goals in the 2nd, and after a scoreless 3rd period and overtime, Evgeny Kuznetsov buried a wrister to beat the Canes in a shootout

See the full NHL scoreboard here and the current standings here.

English Premier League - Top Matches

• Crystal Palace 2, Manchester City 2: Despite finishing the Champions League group stage on Wednesday with a perfect 6-0-0 record, Man City turned in another head-scratching Premier League performance on Saturday, as Rico Lewis (54’) put the holders up 2-0 early in the second half only for Jean-Philippe Mateta (76’) to cut Crystal Palace’s deficit to one before Michael Olise (90’+5’ Pen) slotted home the equalizer for an unexpected draw at the Etihad - City was without their league-leading scorer Erling Haaland due to a foot injury

• Arsenal 2, Brighton & Hove Albion 0: After a brief slide, the Gunners moved back atop the Premier League table with a dominant victory over Brighton & Hove in which Gabriel Jesus (53’) and Kai Havertz (87’) each found the back of the net - Arsenal (12-3-2) jumped Liverpool (11-5-1) and Aston Villa (12-2-3) with the win

See the full soccer scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

⛳️ Tiger Woods and his 14-year-old son, Charlie, finished tied for fifth place (-19) in this weekend’s PNC Championship, which was won by Bernhard Langer and his son Jason (-25) - both Tiger and Charlie impressed, and it’s Langer’s fifth time winning the title, doing so with two different sons

🏐 Texas women’s volleyball won their second straight national championship by sweeping Nebraska, 3-0, in Sunday’s title match - it was the first NCAA volleyball championship match to be televised on ABC

🏈 Former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord announced that he is transferring to Syracuse - McCord led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record this season and has one year of eligibility remaining

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Following Sunday’s results, how many NFL teams have clinched a playoff berth?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. 5

On December 18, 1973, OJ Simpson became the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in an NFL season. The year prior, OJ absolutely killed defenses by running for a league-high 1,251 yards. But in 1973, the Juice carved up opponents at a whole new level and racked up an unprecedented 2,003 rushing yards. OJ finished the season with back-to-back 200-yard games to reach the historic mark. Amazingly, he did it in only 14 games, all while not wearing gloves (as seen in the photo evidence above). The Juice led the league in rushing four times (1972, '73, '75, '76) during his eight years in Buffalo and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1972, '73 and '75. Despite being one of the best running backs ever, he will likely be more remembered for his subpar acting career - did we miss anything?

NFL - Monday Night Football

• Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle Seahawks 8:15pm ET, ESPN

NBA

• Chicago Bulls @ Philadelphia 76ers 7:00pm ET, Local

• Dallas Mavericks @ Denver Nuggets 9:00pm ET, NBA TV

• New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Lakers 10:30pm ET, Local

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Minnesota Wild @ Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Seattle Kraken @ Dallas Stars 8:00pm ET, NHL Net

• Florida Panthers @ Calgary Flames 9:30pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: Oakland @ Michigan State 7:00pm ET, BTN

• NCAAW: #2 UCLA @ #12 Ohio State 6:30pm, FS1

• NCAAW: Butler @ #17 UConn 7:00pm ET, SNY

• Men’s: Full Schedule

• Women’s: Full Schedule

College Football - Frisco Bowl

• Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion 2:30pm ET, ESPN

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Trivia Time Answer

C. 4. The Ravens, Eagles, and Cowboys all clinched playoff berths yesterday, joining the 49ers as the only teams to do so. San Francisco is the only team to clinch their division, and they will play the AFC-best Ravens next week on Christmas evening - the Patriots, Jets, Titans, Commanders, Cardinals, and Panthers are the six teams already eliminated from playoff contention.

"Lock" of the Day

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NFL - Monday Night Football

• Eagles @ Seahawks: DeVonta Smith Over 42.5 Receiving Yards (-110)

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