Monday’s 6-pack:
NFL playoff schedule for this week:
Saturday 4:30- Rams (-9.5) @ Carolina
Saturday 8:00- Packers (-1.5) @ Chicago
Sunday 1:00- Bills (-1.5) @ Jacksonville
Sunday 4:30- 49ers @ Philadelphia (-3.5)
Sunday 8:00- Chargers @ New England (-3.5)
Monday 8:15- Texans (-3) @ Pittsburgh
Quote of the Day
“I was not pleased with the offense today. We can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that. I was disappointed with the offense as a whole. I let those guys know that. And we’ll be better for it.”
Bears coach Ben Johnson
Monday’s quiz
What college basketball program has made the NCAA Tournament the most times (32) without ever making it to a Final Four?
Sunday’s quiz
Isaac Bruce is the all-time leader in receiving yards for the Rams.
Saturday’s quiz
In his NFL playing career, Chargers’ coach Jim Harbaugh had more rushing yards than Bo Jackson; Harbaugh had 2,787 rushing yards, Bo Jackson 2,782.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday…….
Steelers 26, Ravens 24
Ravens missed a 44-yard FG at the gun; Steelers win AFC North.
Steelers drove 65 yards, took lead for good on 26-yard TD pass with 0:55 left.
Baltimore lost four of its last six games, after a 5-0 streak.
Ravens miss playoffs for only second time in last eight years.
Baltimore led this game 1o-3 at halftime.
Steelers in second half: 40 plays, 237 yards, 23 points.
Pittsburgh won three of its last four games.
Steelers host Houston in first round of playoffs next Monday.
Falcons 19, Saints 17
Atlanta’s win made Carolina Panthers NFC South champs.
Panthers host the Rams Saturday in first round of the playoffs.
After the game, Falcons fired both their coach and GM.
Raheem Morris went 8-9/8-9 in his two years coaching Atlanta.
Last 2 years. Falcons were 12-10 when QB Cousins plays, 4-8 when didn’t
Atlanta’s first TD in this game came on a 5-yard drive, after a blocked punt.
New Orleans outgained the Falcons, 340-208.
Saints wound up 5-4 this year when rookie QB Shough started.
Jaguars 41, Titans 7
Jacksonville clinches AFC South, their third playoff spot in last 18 years.
Jaguars won their last eight games, scoring 33.6 ppg
Tennessee QB Ward hurt his shoulder early on, threw only three passes.
Jaguars host Buffalo in first round of the playoffs Sunday.
Titans are 9-19 ATS in last 28 games as an underdog.
Up 14-7, Jaguars broke game open with a 58-yard pick-6.
Jacksonville K Little booted a 67-yard FG at the halftime gun.
Liam Coen has an impressive 13-4 in his first year as Jaguars’ coach.
Broncos 19, Chargers 3
Denver clinches #1-seed in AFC and a bye next week.
Broncos won 13 of their last 14 games.
Chargers sat out #1 QB Herbert, who has broken left hand.
Chargers’ first five drives: 19 plays, 51 yards, 4 punts, one INT
Denver is in playoffs for second year in row, after an 8-year absence.
Broncos’ only TD of the day came on a 45-yard pick-6 in first quarter.
Chargers travel to Foxboro to play the Patriots Sunday night.
Jim Harbaugh is 72-34-1 as an NFL coach, 23-12 with the Bolts.
Patriots 38, Dolphins 10
RB Stevenson had 9 touches for 153 yards, three TD’s
Patriots swept Miami for the first time since 2016.
New England hosts the Chargers Sunday night in Foxboro.
Patriots outgained Miami, 457-180.
Miami allowed 27+ points in all 10 of its losses this year.
Dolphins went 15-19 last two years; they were 20-16 McDaniel’s first two years.
Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Rookie QB Ewers was 16-23/137 in his first road start; he left late with an injury.
Rams 37, Cardinals 20
Arizona led this game 20-16 with 3:51 left in third quarter.
From that point on, Rams ran 24 plays for 217 yards, three TD’s.
QB Stafford threw for 259 yards, four TD’s.
Rams go to Carolina for a playoff game late Saturday afternoon.
Rams are 9-0 when they allow less than 26 points.
This was Sean McVay’s 100th win (100-62) as a head coach.
Rams have made the playoffs in seven of his nine years as coach.
Before McVay came to the Rams, they missed playoffs 12 years in a row.
Raiders 14, Chiefs 12
Daniel Carlson kicked a 60-yard FG with 0:08 left for the win.
Chiefs had kicked FG’s with 3:33/1:01 left to grab a 21-11 lead.
Despite the win, Raiders own the first pick in April’s NFL Draft.
There were no TD’s in this game; both teams kicked four FG’s.
Chiefs ended a dismal season 6-11, losing their last six games.
#4 QB Buechele averaged 6.3 yards/pass attempt, was an improvement.
This was the Raiders’ first win since October 12 vs Tennessee.
Total yardage: Raiders 204, KC 168. Teams were combined 7-33 on 3rd down.
— Famous birthdays, January 5th:
Robert Duvall, 95
Rick Mount, 79
Jim Gantner, 73
Alex English, 72
Bob Dernier, 69
Steve Fuller, 69
Joe Cribbs, 68
Clancy Brown, 67
Danny Jackson, 63
Bradley Cooper, 51
Warrick Dunn, 51
Nori Aoki, 44
Texans 38, Colts 30
Houston kicked a 43-yard FG with 0:12 left for the win.
Texans scored TD on a fumble return on ensuing kickoff for final margin.
QB Stroud, other Houston starters, didn’t play most of second half.
Texans visit Pittsburgh in the playoffs next Monday night.
Rookie QB Leonard threw for 270 yards, two TD’s in his first NFL start.
WR Pierce caught four passes for 132 yards, two TD’s.
Colts are 8-3 ATS last 11 games as a road underdog.
Houston goes into the playoffs on a nine-game win streak.
Commanders 24, Eagles 17
Washington outscored Philly 14-0 in fourth quarter.
Eagles rested QB Hurts, RB Barkley, several other starters.
Commanders led 10-7 at halftime after Moody kicked a 56-yard FG.
This was only second win in last 12 games for Washington.
Commanders led 10-7 at halftime after Moody kicked a 56-yard FG.
Washington was 6-for-11 on 3rd down behind 39-year old backup QB Johnson.
Philly was penalized nine times for 123 yards in this game.
Eagles host San Francisco in playoffs next week at 4:30 Sunday
Lions 19, Bears 16
Detroit kicked 42-yard FG at the gun to end their season 9-8.
Lions led 16-0 after the third quarter.
Detroit’s first three drives: 36 plays, 197 yards, 13 points.
Lions scored only one touchdown, were 4-5 kicking field goals.
Chicago kept the #2-seed, hosts Green Bay in playoffs Saturday night.
Bears lost 28-21 at Lambeau in Week 14, beat Packers 22-16 in Week 16.
Bears’ first five drives: 30 plays, 107 yards, no points.
Bears in fourth quarter: 22 plays, 158 yards, 16 points.
Giants 34, Cowboys 17
Giants win clinched the Raiders having the #1-pick in draft.
Giants won last two games, after a nine-game losing skid.
Giants were 8-14 on third down, Dallas 2-8.
Rookie QB Dart threw for 230 yards, finished his rookie season 4-8.
Giants beat Cowboys for first time in last 10 meetings.
Giants led this game 16-10 at halftime.
Dallas used backup QB Milton in second half.
Cowboys had consecutive losing seasons for first time since 2000-02.
Browns 20, Bengals 18
Cleveland kicked a 49-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Browns scored two defensive TD’s in first 16:00 of this game.
Bengals missed the PAT after their first two touchdowns.
Cincinnati outgained the Browns 364-200; turnovers were a killer.
Bengals were 1-8 when they scored less than 31 points.
QB Burrow threw for 236 yards, three TD’s.
Browns were 8-26 the last two years; will Watson play QB next year?
Bengals missed playoffs last three years, going 24-26.
Vikings 16, Packers 3
Green Bay kicked FG on last play to avoid being shut out.
#3 QB Tune is 0-2 as an NFL starter, losing 27-0/16-3.
Packers get QB Love back Saturday for a playoff game in Chicago.
Green Bay lost its last four games, after a 9-3-1 start.
Minnesota won its last five games to finish season 9-8
QB McCarthy got hurt (again), didn’t finish the game.
Vikings outgained Green Bay 363-121 in this game.
WR Jefferson caught eight passes for 101 yards.
Bills 35, Jets 8
Game was 21-0 at half; not a spunky effort by the Jets.
Jets are 0-6 SU/1-5 ATS last five visits to Buffalo.
Buffalo won five of six, eight of their last eleven games overall.
Bills visit Jacksonville for a playoff game Sunday afternoon.
Jets are first team EVER not to intercept a pass all season.
Jets lost their last five games, giving up 34-48-29-42-35 points.
Jets were 0-12 when they score less than 27 points.
Jets are 5-11-1 ATS last 17 games as a road underdog
