Author: rb809rb

This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup falls on Christmas Day, and will feature the Denver Broncos vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. In a twist, the Chiefs are the underdogs for the TNF game, with Patrick Mahomes out with a torn ACL and his backup, Gardner Minshew, also potentially out with the same injury. The Chiefs are 6-9 this season, to the Broncos’ 12-3. Unsurprisingly, the odds for the Christmas Day game heavily favor the Broncos.

The Broncos vs. Chiefs game will stream live nationally on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET. Keep reading to find out what you need to know about Thursday’s game and the rest of the Week 17 schedule.

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How to watch the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs game:

Date: Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025

Coverage start time: 7 p.m. ET

Kickoff time: 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT

Game: Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Streaming: Prime Video

Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs game channel:

The Broncos play the Chiefs on Dec. 25 for the next Thursday Night Football game of the season, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

NFL Week 17 schedule:

All times Eastern.

Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025

• Cowboys vs. Commanders: 1 p.m. (Netflix)

• Lions vs. Vikings: 4:30 p.m. (Netflix)

Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025

• Ravens vs. Packers: 8:00 p.m. (Peacock)

Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025

• Steelers vs. Browns: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)

• Patriots vs. Jets: 1:00 p.m.(FOX)

• Seahawks vs. Panthers: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)

• Cardinals vs. Bengals: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)

• Jaguars vs. Colts: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)

• Buccaneers vs. Dolphins: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)

• Saints vs. Titans: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)

• Eagles vs. Bills: 4:25 p.m. (FOX)

• Giants vs. Raiders: 4:05 p.m. (CBS)

• Bears vs. 49ers: 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, Dec. 29, 2025

• Rams vs. Falcons: 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)

February 22, 2026

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The Athletics and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom have agreed to a seven-year, $86 million contract extension, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday.

The deal would be the largest guarantee in franchise history. It includes an eighth-year team option and escalators that could max out the contract at $131 million, according to the report.

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The contract comes with a lucrative pay raise and long-term security for Soderstrom. He was previously slated to enter 2026 on a one-year, $820,000 deal. For the A’s, the extension secures the services of one of their key young players as they prepare for their move to Las Vegas.

Soderstrom, 24, had a breakout campaign in 2025 in his third MLB season and first as a full-time starter for the A’s. In 158 games, he slashed .276/.346/.474 with 25 home runs, 93 RBI and 8 stolen bases.

The A’s are scheduled to complete their move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2028. In the interim, they’ll continue to play in West Sacramento, California. When they arrive in Las Vegas, Soderstrom projects to be one of the faces of the franchise.

The A’s made the deal days after acquiring former All-Star second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets. They’re coming off a 76-86 season and a fourth-place finish in the AL West.

The New York Knicks trailed by 17 points in the fourth quarter before point guard Jalen Brunson came through in a big way. Brunson’s 13-point fourth quarter helped lead the Knicks to a dramatic 126-124 comeback road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brunson finished the game with 34 points and four assists. Karl-Anthony Towns struggled against Cleveland’s twin-tower lineup. KAT had 11 points but scored a crucial last-minute put-back to help seal the game for the Knicks.

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Despite another 30-point performance from last year’s NBA Clutch Player of the Year, the Knicks’ bench played a key role in the comeback. What was once an Achilles’ heel for the Knicks during the Tom Thibodeau era has become an asset under head coach Mike Brown. 2021 Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson finished the game with 25 points and five 3-pointers.

[Get more Knicks news: New York team feed]

Second-year point guard Tyler Kolek had another strong showing, contributing 16 points, nine assists and going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Reserve center Mitchell Robinson may not have scored, but his 13 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, kept possessions alive.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Darius Garland added 20 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Evan Mobley finished with 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game back from a five-game absence due to a Grade 1 left calf strain. Jaylon Tyson also added 16 points off the bench.

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Despite the close score, both teams are heading in opposite directions. The Knicks currently sit second in the East at 21-9. They are the Emirates NBA Cup champions, and their 15-2 home record trails only OKC.

The Cavaliers are 17-15, ranking seventh in the East. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Knicks will play the Hawks in their next game on Saturday, while the Cavaliers will face the Houston Rockets on the same day.

In a game with nothing at stake but pride, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders put on a better-than-expected show on Thursday to kick off the NFL’s Christmas Day slate.

With both teams eliminated from the playoffs and the Commanders starting third-string quarterback Josh Johnson, the Cowboys threatened to make it a laugher with three touchdowns on their first three drives for a 21-3 lead.

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The Commanders rallied to get within one possession in the fourth quarter with a 17-6 run that cut the Dallas lead to 27-20. But despite a breakdown in the passing game and failing to score a touchdown in the second half, the Cowboys held on for a 30-23 win. They iced the game with their sixth fourth-down conversion on their sixth try to run out the clock on the win.

Commanders couldn’t keep Cowboys off the field early

The Cowboys started the game aggressive and went into halftime with a 24-10 lead sparked by 174 yards and two touchdown passes from quarterback Dak Prescott. They went for it on fourth down four times before halftime and converted each time to seize control of the game and keep Washington’s defense on the field.

Dallas converted 17 first downs in the first half while limiting Washington to 18 plays on offense.

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Washington’s defense stepped up after halftime and repeatedly put pressure on Prescott. They sacked him six times and added 11 quarterback hits. Second-year pro Jer’Zhan Newton had a breakout game with three sacks and five quarterback hits.

Pressure on Prescott sparks Commanders’ comeback effort

The pressure staggered a Dallas offensive attack that played the second half without starting running back Javonte Williams, who left the game with a shoulder injury. After scoring three touchdowns and a field goal in four first-half-possessions, the Cowboys failed to score a touchdown after halftime. They instead punted once and settled for three field-goal attempts.

But the first-half onslaught gave them enough cushion to secure the win and send their reeling rivals to 4-12. The Cowboys improved to 7-8-1, but their season fate is sealed. They were eliminated from the playoffs last week.

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Prescott finished the day completing 19-of-37 passes for 307 yards with 2 touchdowns and no turnovers. An 86-yard strike to KaVontae Turpin broke things open for the Cowboys at 21-3 as they threatened to run away with the game.

But the Commanders were effective with the ball when they managed to get the Cowboys off the field. A 29-yard run by Deebo Samuel set up a Jacory Croskey-Merritt touchdown before halftime to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 21-10.

Then Croskey-Merritt did it again with a 72-yard house call in the third quarter that cut the Dallas advantage to one possession at 24-17.

From there, the Commanders kept pressure on as their pass rush flustered the Dallas passing game. But the Cowboys never allowed the Commanders to get within a touchdown. Two Brandon Aubrey field goals in the second half were enough to secure the Dallas win.

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Running back Malik Davis paced the Dallas attack in the second half following Williams’ exit. He finished with 103 yards on 20 carries. George Pickens added four catches for 78 yards, while CeeDee Lamb was relatively quiet with five catches for 46 yards.

Johnson performed admirably in his first start since the 2021 season. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 198 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown or turn the ball over. Croskey-Merritt tallied 105 yards and 2 touchdowns on 11 carries. Samuel added 93 yards from scrimmage as a dual threat on the ground and in the passing game.

The Commanders will close the season against the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles and look to send their rivals into the postseason with a loss. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in Week 18.

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-102 on Christmas Day in a hotly contested battle between the top two teams in the West — their third meeting in less than two weeks.

Veteran guard De’Aaron Fox led the way with 29 points on an efficient 12-for-19 shooting. Backcourt mate Stephon Castle added 19 points of his own, with Victor Wembanyama chipping in 19 points and 11 rebounds from the bench. Harrison Barnes and Dylan Harper combined for 27 points and nine rebounds.

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Leading up to Thursday afternoon, the biggest storyline surrounding this matchup was whether the Spurs, having beaten the Thunder twice this season, were worthy of the “rival” label. But on an afternoon when San Antonio used a 17-4 run to eliminate an early eight-point deficit, took complete control of the game, and limited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 22 points on 19 shots for their third win over the champs inside of two weeks, it’s nearly impossible to shake the label now.

Jalen Williams finished the game with 12 points and six assists, Chet Holmgren had 10 and starting center Isaiah Hartenstein added 13 points and 12 rebounds. No other Thunder teammate finished with more than 12 points.

With the win, the Spurs have now won eight straight (not including the NBA Cup Final), firmly cementing them as the second -best team in the West — and true contenders heading into the new year.

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San Antonio’s continued insistence on bringing Wembanyama off the bench has proven to be a tactical advantage, allowing their array of physical guards to set the tone before introducing the 7-foot-5 Frenchman. Oklahoma City found it difficult to find a suitable defensive approach to keep the Spurs out of the paint, despite an aggressive 2-3 zone. At the other end, Wemby’s presence forced the Thunder away from the rim but couldn’t convert on many of their open looks, shooting just 25 percent from deep. Key reserve Alex Caruso, who is shooting just 32 percent from 3 this year, missed 10 of 12 of his long-range shots.

The Thunder, who have now lost four out of six, must regroup quickly in their upcoming homestand against the 76ers, Hawks and Blazers to close 2025. Their next chance at a rematch with San Antonio will be Jan. 13.

There’s more bad news for a Baltimore Ravens team that’s fighting for its playoff life.

Lamar Jackson is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Green Bay Packers with the back injury that sidelined him for the second half of last week’s loss to the New England Patriots.

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The Ravens announced Jackson’s status on Thursday, listing him as doubtful after he didn’t participate in practice for a third straight session since suffering the injury. Jackson’s status leaves Tyler Huntley in position to make his second start of the season against Green Bay.

Ravens’ outside shot at making playoffs

The Ravens enter Saturday’s game as a long shot to make the playoffs at 7-8. But they have a chance. They need to win their last two games against the Packers and Steelers. They also need the 9-6 Steelers to lose their last two games against the Browns and them in order to overtake Pittsburgh for the AFC North title. The Ravens don’t have a path to earning a wild-card bid.

If the Steelers beat the Browns on Sunday, the Ravens will be eliminated from the playoffs, and their season finale against Pittsburgh would be irrelevant. So the Ravens will obviously go into Saturday’s game with everything to play for.

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Beating a motivated Packers team that has an outside shot of winning the NFC North won’t be easy if Jackson can’t go. But the Packers are dealing with their own quarterback concerns.

Jordan Love, Malik Willis questionable for Packers

Jordan Love remains in concussion protocol with a concussion sustained in last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears. The Packers listed him as questionable on Thursday. He’ll need to pass protocol to be cleared to play against Baltimore.

His backup, Malik Willis, is also questionable with an undisclosed illness and a right shoulder injury. Willis returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday after missing Wednesday’s session with the illness.

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If neither quarterback can play, the Packers will likely be left to elevate Clayton Tune off the practice squad to start against the Ravens. Tune is a third-year pro who’s thrown 23 NFL passes, just two of them since the 2023 season. He hasn’t played in 2025.

The 9-5-1 Packers are in position to clinch a playoff berth and have an outside shot of overtaking the 11-4 Chicago Bears for the NFC North title if they win out and the Bears lose their remaining two games against the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. The Packers will close their season against the Minnesota Vikings after facing the Ravens.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The final Spurs timeout of an emphatic 117-102 Christmas Day win, with a little over a minute left to play and the game already decided, was the most prominent.

Thirty seconds earlier, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault had recalled his starters, resigned to the reality Oklahoma City was mere moments away from their third defeat to San Antonio in less than a fortnight.

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So as Spurs two-way forward David Jones García strolled on the floor with 72 seconds remaining, emphatically waving a white towel in the direction of the downtrodden Thunder bench and thrusting it side-to-side as if he was disciplining them, the significance was clear. And it didn’t matter that the courier in one of the season’s most important games was a player with more minutes spent at baggage claim than on the floor. There was no more escaping or denying not only the presence of a rivalry, but a forced entry into the contender’s lair.

Belt to ass. A lesson. A reminder. A message.

“You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said following the game. “We have to get better, look in the mirror, and that’s everybody from top to bottom.”

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For all the glitz, grit and glamor the Thunder possess — reigning champions, home to the MVP, owners of the best record in the NBA — they have been reminded on multiple occasions by the Spurs the distance that separates them is closing, not widening.

Just a few weeks ago, Oklahoma City was 24-1, revered and feared from coast to coast. The Thunder’s path to June and a repeat seemed as clear as the water that flows in the Great Barrier Reef. Heading into the new year, as asinine as it would be to have the Thunder as anything other than the clear-cut favorites, the rapid emergence of San Antonio has forced a recalibration of sorts.

It won’t be so easy.

That’s what made Thursday afternoon so poignant. From the opening tip, this wasn’t just a regular December game. On a day that could have been billed as a conference final opener, the grappling match between ethics and analytics was fascinating, with the Thunder hell-bent on making their physicality the main character and the Spurs comfortable with adjusting to what was being presented to them. Each time Gilgeous-Alexander or Jalen Williams attempted to bother Victor Wembanyama with force, San Antonio responded with fluidity.

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What makes the Spurs different is also what makes them bold; an array of smart point-of-attack defenders (who blitz you at the other end) that trust the very large Frenchman behind them to deter, clean up and destroy. San Antonio refused to yield space to Oklahoma City’s ball-handlers, mucking up the middle and forcing action to the perimeter. Add everything up — a rejuvenated De’Aaron Fox (who led all scorers with 29 points), holding Gilgeous-Alexander to just 22 points on 19 shots and 33 missed Thunder 3s — and you have yourself a recipe for success. Over and over and over again.

“I think we learned that when you play a team multiple times in short stretches, there’s a familiarity obviously that it breeds,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “And when you play a team of this caliber, the details are that much more magnified, and I thought we did a phenomenal job as the game progressed at adhering to those details and nuances.”

Perhaps Oklahoma City (26-5), given all that it has accomplished in such a short time, isn’t yet at the point where it recognizes San Antonio as an actual rival. But the Spurs, who have attempted to downplay comparisons or get ahead of themselves, are built similarly. Both teams have been constructed by forward-thinking front offices that put as much stock into human meshing as on-court machinations. Both teams drafted well, place a plethora of trust in development and embrace their small-market mentality. Both teams have generational talents, quality role players and smart coaching on the sidelines.

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They’re also different.

“One thing that defines us is we’re going to try and use the weaknesses of other teams,” Wembanyama said. “We can use everybody on the court. We’re never going to let the talent of one guy take away from the collective. That’s what allows us to beat great teams like that.”

The initial (and sustained) decision to bring Wembanyama off the bench so as to keep his return from injury contained — all while not disrupting the harmony that the current starters have — is indicative of a win for the collective. The third-year center spoke about his mindset change in those instances, looking for impact over sheer counting stats. The championing of Stephon Castle, who has rapidly risen to the occasion as a bonafide defender, playmaker and scorer, is a reminder of the joys of youth. The sage wisdom and floor spacing of Harrison Barnes, who provides a unique glue that makes everything work, is an embracing of age and experience. This is a group that wasn’t created overnight but has an eye on a dynasty, years after the last one. Beating the best team in the NBA at this frequency in a short span of time isn’t definitive, but it damn sure feels good.

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“Our confidence has been at an all-time high for the majority of the season,” Castle said. “Obviously still a small sample size, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction.”

The state of current NBA online discourse almost shuns the regular season in favor of the postseason — discrediting accomplishments or events along the way until real games start. But building blocks and small steps matter.

San Antonio (23-7) is 2.5 games back of the best record in basketball, is sixth in offense and seventh in defense, per Cleaning the Glass, and has won eight straight, not counting the NBA Cup Final. The Spurs take and make smart shots (fourth in true shooting, fifth in effective field-goal percentage) and have had seven different players lead the team in scoring this month alone.

If that doesn’t scream contender from the mountains, maybe try another terrain.

It wasn’t great, but Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos are still in full control of the AFC.

Nix and the playoff-bound Broncos mounted a late touchdown drive Thursday night to grab a 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, wrapping up a three-game Christmas Day slate for the NFL. That win pushed the Broncos to 13-3 on the season, and they’re now poised to win the AFC West for the first time since the 2015 campaign, which was the last season they won the Super Bowl. It also kept their advantage over the New England Patriots in the race for the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

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The Broncos had to get past Chris Oladokun, who was making his first career start in the NFL after Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew both went down with season-ending knee injuries. The Chiefs had nothing to play for, either, as they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014.

Though he completed only five passes for 27 yards in the first half, Oladokun held his own. He didn’t make any glaring mistakes in the opening two quarters of his first start, and even threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brashard Smith early in the second quarter. That, paired with several great stops deep in their own territory, actually let the Chiefs enter the locker room at halftime with a 7-6 lead. The Broncos had to settle for just a pair of field goals after their drives repeatedly stalled out.

Finally, after a long 14-play drive that lasted nearly 10 full minutes in the third quarter, the Broncos took the lead again. Nix scrambled into the end zone himself from 9 yards out. By that point, the Broncos had more than doubled Kansas City’s time of possession.

That lead didn’t last, as Harrison Butker drilled a 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to tie the game back up.

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The Broncos, however, killed nearly the entire rest of the clock after that to put the game to bed. They nearly had to settle for a short field goal inside of the two-minute warning, but got the Chiefs to jump offsides on fourth down to give them a fresh set of downs.

Eventually, Nix found RJ Harvey in the back of the end zone to complete the 14-play drive and put the Broncos on top for good. From there — even though Oladokun led the Chiefs deep into Denver territory with several passes to Travis Kelce — the Broncos picked up one last stop to seal their win.

Nix went 26-of-38 passing for 182 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He and Harvey each had 43 yards on the ground, and Courtland Sutton led Denver through the air with 40 yards on four catches.

Oladokun went 13-of-22 passing for 66 yards with a touchdown. Kareem Hunt had 38 yards on seven carries, and Kelce — in what may have been his last home game before retirement — had 36 yards on five catches. The Chiefs (6-10) have lost five straight.

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The Broncos now will wait and see, and can potentially clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC later this weekend if things go their way. They’ll win the division if the Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday. Otherwise, the division will come down to next weekend’s matchup between the two teams in Denver.

While it’ll likely take a better showing offensively against the Chargers to end the season on a win, the Broncos still got the job done Thursday night. With playoff seeding on the line, that’s all that matters.