As expected in December, it’s cold in Chicago. Especially for the Green Bay Packers.
With the first-half temperature at 32 degrees and the wind chill at 16, the Packers lost the use of a critical tool Saturday night against the Bears — their sideline heaters.
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They also went on to lose the game in an overtime stunner as the Bears scored the final 16 points to secure a 22-16 walk-off win on a 46-yard Caleb Williams pass to DJ Moore in overtime. With the win, the Bears seized control of the path to the NFC North title in the high-stakes divisional clash.
Packers heaters go out
During the second quarter, the Packers’ sideline heaters mysteriously stopped working. The Bears’ heaters, meanwhile, seemed to be working fine.
Fox’s Erin Andrews reported the news just before halftime, while declaring that “it’s cold over here.”
Per Andrews, all of the Packers’ heaters and the heated bench for their offensive line was not working. Fox cameras showed the functionless heaters on the Green Bay sideline then cut to Bears players huddled around heaters that clearly worked on the opposite sideline.
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Andrews then asked Tom Brady if the broken heaters for the visiting team meant that the Bears had to turn off their heaters in a corresponding move. Brady opined that that that made sense, but wasn’t sure.
“I think so,” Brady said. “That’s definitely not what you’re looking for in this temperature. And if it happens on one side, it’s got to go to the other side. That has never happened to me in my entire career where the bench’s heat goes out.”
So what happened? That much wasn’t immediately clear. But it certainly was convenient for the home team that its heaters continued to work.
Well, at least James Madison can say it made the College Football Playoff. Because, well, that’s about all the Dukes want to remember from Saturday night.
The scoring streak only ended after Dante Moore threw an interception on a deflected pass at the end of the first half. But the dominance continued into the second half, where JMU had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and Oregon had over 50 points before the third quarter was over.
By that point, it was time for the Ducks to pull every important player and prepare to face No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. But they didn’t — and JMU kept playing hard. The Dukes offense held its own all night and its point total wasn’t an outlier.
Moore finished with four touchdown passes and two interceptions along with a rushing touchdown. Malik Benson caught two of those scores and Jeremiah McClellan and Jamari Johnson had the others.
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Oregon made it clear from the start that the Ducks could control the line of scrimmage and were much faster sideline to sideline than JMU’s defense. As the third quarter ended, Oregon was averaging over 10 yards a carry as both Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison had over 60 yards with just five carries apiece.
Don’t blame James Madison
Let’s get this out of the way. The way the Dukes — and Tulane — were blown out on Saturday night is not an indictment of the 12-team playoff format or a sign that teams from the Sun Belt or any other Group of Five conference don’t belong in the College Football Playoff. College football’s leaders signed off on the format and both Tulane and James Madison earned berths in the postseason fair and square.
If you want to blame anyone, blame the ACC for being so bad in 2025 that a five-loss team won the conference title. But that’s even foolish.
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Why? The College Football Playoff format is changing again in 2026, even if the 12-team bracket stays intact.
According to an agreement signed by conference commissioners and Notre Dame, the four power conference champions are guaranteed to be in the field no matter where they are in the rankings in 2026. Two Group of Five teams are not going to make the playoff again.
Notre Dame got a sweetener too. If Notre Dame is in the top 12 in the final rankings, the Irish are in too.
If those rules were in effect in 2025, Notre Dame would be in the playoff instead of Miami, and Duke would be in the playoff instead of JMU.
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But the Dukes did exactly what they needed to do to make the playoff this season in a college football world that’s growing a wider and wider chasm between the haves and have-nots every year. While schools like Texas Tech and Ole Miss can reshape their rosters in a single offseason and make the CFP thanks to wealthy donors, teams outside the power conferences are more and more serving like farm teams for power conference schools.
Just look at JMU. When former coach Curt Cignetti — now the coach of No. 1 Indiana — took the job with the Hoosiers after the 2023 season, 13 players followed him from JMU to Bloomington. As current JMU coach Bob Chesney heads to UCLA for 2026, it’s likely that some of the players on this JMU team will follow him to the West Coast.
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If you like upsets and Cinderellas in the NCAA basketball tournament, you should like the possibility of that happening in the College Football Playoff, too. And giving teams outside the power conferences a shot to pull an upset is worth the cost of a blowout or two in the first round.
After all, we’re not that far removed from mass consternation about blowouts in the first round of the four-team playoff. Teams like Michigan State and Ohio State got shut out in the semifinals in the four-team format. And Oregon, which led 34-6 over the Dukes at halftime on Saturday night, trailed 34-8 after two quarters of the Rose Bowl a season ago as the No. 1 seed.
Blowouts happen. Not every game is competitive. The 12 years of the College Football Playoff have shown that. But those blowouts make the massive upsets all the more special. And as long as non-power conference teams get the chance to play for the national title, an upset will happen sooner rather than later.
Live coverage is over36 updates
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Oregon finishes the decisive win, even if JMU made it more respectable with some late scores. The Ducks move onto the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.
QB Alonza Barnett punches it in on 4th and 1 on a keeper, and that play is important for SOME. That means JMU will cover the 20.5-point spread.
Oregon 51, JMU 34
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Atticus Sappington knocks a 48-yard field goal through to get the Ducks above the 50 mark.
Oregon 51, JMU 26 | 4:22 to play
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Lacotta Dipre scores from the 2 and the Dukes continue to keep punching. Is there enough time to make this a game with 10:26 to play?
Oregon 48, JMU 26
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Alonza Barnett drops a 24-yard dime to George Pettaway. The Dukes are at least showing some fight here.
Oregon 48, JMU 20
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Justin Eaglin intercepts Dante Moore, who floated a pass toward the sideline near the goal line. Eaglin returned it 61 yards and drew an unsportsmanlike penalty. Dukes in scoring position.
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The Ducks found a different way to get to the end zone. Blake Purchase blocked JMU’s punt attempt and Jayden Limar scooped it up and ran 15 yards for the TD.
Oregon 48, JMU 13
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It’s been a while since we’ve seen an Oregon score, like an entire two drives. Dante Moore completes another deep bomb, this one for 45 yards to Malik Benson.
Oregon 41, JMU 13
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Alonza Barnett tosses to Nick DeGennaro in the flat and he jitterbugs down the sideline for a 47-yard TD. The Dukes finally find the end zone.
Oregon 34, JMU 13
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JMU has the ball to start the second half, and it’s already moved beyond midfield.
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New coach Pete Golding guided Ole Miss to a blowout win over Tulane in their playoff game. That had to be cathartic for players, fans and everyone involved in the coaching drama that played out a few weeks ago.
It was a victorious night for Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding. (Photo by Wes Hale/Getty Images)
(Wes Hale via Getty Images)
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The INT late in the first half is the only real blemish on a surgical first half for the Oregon QB:
Nick Bromberg
Whether or not Oregon can cover the 20.5-point spread.
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Utter domination by the Ducks. Can the Dukes get anything going in the second half?
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The Dukes convert the turnover into points, with a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half. That doesn’t do much to cut into the massive deficit.
Oregon 34, JMU 6
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That’s one way to slow down the Ducks’ offense. JMU’s Elijah Culp picks off Dante Moore to give the Dukes a much-needed positive play near the end of the first half.
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Oregon’s offensive numbers so far:
-349 total yards
-21 plays
-16.6 yards per play
-8:57 time of possession
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Dante Moore hits Dakorien Moore for a 46-yard TD. That’s 5 TDs on 5 drives for the Ducks. They can’t be stopped.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers are both 7-7 as the two teams continue to fight for dominance in the NFC South. Though they’re both at .500, the Bucs have a slight net point advantage that puts them at No. 1. The teams meet this Sunday for the first time this season, and the game will likely shift that balance of power… at least until they meet again in Week 18 for the final game of the regular season.
The Buccaneers vs. Panthers game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET this Sunday on Fox. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch this Sunday’s game and get the full Week 16 schedule for the rest of the league.
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How to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers game time:
The Buccaneers vs. Panthers game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT this Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers game channel:
The game between the Buccaneers and the Panthers will air on FOX.
How to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthersgame without cable:
You can stream FOX on platforms like DirecTV and Fubo, and the game will also be available on FOX’s streaming platform FOX One. You can also tune in on NFL+ for mobile viewing.
bundle FOX One with ESPN’s newly revamped streaming service for $39.99/month.
Many NFL games are broadcast on local channels, so if you’re looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna) or finding a live TV streaming service that carries the correct RSN (Regional Sports Network). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $7 monthly subscription to NFL+ will let you watch every out-of-market-game local and primetime game in the season on your phone — but only a select few regular season games on your TV. You could also spring for the uber-expensive NFL Sunday Ticket package to get every out-of-market Sunday game of the season.
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When it comes to nationally broadcast games, NFL games typically air across ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network. Thursday Night Football games stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, select football games will stream exclusively on Peacock, games on CBS will stream live on Paramount+, and Monday Night Football games will air on ESPN or ABC and stream on the newly revamped ESPN+ this season. That’s six channels and four streaming platforms to keep up with this season — and that’s not counting your local RSN’s for in-market games and an NFL+ or NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out-of-market games. Plus, Netflix is once again hosting at least two Christmas Day matches, so add that subscription into the mix. And we can’t forget about Fox One, Fox’s first streaming service, a place where you can also stream games airing on FOX (if you don’t already have access to it).
Confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a breakdown of the platforms we recommend checking out ahead of the 2025 NFL season, so that come game time, tuning into your favorite team’s games will be as easy as simply turning on the TV.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.
Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.
