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As the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers were playing a December game with playoff implications at Soldier Field on Saturday night, James Madison raced to put up as many points as it could after falling behind 34-3 in the first half of a first-round College Football Playoff game against Oregon.

The Bears pulled off an improbable comeback, complete with an onside-kick recovery and a game-ending, 46-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore that ripped through the wind in overtime. Meanwhile, JMU made a 51-34 loss look closer than it actually was.

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Oregon-JMU averaged 4.4 million viewers, according to ESPN PR, which reported that, earlier in the day, Ole Miss’ 41-10 win over Tulane averaged 6.2 million viewers.

That game bled into the start of Eagles-Commanders, which kicked off an NFL Saturday doubleheader on Fox. Both of the games with Group of Five teams and NFL overlap drew significantly less viewership than the other two games in the first round of the CFP.

Those of course featured marquee matchups that proved far more competitive. They also didn’t go up against an NFL schedule.

Alabama-Oklahoma, which saw the Crimson Tide rally from 17 points down, averaged 14.9 million viewers, and Miami-Texas A&M, which showcased a defensive standoff in a blustery College Station, averaged 14.8 million viewers, according to ESPN PR.

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Both were one-score games in the fourth quarter. Alabama capped its comeback for a 34-24 win. Miami buckled down at the goal line with an interception in the end zone to clinch a 10-3 victory.

Alabama-Oklahoma was on ABC, with an 8 p.m. kickoff Friday. It was the most-watched CFP first-round game on record, per ESPN PR. (This is Year 2 of the 12-team playoff.)

Miami-Texas A&M was on ABC, with a 12 p.m. kickoff Saturday. It peaked at 19.3 million viewers, per ESPN.

Neither of those games conflicted with the NFL’s Saturday slate.

Ole Miss-Tulane and Oregon-JMU were both on TNT. ESPN and TNT Sports have an agreement that allows TNT to sublicense select CFP games from ESPN.

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TNT had two first-round CFP games last season and two more this time around.

Group of Five auto-bid teams suffering blowout losses to at-large power conference teams stirred up more questions about the format of the playoff.

So will the viewership numbers, however, those were likely also affected by an NFL takeover Saturday.

Pittsburgh Steelers wideout DK Metcalf was suspended for two games following a sideline altercation with a fan during the team’s 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 16, the league announced Monday.

As a result, Metcalf will miss the final two games of the regular season. He appealed the suspension, but it was upheld Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

“Metcalf’s actions violate league policy, which specifies that ‘players may not enter the stands or otherwise confront fans at any time on game day and … if a player makes unnecessary physical contact with a fan in any way that constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct or presents crowd-control issues and/or risk of injury, he will be held accountable,’” the league said in a statement, in part.

The suspension will cost Metcalf $277,778 per game, or $555,556 in total salary.

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The upheld suspension also raises a considerably more significant financial risk. It will void $45 million in future guaranteed money over the next two years, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Metcalf’s current four-year, $132 million contract notes that if he “fails … to practice or play with the Club for any reason,” including a suspension, his guarantees will “be null and void,” according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Metcalf could still earn that money over the next two seasons, but it’s no longer guaranteed. Metcalf had $25 million of his salary guaranteed next season and $20 million guaranteed in 2027.

Steelers reportedly remain committed to Metcalf

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday after Metcalf’s suspension was upheld that “the Steelers have already reaffirmed their commitment to Metcalf for 2026 and beyond.”

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Of course, reaffirming a commitment and a binding contract are two different things. And the Steelers still have the option of voiding that previously guaranteed money if they’re compelled to part with Metcalf for whatever reason.

But Metcalf’s 28 years old and in his physical prime, and the Steelers signed him to that contract because they want him on their roster. Per Pelissero’s report, nothing has changed on that front.

Pelissero also reported Tuesday that neither the NFL nor the Lions will take action against the fan because “there was no violation of the fan code of conduct.”

The incident occurred in the second quarter of the contest Sunday at Ford Field. While the Lions’ offense was on the field, Metcalf approached a fan sitting in the front row and wearing a blue wig. After exchanging words with the fan, Metcalf appeared to throw a punch at the fan’s head. It was unclear whether the punch connected.

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While the incident was captured on the broadcast, it was not seen by officials.

Because of that, Metcalf was not penalized and was not ejected from the contest. He finished the game with four catches and 42 yards on nine targets.

The contest ended in dramatic fashion, as a last-second touchdown by the Lions was taken off the board due to a penalty. Officials needed to chat for multiple minutes to sort out the situation, which resulted in the Steelers winning the game.

The fan was ejected from the contest, per the Detroit Free Press. The fan claimed Metcalf threw a punch because the fan taunted the wideout with his full name, DeKaylin Zecharius.

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[Get more Steelers news: Pittsburgh team feed]

On Monday, however, sources told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network that the fan used a derogatory term when taunting Metcalf about his mother. That source also claimed the fan called Metcalf “something we both know you don’t call a Black man.”

Metcalf and the fan reportedly have history, as the wideout apparently reported the fan to NFL security in 2024, when Metcalf was a member of the Seattle Seahawks. The team traveled to Detroit to play the Lions in Week 4 last season.

The fan’s attorney released a statement Monday calling the allegations against the fan, Ryan Kennedy, “completely false.”

“Ryan Kennedy categorically denies using the “N-word,” the “C-word,” or any racial, misogynistic, or hate-based slur during the incident that occurred on December 21, 2025 at Ford Field during the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game.

“These allegations are completely false.”

Metcalf did not speak with reporters after the game, leaving the locker room quickly. When asked about the situation after the game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he’d heard about the altercation but had not seen it. At the time, Tomlin said he had not talked to Metcalf about the incident and wasn’t going to comment further.

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During his Tuesday news conference, Tomlin said that although he doesn’t condone Metcalf’s actions, he supports the wide receiver.

Following Sunday’s game, the NFL said it would investigate the altercation. The league was expected to make a quick decision on the situation, which led to Monday’s announcement.

The Steelers enter this week’s contest against the Browns with a 9-6 record. They currently hold the lead in the AFC North, which they can secure with a win over Cleveland. That would lead to the team’s third straight postseason appearance.

In that scenario, Metcalf would be eligible to return for Pittsburgh’s first playoff game next month.

The 2025-26 offseason has had moments in which it moved swiftly, such as the domino effect we saw early on with the high-leverage reliever market. But we’ve also seen it drag, and that’s the way things have been going the past few weeks. As we sit just days away from the new year, it’s the starting pitching market that’s moving significantly more slowly than the rest.

The night before Thanksgiving, the Toronto Blue Jays made the first big splash, signing right-hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal. Toronto later added right-hander Cody Ponce, who is returning to the States after a successful tenure in the KBO.

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But beyond Cease and Ponce, we’ve seen little movement for starting pitchers. Most of the notable starting pitching action so far has involved teams retaining their starters, with Shane Bieber opting in with the Blue Jays and Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff accepting qualifying offers from the Cubs and Brewers, respectively.

Two other names returning to their old stomping grounds are Michael King, who re-signed with the Padres on a three-year, $75 million deal, and Merrill Kelly, who returned to the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40 million deal.

But with just a few days left in December, the majority of the top starting pitchers in this free-agent class — names such as Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen and Tatsuya Imai — are still available. And while teams are interested and engaged with those players, they’re clearly taking their time.

The lack of movement in the starting pitching market could be due to a number of reasons.

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One is that teams want to exhaust all their options on the trade market before they make the financial commitment to acquire one of the top free-agent starters. If teams can move prospect capital to add someone such as Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera or Washington Nationals southpaw MacKenzie Gore instead of spending $100 million-$200 million to sign Suárez or Valdez, many will see that as a win.

We’ve already seen a few trades of this nature, with the Boston Red Sox acquiring Johan Oviedo and Sonny Gray, the Houston Astros acquiring Mike Burrows and the Baltimore Orioles paying a significant prospect price to acquire three years of Shane Baz.

Meanwhile, for the teams looking for the best of the best options, Tarik Skubal remains a tantalizing possibility. While the Tigers would demand a haul to move their ace, there’s no denying that any team with both the prospect capital and the starting pitching need would be very interested — even for a one-year rental.

The other factor hovering in the background of this year’s offseason is the uncertainty of what lies ahead after next season, with a potential lockout on the horizon once the collective bargaining agreement expires. With teams unsure of what the future holds, some might be trying to protect themselves by avoiding having too many multiyear deals on the books after 2026.

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Even so, the next starting pitching domino to fall will likely be Imai, whose posting window expires at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 2. The 27-year-old right-hander from Japan is considered one of the best starters available, and his signing will likely spur some movement in the markets for Suárez and Valdez, as well as for others such as Gallen, Lucas Giolito and Nick Martinez.

Plenty of contending teams still need starting pitching, including the Cubs, Mets and Giants, so eventually this stalemate will end. As the calendar turns to January, especially with Imai’s deadline looming, expect the action on the starting pitching market to pick up.

After all, pitchers have only about seven weeks left before spring training begins.

With the Los Angeles Chargers in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC, the team will now play its final two games of the regular season without a key player on defense. Linebacker Denzel Perryman was suspended for two games following “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players,” the league announced.

Perryman’s suspension came a day after he was penalized for unnecessary roughness after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Dallas Cowboys wideout Ryan Flournoy. After making a catch, Flournoy found himself sitting on the ground. As Flournoy attempted to get up, Perryman came in to deliver hit directly to Flournoy’s head.

Flournoy was forced to leave the contest due to a knee injury. He finished the contest — a 34-17 Cowboys loss — with two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown.

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Perryman has faced a number of fines for helmet-to-helmet hits over his career. In both 2023 and 2024, Perryman received fines of $66,666 for “impermissible use of the helmet.” His previous punishments may have factored into the NFL’s decision to suspend Perryman for the final two games of the regular season.

Perryman has started 10 games for the Chargers this season. He has 47 combined tackles on the year, which is tied for fifth on the team. Perryman also has three passes defended and four quarterback hits this season.

Perryman appealed the decision, but the league upheld it on Tuesday. He will now be eligible to rejoin the Chargers on Jan. 5, after the team’s Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos.

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The Chargers will play the Houston Texans in Week 17 before finishing out the season against the AFC West leading Broncos in Week 18. Denver is one of two AFC teams to have already clinched a playoff spot. Like the Chargers, the Texans are fighting to secure their postseason spot.

The Dallas Cowboys are out of the playoff picture, but Dak Prescott is invested in finishing what he started and turning over every stone to help the organization bounce back in 2026.

Prescott told reporters Tuesday that he won’t sit out the final two games of the regular season.

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“Absolutely not,” the now-four-time Pro Bowl quarterback said after being asked a hypothetical question about what he’d tell Brian Schottenheimer if the first-year Cowboys head coach mentioned the idea of sitting the rest of the way, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

The 6-8-1 Cowboys are playing the 4-11 Commanders on Christmas Day this week.

“I’m not trying to be away from my family if I’m not going to get to play this game, and get to do something that I love at a high level, and finish a good individual season, I guess you could say, off strong,” Prescott said, via Machota.

He continued: “You say 15 games under the belt, I want to make it 17, and just show that every chance I get out there, I’m just trying to play to my standard and expectations. And not only that, we were just talking about how important it is to stop this losing streak and finish the season off with two wins. So, yeah, I’d play and I’d fight [Schottenheimer] for it.”

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Fortunately for Prescott, he won’t have to this week — Schottenheimer has spoken about being motivated to finish 5-1 in the NFC East and how his players are all about playing to win.

The Cowboys have lost three games in a row after a streak of three victories — including back-to-back wins over last season’s Super Bowl teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs — put them back in the spotlight.

As Prescott alluded to, he’s enjoyed great individual success during the 2025 campaign. In his 10th season, the 32-year-old has already surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark. He has piled up 28 passing touchdowns while establishing a rapport with wide receiver George Pickens, who is currently third in the league with 1,342 receiving yards.

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That’s nothing new for Prescott. He led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns in 2023. He was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016.

He’s been itching for a championship, just like everyone else in Dallas.

Prescott added: “I feel like the last few times I’ve said that were playoff losses. Each year has its own troubles. Each year has its own highs, lows, ebbs and flows and everything within it. The importance is controlling what you can … I’m going to do my damnedest, controlling what I can and as you get older, I think having more input, having more say so and being asked more questions from the front office. Maybe there’s a little bit more that I can do, and it’s not physically or me getting better at my game. Maybe it’s speaking up and saying that this will help or I think this can help.”

While the Cowboys are tied for third in the league with 6.0 yards per play and rank fifth with 28.3 points per game, they are second-to-last in the NFL with 30.3 points per game allowed and tied for 30th with 6.1 yards per play allowed.

Longtime owner and general manager Jerry Jones will go back to the drawing board this offseason, as the Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought will reach 30 years this season.

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“One year you can change the drought, and then you’re the latest to have gone to the playoffs or gone to the Super Bowl,” Jones said Tuesday on Dallas’ 105.3 The FAN, per Machota.

“So, I don’t pay any attention to 30 years this, 20 years that, when I know one good year will change it all, and you’d be at the top of the list. When you start looking at time, it’s easy for me to step up there and say, ‘I can change that next year.’ That’s what you’re wanting to do and that’s what our fans expect me to do, in my mind.”

Prescott wants to affect that change, too.

“Whatever it takes,” he said, via ESPN, “once again I’m going to do my damnedest and make sure that I’m influencing and encouraging everybody else around me, not just the players, to do the same.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost four games this season. The San Antonio Spurs account for half of those losses.

With Victor Wembanyama coming off the bench again, the Spurs rolled past the Thunder 130-110 in San Antonio on Tuesday night.

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The loss drops the Thunder to 26-4 for the season, still the best record in the NBA by a significant margin. The Trail Blazers and Timberwolves account for the non-Spurs blemishes on OKC’s record.

The Spurs, meanwhile, improved to 22-7, good for second place in the West ahead of the 21-8 Denver Nuggets.

Are Spurs OKC’s kryptonite?

San Antonio’s first win of the series arrived in Las Vegas on Dec. 13 in an NBA Cup semifinal that was tinged with playoff intensity. That game was Wembanyama’s first back from a 12-game absence with a calf injury, and the Spurs eased him into the rotation off the bench.

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Wembanyama remained limited with 23 minutes off the bench Tuesday night. No matter. A Spurs team that went 9-3 in Wembanyama’s absence got contributions across the board to beat a reigning champion Thunder team that started the season on a historic pace.

The two teams will run it back again on Christmas for the third game of the budding rivalry’s season series. The venue will shift to Oklahoma City, where the Thunder will look to reassert their dominance in the West.

But for now, the Spurs have the Thunder’s number. And it wasn’t close Tuesday night.

Spurs break open close game after halftime

The first half was nip-and-tuck, and the Thunder went into halftime with a 60-58 lead. But the Spurs closed the third quarter with a 13-6 run to assert control and take an 87-82 lead.

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Then in the fourth, a Wembanyama 3-pointer extended the San Antonio lead to double figures for the first time at 98-86.

And it was all Spurs the rest of the way as they rolled to a 20-point win. By the time it was done, Wembanyama was able to watch from the bench and cheer as his teammates closed out the victory.

Spurs are more than their All-Stars

San Antonio cruised Tuesday despite Wembanyama’s limitations and a bad shooting night from All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox, who went 0 for 4 from the free-throw line and 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in a six-point, nine-assist effort.

But he didn’t turn the ball over on a night when the Spurs committed just eight turnovers against a swarming Thunder unit that rode to last season’s championship on the strength of its ball-hawking defense.

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The Spurs played efficient basketball, protected the ball and got 20-plus points from three players not named Wembanyama or Fox. Keldon Johnson led the way with 25 points off the bench while shooting 10 of 16 from the floor and 5 of 9 from 3. Stephon Castle added 24 points, and Harrison Barnes scored 20 from the starting lineup.

Wembamyama, meanwhile, was impactful in his limited minutes while tallying 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a plus-13 in the plus/minus column. His streak of 101 consecutive games with at least one block — the third-longest in NBA history — ended against OKC.

As a team, the Spurs shot 56% from the field. And they rode a 13-8 advantage in takeaways and an 18-6 edge in made free throws to victory on a night when the Thunder shot just seven free-throw attempts.

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For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was his typical über-efficient self with 33 points and eight assists while shooting 14 of 22 from the field. Jalen Williams added 17 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, and the Thunder shot 54% as a team.

But Chet Holmgren struggled with seven points and three rebounds on a 3-of-10 shooting night before leaving early after getting elbowed by Gilgeous-Alexander as Wembanyama got the best in the matchup of dynamic 7-footers.

Holmgren and his Thunder teammates will have their chance to answer back in just two days in front of a OKC crowd that will surely be eager to greet the Spurs.

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(5:00) – Cowboys @ Commaners fantasy preview

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(58:30) – Texans @ Chargers fantasy preview

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It’s been a rough start to the 2025-26 season for the Sacramento Kings.

As rumors swirl about who could be on the trade block, guard Malik Monk has been made available, according to Chris Haynes. Over the past few years, Monk has been one of the most reliable sixth men in the NBA, but has fallen out of the Kings’ regular rotation this season.

Monk played just five minutes in the Kings’ win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday, and just 14 minutes off the bench in Tuesday night’s 136-127 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He had nine points, one rebound and one assist.

“One thousand percent,” Monk said Sunday when asked if he was confused by the decision to start bringing him off the bench, via the Sacramento Bee. “But it’s not my job to try to figure out why I’m not playing because I deem myself more than the whole, so I’ll just be ready when my name is called.”

Through 24 games this season, Monk’s minutes are down significantly from last year. Monk played over 31 minutes per game in 65 games last season, and this season, his minutes have dropped to barely 23. Along with his minutes, many of Monk’s other numbers have dropped as well. His points per game have fallen from 17.2 to 12.5, and shot attempts have gone from 14.4 to 10.3 so far this season. Monk has suffered in just about every major statistical category across the board.

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Head coach Doug Christie, his coaching staff and the Kings’ front office have made it clear that Monk will not be part of any plans in Sacramento. A once-valued piece in Sacramento, Monk could be out of town within a matter of weeks if not sooner. Monk set new career highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks last season. Now, the nine-year veteran has become an afterthought in the Kings’ rotation.

The additions of Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder in the offseason, plus Zach LaVine coming over last season, has had a huge effect on Monk’s value in the eyes of those pulling the strings in Sacramento. Fourth-year guard Keon Ellis has also cut into Monk’s minutes and seems to be the preference over Monk moving forward.

With Westbrook and Schroder playing roughly 29 minutes each night and LaVine around 32, there just aren’t enough backcourt minutes to go around, which has resulted in the drop off for Monk. Prior to Haynes’ report, it had been rumored that Sacramento could look to unload some veterans from the roster. The first names that came to mind were Westbrook, LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, due to a reported “disconnect” between Christie’s staff and some veteran players.

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Sacramento fell to 7-23 after Tuesday’s loss, which is good for last place in the Western Conference. If the Kings are looking to move toward a youth movement, they’ve got a ways to go and could be quite busy over the next two months.

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05:02 – Cass and Caroline’s 4th top moment of 2025

10:05 – Cass and Caroline’s 3rd top moment of 2025

14:09 – Cass and Caroline’s 2nd top moment of 2025

19:06 – Cass and Caroline’s top moment of 2025

26:41 – Recap of Cass and Caroline’s top moments of 2025

27:50 – Honorable mentions

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While it may be a meeting of of 2-13 teams, Sunday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants features big stakes with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft potentially on the line.

There are two games left in the regular season and the loser of the Week 17 matchup will have improved odds of earning the first choice the night of April 23 in Pittsburgh. But while having the top pick might help, building a winning football team takes time and shrewd decision-making.

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Raiders and Giants fans might be hoping their teams lose out to ensure getting the No. 1 pick — just don’t ask any of the players if they’re thinking about the potential prize at the end of a losing season.

“Yeah, I don’t give a s*** about the pick, to be honest,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said Tuesday. “I don’t play for that. That’s not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world. That’s what I focus on every day. Being a great leader, being an influence. Being that guy on a consistent basis for my team.”

Owning the No. 1 pick doesn’t guarantee immediate success or improvement, as Raiders fans know when bringing up the name of JaMarcus Russell.

[Get more Raiders news: Vegas team feed]

Crosby, a five-time Pro Bowler, wants to win — plain and simple. The 27-year-old has been in the NFL since 2019 and has played 110 regular-season games, but only one playoff game.

Success wasn’t there at the end of the Raiders’ time in Oakland and it has not followed them to Las Vegas. The franchise has two playoff appearances — and zero playoff wins — since appearing in Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the 2002 season.

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Crosby wants to keep his focus on what happens on the field and let the decision-makers who are in charge of putting together the roster do their jobs off the field.

“That’s their job. That’s the front office, the coaches, they do that,” Crosby added. “That’s got nothing to do with me. I’ve learned my lesson in the past. You can’t control everything. That’s not my job description. My job is to be the best in the world at what I do. And that’s wrecking the game.”

According to the NFL, this will be only the third time in NFL history that two teams that are 11-plus games under .500 will meet and the first time since 1991.

The Giants finish the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys. The Raiders will wrap up the regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs.