Lions receive lump of coal; Nikola Jokić's epic Christmas triple-double; NFL Week 17 playoff implications

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Good morning and happy Friday, everyone! Carter Bahns here with you as we enter the final weekend of 2026. For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope your holiday treated you well and that Santa Claus put everything you wanted under the tree. He certainly brought a few gifts in the way of exciting NBA and NFL games. Well, that is unless you're a Lions fan.

In today's newsletter, we'll recap the Christmas sports slate and look ahead to the weekend, which includes more than a handful of critical football games as the NFL playoffs continue to take shape.

Here we go.

🎄 Five things to know Friday

1. The NFL's Christmas tripleheader saw the Lions fall out of playoff contention. Detroit lost a 23-10 shocker to the Vikings and saw their postseason hopes fall apart. The Lions' championship window may not be fully closed yet, but they have work to do in the offseason to get back into contention. By virtue of Detroit's defeat, the Packers are now officially in the playoffs. In the other Christmas games, the Cowboys took care of business against the Commanders for a 30-23 road win and the Broncos pulled out a close 20-13 road win over the Chiefs in what may have been Travis Kelce's final game at Arrowhead Stadium.
2. Nikola Jokić posted a masterful 56-16-15 triple-double to highlight the NBA's Christmas slate. The Nuggets needed every bit of Jokić's incredible performance as they outlasted the Timberwolves 142-138 in overtime. Earlier in the day, Stephen Curry surpassed 26,000 career points, becoming the 22nd player in NBA history to cross that threshold in a 126-116 Warriors victory over Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks. LeBron James was also in action and made his 20th Christmas Day appearance, but the Lakers fell 119-96 to the Rockets. Rounding out the holiday action was the Knicks' 17-point fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Cavaliers and the Spurs' statement 117-102 win over the Thunder.
3. Brock Bowers and Rashee Rice joined the growing list of players on season-ending injured reserve. Bowers is done for the year with a knee injury, and Rice is out with a concussion. Neither the Raiders nor the Chiefs have anything left to play for over the final two weeks, so there is no point in rushing either back or having them play at less than 100%. They are now part of the host of NFL players who have been ruled out for the season over the last couple of weeks.
4. The Nuggets are down a third starter after Cam Johnson suffered a knee injury. Johnson is expected to miss four to six weeks with a bone bruise in his right knee. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but an absence of at least a month is a significant blow to a Denver team already without Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun. Johnson averages 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
5. The Athletics locked up breakout outfielder/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom through 2033. Soderstrom inked a seven-year, $86 million extension with the A's which includes escalators that could make his deal worth as much as $131 million. The contract also comes with a club option for a potential eighth year. Soderstrom excelled in a breakthrough 2025 season with 25 home runs and 93 runs batted in and is one of the cornerstones of an exciting young roster.

🏀 Do not miss this: NBA Draft big board as college basketball enters conference play

The college basketball season is nearly two months old, so we've had plenty of time to analyze the best players in the country whose skills should translate the best to the NBA. As a result, Adam Finkelstein updated his NBA Draft big board to reflect those takeaways from the non-conference portion of the season.

While it's clear that Darryn Peterson is the best point guard in the 2026 class, the battle to become the next off the board is an intriguing one. In the frontcourt, meanwhile, Washington forward Hannes Steinbach is the most notable riser entering the heart of Big Ten play. Texas Tech's Christian Anderson and Duke's Patrick Ngongba also climbed in a significant way, making their big board debuts as first round-caliber prospects.

Here are the top 10 players on Finkelstein's big board:

1. PG Darryn Peterson, Kansas
2. SF AJ Dybantsa, BYU
3. PF Cameron Boozer, Duke
4. PF Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
5. PG Mikel Brown, Louisville
6. PF Nate Ament, Tennessee
7. PG Kingston Flemings, Houston
8. C Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky
9. PF Koa Peat, Arizona
10. SF Thomas Haugh, Florida

🏈 Playoff spots on the line as NFL Week 17 continues

What the NFL's Christmas slate lacked in elite quarterbacks, it made up for with playoff implications. And that was just the appetizer for a pivotal Week 17.

One quarter of the NFL has an opportunity to clinch either a playoff berth, division title or No. 1 seed in the remaining games this week. All but one division race could potentially conclude on Saturday and Sunday. Here's what is at stake:

• Broncos: AFC West title, No. 1 seed, first-round bye and home-field advantage
• Jaguars: AFC South title
• Patriots: AFC East title
• Steelers: AFC North title
• Texans: Playoff berth
• Seahawks: NFC West title, No. 1 seed, first-round bye and home-field advantage
• Panthers: NFC South title
• Bears: NFC North title

One game this weekend features two teams who can both clinch their respective divisions with a victory. The Panthers host the Seahawks on Sunday in the biggest game of the year for those squads. Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin made picks for all the biggest games, and they're both siding with the Seahawks straight up and against the seven-point spread in this one.

• Dajani: Seahawks 24, Panthers 14
• Dubin: Seahawks 27, Panthers 13

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• Lamar Jackson is doubtful to play in Week 17 because of his back contusion.
• T.J. Watt returned to practice for the first time since undergoing lung surgery. His status for Week 17 is uncertain.
• The Marlins signed veteran reliever Pete Fairbanks to a one-year, $13 million free agent contract.
• Baylor added former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji to its roster for the rest of the season.
• South Carolina women's basketball made a midseason recruiting splash with the addition of French phenom Alicia Tournebize, who will join the Gamecocks for SEC play.
• We're less than a week away from the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Here are our expert picks for the next round and the naughty and nice lists for each of the eight remaining teams.
• The Sabres are up nine spots in our NHL Power Rankings, and the Oilers made a similar surge with an eight-spot leap.
• Matt Norlander's latest Court Report highlights the depth at the top of the college basketball world, which is at its best in more than a decade.
• Steve Kerr took accountability for his on-court spat with Draymond Green.
• The United States men's national team delivered four gifts to fans in 2025, but they also gave a lump of coal.
• From an airplane pillow to magic shoulder cream, here's what seven college basketball teams asked for this Christmas.

📺 What we're watching this weekend

Friday

🏈 GameAbove Sports Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Northwestern, 1 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Newcastle United at Manchester United, 3 p.m. on USA Network
🏈 Rate Bowl: New Mexico vs. Minnesota, 4:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 First Responder Bowl: FIU vs. UTSA, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 76ers at Bulls, 8 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Clippers at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. on Prime Video

Saturday

⚽ Manchester City at Nottingham Forest, 7:30 a.m. on USA Network
⚽ Brighton & Hove Albion at Arsenal, 10 a.m. on USA Network
⚽ Wolverhampton Wanderers at Liverpool, 10 a.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏈 Military Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina, 11 a.m. on ESPN
🏈 Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State vs. Clemson, Noon on ABC
⚽ Lazio at Udinese, Noon on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
⚽ Aston Villa at Chelsea, 12:30 p.m. on NBC
🏈 Fenway Bowl: UConn vs. Army, 2:15 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Juventus at Pisa, 2:45 p.m. on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
🏈 Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 22 Georgia Tech vs. No. 12 BYU, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 Texans at Chargers, 4:30 p.m. on NFL Network
🏈 Arizona Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State, 4:30 p.m. on The CW
🏀 Mavericks at Kings, 5 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 New Mexico Bowl: No. 25 North Texas vs. San Diego State, 5:45 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Gator Bowl: No. 19 Virginia vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 Ravens at Packers, 8 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 Knicks at Hawks, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Texas Bowl: LSU vs. No. 21 Houston, 9:15 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday

⚽ Leeds United at Sunderland, 9 a.m. on USA Network
⚽ Tottenham Hotspur at Crystal Palace, 11:30 a.m. on USA Network
🏀 Providence at No. 3 South Carolina (W), Noon on SEC Network
🏈 Patriots at Jets, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Saints at Titans, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Steelers at Browns, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Seahawks at Panthers, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Cardinals at Bengals, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Jaguars at Colts, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Buccaneers at Dolphins, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Winthrop at No. 15 Texas Tech (M), 2 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Southeastern Louisiana at No. 2 Texas (W), 2 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 4 UCLA at No. 21 Ohio State (W), 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network
⛳ New York Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 3 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Alabama State at No. 5 LSU (W), 4 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Penn State at No. 11 Iowa (W), 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏀 No. 1 UConn at Butler (W), 4 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏈 Giants at Raiders, 4:05 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Eagles at Bills, 4:25 p.m. on Fox
🏒 Flyers at Kraken, 8 p.m. on NHL Network
🏈 Bears at 49ers, 8:20 p.m. on NBC