Despite playing without their starting quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles put up a strong fight on the road against the Dallas Cowboys before ultimately going down 40-34.
Entering the contest at 13-1, the Eagles were missing Jalen Hurts for the first time this season, meaning backup Gardner Minshew would run the show.
One of the more capable backups in the league, Minshew played well, rushing for a touchdown in the first half before throwing one to begin the third quarter to put his side ahead 27-17. The Cowboys fought back to tie things up, but Minshew was not done, tossing his second touchdown of the game to pull ahead 34-27 early in the fourth.
However, Dallas had too much firepower down the stretch, highlighted by receiver CeeDee Lamb's big outing.
Lamb scored the Cowboys' only touchdown in the first half, and he struck again with his side trailing in the last quarter, tying the game at 34-34 to cap a 12-catch, 120-yard performance.
Dallas finally stuck their noses back in front when Brett Maher converted a 26-yard field goal with 2:19 remaining on the clock, leaving the Eagles with plenty of time to mount a game-winning drive, but it ended abruptly after Miles Sanders' fumble on the very first play.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 27 of his 35 passes for 347 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while his counterpart Minshew was 24-of-40 for two scores and two picks.
With the win, Dallas improved their record to 11-4 and secured their place in the playoffs, although they will need the Eagles (13-2) to lose their last two for any chance at stealing the division.
Bosa, Kittle lead eighth consecutive 49ers victory
The San Francisco 49ers (11-4) remain the hottest team in the NFL after rattling off their eighth straight win, defeating the Washington Commanders 37-20.
It continues rookie quarterback Brock Purdy's dream start to his career, with four wins from his first four starts since Jimmy Garoppolo's injury. He completed 15 of his 22 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but the stars of the game were tight end George Kittle and pass-rusher Nick Bosa.
Kittle – who had only four touchdowns for the season prior to last week's game – now has four touchdowns in the past two weeks, following up a 93-yard, two touchdown performance with Saturday's 120-yard, two-touchdown showing.
Meanwhile, Defensive Player of the Year favourite Nick Bosa sacked Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke twice, taking his league-leading sack total to 17.5 in 14 games.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson broke his team's franchise record for most receiving yards in a season on Saturday as he starred once again in a win over the New York Giants.
Jefferson caught 12 of his 16 targets for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 win, which was decided by a 61-yard field goal in the final seconds after Jefferson's final catch brought them into range.
Four games ago Jefferson broke Randy Moss' record for most receiving yards in a player's first three seasons, and he took Moss' name out of the record books once again as he eclipsed his single-season Vikings record.
Moss set the record back in 2003, catching 111 passes for 1632 yards in 16 games, but Jefferson blew past it to reach 1756 yards in just 15 games. With the NFL season now extended to 17 games, he may have a chance to shatter the mark and potentially approach 2000 yards if he plays in Week 18.
Saturday was the 11th time this season Jefferson has registered at least 98 receiving yards in a game, although his total of 133 was only his seventh-best of the campaign, highlighted by a 223-yard performance against the Detroit Lions.
A former first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson burst onto the scene to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honours with 1400 yards and seven touchdowns in his debut season, before going even bigger in 2021 with 1616 yards and 10 scores.
Stephen Curry will not return to action in the next two weeks, although the Golden State Warriors say their star man is "making good progress".
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry suffered a shoulder subluxation earlier this month and was initially ruled out for "a few weeks".
The four-time champion refused to put a more accurate timeline on his recovery, but Warriors fans now know he will be missing for another fortnight.
An update from the Warriors, published on Christmas Eve, read: "Stephen Curry, who suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder on December 14 at Indiana and has missed the team’s last four games, was recently re-evaluated.
"The re-evaluation indicated that Stephen is making good progress. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks."
The Warriors won the title last season but have struggled in 2022-23, with a losing record (15-18) for only the second time in the past 10 years. The other occasion saw Curry play only five games in 2019-20 (15-50).
Golden State are 14-12 with Curry in the team this season but 1-6 without him. Since his rookie season, they are 559-293 with Curry and 68-136 without him.
Despite the Warriors' relatively ordinary record even with Curry on the court this year, he is enjoying a fine individual season statistically.
The 34-year-old is averaging 30.0 points for only the third time in his career, while his 6.8 assists are his most since 2014-15 and his 6.6 rebounds represent a clear career high.
Only in his second MVP season in 2015-16 (50.4 per cent) has Curry shot more efficiently from the floor (50.0 per cent).
The Buffalo Bills overturned a half-time deficit to defeat the Chicago Bills 35-13 on Saturday and clinch the AFC East title.
The freezing conditions in Chicago gave this the feel of a home game for the Bills, but they were far from comfortable early on and threatened to blow their lead in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC.
Josh Allen responded to Justin Fields' opening touchdown drive by leading Buffalo down the field and completing a 19-yard TD pass to Gabe Davis.
But the Bills missed the PAT, and the only score for the remainder of the half was a successful Bears field goal, giving Chicago a 10-6 lead through two quarters.
The hopes of the Bears – and the Bills' AFC rivals – were quickly dashed in the second half, however, as Devin Singletary dashed in from 33 yards and then James Cook followed him from 27 yards for a second score in double-quick time either side of a Chicago fumble.
An unconvincing Allen display, which included two interceptions and a recovered fumble, kept the Bears in contention, yet they could not capitalise.
And the Bills QB finished in more familiar fashion with a rushing score and a TD pass to Dawson Knox in the closing stages as Buffalo took another step towards the first seed.
Bills feel the heat in AFC
The pressure had been on the Bills because there never appeared any possibility of the Kansas City Chiefs not defeating the stumbling Seattle Seahawks. A 24-10 victory was Patrick Mahomes' first against the Seahawks, meaning the Indianapolis Colts are the only team he has now played but not beaten.
The Cincinnati Bengals also remain in contention at the top of the AFC after a dominant first half against the New England Patriots. Joe Burrow completed 28 passes – a season high for any QB in any half – for 284 yards and three touchdowns before half-time, meaning the Bengals could just about withstand a second-half pick six in a 22-18 win.
The Patriots' defeat meant the Baltimore Ravens clinched their playoff berth with a 17-9 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons.
Another manic Minnesota finish
Having claimed a record-breaking comeback win last week, the Minnesota Vikings had to hold off a rally from the New York Giants, who tied the game late on. However, a 40-yard field goal from Greg Joseph had defeated the Colts, and he topped that effort with a 61-yard conversion as time expired for a 27-24 Vikings victory.
The Detroit Lions, Minnesota's NFC North rivals, saw their three-game winning run ended by the Carolina Panthers. Both the Panthers and the New Orleans Saints improved to 6-9, firmly in contention in the miserable NFC South.
Robert Lewandowski will find it "painful" watching Barcelona's next three games from the stands after his suspension for an incident against Osasuna last month was upheld.
Poland international Lewandowski was shown two yellow cards in the first half of Barca's last match before the World Cup break – a 2-1 win at El Sadar on November 8.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) issued Lewandowski with an extended three-game ban for an alleged gesture made towards referee Gil Manzano after being dismissed.
It was announced on Friday that Barca were unsuccessful with their latest appeal against the suspension, and Lewandowski has questioned the severity of the punishment.
"It's difficult because I feel that three games is too much for what I did, that's for sure," he told Sport. "It's painful not to be able to play three games because of that."
Former Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski insists the gesture that landed him in trouble was in fact aimed at head coach Xavi.
"Nothing happened with the ref," Lewandowski said. "The reason I got three matches was nothing to do with the referee, it was to do with me and the coach. That's all I can say.
"One or two weeks before, I had a chat with Xavi, and he told me that I had to watch out if the referee gave me a yellow card.
"That was just a gesture to express he couldn't understand what was going on. We had talked about it, and it was something between Xavi and me. I didn't understand anything."
Lewandowski has 18 goals in 19 games this season – only Kylian Mbappe (19) and Erling Haaland (24) have scored more among players from Europe's top five leagues.
The 34-year-old has continued his prolific goalscoring form in a new country and is hopeful of adding to his trophy collection during his time in Catalonia.
"I will stay at Barcelona as long as I am fit and hungry for titles," he said. "We have to have the mentality of a champion."
Barcelona resume their LaLiga campaign with games against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid either side of facing third-tier side Intercity in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey.
Manchester United's players must prove they deserve silverware as they continue to battle on multiple fronts under Erik ten Hag, according to midfielder Christian Eriksen.
The Red Devils defeated Burnley 2-0 on their return to action on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where third-tier Charlton Athletic await.
Ten Hag's side are also still in the Europa League, albeit with Barcelona up next in the knockout round play-offs, while their FA Cup campaign begins against Everton next month.
Having not won a trophy since their Europa League success in the 2016-17 campaign, Eriksen accepts United are not in a position to prioritise certain competitions.
"It's been a few years since winning a trophy the last time," Eriksen, who arrived at United as a free agent in July, told talkSPORT.
"From where the club were to where we are now, the aim is to focus on every competition and see where we are in the end.
"It hasn't specifically been said that we have to win this or win that – all of the players just want to win as much as possible.
"But to get there we first need to prove that we deserve to be there. It's about every tournament. Like you saw against Burnley, even the [EFL Cup] is important for us."
Eriksen played the full 90 minutes against Burnley and opened the scoring at Old Trafford, before Marcus Rashford doubled United's lead in the second period.
That was United's first match in six weeks due to the World Cup break, which saw an early exit for Eriksen and his below-par Denmark side at Qatar 2022.
Fifth-placed United now face Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth in the space of a week as the Premier League resumes, and Eriksen is glad to be back playing.
"I think it's nice to be back," he said. "It was important to get through to the next round in the cup and get the feeling of everyone being back and getting the win."
The New York Jets are reportedly ready to move on from Zach Wilson after losing "all confidence" in the second-year quarterback.
Selected as the second-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson's rookie year showcased growing pains as he threw nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but the hope was he would kick on in 2022.
That has not been the case, however, with Wilson dropped in November following his disappointing showings in two defeats to the New England Patriots – throwing three interceptions in a 22-17 defeat in Week 8, then having a pass completion of just 40.9 per cent in a 20-17 loss in Week 11.
Mike White was elevated to starter, but his rib injury led to Wilson's return in Week 14, and 317 passing yards in the 20-17 loss against the Detroit Lions provided some encouragement.
However, in Thursday's 19-3 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was benched again with just nine completions and 92 yards, with Chris Streveler replacing him.
While the injury to White means Wilson could feature in the final two games of the season, NFL insider Jay Glazer has reported he will not be the team's starting quarterback for 2023.
"They [the Jets] have lost all confidence in Zach Wilson. Zach lost confidence in himself going into that last game and came out with even less confidence. Expect the Jets to move on from him after this season," he said on the NFL on Fox pre-game show.
Sat last in the AFC East on 7-8, a four-game losing streak has seen New York's playoff hopes plummet, with road games against the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins to end the season.
The New York Mets reportedly harbour concerns regarding Carlos Correa's physical, potentially throwing their 12-year, $315million agreement with the star shortstop into doubt.
Earlier this week, free agent Correa appeared set to join the San Francisco Giants after reportedly agreeing a 13-year, $350m contract with the franchise.
The Giants were set to make their agreement with the two-time MLB All-Star public on Tuesday, only for the news conference to be postponed amid reports of a medical issue arising during Correa's physical.
That delay allowed the Mets to swoop for Correa, with team owner Steve Cohen subsequently telling The New York Post a deal was close to being finalised.
"We need one more thing, and this is it," Cohen said. "This was important. This puts us over the top."
However, Correa could now see a second move collapse in quick succession after a report from The Athletic claimed the Mets are concerned about his surgically repaired lower right leg.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a fractured right fibula and minor ligament damage at the age of 19 in 2014.
The report said the Mets have reservations about Correa's long-term fitness, while acknowledging Cohen's public statements on the progress of the deal could make it difficult for them to withdraw entirely.
The New York Post's baseball columnist Jon Heyman said both parties were trying to "work it through".
Correa has made seven trips to the injured list since 2015, with a torn ligament in his thumb, lower back soreness and a fractured rib.
If the Mets were to perform a remarkable U-turn on their decision to pursue Correa, it would represent a severe blow for a player who has only played at least 150 games in a season once in his eight-year career.
Fabinho believes Liverpool are well-placed to benefit from the World Cup break as Jurgen Klopp's team look to chase down their Premier League rivals.
Having fallen narrowly short of winning a second title of the Premier League era when amassing 92 points last season, Liverpool now sit sixth in the top flight, seven points adrift of a top-four place.
Jurgen Klopp's side did improve before the Premier League paused in November, and they could win three consecutive games for the first time this season when they visit Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
With France's Ibrahima Konate the only Liverpool player to remain involved beyond the quarter-finals at the World Cup, Fabinho believes the break has benefited the Reds.
"It can be good," he told the club's website. "I hope this will be good for the team because, as I said before, our position in the Premier League is not the position that we wanted it to be.
"But this is the reality. We have to face it, we have to try to close the gap to the other teams and yes, game by game, try to play better and win."
Fabinho played 45 minutes as the Reds returned to competitive action with a 3-2 EFL Cup defeat to Manchester City on Thursday, and he was pleased to resume with a game of that magnitude.
"In the game against City it was [important] to show that we are there, that we will fight with the best teams because we are one of the best teams as well," Fabinho said.
"I hope that we will keep this level because we will need it. To have this as the first game back from the World Cup, I think, was good for us. The intensity of the game was really good."
It's that time of year, which will warm the hearts of most but possibly send a chill down the spines of Denver Nuggets fans.
Denver are 1-6 (.143) all-time on Christmas Day, the second-worst record among active franchises, and they come up against last season's Western Conference top seeds this year.
Coach Michael Malone will be confident of providing a rare moment of Christmas cheer to their fans against the Phoenix Suns, though, with his team in excellent form heading into Sunday.
The Nuggets lead the Western Conference, tied with the Memphis Grizzlies at 20-11, and have picked up victories in six of their last seven.
Friday's 120-107 win against the Portland Trail Blazers was a good example of what has been Denver's strength this season, with Nikola Jokic leading the way with 29 points but also being ably backed up by the other four starters each scoring 13 or more.
The Suns have the fifth-best record in Christmas Day games at 12-7 (.632) and have also won each of their last two meetings with Denver.
However, Monty Williams' men have not been able to follow up their impressive 64-18 regular season record from last year, now 19-14 to sit fourth in the West.
A 125-100 defeat to the Grizzlies on Friday was chastening enough without the six losses from the prior nine games; five of those seven defeats have been by double-figures.
They have missed the influence of Devin Booker in their last three games, absent with a groin strain since he put up 58 points against the New Orleans Pelicans, and it remains to be seen if the man averaging 28.0 points per game this season will be back on Sunday.
The future looks bright for the Suns, with Mat Ishbia recently agreeing to a record $4billion purchase of the franchise, but their immediate target is to get back on track, starting by trying to dampen Denver's Christmas spirit even further.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Phoenix Suns – Chris Paul
Should he play, Booker will of course provide a significant boost for Phoenix, but if he is missing again, Williams will need someone to step up in his absence, which has not happened in their last two games.
The experienced Paul made a big contribution in the recent win over the Lakers, yet he has otherwise not been putting up his usual numbers this season. His plus/minus of 1.7 is well down on last year's 7.1, but if the 37-year-old can find his best form at Christmas, it could go a long way against a strong opponent.
Denver Nuggets – Nikola Jokic
The back-to-back league MVP keeps putting up numbers to compare with the greats of the game. In the recent win against the Charlotte Hornets, Jokic became the first man to finish a game with at least 40 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.
The Serbian star is averaging 24.9 points per game this season, as well as 10.9 rebounds and a career-best 9.3 assists.
KEY BATTLE – Nuggets' efficiency could decide contest
Denver are very good at putting the basketball through the hoop, which is quite helpful.
No team have a better success rate from beyond the arc than the Nuggets (38.9 per cent) this season, although no team have had fewer than their 923 attempts. Only the Sacramento Kings (943) have allowed fewer three-point attempts than the Suns (996).
The Nuggets are also second in the league for field-goal percentage, with their 50.6 per cent only behind the Brooklyn Nets (50.8).
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Phoenix won their last encounter in March, 140-130 at Ball Arena, which was their 100th victory against Denver in the regular season.
The Nuggets have only 85 wins against the Suns, with the last coming in October 2021, but they have won 18 of the last 23 clashes between the teams.
New York Giants players were believed to have been inside the Mall of America on Friday during a deadly shooting in Minnesota.
A 19-year-old man was killed in the shooting, police in Bloomington said, which sent the mall into lockdown.
Giants executive vice president of communications Pat Hanlon told The Associated Press the team were staying in a hotel adjacent to the mall and some players were believed to have been inside at the time of the incident.
"Everyone is back in the hotel and accounted for now," Hanlon said after the incident on Friday.
The Giants are in Minnesota for Saturday's game against the Minnesota Vikings, in which New York can clinch a spot in the playoffs if they win and two of the Washington Commanders, the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions suffer defeat.
Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin never expected to achieve the "miracle" of overtaking Gordie Howe into second place in the list of the NHL's all-time record scorers.
Ovechkin scored twice in Friday's 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets to equal and then surpass Howe's tally of 801 on what was his 1,305th career outing.
The Russian now trails only Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history, the latter scoring 894 in 1,487 games.
"You never think it's going to happen when you come to the league, that you're going to beat any Gordie Howe record or Wayne Gretzky record," Ovechkin said.
"The whole situation happening right now, it's some miracle."
Ovechkin has 22 goals for the season and has scored at least 24 in his previous 17 NHL campaigns, his personal best coming in 2007-08 when he netted 65 times.
He was given a standing ovation against the Jets and the game was temporarily stopped as a message from Howe's son Mark was played on the big screen at Capital One Arena.
"It's nice to get it done at home in front of our house, family and friends. It's a great feeling," Ovechkin added. "It's a tremendous feeling."
Gretzky's long-standing record will now be in the sights of Ovechkin, who turned 37 in September and has another three years to run on his Capitals contract.
"It's just crazy to see – it's a huge number," said Ovechkin's team-mate Dmitry Orlov. "It's a great accomplishment for his game, for his person and for his family, too
"The way he is going now, for sure it is awesome, and you hope he is going to stay healthy – another day, another milestone."
Andre Fletcher and Carlos Brathwaite were both selected in the team of the tournament for the recently concluded Lanka Premier League.
They both represented the Kandy Falcons who lost to the eventual champions, Jaffna Kings, in Qualifier 2.
Fletcher scored 266 runs, fourth most in the tournament, in nine games at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 131.68. The Grenadian also scored the only hundred of the tournament, 102 not out against the Colombo Stars in their first game.
Brathwaite took an excellent 18 wickets from eight matches to finish as the season’s leading wicket-taker. For the most part the 34-year-old Brathwaite kept things simple, relying on solid lines and lengths, daring batsmen to take him on, and banking on them erring. His wickets came at an average of 9.88 while having an economy of just 6.84.
Tammy Abraham is unsurprised by reports suggesting both Portugal and Brazil are interested in Roma coach Jose Mourinho, who he views as an "uncle" figure.
Mourinho led Roma to the inaugural Europa Conference League title last season, his fifth major continental triumph after winning both the UEFA Cup/Europa League and Champions League on two occasions.
However, the Giallorossi boss has been linked with an exit in the aftermath of the World Cup, with both Portugal and Brazil searching for a new coach following quarter-final exits in Qatar.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma striker Abraham said any side would be fortunate to have Mourinho, crediting the 59-year-old's methods for his own development.
"Jose is a great coach, everyone wants him," Abraham said. "It's also an honour that an important national team like Portugal is looking for him, but I'm sure the coach is focused on the team.
"We've read the news on social media, but we haven't discussed it. We're all focused on Roma.
"He's a point of reference, I consider him to be like my uncle in Rome. He wants the best for me, when I don't express myself at my best, he pushes me.
"Even when I play well, he's never satisfied and that's what I need. I'm not the type for pats on the back, but I need that trust he shows in me every day."
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