The Daily Huddle (1/3)

Welcome back to another edition of the Daily Huddle! I know it has been a while since I've been on here, I was away with some friends to celebrate the New Year but I am back and ready to return to our regularly scheduled programming. I'll cover the always exciting Week 17 of the NFL and some NBA from today, as well as give my Sunday Night Football pick.

Without further ado, let's go!

NBA

There are a couple of games that are wrapping up now or are getting to the fourth quarter, but also a few that haven't yet tipped since I'm writing this a little bit earlier than I normally do.

Let's start with my Boston Celtics and their game against the Pistons today. A little afternoon tip for the C's today led to a 2 point victory. Jaylen Brown lead all scorers with 31 points, while Jayson Tatum had himself 24 points and a sexy 12 assists and was just two rebounds away from a triple double. This one was pretty close the whole way based on the box score. I didn't have this game on today because the two TVs I was watching both had football on them. Not my decision, but oh well. Tatum hit an awesome pull up game winner with only a few seconds left on the clock to make the final score 122-120.

The Nets are hosting the Wizards as I write this and Kyrie and KD are doing their typical Kyrie and KD things. Through three quarters, Kyrie has 26 and KD is at 19. These two are unbelievable. As a Celtics' fan it is very scary having a team like Brooklyn in the East with us. Their starters are pretty nasty and their bench ain't bad either. It's hard enough to try and stop Kevin Durant but having to worry about Kyrie and all of their role players too is rough. I really wish I had a futures ticket on them to win the east before the season started, because there is much less value in it now that they've shown us what they can do.

I don't really care too much about the other games that are currently happening other than the fact that Jamal Murray has 24 points in less than a half. I think Murray is a fun player to watch and it seems like he's entertaining today.

For the games that haven't tipped yet, go Mavs, go Clippers and go Blazers!

NFL

Week 17 is so much fun for me. This year, a little less fun because the Patriots' game didn't matter at all :( but with all the playoff implications and whatnot it's so exciting. I'll go through each game in a few sentences and hit the notable stats or stories from each one.

Falcons v Bucs

The Bucs won this one led by Tom Brady's 399 yards and 4 touchdowns. The man is unstoppable. Yes, he had an odd start, but with all these COVID restrictions it took him a while to settle in with a new team since there was no camp or anything like that. He is still very good at football and the Bucs make the playoffs for the first time in I think over 10 years.

Final Score 44-27 Bucs win.

Patriots v Jets

This game didn't matter for anything other than pride I guess. Cam Newton was the games leading rusher with 79 yards. First time since 2008 New England will miss the playoffs and that makes me pretty sad. On the other hand, as I mentioned above, Tom Brady is starting to peak at the right time and I'm pulling for him to make a good run.

Final Score 28-14 Pats win.

Raiders v Broncos

This game again didn't matter too much, except for a friend of mine who had bet that the Broncos would be fourth place in their division. With their loss and the Chargers win they are solidified in dead last in the AFC West. Derek Carr had a solid do of 370 yards and 2 TDs. I didn't catch much of this game, but it seemed like it was pretty close. It even came down to the last drive, where the Raiders score and punch in a 2-PT conversion with a slant to Darren Waller for the win!

Final Score 32-31 Raiders win.

Dolphins v Bills

Oh man are the Bills good. They won this one big which gives them the 2 seed in the AFC so they only have to travel if they go to Kansas City for the AFC Championship. The Bills are probably one of my favorite teams to watch. I think Josh Allen is awesome and I like a bunch of their receivers too. They look like they're having fun playing football and I think those are the teams that make deep runs much like the Titans did last year. Remember, nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!

Final Score 56-26 Bills win.

Ravens v Bengals

I didn't see much of this game on RedZone today and that's probably because the Bengals didn't score a single touchdown. Lamar Jackson threw for three touchdowns as JK Dobbins rushed for two of his own. Easy win for the Ravens gives them a playoff spot.

Final Score 38-3 Ravens win.

Steelers v Browns

This game I had my eyes on because I was really hoping the browns would miss the playoffs again because that would be very funny to me. Everyone feels bad for the Browns so they are happy they made the playoffs, but I'll tell you this; I will be betting against the Browns on Wildcard Weekend. The Steelers almost tied it up with a late touchdown but missed the 2PT conversion. The Steelers get the 3 seed in the AFC and the Browns take the 6 so they play each other in Pittsburgh for the Wildcard game.

Final Score 24-22 Browns win.

Vikings v Lions

This game didn't matter in the slightest to me. Kirk had over 400 yards with 3 touchdowns and one rushing TD as well. So that's good for him I guess. Nothing too special here.

Final Score 37-35 Vikings win.

Cowboys v Giants

This game was kinda wild. The winner of this one would win the division as long as Philly wins tonight. The Cowboys stink. As a Pats fan, I really don't like the Giants, even though I think Daniel jones is awesome. I really wish the Cowboys won this one, but an untimely interception and a play that McCarthy should've challenged but didn't lets the Giants roll on.

Final Score 23-19 Giants win it.

Packers v Bears

If the Bears get a win here, they clinch a spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, the Packers were playing for the 1 seed in the NFC and Aaron Rodgers is trying to solidify the MVP for himself. The Bears hung around for a little bit, but ultimately Rodgers could not be stopped. Rodgers threw for 4 TDs, he's got that MVP all but locked up.

Final Score 35-16 Packers win.

Jags v Colts

I'm pretty sure the Colts really needed this one to clinch a spot in the playoffs, and they got one. I didn't see much of this game on RedZone either, except for Jonathan Taylor icing the game with a big rushing touchdown late in the game.

Final Score 28-14 Colts win.

Chargers v Chiefs

The Chiefs had the 1 seed on lock going in to this game, so this one didn't really matter at all. The Chargers did get a good day out of Justin Herbert with 302 yards and 3 TDs. Really nothing special to talk about here.

Final Score 38-21 Chargers win.

Cardinals v Rams

In this game here the Cards win and their in as long as the Bears lose. Since the Bears did lose all the Cards have to do is win. The didn't. This game had a pretty low score with only 25 total points. I know Kyler Murray got hurt early in the game and I don't think he returned to the field after the first quarter. The Rams get to go to Seattle for their playoff game and the Cardinals don't get one.

Final Score 18-7 Rams win.

Seahawks v 49ers

This game was oddly close. The Seahawks have 11 wins now and a division title, but they almost don't look like they should have either of those when I watch them play. I love Russ and DK but they just don't look like a team that is nearly as good as their record shows us. The Seahawks already had the division won so they might have just been competing for a 2 seed but they got the win either way.

Final Score 26-23 Seahawks.

Saints v Panthers

This one wasn't very exciting. I didn't see it on RedZone much either, but I was jumping between RedZone and some important games. The Saints get the 2 seed in the NFC with this win as Drew Brees throws for 3 TDs. Some are saying Sean Payton should be coach of the year since they have 11 wins and had to battle so many injuries. I don't know if it should go to him. I think I like Sean McDermott a bit more than Payton, but I also don't really care too much or pay much attention to Coach of the year awards.

Final Score 33-7 Saints go marching.

Last but not least, Titans v Texans

I watched the very end of this game with Tannehill connecting to AJ Brown with 18 or so seconds left in the game to put them in position to hit the winning kick. Derrick Henry is still amazing and he broke the 2,000 yard mark today and added 2 rushing TDs. The rookie kicker for the Titans got himself iced with four seconds left on the clock and then comes out of the timeout and doinks it in. That gave the Titans the AFC South title and the Ravens for their first playoff game.

Final Score 41-38 Titans win.

The Football Team is playing the Eagles right now, and I'm on the WFT -7. I know this is posted after kickoff so it's too late for me to help you out, and you probably don't believe that is actually what I bet but oh well. It took me a little longer than I thought to write the recaps of the other games so I have to post later than I wanted to. If the Football Team wins, they win the division, if Philly wins the Giants win the division. That's all I got, go Football Team!

Final Thoughts

Manchester City walked all over Chelsea today going up 3-0 in the first half and letting the Blues get one in the 92nd minute just for the hell of it. Man City is now fifth in the league, right where I want to be. Keep it up boys!

Ohio State creamed Clemson and Alabama made easy work of Notre Dame even though the Irish covered the 19 point spread. I saw that Bama opened as an 8.5 point favorite and I think I will be all over the Crimson Tide.

That's all I have for today. I'll be back tomorrow to recap Sunday Night Football and any NBA games I care about tomorrow.

See you tomorrow for another edition of the Daily Huddle!