Good Morning! Today is Monday, December 15. Here’s what happened over the weekend in the world of sports.

NFL

Where to begin after a whirlwind Sunday afternoon? Let’s jump into the eight scores you should know about from yesterday’s action:

• The Chiefs dynasty has reigned in the National Football League for almost a decade. Multiple Super Bowls, an unbroken string of division wins, and some truly spectacular football. Yesterday feels like the end of that era. Not only were the Chiefs eliminated from the playoffs after a 16-13 loss to the Chargers, but Patrick Mahomes left the game injured while attempting to lead the game-winning drive with a minute remaining. It was reported afterwards that Mahomes tore his ACL:

• Drake “Drake Maye” Maye and the New England Patriots looked unstoppable as they roared out to a 21-0 lead at home against the Bills. But Buffalo had the last laugh against their division rival. Josh Allen and James Cook continuously found the endzone for a huge 35-31 victory.

• Well the Philip Rivers experiment was interesting… the 44-year-old threw for 120 yards as the Colts relied heavily on running back Jonathan Taylor (25 carries for 87 yards). Rivers actually led Indy on a drive for a go-ahead field goal with 47 seconds left, but Seattle is just a better team. Despite not scoring a single touchdown, the Seahawks escaped with an 18-16 win.

• Cincinnati beat Baltimore on Thanksgiving. Yesterday was the Ravens revenge. The Bengals were shut out 24-0… the game was pretty-well summarized by this embarrassing pick-six:

• A couple quick ones here… the Saints and surprisingly effective rookie QB Tyer Shough came back to upset the Carolina Panthers… Bo Nix and the Broncos took down the Packers 34-26… Brandon Aubrey shocked everyone with two missed two field goals as the Cowboys dropped their Sunday Night game 34-26 to the Vikings.

• Matthew Stafford may have jumped back into first place in the MVP race. After a ridiculous first half where the Lions led the Rams 24-17 and neither offense could stop scoring, LA took control. Stafford ended the game with 368 yards and two TDs, connecting with star WR Puka Nacua for 181. In the end, the home team won a thriller 41-34.

HEISMAN

Navy beat Army on a late go-ahead touchdown and bowl season kicked off with two games, but the story of the college football world were the awards. Specifically, this year’s Heisman winner, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The transfer from Cal is the first Hoosier to win the prestigious trophy, capping off a truly remarkable season in Bloomington.

NBA CUP

The finals are set! The Knicks took down the Magic 132-120 in the first semifinal. Jalen Brunson led the way for New York with 40 points. That sets up a finals clash against the… wait! Oklahoma City lost a game? Victor Wembanyama returned from injury and the Spurs handed the Thunder their second loss of the season. San Antonio took down OKC 111-109 in a thrilling matchup between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. It’s now Wemby and the Spurs against Brunson and the Knicks for Midseason glory.

NEWSWORTHY

A massive deal in the hockey world as superstar defensemen Quinn Hughes was traded by the last-place Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild. Vancouver acquired 20-year-old top defense prospect Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi, forward prospect Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick. It’s a hefty price for Minnesota, but with Hughes leading the blue line, this could be the year the Wild finally make a deep playoff run. Kudos to them for going all-in. Meanwhile, the Canucks hopefully can jumpstart their rebuild, although it always hurts to lose a player of the highest quality like Hughes.

It wasn’t just Mahomes who suffered an injury yesterday– star pass rusher Micah Parsons of the Packers is believed to have torn his ACL, while Rams WR Davante Adams re-injured his hamstring.

After a year-long retirement tour, John Cena competed in his last-ever WWE match this weekend. One of those wrestlers who transcended and gained recognition outside the WWE, congrats to Cena on a legendary career.

THIS WEEK’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MONDAY:

• Dolphins @ Steelers, 8:15 PM on ESPN

TUESDAY:

• Oilers @ Penguins, 7:30 PM on TNT

• NBA CUP FINALS: Spurs vs Knicks, 8:30 PM on Prime

• SALUTE TO VETERANS BOWL: Troy vs Jacksonville State, 9 PM on ESPN

WEDNESDAY:

• CURE BOWL: Old Dominion vs South Florida, 5 PM on ESPN

• 68 VENTURES BOWL: Louisiana vs Delaware, 8:30 PM on ESPN

"I'm grateful that I was out there, and it was a blast. But, obviously, the emotions now are disappointment… If I can stay healthy, I feel good, and it is going to get better as we go. But the catch is that we've got to win. It doesn't really matter if it's getting better as we go if we don't win because it's going to be over in three weeks,” –Philip Rivers, after his return to action yesterday

That’s all for now– see you on Thursday!