Articles by James Brady

Game result: The Vikings came up short against the Lions in the regular season finale on Sunday, losing out on the top seed in the NFC over the 31-9 loss. Minnesota had an opportunity to win the NFC North and secure a first-round bye as well as home-field advantage in the postseason, but those spoils will go to the Lions.
Instead, the Vikings drop to the fifth seed and will have to travel in the wild card round. They’re set to face the Los Angeles Rams, winners of the NFC West, on Monday, Jan. 13. The Lions will wait and face the lowest-remaining seed in the divisional round.

The Minnesota Vikings boast the second-best record in the NFL, but they’re still fighting for playoff seeding going into the final weekend of the regular season. They’re set to face the rival Detroit Lions, also at 14-2 on the year, in the final game of Week 18 to determine the top seed and winner of the NFC North.
That game is set for Sunday evening at 8:20 p.m. ET, the final Sunday Night Football game of the season, in Detroit. The Lions took the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the year in Minnesota. The Lions are 2.5-point favorites for the game, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Minnesota Vikings NFC North clinching scenarios
It’s a real simple situation for the Vikings: they’re tied with the Lions and their earlier meeting doesn’t factor into the equation because the winner of this game will be a game clear of their rival. The Vikings would be 15-2 with a win, locking down home-field advantage and the top seed in the postseason as the winners of the NFC North.
That would also give the Vikings a bye week, while the Lions would fall to the fifth seed. That means the loser would be on the road in the wild card round, traveling to face the No. 4 seed, which could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, or Los Angeles Rams. The winner would face the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round.
Vikings clinch NFC North, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage with:
Minnesota win
Vikings eliminated from NFC North contention, clinching fifth seed with:
Minnesota loss
NFC standings entering Week 18
1. x-Detroit Lions (14-2, win over MIN)2. y-Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)3. y-Los Angeles Rams (10-6)4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
5. x-Minnesota Vikings (14-2, loss to DET)6. x-Washington Commanders (11-5, 8-3 NFC)7. x-Green Bay Packers (11-5, 6-5 NFC)
8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7) — eliminated9. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)10. Dallas Cowboys (7-9, 5-6 NFC) — eliminated11. Arizona Cardinals (7-9, 3-8 NFC) — eliminated12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9, win over DAL) — eliminated13. New Orleans Saints (5-11) — eliminated14. Chicago Bears (4-11, win over CAR) — eliminated15. Carolina Panthers (4-12, loss to CHI) — eliminated16. New York Giants (3-13) — eliminated
Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contentionTeams with an (x) have clinched a playoff spotTeams with a (y) have clinched their divisionTeams with a (z) have clinched the one seed, home-field advantage, and a first-round bye […]

Game result: The Lions came out on top for the second time against the Vikings in the final game of the regular season, 31-9. In winning, the Lions secured the NFC North crown and the top seed in the conference. They’ll get a bye in the wild card round and home-field advantage for the divisional and championship rounds.
The Vikings, despite the second-best record in the conference, will drop to the fifth seed. They’ll have to travel to take on the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round on Monday, Jan. 13 while the Lions get some much-needed rest.

The Detroit Lions have already handled business against the Minnesota Vikings once this year — on the road, too — but they have to overcome their division rivals again to lock up the NFC’s best record in Week 18. Detroit will play host to Minnesota in a game that will determine the winner of the NFC North, playoff seeding, and more.
Detroit is 14-2, including the 31-29 victory over the Vikings back in Week 7, but it’s all come down to the final game of the regular season, when they play host to Minnesota once again on the final Sunday Night Football before the playoffs. That game is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Lions are 2.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Detroit Lions NFC North clinching scenarios
The Lions have been in control of the NFC for most of the season, and have held a tiebreak over the Vikings since that Week 7 game. But they have the same record going into Week 18, meaning the winner will be a game clear of the other. That means the winner takes the NFC North, the top seed in the conference, a first-round bye in the playoffs, and home-field advantage through the conference championship game (if they advance).
In other words, Sunday’s game is the biggest of the year for both teams on top of being the regular season closer to boot. The loser of this game not only has to play an extra game, they will drop to the fifth seed and will travel to face the fourth seed in the wild card round. The fourth seed could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, or Los Angeles Rams, though that will be decided earlier on Saturday.
The Lions clinch the NFC North, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage with:
Detroit win
Lions eliminated from NFC North contention, clinching fifth seed with:
Detroit loss
NFC standings entering Week 18
1. x-Detroit Lions (14-2, win over MIN)2. y-Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)3. y-Los Angeles Rams (10-6)4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
5. x-Minnesota Vikings (14-2, loss to DET)6. x-Washington Commanders (11-5, 8-3 NFC)7. x-Green Bay Packers (11-5, 6-5 NFC)
8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7) — eliminated9. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)10. Dallas Cowboys (7-9, 5-6 NFC) — eliminated11. Arizona Cardinals (7-9, 3-8 NFC) — eliminated12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9, win over DAL) — eliminated13. New Orleans Saints (5-11) — eliminated14. Chicago Bears (4-11, win over CAR) — eliminated15. Carolina Panthers (4-12, loss to CHI) — eliminated16. New York Giants (3-13) — eliminated
Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contentionTeams with an (x) have clinched a playoff spotTeams with a (y) have clinched their divisionTeams with a (z) have clinched the one seed, home-field advantage, and a first-round bye […]

The NFC North is perhaps the scariest division in football, with all of the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers boasting double-digit wins. Given that, the division itself is still up for grabs, though al three teams have already secured a spot in the postseason. The only question is where that spot will be exactly.
The Vikings and Lions are still vying for the division win, while the Packers are trying to improve their seeding. Green Bay can’t take the NFC North crown and thus will be relegated to a wild card spot, but all three are potential options for them. On Sunday, they’ll face the Vikings in an extremely important playoff matchup, one in which the Vikings are narrow 1.5-point favorites at home, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Here’s what’s on the line for both teams on Sunday.
Packers playoff picture
Green Bay is 11-4 on the season, but that isn’t enough to win the division as they’re a full two games back of both the Vikings and Lions. Currently, they’re slated as the sixth seed in the NFC but could finish as the fifth or seventh, as well. They can’t clinch one of the spots this week, but they can line themselves up for the fifth seed by beating the Vikings on Sunday and hoping for a Minnesota loss to Detroit in the finale.
A loss to Minnesota could drop them to the seventh seed if the Commanders beat the Falcons on Sunday as well.
Vikings playoff picture
The Vikings can’t clinch anything this week, but they can be eliminated from NFC North contention with a loss coupled with a Lions victory. If they do fall to the Packers, they’ll have to wait for the Lions, who play the 49ers on Monday Night Football before the Week 18 game against the Vikings. Either way, the Vikings have the top spot if they can win out.
Tiebreaker implications
The major tiebreakers here are direct and indirect. Green Bay is potentially battling Minnesota for seeding in the wild card, and they’ve already lost one of their head-to-head meetings. And while the Commanders trail the Packers by one game, they have a much better conference record and would jump ahead of them if they win while Green Bay loses.
Minnesota currently holds the edge over Green Bay when it comes to divisional and conference records, but the Packers could pull even with the Vikings in both by winning out while Minnesota loses out. A win for the Vikings in Week 17 would set them up for the ever-important matchup with the Lions in Week 18. […]

The Miami Dolphins have been on the cusp of elimination for the past few weeks, but they’re still technically in the playoff race, at least going into Sunday’s slate of games and following Week 17 matchups on both Thursday and Saturday. A big win over the 49ers in their last outing gave them a boost, but they still have an uphill battle toward making the postseason for the third consecutive year.
Miami’s playoff bid starts with a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. That game is set for 4:05 p.m. in Cleveland, and the Dolphins are favored by three points despite quarterback Tua Tagovailoa being listed as doubtful with a hip injury, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Dolphins playoff picture
Miami could have been eliminated from the playoffs before Sunday’s slate of games had both the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos won their games on Saturday, but the latter fell to the Cincinnati Bengals, keeping the Dolphins in contention. Miami isn’t off the hook yet though, and they are still facing potential elimination if they lose either of their final two games, including Sunday’s tilt against the Browns.
In short, the Dolphins are officially eliminated from playoff contention with:
Miami loss/tie
Tiebreaker implications
The Broncos, Bengals, and Colts are all within striking distance of the Dolphins and are vying for the wild card spots. Indianapolis holds the head-to-head tiebreak over Miami thanks to their Week 7 victory, while the Broncos and Bengals have comparable conference records, making Miami’s strength of schedule and victory potentially important factors, as they are lower than those three teams’ going into Sunday. […]

It’s been a successful season for the Philadelphia Eagles thus far and they’ve already punched their ticket into the playoffs. Unfortunately, they’re dealing with injuries, namely to quarterback Jalen Hurts, who remains in the concussion protocol and will not play when the Eagles face the rival Dallas Cowboys in Week 17.
Kenny Pickett will make the start in his stead, and he’ll have plenty to play for with the top seed in the NFC as well as the NFC East title up for grabs. The Cowboys are already eliminated from playoff contention, but they’d love to play spoiler to Philadelphia’s hopes at home-field advantage in the postseason.
Here’s what needs to happen for Pickett and the Eagles on Sunday.
Eagles NFC and division clinching scenarios
The Eagles trail both the Lions and the Vikings in the hunt for the top seed, though those two teams share a division and only one of them will be seeded above the winner of the NFC East. That winner will be either the Eagles or the Washington Commanders, who sit two games back of them after splitting the season series a game apiece.
That said, there is also an elimination scenario for Philadelphia. If the Eagles lose, or if either of the Vikings or Lions win, then the Eagles can no longer earn the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Vikings will play the Packers in the afternoon after Philadelphia plays, while the Lions play on Monday night.
In Week 17, the Eagles clinch NFC East title and at least the second seed in the NFC with:

Philadelphia win/tie OR
Washington loss/tie

The Eagles can be knocked out of top seed contention with:

Philadelphia loss/tie OR
Detroit win OR
Minnesota win OR
Detroit and Minnesota tie

The Eagles are seven-point favorites against the Eagles on Sunday, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
NFC standings updated after Thursday Night Football

1. x-Detroit Lions (13-2, win over MIN, 9-1 NFC)2. x-Philadelphia Eagles (12-3)3. Los Angeles Rams (9-6, win over SEA, 5-5 NFC)4. Atlanta Falcons (8-7, wins over TB)
5. x-Minnesota Vikings (13-2, loss to DET)6. x-Green Bay Packers (11-4)7. Washington Commanders (10-5)
9. Seattle Seahawks (8-7, 5-6 NFC)8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7, losses to ATL, 6-4 NFC)10. Dallas Cowboys (7-8, 5-5 NFC) — eliminated11. Arizona Cardinals (7-8, 3-6 NFC) — eliminated12. San Francisco 49ers (6-9, win over DAL) — eliminated13. New Orleans Saints (5-10) — eliminated14. Carolina Panthers (4-11, loss to CHI) — eliminated15. Chicago Bears (5-11, win over CAR) — eliminated16. New York Giants (2-13) — eliminated
Teams with an x have clinched a playoff berth. […]

The Kansas City Chiefs are the team to beat, as they have been all season, as they kick off a Saturday slate of games in Week 16. Beating the Chiefs is the only way to keep them from securing the top seed in the AFC at this point, though whether or not they’ll get it won’t be decided until other games are played on Sunday.
Kansas City has already clinched a playoff berth and the AFC West division. They’ll be taking on the Houston Texans, who themselves have clinched the AFC South and are fighting for seeding (though not the top seed). This is what’s at stake when they face off
Chiefs playoff seeding clinching scenarios
The Chiefs have the best record in football at 13-1, but the top seed isn’t quite locked down yet. Both the Buffalo Bills, winners of the AFC North, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, have a chance at the top seed, though a whole bunch of stuff has to go right for the latter. It’s the Bills that the Chiefs need to be concerned with primarily, sitting at 11-3 and currently with the second seed in the conference.
That said, the Chiefs do control the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, so if they continue to win, they’ve got it locked down. Still, they’ll need to wait for the Bills to wrap up their game against the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon before they know if they’ve made it. To break it down:
Kansas City clinches a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason with:

Kansas City win and a Buffalo loss or tie OR
Kansas City tie and a Buffalo loss

The Chiefs, with an ailing Patrick Mahomes thanks to a high ankle sprain, are only 3.5-point favorites at home, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AFC standings heading into Saturday of Week 16
1. y-Kansas City Chiefs (13-1)2. y-Buffalo Bills (11-3)3. x-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4)4. y-Houston Texans (9-5)
5. Baltimore Ravens (9-5)6. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6, wins over DEN)*7. Denver Broncos (9-6, loss to LAC)*
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-8, 5-5 AFC, win over MIA)*9. Miami Dolphins (6-8, 5-5 AFC, loss to IND)*10. Cincinnati Bengals (6-8, 3-6 AFC)*11. New York Jets (4-10) — eliminated12. Cleveland Browns (3-11, win over JAX) — eliminated13. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11, win over TEN, loss to CLE, win over NE) — eliminated14. Tennessee Titans (3-11, loss to JAX, win over NE) — eliminated15. New England Patriots (3-11, losses to JAX & TEN) — eliminated16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12) — eliminated
Teams with an asterisk (*) have been eliminated from divisional contentionTeams with an (x) have clinched a playoff spotTeams with a (y) have clinched their division […]

Saturday football is back — at least temporarily — and it gets underway with a matchup between the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs and the AFC South-winning Houston Texans. With the injured Patrick Mahomes expected to play and seeding still up in the air for both teams, this one matters with both teams playoff-bound.
The game is set for 1 p.m. ET on Saturday from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Chiefs are 3.5-point favorites despite that home-field advantage, which is likely due to the high ankle sprain that Mahomes is dealing with on top of Houston’s strong play in recent weeks. That line comes courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Texans playoff picture
Unlike the Chiefs, the Texans don’t have a chance to earn the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But they’re still in the running for seeds two through four as a division winner. Right now they’re sitting at fourth, and being a game back of the Pittsburgh Steelers in third and two games back of the Buffalo Bills in second, they’ve got to keep winning to improve their seeding.
As they’re playing on Saturday, all Houston will know if they beat the Chiefs is that they potentially helped themselves. While they control the fourth seed, they’ll need the teams above them to lose some games in order to improve that seeding. Going forward, they’ll need the Bills to lose two of their final three and Pittsburgh to lose at least once while winning all of their games to secure the second seed. For the third seed, they would just need to win out coupled with a Pittsburgh loss or two Bills losses.
Chiefs playoff picture
Again, things are very simple for the Chiefs right now. As the lone team sitting at 13-1, all they have to do is win one more game while the Bills, at 11-3, lose one more game. The Chiefs will then clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the championship round of the postseason. They can also clinch this week in the unlikely event that they tie and the Bills lose, or if they win and the Bills tie.
Tiebreaker implications
While both teams are guaranteed a spot in the postseason, there are still tiebreakers to consider. The AFC is generally pretty separated when it comes to overall record, with each of the top four teams holding different records, with ties primarily coming into the equation in the wild card spots.
That means that conference record could be the main factor here, as the fourth tiebreak down the list that could come into play. The Chiefs sit alone at 8-1 in the AFC, while all three teams that could be vying for the second seed — Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Houston — sit at 7-2 within the conference. Such a tiebreak comes into effect after head-to-head, divisional matchups, and records in common games. […]

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are nearly here, and the men’s singles bracket is absolutely brimming with big storylines to follow. Will the top young players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominate as they have in recent Grand Slam events, or can someone like 37-year-old Novak Djokovic finally add a gold medal to his resume? Can Rafael Nadal make magic happen once again before he calls it a career?
Given that the Olympics are in Paris, it makes perfect sense that the tennis will be played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, where the French Open takes place. And that means virtually everyone will be watching Nadal, who has a connection with Roland Garros like no other. He’s at 112-4 all time, and skipped what would likely have been a last attempt at Wimbledon in the past month to tune up for these Olympics.
Neither Djokovic nor Nadal have said that this is their last tournament, but it’s almost certainly their last Olympics. That also goes for guys like 37-year-old Andy Murray, and 39-year-old Stan Wawrinka, who all have found success on these clay courts. But despite these big names, it’s young guns like Alcaraz and Sinner who will be favored, and for good reason.
The format for Olympic tennis is very much similar to the Grand Slams — there will be men’s and women’s singles and doubles brackets, with draws of 64 and single elimination matches. We’ll look at some of the individual players below, and will have further analysis when the draw and first match schedules are released on July 25.
Alcaraz: There’s no player more impressive and electrifying to watch right now than Carlos Alcaraz. He’s the No. 1 target for the rest of the bracket, having notched two Grand Slam titles in 2024, including a French Open on these same clay courts. On his way to winning that, he bested Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, and then both Sinner and Alexander Zverev in five sets. Alcaraz then earned a Channel Slam, which is what it’s called when a player wins the French Open followed by a win at Wimbledon just a couple weeks later. Alcaraz became just the second man in the Open Era to win all of his first four major finals when he took Wimbledon, and holds an 0-2 head-to-head mark against Sinner, his top competition and world No. 1 player.

Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images

Sinner: Despite falling to Alcaraz in the French Open final and getting bounced by the fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon, Sinner has accumulated enough points to take the No. 1 ranking. The 22-year-old Italian is a bit behind Alcaraz when it comes to winning slams, but other than their direct head-to-head, Sinner could still be considered the favorite going into Paris. Sinner started the season off by getting his first ever Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, and made it as far as the semifinal in the French Open. He took the Halle Open earlier this year shortly after earning his No. 1 ranking. During his five-set loss to Medvedev, he was dealing with an illness, but should be rested up for a run at Roland Garros.
Djokovic: Though the Serb has more Grand Slam singles titles than any other, he hasn’t yet managed to secure a major title in 2024. He’s dealing with a torn meniscus, which he battled through to win a match at the French Open before ultimately withdrawing before his quarterfinal contest with Casper Ruud. It’s been an extremely frustrating season for him and most importantly: he’s never won a gold medal. Still, beating some of the younger guys, let alone Nadal et al, will be very difficult.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal: As noted above, Nadal skipped Wimbledon to take part in this year’s Olympics. Roland Garros is the site of 14 of Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam titles and he said at the beginning of this year that this tournament was an important one for him. Nadal already has two gold medals, one in singles at Beijing in 2008, and one in doubles with Marc López in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He’s about a year removed from hip surgery though, and it will require some draw luck and some of the old Nadal magic to make it through.
What about the Americans?
While American men haven’t won any major titles in recent years, 26-year-old Taylor Fritz will be making his Olympic debut and has their best shot at winning a medal. He’s joined by Tommy Paul, Chris Eubanks, and Marcos Giron, though all are considered longshots.
Fritz has found plenty of success in many tournaments, but has never made it past the quarterfinals of a slam. He won the 2022 Indian Wells Open and made it to the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024. He suffered and concealed an injury during the French Open and carried that into the grass court season, so he may not be 100 percent in Paris, either.
Beyond the guys above and Fritz, the field will of course contain
How to watch tennis at the 2024 Olympics
Tennis at the Olympics will be primarily broadcast on CNBC, USA Network, and E! as far as television goes, and streaming on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app and the NBC Olympics app — so there’s some good options for catching every match. Play starts on Saturday, July 27 and the men’s singles bracket is expected to conclude on August 4. Television coverage will generally start at 6 a.m. ET and run through the afternoon. […]

When Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers take on Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, there will be at least as many people watching for the spectacle around the event as those interested in the outcome of the game. From the various stars and performers associated with the halftime show and national anthem to the brands and celebrities clamoring for the spotlight, there’s a ton of eyeballs on the NFL in February.
Which always has advertisers salivating. The Super Bowl commercial hype has jockeyed with the game itself as the main event for viewers since the 1970s, to the point where people tend to talk more about the best ad they saw over the best play.
These ads are huge business for broadcasters, who command upwards of $7 million for a 30-second spot during the big game, according to The New York Times. Advertisers bring their best ideas and silliest cameos to the table — this year it’s CBS broadcasting the game — and pay handsomely to do it.
This is in line with last year, when the price jumped about half a million dollars from $6.5 million advertisers spent for the same slot in 2022. Advertisers tend to spend less money now than they did a year ago, but the price remaining the same for a Super Bowl commercial isn’t the least bit surprising.
Why do they spend so much?
Each and every year, advertisers put forward their “best” in hopes of snaring customers and generating lasting buzz, usually with a surprise celebrity bit or something agonizingly cute and/or sad. Put simply, the Super Bowl is a guaranteed opportunity to reach more people than any other on the calendar — over 114 million people watched the Super Bowl last year, and similar numbers should be expected this time around.

The advertising industry is responsible for funding dozens of other industries, including the one that provides all the sports and other media coverage you consume (for the most part). You’re bombarded with ads everywhere you go, and whether or not you are annoyed by that fact, it doesn’t change how impactful it can be for a brand to get their “best shot” in front of as many people as possible.
This is a trend that’s likely to continue, too. With more and more hit shows moving to and originating on streaming services, live events have become a major focus for advertisers. Live sporting events, concerts, and award shows are some of the main places they’re putting their attention and money. The Super Bowl remains the biggest draw.
What to expect this year
Get ready for lots of beer and soda ads, probably a whole bunch of weird stuff about mayonnaise, something depressing and upsetting from an insurance company, and not a single mention of cryptocurrency. In fact, tech as a whole will probably see a lot less mentioned this time around given the state of the industry.
Expect to see lots of celebrities, former athletes (Tom Brady and Arnold Schwarzenegger are already making headlines for their spots), and everything in between. Brands like Budweiser, Hellmann’s, Mountain Dew, and State Farm will all be featured, among others.
One thing to keep an eye on is how much influence Taylor Swift has on the advertising. While most of these spots were sold and finalized way in advance, there have to be some brands out there trying to capitalize on a specific audience that wouldn’t normally be watching the Super Bowl — namely, Swifties. Will we see any commercials pandering directly to them?
We’ll find out on Feb. 11. […]