Good morning! Score some points today.
While You Were Sleeping: A true snoozer
This week had already seen the season’s first shutout and some first-half scorigami, but now it also features the lowest-scoring game of the NFL season: last night’s 6-3 puntfest, in which the Seahawks kept their postseason hunt alive.
We don’t need to dwell here, but the Bears lost their 10th straight game — and looked the part, gaining just 179 yards. In the messy final seconds, Caleb Williams threw his first pick in his last 354 passes. Seattle now needs the Cardinals to beat the Rams tomorrow to set up a Week 18 matchup for the NFC West crown. More scenarios here.
There was some relevant late-night news, though: Former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is interested in the Bears’ head-coaching role, per Jeff Howe. Intriguing.
Meanwhile, all the excitement was in college football, as bowl season has a new overtimes record: Toledo beat Pitt 48-46 in six OTs. Onward:
Across The Pond: Man U is … dead? Read on
Imagine the Kansas City Chiefs sitting at .500 while the Panthers are 11-4. We have a version! There are many wacky concurrent storylines in the English Premier League right now. Example: Modern dynasty Manchester City sit seventh in the table. They haven’t finished lower than fifth going on 15 years. Nottingham Forest got promoted in 2022. They sit third! 🤯
Boxing Day means we’re approaching halfway. The indomitable Phil Hay is here to make sense of it.
City at seventh melts our brain. On the Leicester Scale of Impossible, where would this team finishing outside Champions League stand?
Phil: At the start of the season, 11 on steroids. Now? More like seven or eight because they just cannot turn the corner. I suspect they’ll get there but this has been a weapons-grade meltdown.
Liverpool are now clear favorites. Biggest threat to them?
Arsenal. Chelsea have wild-card potential, and I wouldn’t discount them, but Arsenal are getting on a bit of a roll for the first time, and that’s where pressure is likely to come from.
Man U sits in 14th — FOURTEENTH — after another bad defeat. Where do they finish?
I’d park (new manager) Ruben Amorim and United until next season. He can make small, incremental differences with this squad, but unless the club sort out their recruitment big time, it won’t go well for him.
Want more Prem? Read Phil in The Athletic FC every day, free to your inbox.
News to Know
Butler staying put
Heat president Pat Riley declared yesterday the team “will not trade Jimmy Butler,” adding that the rumors have “become a distraction to the team.” ESPN reported earlier this week that the six-time All-Star prefers to be relocated by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Butler, 35, has been out since Dec. 20 and could miss more time due to illness. Read the full report.
Bridgewater back in NFL
Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has signed with the Lions, weeks after coaching his Florida high school alma mater to a state title. Bridgewater started coaching the team in February and said he plans to return to the role after the NFL season. The 32-year-old played for six teams, including Detroit, over his decade-long first stint in the league before retiring after the 2023 season.