Bills dash through snow and 49ers; Eagles fly by Ravens; major college conference championship games set

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🏈 The Football Five

The Steelers surged past the Bengals, 44-38. Russell Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns, Najee Harris had 129 yards from scrimmage and Payton Wilson had a 21-yard scoop-and-score. At 9-3, Pittsburgh guaranteed its 21st straight season without a losing record, tying the NFL record. Eighteen of those have been under Mike Tomlin, also a record. The Bengals are also making history ... for their awful defense.
Aided by a 92-yard pick six (thick six?) by defensive tackle Leonard Williams, the Seahawks beat the Jets, 26-21, a massive result in the NFC West considering the Cardinals dropped a 23-22 heartbreaker to the Vikings.
The Commanders emphatically ended their three-game skid with a 42-19 rampage over the Titans. Jayden Daniels threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Washington earned an "A" in John Breech's Week 13 grades.
Trevor Lawrence got carted off with a concussion after a massive, illegal hit from Azeez Al-Shaair, whose play led to both his ejection and a massive brawl. The Texans won, 23-20.
Over in college football, there were plenty of questions about how Texas would adapt in its first year in the SEC. So far, so good. The Longhorns are headed to the SEC Championship Game against Georgia following a 17-7 win over Texas A&M. The defense is incredible. Is the offense good enough? Chris Hummer answered that. Texas A&M's offense was even worse, and now it's at a crossroads, Shehan Jeyarajah writes. Texas earned an "A-" in Jon Talty's Week 14 grades.

🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to ...

THE BUFFALO BILLS ...

The Bills dashed through the snow ... and past the 49ers, 35-10, in a game that saw and Josh Allen throw a touchdown to himself (kinda) and become just the second player in NFL history with multiple touchdowns passing, a touchdown rushing and a touchdown receiving in a single game. He joins Tony Canadeo, who did it in 1943.

The Bills clinched the AFC East with the win.

I'm very happy to report my assertion that Buffalo is the league's best bad-weather team holds true.

I'm less than happy to report I think it's over for the 49ers, especially after Christian McCaffrey (knee) departed early and didn't return. San Francisco has simply been ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball, and unless there's a miraculous late-season surge, there are big questions coming for an expensive, aging roster.

... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Fly, Eagles, fly ... even if your best work is actually on the ground, not through the air. Behind another big Saquon Barkley performance and a terrific defensive effort, Philadelphia beat Baltimore, 24-19 in Week 13's marquee matchup.

Quiet for three quarters, Barkley had 63 of his 107 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. That included a 25-yard touchdown burst.
Barkley's 81.8 rushing yards per second half this season is on pace to be the highest on record since 1991.

But the defense is the story. After scoring a field goal and a touchdown on their first two drives, the Ravens managed just 10 points across their final nine drives. Derrick Henry was mostly held in check, and Baltimore's wide receivers combined for five receptions.

I don't have enough words to commend this makeover. The Eagles were 24th in defensive success rate last season. They are SECOND(!) this year. It starts with the players: Rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have been outstanding, youngsters Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship have made the leap, and free agent addition Zack Baun is a star. Credit Howie Roseman for finding these guys and Vic Fangio for putting them in positions to succeed. I'm very impressed.

Finally, Justin Tucker's struggles are officially a big issue for Baltimore.

👍 Honorable mentions

Late-night MLB news! The Mets signed Frankie Montas.
Jonathan Jones has insider information on the Bears' coaching search.
The Chiefs could get Marquise Brown back by Week 16.
The Lions are signing Jamal Adams.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first 40-point triple-double.
James Conner got a two-year extension.
Temple football hired K.C. Keeler.
Matt Norlander's reporting on the future of the Maui Invitational is exceptional.

🏈 And not such a good morning for ...

THE ATLANTA FALCONS ...

A few weeks ago, the AP Stylebook -- aka the authoritative guide for journalists -- said not to describe sports losses as "disasters."

On one hand, I understand their point.

On the other hand, the AP Stylebook didn't watch the Falcons' 17-13 loss to the Chargers, because Kirk Cousins' four-interception performance was an absolute ... disaster.

After an ugly interception to Tarheeb Still on the first play of the second quarter, Cousins threw an even worse pick to Still -- late, slow and inside on an outside route -- who returned it 61 yards for a touchdown.
It got worse: On third-and-goal with about nine minutes left, Cousins inexplicably floated a ball into triple coverage in the end zone, which Marcus Maye intercepted.
With under a minute left, Cousins had one last chance ... and was intercepted by Derwin James.
You'll never guess which column Cousins falls in in Cody Benjamin's Week 13 winners and losers.

A few hours later, the Buccaneers survived a roller-coaster 26-23 overtime contest against the Panthers, meaning Atlanta and Tampa Bay are tied atop the NFC South, though Atlanta holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. Jeff Kerr wonders if Tampa Bay can finish a surprising comeback in the division race.

... AND ALSO NOT SUCH A GOOD MORNING FOR THE MIAMI HURRICANES

Miami played with fire again and again, and at the most critical juncture, it got burned. With a chance to make the ACC Championship Game, Mario Cristobal's squad fell, 42-38, to Syracuse. Former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, LeQuint Allen ran for two scores, and the Orange predictably ran out the final 3:42 after Miami opted for a short field goal that I hated in the moment and hate even more now.

Not only do the Hurricanes miss out on a conference crown, they might miss the Playoff, too, Will Backus explains.

Backus: "The Hurricanes don't have a win against a ranked opponent on their résumé ... From Sept. 27 to Oct. 19, Miami beat three unranked opponents in games that either came down to the final possession or the final play. ... Two of their last three regular-season games resulted in losses to unranked opponents."

In his Week 14 overreactions, Will says Miami simply isn't CFP material. Shehan Jeyarajah named Miami a Week 14 loser.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

Aaron Rodgers left the door open for a quarterback change, and a Jets defender had NSFW words for the officials.
Stephen Curry wants the Warriors to shorten their rotation.
LaMelo Ball (calf strain) is out multiple weeks, and Austin Reaves had a hard fall.
The Wizards didn't win a game in November, their second winless month of 2024.
Jahmyr Gibbs probably shouldn't have posted this.
No. 3 Notre Dame women's basketball lost to No. 17 TCU on Friday and Utah one day later.
Mikaela Shiffrin suffered a puncture wound and "severe muscle trauma" crashing in a World Cup race.
Manchester City lost to Liverpool, 2-0, the Citizens' sixth loss in their last seven games, and Pep Guardiola is hearing it from all sides.

🏈 College football recap: Michigan upsets Ohio State, fight erupts after; Buckeyes' Playoff chances still strong

Throw out the records, the millions of dollars Ohio State spent on its roster and the high-profile offensive coordinator addition of Chip Kelly this offseason. When it comes to their biggest rival, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes just can't get it done.

Michigan went to "the state down south" as 21-point underdogs and emerged with a 13-10 win over Ohio State, the Wolverines' fourth straight win in the rivalry. An offensive slugfest became an actual slugfest after the game, with players fighting one another and getting pepper sprayed by police officers after Michigan players tried to plant a flag on the field. Both schools were fined $100,000.

That was the most fight Ohio State showed all afternoon, Dennis Dodd writes.

Dodd: "Saturday was supposed to be a pit stop for Ohio State on its way to Indy. Instead, Buckeye Nation needed a barf bag. Ohio State didn't score in the second half. Not only that, it didn't have so much as a first down in the game's final 20 minutes. A Michigan team that couldn't pass (128th nationally) didn't really have to. The Wolverines rammed it up the gut 11 straight running plays for the game-winning field goal with 45 seconds left."

There are many directions to take, and we took all of them:

How hot is Day's seat? Brandon Marcello assesses the situation.
Things look even worse for Day considering Will Howard struggled on the same day McCord was a hero, John Talty says.
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork gave Day a vote of confidence.

But not all is lost. Jerry Palm still has Ohio State as the projected No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff, and he explains why the Buckeyes are safe:

Palm: "The absolute floor for Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Rankings is No. 10 Indiana despite the fact the Buckeyes will potentially finish with one more loss than the Hoosiers. They have two top-10 wins, one of which was a dominant 38-15 victory over Indiana just last week. ... There is also a case for the Buckeyes to stay ahead of No. 8 Tennessee, which won at Vanderbilt on Saturday."

Ohio State is the unhappiest Playoff team ever, but it gets extra time to stew -- and move forward. Here are the key conference championship games:

ACC: Clemson vs. SMU
Big 12: Arizona State vs. Iowa State
Big Ten: Oregon vs. Penn State
SEC: Texas vs. Georgia
Mountain West: UNLV at Boise State

Here's more:

AP Top 25 | Coaches Poll | Scores, highlights
Notre Dame had two pick sixes in a 49-35 win over USC, cementing the Fighting Irish's playoff berth.
Stanford hired Andrew Luck as GM.
West Virginia fired Neal Brown. Here are potential replacement candidates.
Purdue fired Ryan Walters. Here are potential replacement candidates.
Gus Malzahn resigned as UCF head coach to become Florida State's offensive coordinator.
Duke scored a touchdown with no time left to avoid overtime and beat Wake Forest.

Lou Carnesecca dies at 99 years old

Lou Carnesecca, the Hall of Fame St. John's coach who led the Red Storm to 526 wins and a Final Four, died Saturday, the school announced. He was 99 years old.

Carnesecca, a St. John's alumnus, started coaching the program in 1965-66, leading the Johnnies to three NCAA Tournaments and an NIT title game appearance in five seasons before taking a job with the ABA's New Jersey Nets.
After three years with the Nets, Carnesecca returned to his alma mater in 1973, where he'd coach until 1992. He had zero losing seasons, posted eighteen 20-win seasons (including back-to-back 30-win campaigns) and coached stars such as Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Walter Berry and Malik Sealy.
Carnesecca entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. St. John's named its arena after him in 2004.

Carnesecca, simply, was an icon, Matt Norlander writes.