If anybody had the Lions and Vikings both being 14-2 and fighting for the NFC’s #1 seed in Week 18 you are absolutely lying! But that’s exactly where we are! The nightcap will be those two teams duking it out for the first-round bye! Yesterday we had some AFC North drama, Derrick Rose news, and brothers face-off in the NBA! Happy Sunday everybody!

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Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump)

On This Day…

🏀 On this day in 1971, the Harlem Globetrotters lost to the NJ Reds 100-99. This ended their 2,495-game winning streak over the Reds.

The Globetrotters act pretty much never allows the opposing team to win, this is often reported as the ONLY time in Globetrotters history that the opposing team has won. The “Reds” are known as the Washington Generals today.

Today’s Stump Story…

🖼️ NFL Playoff Picture

Oh boy here we go, some teams will find their way in, some teams will head off the field with their playoff dreams ruined. Either way, today will be a wild day in the NFL. Let’s break down all the possible scenarios.

AFC Playoff Picture:

1. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs are locked in to be the one seed. Their JV team will take the field today against the Denver Broncos, which is huge for the rest of the conferences playoff implications, but we’ll get to that later.

2. Buffalo Bills: Same story in Buffalo, they are locked in to the two seed and will most likely play their back ups against the Patriots in New England. If the Pats win, they will bounce out of the 1st pick in the NFL Draft.

3. Baltimore Ravens: With the Ravens win over the Browns yesterday, Baltimore secured the #3 seed and an AFC North Title. They’ll be home for at least the wild-card round.

4. Houston Texans: They are locked in for the four seed and rest their starters before a matchup with the #5 seed.

5. Chargers / Steelers:

6. Chargers / Steelers:

7. Denver Broncos: This is pretty simple for Denver, win and you’re in. They hold all the cards. If they lose, they need help from the two teams below them. They play the JV Chiefs in the Mile High City.

8. In the Hunt: Miami Dolphins / Cincinnati Bengals: Both teams sit at 8-8, if Denver wins, they’re both out of the playoffs. If the Broncos fall, the Dolphins and Bengals are suddenly alive.

NFC Playoff Picture:

1. Detroit Lions: Right now, the Lions sit atop the NFC with a record of 14-2. Good enough for the first seed, they must be able to rest starters, right? Right? Wrong. The Lions face off against the OTHER 14-2 team in their division, the Vikings. The winner of this game has the one seed, home field advantage, and a bye. The loser? All the way to the 5 seed.

2. Philadelphia Eagles: The NFC East winners are locked into the 2-seed and will sit their starters. They play the Giants today so it may be a fair fight for NY.

3. Los Angeles Rams: The Rams are in but there’s still some seeding on the line. If they fall to the Seahawks, and the Bucs beat the Saints, they could fall to the 4. No matter what, the NFC West Champs are in.

4. Tampa Bay Bucs: The Bucs and Rams can swap if the Bucs win and Rams lose. If they lose, they open the door to the Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South and sneak into the playoffs with a win.

5. Minnesota Vikings: As we talked about for the Lions, this one is for all the marbles. Not only does the winner take the NFC North, they get the coveted 1st seed in the NFC. It should be a battle in Detroit on Sunday Night Football.

6. Washington Commanders: The darling of the NFL this year will splash into the playoffs no matter what. If the Commanders get past the Cowboys, they’re the 6. If they lost, they open the door for the Packers to move up with a win over the Bears.

7. Green Bay Packers: With a Commanders loss, the Packers can move up to the 6-seed. Either way, the cheese heads are in.

8. In the Hunt: Atlanta Falcons: With a Bucs loss to the Saints, and a Falcons win over the Panthers, the Falcons are in! Sneaking their way into the playoffs after a late-season change at QB would be electric!

Quick Hitters

🏈 THE AFC NORTH WAS DECIDED ON A SATURDAY IN JANUARY: The Ravens put a nail in the coffin of the AFC North when Derrick Henry scored a touchdown about halfway through the 4th quarter. Minutes later, Henry struck again from 43-yards out to put a bow on a tremendous season and another AFC North Championship. The Browns were no match for the Ravens as they were without many starters and most importantly, without a real QB. The nightcap was a battle between the Bengals and Steelers! The Bengals got their 5th straight win while the Steelers lost their 4th straight!

⛳️ The Sentry: Incase you didn’t know, there is PGA golf going on right now in Maui. There were some absolutely LOW scores from some of the best in the world yesterday. Hideki Matsuyama (-27) and Collin Morikawa (-26) each shot a NUTS -11 to separate from the pack! We’re in for a great Sunday!

🏀 Men’s College Ball Report: (10) Kentucky handed (6) Florida their first loss of the season yesterday in Lexington. Walter Clayton put up 33 points for the Gators but it wasn’t enough. Kentucky 106, Florida 100. (3) Iowa State rolled over (25) Baylor at home in an absolute blowout, ISU 74, Baylor 55. Speaking of blowouts, (1) Tennessee hammered (23) Arkansas in Knoxville, 76-52. The last battle of ranked teams came between (12) Oklahoma and (5) Alabama…

Other News:

• 🤕 UConn freshman star to miss ‘weeks’

• 🏀 The newest brother duo in the NBA faced off last night!

• 🌹 D-Rose jersey is in the rafters in Chicago

Top Performers:

• 🏈 Derrick Henry (BAL): 138 rush yards, 23 rec yards, 2 TDs

• 🏀 KAT (NYK): 44 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists

• 🏀 Nikola Jokic (DEN): 46 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds

• 🏀 Anthony Edwards (MIN): Career-high 53 points

Stump Favorites

🧊 Lamar look-away

🪄 4-POINT PLAY WINS IT FOR UNC

🤣 BIG MAN PICK FOR BALTIMORE

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NFL: 1:00 PM: Panthers @ Falcons, Commanders @ Cowboys, Bears @ Packers, Texans @ Titans, Jaguars @ Colts, Bills @ Pats, Giants @ Eagles, Saints @ Bucs ; 4:00 PM: Chiefs @ Broncos, Chargers @ Raiders, Seahawks @ Rams, Dolphins @ Jets, Niners @ Cardinals ; 8:20 PM SNF: Vikings @ Lions

🏀 NBA: Celtics @ Thunder (3:30 PM on NBAtv), Hornets @ Cavs (6:00 PM), Lakers @ Rockets (7:00 PM), full schedule

🏀 NCAAW: (3) Notre Dame @ (17) North Carolina (1:00 PM on ESPN), (7) UConn @ Villanova (1:30 PM), (9) Oklahoma @ (15) Tennessee (3:00 PM on ESPN), (8) Maryland @ (23) Iowa (6:00 PM on BTN), full schedule

🏀 NCAAM: Providence @ (11) UConn (2:00 PM on NBC), (7) Kansas @ UCF (4:00 PM), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Rangers @ Blackhawks (3:00 PM on ABC), Flyers @ Maple Leafs (7:00 PM on ESPN+), full schedule

⚽️ Soccer: EPL: Liverpool vs Manchester United (11:30 PM ET), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

C. New York Jets. The Jets have not made the playoffs for 14 years, the longest drought in the NFL. The last time the Jets played in a playoff game was in 2010, the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh.

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily sports news in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all…

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