Philadelphia's Christmas Day win over defending champion Boston is the latest in a string of performances that has turned around the 76ers' season and renewed their championship aspirations.
The Baltimore Ravens took the AFC North lead with a 31-2 blowout victory against the Houston Texans Wednesday night and a Pittsburgh Steelers loss earlier in the day.
The quarterback and league MVP candidate broke off a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Texans. He followed up with a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews with 5:50 remaining in the quarter.
Jackson also had a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with 1:51 left in the first half.
Jackson finished with 168 passing yards and 87 rushing yards in the win. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers. No receiver had more than two catches.
Andrews had two catches for 68 yards.
Derrick Henry played a supporting role in the win. He got the game started with a touchdown run from the goal line in the first quarter and finished with 147 rushing yards on 27 carries.
The Texans’ lone score came from a safety in the second quarter with a tackle on Henry.
C.J. Stroud was 17 of 31 for 185 passing yards and an interception. He was sacked five times.
Houston played without wide receiver Tank Dell, who sustained a serious knee injury in last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The team was already dealt an injury blow when it lost Stefon Diggs earlier in the season.
Nico Collins had three catches for 59 yards to lead the team. John Metchie III had five catches for 48 yards. But the offense just wasn’t there.
Houston converted only 10 first downs on 11 drives, and Baltimore outgained Houston 432-211.
The Ravens moved to 11-5 and into first place in the AFC North. The Steelers lost to the Chiefs and fell to 10-6.
The Steelers failed to compete with the Chiefs on Christmas Day while also losing the ability to control their destiny in the race for the AFC North title.
Josh Hart’s two offensive rebounds in the final 17.1 seconds finished off the Spurs and sent the Knicks to a hard-fought 117-114 win at the Garden on Wednesday.
Mikal Bridges deserved his flowers after Christmas. It felt more important than just one game or performance. It represented Bridges’ first Garden moment as a Knick.
As Beyoncé started to wrap up, she stood on a scaffold and was raised high above the field. She then made a finger-gun gesture with her hands as a big "Bang" banner unfurled behind her.
Fans in the stadium cheered, and the reviews were mostly positive on social media. But NFL fans started to poke fun at the finger-gun gesture because of the league’s crackdown this season.
Several NFL stars have shown finger guns after touchdowns or to signal a first down. Game officials have thrown flags after those celebrations as the league has cracked down on demonstrations that include gestures of violence.
NFL executive Troy Vincent addressed the issue at a league meeting in October, according to NFL Network.
"There’s no place in professional football for that," Vincent said of the gestures. "Think about where we are as a society. … I don’t think that’s where we are and what we’re trying to represent. We have a responsibility as professional athletes."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also talked about the issue.
"It's a long-standing policy, and we are going to enforce that," he said. "Troy had a direct conversation with the union, I think, just last week about it. We're going to continue on that focus. We don't think it's appropriate in those circumstances and sends the wrong messages. So, we'll continue to do that."
A high-ranking NFL employee told The Athletic last week that players are warned about the gestures each year and that they could result in penalties.
