SI:AM | Previewing Week 16

Plus, why Nickelodeon wants to keep bringing slime to sports.

Good morning, I’m Josh Rosenblat. We’ll be back in your inbox Wednesday, Dec. 28. Have a great holiday weekend.

In today’s SI:AM:

🎄 The NFL’s Christmas slate

🧽 Spongebob, slime and sports

📉 The sports lowlights of the year

If you're reading this on SI.com, you can sign up to get this free newsletter in your inbox each weekday at SI.com/newsletters.

What to watch for in Week 16

With Christmas falling on Sunday, the NFL adjusted its schedule to have an 11-game slate tomorrow, followed by three games on Sunday and a Monday night contest to finish out the week. The result: three straight days of football with playoff-related storylines taking center stage.

Can the Titans keep pace in the AFC South?

After the Jaguars’ dominant win over the Jets last night, the Titans need a win against the Texans tomorrow (1 p.m. ET, CBS) to keep their slim lead atop the division. Jacksonville has won three in a row, coinciding with Tennessee's four-game losing streak that has pushed them down the standings. Remember, these two squads square off in Jacksonville in the season’s final week.

Sorting through the NFC wild-card race

As it stands, the three wild-card teams in the NFC are the Cowboys (who have already clinched a playoff berth), the 8-5-1 Giants and 7-6-1 Commanders. The Giants have a huge game tomorrow against the Vikings (1 p.m. ET, Fox), who claimed the NFC North crown last week. The Commanders take on the NFC West champion 49ers (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS).

The Seahawks (7–7), Lions (7–7) and, somehow, the Packers (6–8) are just waiting for either or both of those NFC East rivals to slip up.

Can the Dolphins keep from sinking?

Miami is the streakiest team in the NFL this season. They began the year winning three straight contests before dropping three in a row. Tua Tagovailoa and co. rediscovered their offensive rhythm and rattled off five consecutive wins over non-playoff teams before facing three winning squads and dropping all three games. It adds up to an 8–6 record and a borderline playoff spot. They welcome the Packers this weekend (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox) with the opportunity to put some separation between them and the 7–7 Patriots, who host the surging the Bengals tomorrow (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

The best of Sports Illustrated:

Courtesy of Nickelodeon

• In today’s Daily Cover story, Julie Kliegman asks the burning sports-related question we’re all wondering about: what sport will Nickelodeon take on next?

This extended foray into professional sports is not from exactly the same playbook as the iconic, pseudo-athletic-related Nick programming of decades past—Double Dare, GUTS and Wild & Crazy Kids chief among them. But events like the simulcasts, NFL Slimetime and the Slime Cup harness the elements that made those shows what they were to give us a pro sports viewing experience that’s unique, unmistakably gooey and frequently fun.

• Trevor Bauer has been reinstated by MLB, ending the longest suspension for domestic violence in league history. Emma Baccellieri writes about the Dodgers’ decision on whether to cut or continue rostering him.
• Kevin Sweeney is revising some of his preseason men’s college basketball conference champion picks as we head into league play.
• Rohan Nadkarni lays out why Brook Lopez is at the center of a stellar Bucks defense.
• Steve Rushin looks back at some of the sports lowlights of the year.
• Here are our staff’s picks for the NFL’s Week 16 slate.

The top five…

… things I saw, watched and listened to:

5. This throwback uniform matchup between the Wizards and Jazz

4. Kansas coach Bill Self’s smooth behind-the-back assist in practice

3. The Jets’ “foot fumble,” which is now being added to the list of bizarre ways the Jets have lost the football during games

2. Mark Woodley, a Waterloo, Iowa sports reporter who was put on weather coverage duty during a snowstorm and his hilarious responses to the news anchor’s questions

1. “A Philly Special Christmas,” a two-song record put out by Eagles offensive linemen Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson with proceeds going to local charities in Philadelphia

SIQ

Today, (Dec. 23) is the anniversary of a famous game in NFL history, when the Steelers defeated the Raiders thanks to rookie running back Franco Harris. Harris, who died Tuesday, completed the “Immaculate Reception” in the final seconds of the game, giving Pittsburgh the victory and a berth in the AFC championship game. What team did the Steelers face the next week with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line?

Check Dec. 28’s newsletter for the answer.

Yesterday’s SIQ: Two quarterbacks from the highly touted 2021 NFL draft class went up against each other last night when Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars defeated Zach Wilson and the Jets. Which of the 10 signal-callers picked in that draft has thrown the most interceptions in their NFL career so far?

Answer: Lawrence. The draft’s top pick has thrown 24 interceptions so far, two more than Texans QB Davis Mills.

Lawrence led the league in picks last season with 17 but has rebounded in 2022. The Clemson product has been especially impressive over the season’s last month, winning three of four games and pushing his franchise back into playoff contention.

Ahead of the 2021 draft, Lawrence was lauded as “the best quarterback to come into the draft in nearly a decade,” according to SI’s Michael Rosenberg. But in that same profile, Lawrence’s comments about not feeling immense pressure to succeed were panned by some.

“It’s hard to explain that because I want people to know that I’m passionate about what I do and it’s really important to me, but … I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong,” he said. “I just don’t have that. I can’t manufacture that. I don’t want to.”

That attitude seems to be working out just fine for the 23-year-old, despite his rookie-season struggles.

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