The Sportsletter - Down & Out 🇺🇸

BY JEFF YODER

DEC. 5, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

The weekend review brought the USA’s World Cup campaign to a halt and etched the College Football Playoff in stone. ’Tis the season for bowl games. The Heisman Trophy finalists will also be announced today. If you’re checked out awaiting the next holiday break, join the team. We’ll keep the sports coming throughout December.

Letter Rip!

THE SPORTSLETTER'S 2022 AWARDS

WORLD CUP 🏆

Down & Out 🇺🇸

Photo: Jewel Samad / Getty Images

USMNT Eliminated by Netherlands (3-1) in First Round of Knockout Stage

It was a bittersweet ending to the 2022 World Cup for the U.S. Men’s National Team on Saturday. Reaching the Knockout Stage and escaping Group B was a victory in itself, but the USA ran into a hungry squad from the Netherlands in the Round of 16. The Dutch side fired a flurry of goals to oust the USA (3-1). Memphis Depay scored ten minutes in before Daley Blind added a second goal just before half to give the Dutch a 2-0 lead at the break. Haji Wright got one back for the U.S. in the 76th minute to give the Americans a glimmer of hope, but Denzel Dumfries (81’) slammed the door with the third Dutch goal. The USA outshot the Netherlands (17-11) and out-possessed them (59%-41%), but it wasn’t enough. While it’s the end of the road for the USMNT, the world’s game rolls on into the quarter-finals by Tuesday.

Watch: Netherlands def. USMNT (3-1)

Other World Cup Highlights

Argentina def. Australia (2-1)

France def. Poland (3-1)

England def. Senegal (3-0)

Remaining Round of 16 Schedule

Japan vs. Croatia (Today: 10:00 am ET)

Brazil vs. South Korea (Today: 2:00 pm ET)

Morocco vs. Spain (Tomorrow: 10:00 am ET)

Portugal vs. Switzerland (Tomorrow: 2:00 pm ET)

Full World Cup Bracket

Additional Storylines

NY Times: Wave of Dutch Goals End U.S. Run in Qatar

B/R: Changes That Need to be Made for USMNT Before 2026 World Cup

CNN: Lionel Messi Scores in 1000th Career Game as Argentina Advances

SI: Mbappe Stars, Giroud Sets France Men’s Scoring Record in Match vs. Poland

CFB

Bring On The Playoffs

Photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images

After Champ Week Upsets, #1 Georgia, #2 Michigan, #3 TCU & #4 Ohio State Make Up CFB Playoff

The 2022 college football season wrapped up on Saturday, and the four teams in the CFB Playoff are officially set in stone. Two upsets to the top-4 teams made things interesting over the weekend as #4 USC and #3 TCU both fell in the conference title games. USC’s loss to Utah knocked them out of the picture, but TCU’s overtime loss — their first of the season — didn’t ruin their playoff chances. Georgia and Michigan were both easy winners of the SEC and Big Ten, and Ohio State moved back into the playoff with an 11-1 record. That only loss came via Michigan last weekend. The final four is set, and now we await the Heisman Trophy prior to bowl season.

Conference Championships

#1 Georgia def. #14 LSU (50-30)

#2 Michigan def. Purdue (43-22)

#11 Utah def. #4 USC (47-24)

#10 Kansas State def. #3 TCU (31-28)

#9 Clemson def. #23 North Carolina (39-10)

College Football Playoff Schedule

Peach Bowl: #1 Georgia vs. #4 Ohio State (Sat. Dec. 31)

Fiesta Bowl: #2 Michigan vs. #3 TCU (Sat. Dec. 31)

National Championship (Mon. Jan. 9)

Other Top Bowl Games

Orange Bowl: #6 Tennessee vs. #7 Clemson (Fri. Dec. 30)

Sugar Bowl: #5 Alabama vs. #9 Kansas State (Sat. Dec. 31)

Cotton Bowl: #10 USC vs. #16 Tulane (Mon. Jan. 2)

Rose Bowl: #8 Utah vs. #11 Penn State (Mon. Jan. 2)

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Winners & Losers From Final College Football Playoff Rankings

NCAA: 2022-23 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

NFL

Week 13 Playbook

Photo: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images

Week 13: Storylines, Highlights & Playoff Picture

Another stepping stone in the NFL season brought more clarity to the playoff picture on Sunday, and it concluded with a 33-point 4th-quarter rout by the Cowboys over the Colts (54-19). The current No. 1 seeds — Bills and Eagles — both extended their win streaks to remain atop the AFC and NFC, respectively. The 49ers and Bengals are both picking up speed in the second half of the season, and we’re one step closer to knowing who’s in and who’s out come January. Here’s a full recap of Week 13 and all of Sunday’s biggest moments.

Who’s Hot: 49ers (W5), Bengals (W4), Bills (W3), Raiders (W3), Eagles (W3)

Who’s Not: Texans (L7), Rams (L6), Bears (L6), Broncos (L4)

Updated NFL Playoff Picture

Week 13 Storylines

• Tie in the NFC East: The Giants and Commanders needed overtime to find a winner in Sunday’s big NFC East battle, and they still couldn’t. The game ended in a 20-20 tie, and both teams are still holding strong in the NFC Wild Card race.
• QB Injuries Stack Up: Both Lamar Jackson (Ravens) and Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers) suffered severe injuries on Sunday. Jackson was ruled out with a knee injury but should return later this month, but Garoppolo’s broken left foot means he’s likely out for the season.
• Deshaun Watson’s Return: The Browns quarterback won his first start against his former team after serving his 11-game suspension. Watson was welcomed back to Houston with a lot of boos, but he didn’t need to do much (12/22, 131 yards, 1 INT) to beat the Texans handedly.

Top Performers

QB J. Hurts (PHI): 29/39, 392 yards, 4 TDs

QB G. Smith (SEA): 28/39, 367 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

QB J. Burrow (CIN): 25/31, 332 yards, 3 TDs

RB J. Jacobs (LVR): 28 touches, 150 yards, 1 TD

RB C. McCaffrey (SF): 25 touches, 146 yards, 1 TD

WR D. Adams (LVR): 8 receptions, 177 yards, 2 TDs

WR A. Brown (PHI): 8 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TDs

WR. A. St. Brown (DET): 11 receptions, 114 yards, 2 TDs

WR T. Hill (MIA): 9 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD

Top Plays of Week 13

Bears WR N’Keal Harry Goes Horizontal for Catch

Eagles WR A.J. Brown Hauls In Unlikely TD

Steelers RB Najee Harris Delivers Epic Stiff-Arm

All Week 13 Scores & Highlights

Bills def. Patriots (24-10) | Seahawks at Rams (27-23) | Browns at Texans (27-14) | Ravens def. Broncos (10-9) | Eagles def. Titans (35-10) | Commanders tie Giants (20-20) | Vikings def. Jets (27-22) | Lions def. Jaguars (40-14) | Packers def. Bears (28-19) | Steelers def. Falcons (19-16) | Raiders def. Chargers (27-20) | Bengals def. Chiefs (27-24) | 49ers def. Dolphins (33-17) | Cowboys def. Colts (54-19)

Monday Night Football

Saints at Buccaneers (8:15 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

NFL: 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo Out for Season With Broken Foot

CBS Sports: NFL Week 13 Grades: Eagles Get A+ for Destroying Titans

SI: Deshaun Watson’s First Game Back Showed He Has A Long Way to Go

🎥 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 NBA Top Performers

Anthony Davis (LAL): 55 Points, 17 Rebounds

Anfernee Simons (POR): 45 Points

Anthony Davis (LAL): 44 Points, 10 Rebounds

Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL): 40 Points, 7 Rebounds

Devin Booker (PHX): 41 Points, 8 Assists

🏒 NHL Top Performers

Kasperi Kapanen (PIT): 3 Goals

Connor McDavid (EDM): 2 Goals, 2 Assists

Leon Draisaitl (EDM): 1 Goal, 3 Assists

David Pastrnak (BOS): 2 Goals

Mitch Marner (TOR): 2 Goals

Claude Giroux (OTT): 2 Goals, 1 Assist

🏀 NCAA Scoreboard

M: #6 Baylor def. #14 Gonzaga (64-63)

M: Rutgers def. #10 Indiana (63-48)

W: #7 Notre Dame def. #3 UConn (74-60)

W: #2 Stanford def. #23 Gonzaga (84-63)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Deion Sanders Lands First Big Recruit One Day After Colorado Hiring (SI)
• Stanford Eyes Ravens OC Greg Roman for Head Coaching Job (B/R)
• NFL Teams Looking at Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh for Head Coaching Vacancies (CBS Sports)
• Odell Beckham Jr. to Make Decision This Week on Giants, Cowboys or Bills (B/R)
• Trae Young Skips Hawks Game After Disagreement With Coach Nate McMillan (SB Nation)
• Fred McGriff Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame; Bonds & Clemens Come Up Short Again (Yahoo! Sports)

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