Jacob Petrarca
Staff Writer
In this issue:
NFL Weeks 10, 11, and 12
MLB Awards + Early Free Agency
Clear Favorites Emerge in NHL and NBA
The NFL playoff races are shaping up, and the league opened its 10th week at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina for an NFC South Matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons. In a division that nobody seemingly wants to win, Atlanta needed a victory against the struggling Panthers to take first place from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 5-5 record. However, the Christian McCaffrey-less Panthers had other ideas, and McCaffrey’s replacement, D’Onta Foreman, ran for 130 yards and a touchdown in a 25-15 Carolina victory, just their third of the season in ten games.
The NFL has played games in America, Canada, Mexico, and England, but for the first time, expanded to Germany, where the Buccaneers took on the surprising Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have a large fan club in Germany, but it was Tampa Bay walking away with the win, as they held onto a 14-0 halftime lead for a 21-16 win.
German fans were introduced to arguably the greatest American football player of all time in Tom Brady, when the Buccaneers took on the Seahawks in Week 10.
All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Back on American soil, the Chicago Bears led the Detroit Lions by 2 scores at the start of the 4th quarter, but a pair of rushing touchdowns by DeAndre Swift and Jamaal Williams, plus a pick six by Jeff Okudah led Detroit to a surprising 31-30 win. With the Minnesota Vikings holding a comfortable lead in the NFC North, however, it’s going to be a battle for second place in that division from here on out.
The best game of the week though, belonged to the Vikings and Buffalo Bills. A Tyler Bass field goal gave Buffalo a 27-10 lead with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter, but an excellent 81-yard dash by Vikings running back Dalvin Cook for a touchdown made it a ten-point game entering the game’s final quarter. On the Bills’ opening drive in the 4th, Minnesota cornerback Patrick Peterson intercepted Bills QB Josh Allen in the end zone, and ran it back to his 34- yard line. In the next series, the Vikings scored again, this time it was running back CJ Ham, to make it a one score game with plenty of time remaining. The score held until the final seconds of the contest. After an amazing one-handed grab by Vikings star reciever Justin Jefferson on a 4th down and 18, they were stopped at the one yard line, with quarterback Kirk Cousins tackled with 50 seconds remaining. This seemingly ended Minnesota’s chances, but a fumble by Allen in the end zone on a quarterback sneak ended up in the arms of Vikings defender Eric Kendricks for a touchdown. Now the Vikings held the lead. Allen drove downfield, and Bass kicked a chip-shot, 29-yard field goal through the uprights to send the game to overtime. The Vikings regained the lead on a field goal by Greg Joseph, and Peterson intercepted Allen once again to end the week’s, and arguably the season’s best game of the year.
Jeff Saturday, who began the season as a sports analyst for ESPN, coached his first game with the Indianapolis Colts, taking over from the long-tenured Frank Reich. Although it was against the disappointing Raiders, not many experts gave the Colts a chance. They were proven wrong, however, when 147 rushing yards and a touchdown from Jonathan Taylor led Indianapolis to a 25-20 win over Las Vegas, who fell to 2-7.
At Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Dallas Cowboys appeared prepared to hand the Packers a sixth consecutive loss. Green Bay, who started the season 3-1, had not won since Week 4, despite having the NFL’s MVP in 2020 and 2021, quarterback and future pro Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. The two teams were locked at 14 at the half, but Dallas scored twice on a Tony Pollard rush and a CeeDee Lamb catch to take a 28-14 lead. Rodgers responded in the 4th quarter with a pair of touchdown passes to the rookie Christian Watson. The two teams headed into overtime, where Mason Crosby gave Green Bay a much needed 31-28 win, to keep them alive in the NFC Wild Card race. The Arizona Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Rams, 27-17 (LA dropping to 3-6, no doubt with a Super Bowl hangover) and the San Francisco 49ers winning against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles entered Monday Night’s game as heavy favorites against the Washington Commanders, fully expecting to increase their undefeated run to 10-0 on the season. However, Washington had other ideas. Trailing 26-21 in the 4th quarter, Jalen Hurts made a deep pass to Eagles reciever Quez Watkins, who caught it at Washington’s 30-yard line, but lost control of the football and fumbled it to the defense. The Commanders were then able to run the clock down to 3 minutes and 36 seconds, and after a third-down sack of Hurts by Montez Sweat, and a fourth-down flag, the Eagles were forced to punt, facing 4th and 18 on their own 12-yard line. An unneccessary roughness flag on Brandon Graham as Washington was punting with 1:45 remaining cost the Eagles any chance of victory, and they fumbled on the final play, Washington recovering with a touchdown and ending up with a 32-21 win, handing Philadelphia their first defeat of the season.
Although Washington would lose this Week 3 game to their division rivals, they would win the rematch and hand Philadelphia their first loss of the season.
All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
In Week 11, the Packers, riding their overtime victory over Dallas, went up against the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans. The Packers held running back Derrick Henry to 87 yards and a touchdown, but couldn’t get much going on offense as they fell to 4-7, losing 27-17.
In Houston, the Washington Commanders defeated the Texans 23-10, giving every team in the NFC East a winning record. The Commanders were in last place with an otherwise respectable 6-5. This contrasted with the NFC South, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sat in first place at 5-5. With the Packers’ loss, the Detroit Lions moved into a distant second place in the NFC North at 4-6, defeating the New York Giants 31-18, and moved four games behind the 8-2 Vikings with seven to play. The Vikings, although they have the division virtually locked up, were crushed by Tony Pollard and the Dallas Cowboys, Pollard scoring three touchdowns in a 40-3 victory as Dallas moved into a second-place tie in the NFC East with New York. To wrap up the action in the league’s best division, the Philadelphia Eagles appeared to lose their second straight game and give the Colts’ Jeff Saturday a 2-0 record as a head coach, but a touchdown run by quarterback Jalen Hurts with 1:24 remaining saved Philadelphia and gave them a 17-16 win.
The AFC had plenty of drama this week. Firstly, the Buffalo Bills-Cleveland Browns game was moved out of Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium due to the six feet of snow hitting upstate New York, and into the cozy confines of Detroit’s Ford Field, where the Bills were due to play on Thanksgiving. Despite two touchdowns by Cleveland’s Amari Cooper, Buffalo moved into a first-place tie with Miami in the AFC East at 7-3, although the Dolphins, having defeated the Bills in Week 3, currently hold the tiebreaker between the two teams for the division title.
The New England Patriots and New York Jets met for the second time this season, the Patriots winning the opening contest, 22-17, in Week 8. The game was a defensive struggle, as the Jets were driving in the final minutes of regulation, the game tied 3-3. Jets QB Zach Wilson, on a 3rd-down-and-1 situation, tossed a completion to running back Michael Carter, however, Carter was brought down by Kyle Dugger just shy of the first down marker. The Jets being on their own 32-yard line, a failed 4th down conversion would mean almost certain victory for the Patriots, so they punted away. Returning the punt was rookie Marcus Jones who evaded New York defenders all the way to the end zone, scoring on an 86-yard touchdown run, dancing in with five seconds remaining, the Patriots holding on for a 10-3 win. It was their 14th consecutive victory vs. the Jets, an NFL record. The Jets have not beaten the Patriots since 2015, and the Patriots sweeping in the last seven seasons.
Across the country in Denver, the Broncos played the Raiders for the second time this season, the Raiders beating Denver in Week 4 for one of their three wins on the year. With 1:43 remaining, the Raiders held no timeouts and trailed 16-13, needing 88 yards. The drive ended with a Daniel Carlson field goal with 19 seconds remaining. With little time, the Broncos couldn’t answer before the clock hit zero, and the game went into overtime. On the third play of overtime, following a 33-yard reception by Foster Moreau, Davante Adams hauled in a 35-yard catch of his own, wide open and scored, giving the Raiders a 22-16 victory and a sweep of the Broncos.
On Sunday Night Football, the Bengals held on for a 37-30 win vs. the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, while Monday Night provided a much more exciting game. It was the two top teams in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in LA. The Chiefs struck first on an opening drive field goal by Harrison Butker, but the Chargers answered right away with a 50-yard pass from Justin Herbert to Josh Palmer on the third play of their first possession for a touchdown and the lead. The two teams traded field goals, and the first quarter ended with teams scoring on every possession of the quarter and a 10-6 Chargers lead. The Chiefs took the lead with a Travis Kelce touchdown for a 13-10 lead, and there was finally a defensive stop on the Chargers’ first drive of the second quarter, as Justin Herbert was sacked to bring up 4th and 20 on the Los Angeles 38 yard line, forcing a punt. The Chargers regained the lead on an Austin Ekeler touchdown, and added on with Cameron Dicker’s second field goal, entering halftime with a 20-13 lead. The Chiefs made it a 4-point game with a Butker field goal in the third, before taking the lead in the 4th on Kelce’s second touchdown. The next two drives resulted in fumbles, by LA’s Allen and KC’s Jarick McKinnon, before the Chargers took back the driver’s seat with Palmer’s second score. However, one minute and fifty seconds was plenty of time for Patrick Mahomes, as he led Kansas City down the field and fired one into the hands of Travis Kelce, who ended up in the end zone for the third time of the night. Herbert was intercepted by Nick Bolton on the Chargers’ final drive, and Kansas City took a wild one in the west, 30-27 the final.
Never leave Patrick Mahomes with time on the clock. The Chargers learned that the hard way in Week 11.
All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Thanksgiving and the NFL have always been connected. Since the league’s inception in 1920 the NFL has always played games on turkey day, and always featuring games hosted by the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. The Lions host the first game, and the Cowboys the second, with a third primetime game being played. This year, it was Buffalo (having played in Detroit, against Cleveland, the previous week due to weather concerns) taking on the Lions, the Giants taking on the Cowboys, and the Patriots and Vikings squaring off in prime time.
All three games were good. Buffalo led Detroit 17-14 at the half, and scored on a safety in the 3rd quarter thanks to an Ed Oliver sack on Lions QB Jared Goff in the end zone. The score held until early in the 4th, when Detroit took the lead for the first time since the first quarter on a DJ Chark touchdown. De’Andre Swift ran into the end zone for a 2-point conversion and a three point Lions lead. With 2:40 remaining in the game, Buffalo went back in front on a Stefon Diggs touchdown, before the Lions tied it with 23 seconds left in regulation on a field goal. Now even at 25-25, Buffalo drove downfield one final time and Tyler Bass kicked it through the uprights for a 28-25 win.
The Giants-Cowboys game was also a one-score game at halftime, as a Graham Gano field goal with time expiring made it 13-7 New York. In the third quarter, Dallas took the lead and added on thanks to a pair of touchdowns for tight end Dalton Schultz, and led the Giants by 8 entering the final quarter. A fourth touchdown for Dallas, by rookie tight end Peyton Hendershot, was enough, as New York couldn’t score until Richie James found the end zone with eight seconds left in the game. A bobbled but recovered onside kick by CeeDee Lamb sealed things for the Cowboys, who moved up to sole possession of second place in the NFC East with an 8-3 record and a 28-20 win.
Traditionally, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys host games on Turkey Day.
Kevin Doebler, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Lions)
All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Cowboys)
In primetime, the Vikings and Patriots traded touchdowns on their opening drives, first by Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and then by New England’s Nelson Agholor. A pair of field goals for the Patriots’ Nick Folk and one for the Vikings’ Greg Joseph left the Pats with a 13-10 lead, which was lost on a touchdown by new Viking TJ Hockenson. However, Joseph missed the extra point, and Folk’s third field goal of the half left the two teams tied at 16. New England opened the third quarter by taking the lead on a Hunter Henry touchdown, but gave it right back on the next play, as Kene Nwangwu ran it back 97 yards on the kickoff for the score and a 23-23 tie. A fourth field goal for Folk had New England with a 26-23 lead entering the 4th quarter, but the Vikings once again tied it on a Joseph FG. On Minnesota’s next drive, a roughing the kicker flag against the Patriots’ Pierre Strong Jr, allowed it to be extended and QB Kirk Cousins found Adam Thielen in the end zone for a touchdown and a 33-26 lead.
The rest of the league resumed things on Sunday. After the benching of sophomore quarterback Zach Wilson by the New York Jets, Mike White led Gang Green to a 31-10 win over the middling Bears, who were missing QB Justin Fields due to injury. The Miami Dolphins also picked up a win to maintain pace in the AFC East race, as a 30-point first half was enough to beat the Houston Texans with a 30-15 victory. In a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional game between the Bengals and Titans, Cincinnati once again beat Tennessee, 20-16. The Las Vegas Raiders picked up another overtime walk-off win, this time on the back of running back Josh Jacobs whose 303 total yards of offense and 86-yard touchdown run helped the Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks, 40-34. And the team with the best record in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles, handed the Green Bay Packers their 7th loss in 8 games with a 40-33 win on Sunday Night Football. The week concluded with a Monday Night Football win for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Indianapolis Colts, which was Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s 19th win on the program in 22 tries.
The MLB season might have concluded, but there were still plenty of awards to give out. Firstly, the Rookies of the Year were awarded to Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners and Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves. Rodriguez was the second Mariner to win the award in three seasons, following Kyle Lewis, who won in 2020. Rodriguez hit .284 with 28 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 132 games as he led Seattle to its first playoff berth since 2001 (when Rodriguez was about nine months old). He beat out Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman and Cleveland’s Steven Kwan. Harris was the second Brave in five years to win the award (Ronald Acuna Jr, 2018) and hit .297 with 19 homers and 20 stolen bases, beating out teammate Spencer Strider and the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan.
The Managers of the Year were next to be given out, and they went to Terry Francona of Cleveland and the Mets’ Buck Showalter. Francona, age 63, has been battling health issues for the past few seasons, but still managed to lead the Guardians to an AL Central title, their first since 2018, with a 92-70 record. Although voting concluded at the end of the regular season, the Guardians came one win shy of a surprising ALCS appearance, as they led the Yankees 2 games to 1 in the best-of-5 ALDS before dropping Games 4 and 5. It was Francona’s third time winning the award (2013 and 2016.) Francona beat out Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde and Seattle’s Scott Servais, who both led their teams to surprising finishes this season. Showalter, age 66, took home the award for the fourth time, in his first season with the New York Mets and first managerial season since guiding the 47-115 Baltimore Orioles in 2018. The Mets won 101 games and their first playoff game since the 2015 World Series. Incidentally, all four of Showalter’s wins came with different franchises, the previous three coming with the 1994 Yankees, 2004 Rangers, and 2014 Orioles. He beat out the division-winning Dave Roberts, whose Dodgers won the most games in National League history since 1906 with 111 and Brian Snitker, whose Braves made an incredible run down the stretch, catching Showalter’s Mets and winning their 5th straight NL East championship. However, when looking at how the three teams finished in 2021, the Mets were the only one to miss the playoffs that season.
Thirdly, the writers determined the best pitcher in each league with the announcement of the Cy Young Award winners. In the American League, Houston’s Justin Verlander won it for the third time, following wins with the 2011 Tigers and 2019 Astros. With his 1.75 ERA being far and away the best in the league (in fact, it was the lowest in the AL since Pedro Martinez’ 1.74 in 2000) he was an easy choice over runners-up Dylan Cease (White Sox) and Alek Manoah (Blue Jays). The National League was similary an easy choice, with Sandy Alcantara becoming the first Marlins pitcher ever to win the award, with a sparkling 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP (walks + hits per nine innings) beating out Atlanta’s Max Fried, a 20-game winner, and Los Angeles’ Julio Urias.
Finally, the Most Valuable Players were announced. For months, fans wondered if the ability that Shohei Ohtani has to both pitch and hit excellently, with 34 home runs, 95 RBI, 2.33 ERA, and 1.01 WHIP, would be enough to topple Aaron Judge’s historic season. Judge, of course, broke the American League single-season home run record with 62 home runs, which is the highest total for any player not connected or suspected of having used performance-enhancing drugs. In addition, Judge very nearly became just the second player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win a triple crown in either league (Miguel Cabrera, 2012 Tigers) by leading it in batting average, home runs, and RBI, but lost the batting average race by only a few points to Minnesota’s Luis Arraez. Houston’s Yordan Alvarez was also a finalist, but was widely assumed to finish third. Judge ended up winning almost unanimously, garnering 28 of the 30 first-place votes. Judge was the first Yankee to win the award since Alex Rodriguez and his 54 home runs in 2007.
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani made strong cases for themselves to be named AL MVP, but in the end, the writers chose Judge.
DR. Buddie, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Judge)
Mogami Kariya, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Ohtani)
The National League race got much less press, however, it was Paul Goldschmidt becoming the first Cardinal to win since Albert Pujols in 2008 and 2009. Goldschmidt was a finalist three times previously, all with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished 2nd to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen in 2013, 2nd to Washington’s Bryce Harper in 2015, and 3rd to Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton and Cincinnati’s Joey Votto in 2017. Goldschmidt hit .317 while leading the National League in slugging percentage at .578 and on-base-plus-slugging at .981. He beat out teammate Nolan Arenado and San Diego’s Manny Machado to capture the award.
Early offseason trades across MLB include Teoscar Hernandez being sent from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson, 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu being traded from the Chicago White Sox to the defending champion Astros, making that lineup even stronger, and the Los Angeles Angels acquiring Gio Urshela from the Minnesota Twins and Hunter Renfroe from the Milwaukee Brewers, trying to give Ohtani and Mike Trout some help in that lineup.
The biggest free-agent signing of the offseason thus far would belong to the Texas Rangers, who signed 2-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom to a five year, $185 million deal. deGrom, 34, has battled injury issues over the past few seasons, but the Rangers are showing no signs of slowing down in the offseason. Last year, they picked up Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray on big deals, but finished 4th in the AL West with a 68-94 record.
A career Met no longer, Jacob deGrom will try and help the Texas Rangers finish with a winning record in 2023.
All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Among the top players still available are shortstops Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts and starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon, and Kodai Senga, a Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan) import. However, the big prize is the reigning AL MVP, Aaron Judge, who is expected to either return to the Yankees or go to his hometown San Francisco Giants on an 8- or 9-year deal.
The NBA and NHL seasons are still going strong. In the NHL’s Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils are still going strong. The Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 5-1, on December 3rd, for a perfect 14-0 record in their home arena, TD Garden, which is an NHL record. The Devils, for their part, won 13 consecutive games between October 25th and November 21st, and have only been defeated five times this season. Leading the charge for Boston is winger David Pastrnak, whose 16 goals and 18 assists place him 5th in the NHL with 34 total points, and second in the Eastern Conference to the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov. The Bruins also lead the league in goals per game with 4, and have the fewest goals allowed per game at 2.13. Their power play percentage is third with 29.5%, while their penalty kill is 2nd at 84.1%. In net for New Jersey is a three-man tandem of Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Mackenzie Blackwood, with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt leading the team in points at 29 and 27. Across the country, the young Vegas Golden Knights and surprising Seattle Kraken are heading the Pacific Division, despite only playing a combined eight seasons. Vegas was established as the league’s 31st team for the 2017-18 season, while Seattle joined last year as the league’s 32nd team. Leading the Central Division is the Dallas Stars at 32 points. Seattle is already more than halfway to their inaguaral season point total of 60 with 33. They’re 5th in the NHL with 3.67 goals per game and are led by Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky.
The Bruins and Devils are battling for the Eastern Conference’s top seed, each trying to become the first non-Tampa Bay team to win the conference since the 2018-19 Bruins.
Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Bruins)
All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Devils)
On the court, the Boston Celtics are still the team to beat in the league at 18-5, although the Milwaukee Bucks (16-6) Phoenix Suns (15-7) and Cleveland Cavaliers (15-8) make strong choices, while the defending champion Golden State Warriors are struggling to stay afloat at 13-11. Meanwhile, LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers have fallen to the third worst record in a packed Western Conference at 9-12. James is in his 20th season in the league and is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, along with Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan, and is putting up 25.9 points per game, good for 13th in the league. The Celtics are lead by the scoring duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are nearly combining for 60 points per game. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo is still doing his thing for the Bucks, as one of three players over 30 PPG on the morning of December 4, along with Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai-Gilgeous Alexander.
Reaching the end of his illustrious career, LeBron James’ Lakers aren’t looking like they can give the King his 5th NBA title.
Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
That’ll do it for this, the 5th edition of the Payoff Pitch. You can check out standings and league leaders below.
NFL Standings (through Week 12)
| AFC East | W | L | T |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| New England Patriots | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| AFC North | W | L | T |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| AFC South | W | L | T |
| Tennessee Titans | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Houston Texans | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| AFC West | W | L | T |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| NFC East | W | L | T |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| New York Giants | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Washington Commanders | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| NFC North | W | L | T |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| NFC South | W | L | T |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Carolina Panthers | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| NFC West | W | L | T |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 8 | 0 |
NFL League Leaders (through Week 12)
Passing Yards: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs- 3,585
Passing touchdowns: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs- 29
Rushing Yards: Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders- 1,159
Rushing touchdowns: Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions-13
Recieving Yards: Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins- 1,233
Recieving touchdowns: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs- 12
Field goals: Nick Folk, New England Patriots- 25
Longest field goal: Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs, 62 yards, Week 6
Interceptions: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles, 6
Sacks: Matthew Judon, New England Patriots- 13
NHL Eastern Conference
| Atlantic Div. | G | W | L | OTL | Points |
| Boston Bruins | 23 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 40 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 36 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
| Florida Panthers | 25 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 28 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 27 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 25 |
| Ottawa Senators | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 21 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 21 |
| Metropolitan Div. | G | W | L | OTL | Points |
| New Jersey Devils | 25 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 41 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 33 |
| New York Islanders | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 30 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 25 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 30 |
| New York Rangers | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 27 |
| Washington Capitals | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 24 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 25 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 21 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 22 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 18 |
Western Conference
| Central Div. | G | W | L | OTL | Points |
| Dallas Stars | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 32 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 29 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 27 |
| Minnesota Wild | 23 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 26 |
| Nashville Predators | 23 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 26 |
| St. Louis Blues | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 22 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 18 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 23 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 18 |
| Pacific Div. | G | W | L | OTL | Points |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 37 |
| Seattle Kraken | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 33 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 27 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 30 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 25 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 28 |
| Calgary Flames | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 25 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 25 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 23 |
| San Jose Sharks | 27 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 20 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 25 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 15 |
NHL Stats Leaders (through 12/3)
Goals: Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, 22
Assists: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 26
Points: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers- 47
Penalty Minutes: Nicolas Deslauriers, Philadelphia Flyers- 57
Goaltending Wins: Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins- 14
Goals Against Average: Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins, 1.93
Save Percentage: Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins, .938
| Eastern Conference | W | L | GB |
| Boston Celtics | 18 | 5 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 16 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 15 | 8 | 3 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 13 | 10 | 5 |
| Indiana Pacers | 12 | 10 | 5.5 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 13 | 11 | 5.5 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 12 | 11 | 6 |
| Toronto Raptors | 12 | 11 | 6 |
| Miami Heat | 11 | 12 | 7 |
| Washington Wizards | 11 | 12 | 7 |
| New York Knicks | 10 | 13 | 8 |
| Chicago Bulls | 9 | 13 | 8.5 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 7 | 16 | 11 |
| Detroit Pistons | 6 | 18 | 12.5 |
| Orlando Magic | 5 | 19 | 13,5 |
| Western Conference | W | L | GB |
| Phoenix Suns | 15 | 7 | |
| Denver Nuggets | 14 | 8 | 1 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 14 | 8 | 1 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 13 | 9 | 2 |
| Sacramento Kings | 12 | 9 | 2.5 |
| Golden State Warriors | 13 | 11 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 13 | 11 | 3 |
| Utah Jazz | 14 | 12 | 3 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 12 | 11 | 3.5 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 11 | 11 | 4 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 11 | 12 | 4.5 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 10 | 13 | 5.5 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 9 | 12 | 5.5 |
| Houston Rockets | 6 | 17 | 9.5 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 6 | 17 | 9.5 |
NBA Stats Leaders (through 12/3)
Points Per Game: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks- 33.4
Assists Per Game: Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers- 10.9
Rebounds Per Game: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers- 12.9
Steals Per Game: OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors- 2.3
Blocks Per Game: Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks- 3
3-pointers made: Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors- 115
3-point percentage: Yuta Watanabe, Brooklyn Nets- 57.1%