KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Folks around the NFL have been wondering the past few weeks what the Kansas City Chiefs would look like if they could marry their suddenly stingy defense with their traditionally prolific offense. The Raiders had the misfortune of finding out Sunday. The Chiefs' defense forced five turnovers, their offense turned them into 28 points, and Patrick Mahomes and Co. cruised the rest of the way to a 48-9 victory. It was the largest margin in 126 games against their old AFL rivals. And it kept the Chiefs one game ahead of the Chargers heading into their Thursday night showdown in Los Angeles.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The NFC West is a little tighter after the second-place Rams earned a 30-23 victory at Arizona, leaving the Cardinals just one game ahead of Los Angeles. Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Cooper Kupp 13 times for 123 yards and a score. Kyler Murray’s two interceptions led to Los Angeles touchdowns as the Cardinals failed to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Highly touted quarterback Spencer Rattler will try to restart his college career with South Carolina in a major acquisition for Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer. Rattler threw for 28 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman for Oklahoma in 2020 before losing his starting job with the Sooners this season. He tweeted Monday night that he had committed to the Gamecocks. South Carolina went 6-6 this year, its first season under Beamer. The coach spent three years at Oklahoma as an assistant under Lincoln Riley. Rattler was considered a candidate for the Heisman Trophy before the 2021 season began, but Caleb Williams supplanted him as the starter.
UNDATED (AP) — Baylor took advantage of Purdue’s last-second loss to Rutgers to become the fourth different team at No. 1 in the past four weeks in the AP 25. The Bears earned every vote from the 61-member national media panel Monday to reach the top spot in the poll for the first time since a four-week run ended on Feb. 17, 2020. The Bears were followed by former No. 1s Duke and Purdue along with UCLA and Gonzaga. Xavier, Colorado State and Texas Tech joined the poll while Florida, BYU and Wisconsin dropped out.
UNDATED (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Alabama teammates Will Anderson Jr. and Jameson Williams have been selected All-Americans by The Associated Press. That gives the top-ranked Crimson Tide more players on the first team than any other school. The AP All-America team was selected by a panel of Top 25 college football poll voters. The Tide will bring five All-American honorees into their playoff game against No. 4 Cincinnati on New Year's Eve. Cincinnati is represented on the first team by cornerback Ahmad Gardner. No. 2 Michigan placed two players on the first team, including Heisman runner-up Aidan Hutchinson.
MONDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final L.A. Rams 30 Arizona 23
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Toronto 124 Sacramento 101
Final Cleveland 105 Miami 94
Final Golden State 102 Indiana 100
Final Boston 117 Milwaukee 103
Final Houston 132 Atlanta 126
Final Memphis 126 Philadelphia 91
Final Dallas 120 Charlotte 96
Final Denver 113 Washington 107
Final L.A. Clippers 111 Phoenix 95
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Calgary at Chicago 7:30 p.m. (Postponed)