CHICAGO (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks made just enough plays to boost their fading playoff hopes by beating the struggling Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Now, they’ll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Los Angeles Rams this weekend. Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass and the Seahawks squeezed past Chicago 6-3 on Thursday night to hand the Bears their 10th straight loss. Jason Myers kicked field goals on the game’s first possession and near the end of the second quarter. Leonard Williams had two of Seattle’s seven sacks, and Woolen sealed the win in the closing minute. Chicago (4-12) had a fourth down at the Seattle 40 with 20 seconds remaining. The Seahawks (9-7) brought the blitz, and a leaping Woolen picked off a pass intended for Keenan Allen at the 22, ending Williams’ NFL rookie-record string of passes without an interception at 353.
DETROIT (AP) — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday. The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose State 41-39 in five overtimes in the Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday. Pitt freshman Julian Dugger, making his college debut, ran for two overtime scores and threw for two more, but his incomplete pass in the sixth overtime ended the game. After Gleason and Dugger traded rushing touchdowns in the first overtime, each team got a field goal in the second. Each threw two-point passes in the third overtime, and Gleason got another in the fourth to make it 44-42. Dugger was sacked, apparently ending the game, but the Rockets were called for holding. Dugger was ruled short on a sneak attempt, sending Toledo rushing onto the field for a second time, but replay ruled he crossed the plane. In the fifth overtime, Dugger made it 46-44 with a scoring pass to Gavin Bartholomew, but Gleason tied it with his fifth scoring pass of the game. The sixth put Toledo back in front, and Dugger was pressured into a bad throw to end the game.
LeBron James and the NBA are going to have make room for the NFL on Christmas. That shouldn’t be a problem. Both leagues were winners on Wednesday. Netflix set records as the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history while the NBA had its best holiday numbers in five years according to Nielsen. The NFL and Nielsen said 65 million U.S. viewers tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two NFL games. The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 according to early viewer figures released by Nielsen on Thursday. The NBA’s five-game slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen. Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The nearly 13-minute halftime performance averaged over 27 million viewers.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder. The team said Thursday that additional exams revealed enough damage to keep Lamb off the field Sunday at Philadelphia and in the final game at home against Washington. The team said surgery was not expected to be required. Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention a few hours before last weekend’s 26-24 victory over Tampa Bay. The decision on Lamb means the Cowboys will finish the regular season with at least five former Pro Bowlers on injured reserve. Among the others are quarterback Dak Prescott, who was limited to eight games before a season-ending hamstring tear, and right guard Zack Martin. The seven-time All-Pro made it through 10 games before deciding on season-ending ankle surgery.
THURSDAY SCORES
NCAA BOWL GAMES
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Toledo 48, Pittsburgh 46 6OTs
Rate Bowl
Kansas State 44, Rutgers 41
68 Ventures Bowl
Arkansas State 38, Bowling Green 31