The Jets shocked the Rams to finally get a win, but at what cost?

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We've arrived ... a big week is upon us, friends. Not only is Christmas just days away, we're one day away from the official start of a new NBA season, and what an early gift that is!

We'll have plenty of basketball content for you tomorrow morning but today we've got to focus on everything that went down over the weekend -- from NFL football, to college football's conference championships, to the NHL officially announcing its own new season. We've got plenty to discuss, so pour yourself some coffee and wipe away those Monday blues because we're kicking this week off STRONG.

📰 What you need to know

1. The Jets get an A+ for first win, but hurt future in the process 🏈

If you needed a reminder that the NFL regular season is almost over, we've reached the point in the year where we're getting games on Saturdays and Sundays as teams jockey for playoff berths, division titles and -- in a much sadder reality -- draft positioning. We got a little bit of everything over the past couple of days in the NFL, so let's get to the grades.

Bills (A+) dominate Broncos (D) to clinch first division title since 1995: Buffalo is becoming one of the easiest teams to root for across the NFL and they had another insanely impressive performance on Saturday. Josh Allen shredded Denver for 359 yards and four total touchdowns and, at this rate, may never have to buy a drink in Buffalo again
Buccaneers (B-) rally against Falcons (C-): Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Tom Brady erased a disastrous first half against Atlanta and mounted a great second-half comeback. The Falcons held leads of 17-0 (first half) and 24-7 (second half) before Brady's Bucs stormed back for a 31-27 win. Atlanta, come on ... how many times you gonna do this?
Jets (A+) get first win with stunner vs. Rams (F): The Jets entered the weekend 0-13 and 17-point underdogs against the Rams but they somehow pulled off the 23-20 win for one of the five biggest point spread upsets in the last 40 years. New York actually executed big plays and played smart football, two things that they've struggled with this year. Meanwhile, what an absolutely embarrassing display by Los Angeles

The Jets might have gotten an A+ for their performance on the field yesterday but they get a big fat F for their commitment to the tank. A lot of their fans were upset with the victory because the win might ultimately cost them Trevor Lawrence in the upcoming draft. The Jaguars now sit in the driver's seat for the opportunity to draft the Clemson QB. Oof.

As for my Patriots, well, they're officially out of the playoff picture in the first post-Tom Brady season. Honestly? I'm pretty happy about it. I don't know how anyone -- fan or hater -- would willingly wish to subject themselves to MORE of this horrendous New England offense. I'm pretty sure the last time they scored an offensive touchdown it was still Daylight Saving Time.

For the rest of this week's grades, head here.

2. The College Football Playoff is set 🏈

It's been a long, bizarre road filled with twists, turns and obstacles at every direction, but the college football season is nearing its end. Conference championship weekend is in the books and the 2020 College Football Playoff field is set.

The four teams involved in this year's CFP don't really come as much of a surprise, though the rankings have shifted a bit. After Clemson cruised to an ACC Championship win over Notre Dame on Saturday, the Irish have been bumped down a few spots in the rankings but they'll still have a chance to make a run at the national championship.

Here are the final rankings:

Alabama
Clemson
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Texas A&M
Oklahoma

Of course, this means we'll see Alabama vs. Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl and Clemson vs. Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, both on New Year's Day. From there, the winners will meet in the national championship on January 11th.

So, what does Vegas think at this point? Bama has opened as huge favorites (-17.5) over Notre Dame while Clemson (-6.5) is favored to beat the Buckeyes. If your team wasn't lucky enough to crack the top four and sneak into the CFP, you can check out the rest of the bowl games right here.

3. The NHL is back and here's how the season will work 🏒

I had my doubts about the NHL's ability to hammer out the details of a new season in time to start in mid-January, but it appears they've managed to do it. The NHL and NHLPA have officially come to an agreement on a new season and the two sides jointly announced the new campaign yesterday.

The plan is to play a 56-game schedule starting on Jan. 13th, which obviously doesn't leave a whole lot of time for things to kick into gear. Here are some additional details on the new season:

The regular season is scheduled to be held between Jan. 13 and May 8
The league will temporarily realign four divisions (North, East, Central and West) based on geographical proximity. The "North" division will be comprised entirely of Canadian teams
Teams will only play other teams within their division (8-10 times each)
The playoffs will follow a traditional 16-team, best-of-seven format. The top four teams in each division will make the playoffs and meet each other in the first two rounds (No. 1 vs. No 4, No. 2 vs. No. 3)
The four teams that advance to the Stanley Cup Semifinal will be seeded by their regular season points total (No. 1 vs. No. 4 seed and No. 2 vs. No. 3)

That last bullet point is one of the more interesting details because it means that this year's Stanley Cup Final could feature two teams that typically play in the same division and/or conference during a traditional season. The format also means that a Canadian team is guaranteed to be one of the final four teams remaining in the playoffs.

Once training camps open at the beginning of next month, this season is going to be full steam ahead without much time to catch your breath. There aren't even going to be any preseason games this year, so we'll be diving into meaningful action right away. As a hockey guy myself, I think the best way I can put it is, to quote Saved By The Bell, "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so ... scared."

For more details on how the season is going to work, you can head here.

4. Tiger's son steals the show at PNC Championship 🏌

With all the sports we had this weekend, I was certainly not expecting this weekend's PNC Championship exhibition event to be a talking point this morning. That being said, I was certainly not prepared for the show that Charlie Woods put on, either.

You may not be entirely familiar with the name Charlie Woods but I'm willing to bet you know his dad -- just some guy named Tiger. The father-son duo teamed up for the event over the weekend and they were the center of attention ... for good reason.

The Woods team shot a 10-under 62 on both Saturday and Sunday. Charlie hit a number of incredible shots in his debut on a national stage but it wasn't just his sweet swing (one that looks incredibly similar to his dad's) that won people over. He also showcased plenty of showmanship and swagger over the two days as well.

Our Kyle Porter has a few takeaways from the 11-year-old's debut:

Charlie is good, and that's ok: While the young Woods is clearly excellent at golf and probably has a future in the sport, we probably shouldn't put a ton of pressure on him to follow in his father's footsteps. Tiger casts a big shadow and Charlie may never be a multiple-time major winner, but we can still enjoy how impressive he is right now
"Memories for a lifetime": It seems like we've only gotten to know Tiger through golf, partially because he's allowed his life to be consumed by the sport from a very young age. Seeing Tiger let Charlie into his world and joyously champion his only son on the golf course was pretty damn special

Porter also said his own young kids loved watching Charlie play this weekend, so that's extremely awesome, too. I think we may have to incorporate more family events into the PGA calendar ... give the people (and their kids) what they want.

📝 Odds & Ends

No, Tyreek Hill didn't do a shot of booze on the sidelines yesterday -- that was pickle juice
Canelo Alvarez picked up another big title over the weekend
Army (9-2) is determined to play a bowl game despite the Independence Bowl being cancelled yesterday

📺 What to watch today

🏈 Steelers vs. Bengals, 8:15 p.m. | CIN +14.5 | TV: ESPN

📝 Top scores from last night

🏈 Browns 20, Giants 6

The Browns have their first 10-win season since 2007 and are nearing a postseason berth.
💵 Winning wagers: CLE -6, Under (44.5)

🏀 No.19 Rutgers 91, No.13 Illinois 88

Rutgers overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to improve to 6-0 (2-0 in the Big Ten).
💵 Winning wagers: RUT +109, Over (141)

🏀 Northwestern 79, No.4 Michigan State 65

Boo Buie scored a career-high 30 points as Northwestern beat the Spartans for the first time since 2012.
💵 Winning wagers: NWEST +274, Under (149.5)