Jaguars continue hot streak with win over Jets as Zach Wilson gets benched | Grading CFB coaching hires

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you’re doing well and enjoying the holiday season with your teams giving you much to cheer for.

Let’s get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to…

THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Road game. Short week. Following an emotional win. Awful weather.

None of it mattered. The Jaguars keep on getting the job done. Trevor Lawrence and Co. eased past the Jets, 19-3, and have won four of their last five.

Thanks to this hot stretch — and the Titans’ four-game losing streak — Jacksonville controls its destiny in the AFC South with two games remaining: at Houston and against Tennessee, who likely will be without Ryan Tannehill. 

Honorable mentions And not such a good morning for… Getty Images

ZACH WILSON AND THE NEW YORK JETS

When it rains, it pours. Both the weather and the boos.

After seven drives and three first downs, Zach Wilson got benched for practice-squad call-up Chris Streveler. Streveler’s first drive alone resulted in four first downs. Unfortunately for the Jets, that drive ended like almost all of Wilson’s: with no points.

That’s how bad it’s gotten for Wilson, the No. 2 pick in 2021, and, in turn, for the Jets, who went into their bye week 6-3 and wake up today 7-8.

There’s not a whole lot else to say that the first bullet point doesn’t cover. Wilson’s inaccuracy makes the Jets fairly easy to defend, as seen by the measly four rushing yards they racked up in the first half. The Jets were hoping to ride their defense and stay afloat with White out, but with Wilson, staying afloat seems nearly impossible.

Not so honorable mentions NFL Week 16 picks: Huge Giants-Vikings clash; Dolphins end skid? 🏈 Getty Images

The Giants have been one of the best feel-good stories this season. In their first year under Brian Daboll, they weren’t expected to be a playoff team. But here we are in Week 16, and if the postseason started today, the Giants would be in it thanks to a resurgent year from Saquon Barkley, a league-low-tying 13 turnovers and some close-game magic. The Giants have won eight one-possession games. The only team that’s won more is the team they face this week, the Vikings, with 10. As a result, Pete Prisco expects another close one in his picks for this week.

The Packers, meanwhile, are finally showing some signs of life with two straight wins, but picking up a third straight will be no easy task against the Dolphins. Here’s what Jordan Dajani expects:

Here are all of our experts’ picks:

Pete Prisco | John Breech | Jordan Dajani | Tyler Sullivan

Trevor Bauer reinstated after suspension reduced ⚾ Getty Images

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been reinstated immediately after his 324-game suspension was reduced to 194 games by a neutral arbitrator.

Grading college football hires: Six new coaches in ‘A’ range 🏈 Getty Images

The college coaching carousel has finally stopped spinning, and that means it’s time to hand out grades for all 24 new hires.

Let’s start at the top: Six coaches earned a grade in the “A” range from Dennis Dodd, including…

Only one other move, Luke Fickell to Wisconsin, earned an A+.

Of course, not every school can nail every hire, and the school Fickell left might have missed the mark.

You can see all of the grades here.

NBA blow-it-up rankings and latest Wemby Watch 🏀 Getty Images

Believe it or not, the worst place to be in the NBA is the middle. Chasing the play-in tournament year after year may seem fun but, you’re really not going much of anywhere. Take it from me, a Wizards fan.

At the end of the day, some teams (*cough* Wizards *cough*) need to blow it up. Start anew. See what you can get for your veterans and see if you can build a team that competes for championships, not first-round exits. So, with Christmas nearly upon us and the NBA season more than two months old, Sam Quinn has revealed his “blow-it-up” rankings, and… would you look at that! The Wizards are first!

I could not have said it better myself. Two other teams joined Washington in the “Can I offer you this lit match?” tier, and they absolutely belong there as well.

Of course, the ultimate prize teams hope will kickstart their rebuild is Victor Wembanyama. You can read our latest Wemby Watch here.

What we’re watching this weekend 📺

🏈 Here’s the NFL Week 16 schedule.🏈 Here’s the college football bowl schedule.

Friday

🏀 Bucks at Nets, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV🏀 Grizzlies at Suns, 10 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday

🏀 Here’s the NBA Christmas schedule.