NFL

Needing to win their final two games to have a chance at making the playoffs, the New York Jets will get Mike White back in Week 17.

Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, White was cleared by doctors Monday and will start Sunday's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Head coach Robert Saleh confirmed the news to reporters, adding Joe Flacco will serve as the backup and Zach Wilson will be inactive.

White has missed the past two games after suffering three fractured ribs in a Dec. 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He told reporters five days later that he spoke to almost 10 doctors in an attempt to find one who would clear him to play, but none of them would do it.

The loss of White forced the Jets to turn back to Wilson as their starting quarterback. He didn't play as badly as he did in a Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots that resulted in his benching, but it wasn't much better.

Wilson threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns with one interception against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 18, but he completed only 18 of 35 attempts. His interception on the first drive of the third quarter resulted in a Lions field goal, and Detroit won 20-17.

Taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars four days later, Wilson was benched late in the third quarter after going 9-of-18 for 92 yards with one interception. Chris Streveler had some success, completing 10 of 15 attempts for 90 yards.

The Jets failed to find the end zone in a 19-3 defeat. It was their fourth consecutive loss after they reached 7-4 with a 31-10 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Despite having fallen under .500, the Jets still can reach the playoffs. Their easiest path would be to win the next two games against the Seahawks and Miami Dolphins and have the Patriots lose once in the next two weeks.

New England, which has lost four of its last five, closes the season at home against Miami on Sunday before traveling to Buffalo in Week 18.

The Jets can also qualify by winning out and having the Los Angeles Chargers lose their final three games.

The Chargers close the season against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 1 and Denver Broncos on Jan. 8. Those three teams are a combined 13-30-1.

White was 1-2 in three starts after taking over for Wilson, but his losses were against two 12-3 teams in the Bills and Minnesota Vikings. The Jets were competitive, losing by a combined 13 points.

The fifth-year quarterback has completed 62 percent of his passes for 952 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in three games.

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones reportedly will be fined $11,139 for his low hit on Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple on Saturday, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network had previously reported Jones would not be suspended.

Jones appeared to go out of his way to take out Apple's legs after a Cincinnati fumble recovery. He was chasing linebacker Germaine Pratt, who had scooped up the ball, and then appeared to target Apple behind the play.

Apple accused Jones of being a dirty player after the game.

"Of course I did [notice it]. He tripped me," he told NESN's Sean T. McGuire. "I thought it was a dirty play. He's done that before; I've seen it."

NFL Twitter sided with Apple:

So Mac Jones laid down instead of tackling Chandler Jones and then does this? pic.twitter.com/QYH1Ns7Lua

— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) December 25, 2022

Mac Jones has earned his reputation as one of the dirtiest players in the league. https://t.co/gFHLZ9cslb

— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) December 25, 2022

Mac Jones is a dirty player - Compilation video from 4 different incidents from his two-year career. pic.twitter.com/LFDUugodvA

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 25, 2022

Jones provided his take on the play during an appearance on WEEI, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

"I went down in front of him to kind of get in the way to stop him from slowing down Tyquan, who obviously could make the tackle there. So just kind of went down in front of him, trying to stop a fast guy from getting to another fast guy.

"It's a split-second decision and there's a lot that goes into it. You're out there trying to compete, it's a physical game. So just trying to help the team win.

"I have all the respect for Eli and the Bengals. They played a great game. So, there's no hard feelings and definitely no intention to hurt anybody on that play. Nor do I believe that when I'm playing quarterback, that's what [the defense is intending to do]; I get hit a lot, too. We're all out there playing hard. It's just part of the game."

It isn't the first time Jones has been accused of dirty play by an opponent. In 2021, Carolina Panthers edge-rusher Brian Burns called him out for grabbing at his leg after a strip-sack:

"Watching the replay and watching all the angles and everything, I think it's some bull. I think it's some bull for him to take his legs—because my main thing is he took his legs and he swept the one leg I had up, you know what I mean? I think it's some bull. And his explanation for it—because he thought I had the ball—I don't think you could think a person has the ball. Soon as I sacked you, you grabbed my arm. And then everybody ran past us.

"Even if you thought I had the ball, it's not legal to trip somebody or leg sweep somebody, let alone twist [an] ankle; it's not legal to do that. Everybody else ran past us. If I had the ball, don't you think I'd be getting tackled? Or your teammate would help? So, I don't think it's cool, but it's whatever."

It isn't a reputation Jones will want to foster around the league.

In the short term, however, the bigger concern is that the Patriots have lost four of their past five games and are a game back of the Miami Dolphins for the final playoff spot in the AFC.

The mediocre play of Jones (2,550 passing yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, 65.6 completion percentage, 30 sacks taken) during his sophomore campaign has played a huge part in New England's struggles.

Huge AFC East showdowns with the Dolphins and Buffalo Bills loom. It's a tough way to finish the season for a team—and quarterback—looking to salvage postseason aspirations.

As the 2022 NFL season winds down, many teams are still focused on fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but some teams have already turned their attention to securing their position in the 2023 draft.

Week 16 saw a bit of shuffling after Saturday's full slate of games, and Sunday's rundown also provided some movement.

Here's a look at the updated 2023 NFL draft order following Sunday's results:

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1. Houston Texans

2. Chicago Bears

3. Seattle Seahawks (via Denver Broncos)

4. Arizona Cardinals

5. Indianapolis Colts

6. Atlanta Falcons

7. Detroit Lions (via Los Angeles Rams)

8. Carolina Panthers

9. Las Vegas Raiders

10. Philadelphia Eagles (via New Orleans Saints)

11. Houston Texans (via Cleveland Browns)

12. Seattle Seahawks

13. Tennessee Titans

14. New England Patriots

15. New York Jets

16. Pittsburgh Steelers

17. Green Bay Packers

18. Detroit Lions

19. Jacksonville Jaguars

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

21. Washington Commanders

22. Miami Dolphins (forfeited)

23. New York Giants

24. Los Angeles Chargers

25. Baltimore Ravens

26. Denver Broncos (via San Francisco 49ers)

27. Dallas Cowboys

28. Cincinnati Bengals

29. Kansas City Chiefs

30. Minnesota Vikings

31. Buffalo Bills

32. Philadelphia Eagles

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The Green Bay Packers opened Christmas Day by extending their win streak to three games with a 26-20 road victory over the Miami Dolphins.

While the win slightly improved the Packers' chances of making it to the postseason, it also knocked them down the draft board. Green Bay was slotted in the No. 12 spot entering Sunday, but fell to No. 17 after the victory.

However, draft position is the last thing on the mind of Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The back-to-back reigning NFL MVP is more concerned about making a push for the playoffs this season, despite how slim Green Bay's hopes may be at this point in the year.

Aaron Rodgers on being 7-8 and with playoff chances looking up: "Consiedering where we were two weeks ago, a lot has happened in our favor.

"We played meaningful games in December and we won all three of those. Now we're playing meaningful games in January and got to win those."

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 25, 2022

After Week 12, the Packers had a 3% chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN’s playoff predictor. They entered Sunday with a 17% chance but, after their third straight win, the Packers have a 37% chance. Their simplest path is to win out and have Washington lose one of its last two.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 25, 2022

The loss didn't mean much for Miami in terms of draft position, as the Dolphins forfeited their 2023 first-round pick after an investigation revealed that the team violated league policies related to the integrity of the game.

The Dolphins fell to the seventh spot in the AFC after the defeat, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Miami will close the 2022 season with back-to-back division games against the New England Patriots and New York Jets, respectively, who are the two teams right on their heels in the postseason race.

The matinee matchup saw the Los Angeles Rams blow out the Denver Broncos with a 51-14 victory. The most interesting thing about this game was that it featured a pair of disappointing teams who don't own their respective first-round picks in next year's draft.

Thanks to the loss by Denver, the Seattle Seahawks maintain their position in the No. 3 spot. The Seahawks likely expected their own pick to land in the top three when they traded star quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos, but the misfortune of Denver wound up benefitting Seattle in the long run.

The win by Los Angeles moves the Detroit Lions down to the No. 7 spot, for now. There's still a likelihood that the defending champs' pick lands in the top five, as the Rams close the season with unfavorable matchups against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seahawks, respectively.

Lastly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved down one spot to No. 20 after their overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.

A disastrous Denver Broncos season reached a new low Sunday in a 51-14 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Both teams entered the game with matching 4-10 records after entering the 2022 campaign with great expectations and falling well short of them.

However, the defending champion Rams once again looked like Super Bowl contenders for a day as they jumped out to a 17-0 lead after 10 minutes and never looked back.

Meanwhile, the Broncos categorically played their worst football of the year. Quarterback Russell Wilson's struggles continued with interceptions on each of Denver's first two drives thanks to Rams cornerback Cobie Bryant and linebacker Bobby Wagner.

.@One4_era with the early INT!! 🦈

📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/d2tybRRiiZ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 25, 2022

BOBBY PLAYMAKER WAGNER WITH THE PICK!

📺 @NFLonCBS | @Bwagz pic.twitter.com/5GPypmdhFx

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 25, 2022

L.A. played complementary football and scored touchdowns in response to each pick with scores via Tyler Higbee and Cam Akers.

Wilson ended the half by completing just 6 of 13 passes for 90 yards and two interceptions, and the Rams tacked on two more scores for a 31-3 edge at halftime.

The second half wasn't much better, with Wilson tossing his third pick on the Broncos' first drive after halftime courtesy of cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

OH MY GOODNESS JALEN!

5️⃣ @jalenramsey | 📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/iBVtPDnaff

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 25, 2022

Wilson threw a garbage-time touchdown to tight end Greg Dulcich in the fourth quarter and finished the afternoon by completing 15 of 27 passes for 214 yards, one score and three picks.

Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter, and it somehow got even worse for Denver after Broncos backup Brett Rypien tossed a pick-six to Bryant.

PICK, PICK, HOORAY!

📺 @One4_era | @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/7Nf2GK3YSu

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 26, 2022

The Broncos' defense, which entered the week allowing the third-fewest points per game, showed no signs of life either. Running back Cam Akers amassed 147 total yards and three touchdowns, and tight end Tyler Higbee added nine receptions, 94 yards and two scores. Quarterback Baker Mayfield cruised to a 24-of-28 day for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

Ultimately, Wilson's season-worst performance stood out in a series of discouraging efforts for a team that made a significant long-term investment in him.

Denver traded its first- and second-round picks in 2022 and 2023, a 2022 fifth-rounder and three players (quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Shelby Harris) to the Seattle Seahawks for Wilson and a 2022 fourth-rounder.

The Broncos then inked Wilson to a five-year, $245 million extension ($165 million guaranteed), including $124 million at signing.

However, the offense has been stagnant all year. They entered Week 16 scoring a league-worst 15.6 points per game. Wilson entered 27th out of 33 NFL qualifiers in quarterback rating and 28th in QBR, per Pro Football Reference. He has just 12 touchdown passes in 13 games.

It's a perplexing fall for the 34-year-old, a former superstar who has nine Pro Bowls on his resume.

The Broncos had been playing out the string of a lost season well before Sunday, but a terrible outing against a Rams team missing superstar defensive lineman Aaron Donald, quarterback Matt Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp somehow led to Denver reaching its new 2022 nadir.

The Rams are missing nine starters on both sides of the ball. Today they beat the Broncos 51-14.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) December 26, 2022

Twitter let its feelings known about Wilson's performance and the team's trade for him.

https://twitter.com/Tyler_Greever/status/1607133951898046464

"Everbody's fired" type start for Denver...

— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 25, 2022

Dead cap charge for Russ is only $31 million in 2026.

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) November 27, 2022

Russell Wilson is playing like Zach Wilson. Everytime I think it can't get worse this season, these Broncos say, "Hold My Drink." #Denver7 #Broncos https://t.co/XRFqW9yAnS

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 25, 2022

Russell Wilson is broken. Is he still under warranty? Can the Broncos return him

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 25, 2022

Has any superstar QB fallen off a cliff as quickly as Russell Wilson has this season?

— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) December 25, 2022

The Russell Wilson trade and contract might be the worst in sports history.

— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) December 25, 2022

Russ is like Santa… giving gifts to everybody

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 25, 2022

Remember when Russell Wilson would always say "Broncos Country, Let's Ride?"

The only place the Broncos should want to ride to is the nearest Delorean.

To go back 12 months.

To not trade three players, two first round picks and two second round picks for Russell Wilson.

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) December 25, 2022

Russell Wilson’s passer rating so far today is 39.2.

If he threw incompletions that weren’t intercepted on every pass, his rating would be 39.6.

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) December 25, 2022

Russell Wilson is broken. Is he still under warranty? Can the Broncos return him

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 25, 2022

Denver will now visit Patrick Mahomes and the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Mac Jones may be developing a reputation as a dirty player.

Bengals cornerback Eli Apple criticized Jones after the Patriots quarterback was called for a low block in Cincinnati's 22-18 win over New England on Saturday.

"Of course I did [notice it]. He tripped me," Apple said, per Sean T. McGuire of NESN. "I thought it was a dirty play. He's done that before, I've seen it."

It's hard to not agree with Apple's assessment of the play in question. The two were not particularly close to the play when Jones drove into Apple's knees during a Bengals fumble return that was later ruled an incomplete pass.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL will review the play to determine if Jones should face any discipline. The league has increasingly cracked down on plays below the knees, hoping to avoid serious leg injuries.

Jones dove at Apple's knees and risked injuring him in what appeared to be an outburst of frustration. Patriots fans loudly booed their second-year quarterback and chanted for fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe as Jones struggled early in the loss.

This is not Jones' first time being accused of dirty play, either. Carolina Panthers linebacker Brian Burns called Jones out for twisting his ankle in a pile last season. Jones said he believed Burns had the ball and was ultimately not punished by the league.