NFL week 15: Chiefs miss playoffs, Rams down Lions and Broncos beat Packers – as it happened

As it stands the postseason looks like this:AFC: 1) Denver 12-2; 2) New England 11-3; 3) Jacksonville 10-4; 4) Pittsburgh 7-6; 5) LA Chargers 10-4; 6) Buffalo 10-4; 7) Houston 9-5. Bubble: Indianapolis 8-6NFC: 1) LA Rams 11-3; 2) Chicago 10-4; 3) Philadelphia 9-5; 4) Tampa Bay 7-7; 5) Seattle 11-3; 6) San Francisco 10-4; 7) Green Bay 9-4-1. Bubble: Detroit 8-6And the Chiefs are eliminated with Patrick Mahomes tearing his ACL. Micah Parsons also appears to have sustained a knee injury for Green Bay who take a big drop to the seventh seed after losing. On that bomb shell, goodnight!(12-2) Denver Broncos 34-26 Green Bay Packers (9-4-1)(11-3) Los Angeles Rams 41-34 Detroit Lions (8-6)(4-10) New Orleans Saints 20-17 Carolina Panthers (7-7)(10-4) San Francisco 49ers 37-24 Tennessee Titans (2-12)(11-3) Seattle Seahawks 18-16 Indianapolis Colts (8-6)Broncos 34-26 Packers, final scoreJayden Reed just can’t make the catch as the ball from Jordan Love is too short

England need to be introduced to concept of consequences after Ashes flops | Mark Ramprakash

There’s always a lot of white noise around an Ashes series but at the moment for England it must be overwhelming, not just given their performances in the first two Tests but because of the mid-tour break they’ve just been on, with assorted media and attention-seekers following them around the beaches of Noosa.I absolutely understand that Brendon McCullum’s priority is to do what he believes is right for the team, but the optics around that trip were not great and many England fans, who have spent their hard-earned money travelling to Australia with little reward so far, will be quick to bring it up if they produce another poor display.Having just been rewarded for their two defeats with a nice few days of Queensland sunshine, it might now be time for the team to be introduced to the concept of consequences. They aren’t something this group have had to deal with for a while. The consistency of selection has been amazing, with players protected as a matter of policy from the threat of losing their place

Hendy hat-trick helps Northampton to Champions Cup stroll against Bulls

On the face of it Northampton are flying in the Champions Cup courtesy of two consecutive bonus points wins. The more pedantic-minded might also point out that both their opponents have fielded below-strength sides, but when the qualifying sums are completed next month that will not be the top line as far as the Saints’ management are concerned.Because regardless of the depth of the resistance they are facing, Northampton are again underlining their ability to pick apart sides who give them too much space and time. On this occasion they rattled up eight tries, including a hat-trick for George Hendy, two for the fit-again Ollie Sleightholme and one for the roaming Henry Pollock, who showed a further glimpse or two of his rare talent.One searing diagonal burst by the 20-year-old England back-rower, stopped only by a tap tackle within sight of the line, was the most obvious retort to the pre-match lip-smacking in South Africa at the prospect of him venturing down a dark alley populated by hard-nosed Afrikaaners unimpressed by his growing international reputation

Ten-try Harlequins cruise to Champions Cup rout of understrength Bayonne

Christmas is a time for giving and Bayonne presented this game to Harlequins by selecting an inexperienced side who realistically stood no chance. Manu Tuilagi and Gareth Anscombe were listed as injured, along with plenty of others, but four frontline players were rested. There was nothing wrong with Bayonne giving Jonah Thompson, a 20-year-old Australian, his professional debut against rugby royalty in south-west London: but the fact he is a flanker, and was pressed into service on the right wing, was arguably pushing it a bit far.The Champions Cup is supposedly an elite competition and that should be celebrated whenever appropriate. But the current format means too many clubs are selecting weakened sides for matches they regard as unwinnable – or rather, when they think others are more winnable

Brendon McCullum backs England batters and shrugs off job questions

The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes Test and flip a narrative that has already led to talk of a whitewash bubbling up.At 2-0 down with three to play, all wiggle room has disappeared for England. But talk of Ollie Pope being dropped, or even Ben Stokes moving to No 3, was shot down by McCullum as his players resumed training in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon

Paul Lim, 71, becomes oldest player to win match at PDC World Championship

Paul Lim made World Darts Championship history at Alexandra Palace – and then hoped lightning would strike twice against Luke Humphries.Lim became the oldest player to win a match at the event as the Singaporean, who turns 72 next month, defeated Jeffrey de Graaf 3-1 to extend his own record set in 2020. On that occasion he overcame Humphries and the pair are reunited in round two after the world No 2 produced eight 180s in crushing Ted Evetts 3-1.Lim regards his victory over Humphries five years ago as a bigger achievement than setting a new age record for the tournament and is an admirer of his next opponent. “I thought it would be really uncanny if I was to meet Luke Humphries again,” he said