Mickey Togs

The Giants (5-11) have now had remarkable upset bids fall short against a pair of playoff teams in a span of six days. They had a chance to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia on Christmas Day, but Taylor’s final heave into the end zone was intercepted.

For the second consecutive game, the New York Giants brought a playoff contender down to the wire with takeaways and clutch touchdowns. But just like they did six days ago in Philadelphia, they came up just short in a 26-25 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the penultimate week of the regular season.

After he took over for Tommy DeVito at halftime of Monday’s game against the Eagles, Tyrod Taylor got the starting nod at quarterback for Week 17. In his fourth start of the season, Taylor completed 27 of 41 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown with an interception late in the second quarter on a deep attempt to wide receiver Darius Slayton down the right sideline. Taylor was sacked six times.

Saquon Barkley, who moved into fourth place on the Giants’ all-time rushing list last week, ran 12 times for 39 yards on Sunday.

The Giants (5-11) wrap up their 99th season with a visit from the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5), who won the first leg of the season series, 33-25, on Christmas Day. The Rams (9-7) play at San Francisco in the  regular-season finale.

Ben & Jerry’s expands its collection of Topped ice cream flavors with the debut of two new dessert-themed offerings: Bossin’ Cream Pie Topped and Raspberry Cheesecake Topped.

Bossin’ Cream Pie Topped features a vanilla custard ice cream with cake pieces and pastry cream swirls topped with milk chocolatey ganache and fudge chips.

Raspberry Cheesecake Topped consists of a cheesecake ice cream with raspberry swirls and graham cracker pieces topped with white chocolatey ganache and graham cracker crumble – heavy on the graham cracker crumble.

Both new flavors are full-time additions to Ben & Jerry’s Topped offerings and can be found in the freezer aisle at grocery stores.

Another big game for Joe Flacco was another big night for the Cleveland Browns.

Joe Flacco threw for 309 yards with three touchdowns and a single interception Thursday in a 37-20 Cleveland win over the New York Jets. 

The win was the fourth straight for the Browns, who improved 4-1 with Flacco at quarterback. They improved to 11-5 to secure their spot in the postseason.

In a game that featured two of the top defenses in the league, the offenses exploded for 51 points in the first half. Both clubs put together quick opening-drive touchdowns, but it was the Browns that kept up a more prolific scoring pace.

Things did cool down in the second half as neither team was able to add to their total in the third quarter and managed just a field goal apiece in the fourth. 

Flacco finished his night 19 of 29, while Jets QB Trevor Siemian was 32 of 45 for 262 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

From here, the Browns will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. As for the Jets, they’ll also finish the year on the road as they’ll take on the Patriots in New England.