Nikola Jokic hasn’t suited up for the Nuggets since he hurt his knee back on December 29 against the Heat. Doctors called it a hyperextended left knee, and the team ruled him out for at least a month.

Coach David Adelman talked to the media before Friday’s game with Atlanta and sounded pretty upbeat about Jokic’s recovery. He said Jokic is working out and testing the knee, but the real test is how he feels the next day after he pushes himself a little. That’s what they’re watching.

Still, Adelman doesn’t think Jokic will make it back soon enough to stay eligible for the NBA’s big awards this year. He told everyone to be patient. Jokic has barely missed games in his career, but this time, it’s just taking longer.

Even with the injury, Jokic is still sitting at No. 1 on NBA.com’s MVP Rankings. He’s likely to hold onto that spot unless he becomes ineligible or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder really take off. As Shaun Powell pointed out, nobody was playing better than Jokic before he went down. He leads the league in triple-doubles and double-doubles, and it’s hard to argue that anyone’s outperformed him all season.

Jaylen Brown has climbed up to No. 3, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama are just behind, and the rest of the Top 10 includes Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey, and Kevin Durant.

But if Jokic wants to stay in the running for awards, he needs to be back by January 29 against the Nets and play the rest of the games. If he doesn’t hit 65 games, he’s out—not just for MVP, but also for All-NBA and other honours too.

Jokic’s injury just made a rough situation worse for Denver. The Nuggets were already missing Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, and Cameron Johnson. Braun and Gordon came back last week, though the team are still careful with their minutes. Jamal Murray’s also had a bum ankle and missed a couple of games.

As for Johnson, he was supposed to be out four to six weeks, but he’s started doing some light workouts, so he might return sooner than expected.

On top of all that, Spencer Jones sprained his ankle, Jonas Valanciunas is nursing a strained calf, and to make matters worse, a bug swept through the team and knocked out a bunch of healthy guys during the Hawks game. It’s been a rough stretch for Denver, to say the least.

Saturday’s showdown at Soldier Field felt less like a football game and more like a rock concert encore—one of those moments where you just know everyone’s going to remember how it ended. The Chicago Bears, down big at halftime, roared back to stun the Green Bay Packers 31-27, and the fans stuck around, hungry for a little extra celebration.

Caleb Williams and his crew gave them exactly that. They slipped on those ridiculous foam “cheese grater” hats and started shredding real cheddar during Amazon’s post-game show. The whole thing’s become a favourite move for Bears fans lately—especially since nothing says “we beat the Packers” quite like mocking their famous cheesehead hats.

The crowd at Soldier Field went nuts. After watching their team claw back from a 21-3 deficit against a century-old rival, they deserved it. And it wasn’t just folks in the stands—Williams himself, now the face of the franchise, grabbed a greater hat and got in on the joke. Last month, after another win over Green Bay, he did the same thing. This time, he took it up a notch: Williams brought out real cheese and a little grater, sprinkling cheddar across the set with a flourish that would make Salt Bae proud. DJ Moore and Colston Loveland lost it. Even the Amazon crew couldn’t help but laugh.

Williams earned his moment. He threw for 361 yards, hit 24 of 48 passes, and tossed two touchdowns—sure, he threw a couple picks, but who’s counting when you cap it off like that? DJ Moore sealed the deal with a gorgeous 25-yard touchdown grab, clinching Chicago’s first playoff win in 15 years.

The celebration moved well beyond the field. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker posted a photo of a block of cheddar and a cheese grater, rubbing a little salt in Wisconsin’s wounds. Earlier that day, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers tried to get ahead of things, joking there was no need for any bets because, hey, the Packers’ 13 championships “speak for themselves.” Bears head coach Ben Johnson wasn’t having any of it—he barely gave Packers coach Matt LaFleur a handshake after the game. One fan summed it up best online: “Sports hate is the only good hate.”

Other Bears stars showed up big, too. Loveland hauled in eight catches for 137 yards, and D’Andre Swift ran for 54 yards and a touchdown. The “MVP” chants rained down for Williams as he joined the Amazon Prime set, but he kept it real. “We know what this means for the city,” he said. “We keep fighting. Play with the frustration, the anger—use all of it.” Then he added, “We’re going to protect our den today,” which, you know, fired up the whole team.

But Williams knows they can’t keep digging out of holes if they want to go all the way. “We’ve got to get better this week,” he said. “It starts in the first quarter; it starts tomorrow. My goal is to win the big one. This is just the start.”

Next weekend, the Bears have home-field advantage, no matter what. If the Eagles beat the 49ers, Chicago gets to face the defending champs. If the 49ers win, the Rams come to town instead. Either way, after a night like that, the city’s ready for more.