Week 16 has almost come to an end, with only one game left between the Saints and the Packers. There were a number of surprising results in this weeks games, so here are the observations and things we learned from every game this week!
Denver @ Los Angeles Chargers
Denver had a 21-13 lead at halftime but was outscored 21-6 in the second half and lost on the road in a game that they really needed badly. Bo Nix continues to play well and had 263 passing yards and two touchdowns. Audric Estime led Denver with 48 yards rushing and a touchdown. However, Denver’s defense faltered in the second half and couldn’t put enough pressure on Justin Herbert to secure the victory.
Los Angeles was extremely resilient and had a fantastic second-half comeback led by Justin Herbert, who threw 2 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Gus Edwards also had two touchdown runs and has asserted himself as the lead running back in this offense.
Houston @ Kansas City
The Texans were in this game up until the early third quarter when Tank Dell caught a touchdown pass and then left with a horrific knee injury. It’s almost impossible to replace him, as Houston just doesn’t have enough depth in their receiving corps. Joe Mixon was once again underwhelming, only rushing for 57 yards, albeit against a very tough Chiefs run defense.
Once again, the Chiefs figure out a way to win even when it looks like they’re not going to. Patrick Mahomes threw for 260 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 33 yards and a touchdown, leading the team to a home victory. Hollywood Brown returned from injury and caught five passes for 45 yards, and was integrated into the offense seamlessly.
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
The Steelers hung tough in this game until they were blown out in the fourth quarter. They just don’t have enough offensive firepower with George Pickens out, but Pickens is expected to return from his hamstring injury on Christmas Day. This should give this offense a tremendous boost. Russell Wilson threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns and continues to play at a very high level.
The Ravens played one of their better games of the season as Lamar Jackson threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and more importantly, Derrick Henry got back into the groove by rushing for 162 yards. Zay Flowers had a big catch late in the game of 49 yards to seal the victory for Baltimore. Also impressive was the fact that both tight ends, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, both caught touchdown passes.
Los Angeles Rams @ New York Jets
This was one of the more boring games of the day, as Matthew Stafford only threw for 110 yards and one touchdown. Cooper Kupp was underwhelming yet again, catching 3 passes for 24 yards. The Rams best player was Kyren Williams, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Higbee returned from injury, catching one pass for a touchdown to seal the win.
At this point, it feels like the Jets are going through the motions. Aaron Rodgers threw for 256 yards and a touchdown, and Davante Adams had 68 yards and one touchdown. Rodgers seems to refuse to throw the ball to Garrett Wilson, who only had 6 catches for 54 yards. It was good to see Breece Hall used again, as he had 52 yards rushing to go along with five receptions for 38 yards.
Philadelphia @ Washington
This game turned on Jalen Hurts’ injury as he was taken out of the game with a concussion in the first quarter with the Eagles winning. Backup Kenny Pickett came in and played reasonably well, but DeVonta Smith let him down with some bad drops, especially at the end of the game. Saquon Barkley had a terrific game, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Pickett was not able to get him involved in the passing attack, which really hurt the team.
All the credit in the world needs to go to Jayden Daniels, who led a huge comeback after being down 21-7. Daniels threw 5 touchdown passes to go along with 258 passing yards as well as 81 rushing yards. Olamide Zaccheaus had 70 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Jamison Crowder also had two touchdowns to lead the Commanders. This was a huge win for Washington, as they are now in the thick of the playoff race.
New York Giants @ Atlanta
The Giants are the worst team in football, and it’s not even close. Drew Lock was awful, throwing for 210 yards and one touchdown as well as two interceptions. The Giants were only able to run for 45 yards on 13 carries. The only bright spot once again was Malik Nabers, who had 7 receptions for 68 yards. Giants fans will only be happy if the team has the number one pick next season.
Atlanta may have won this game but it wasn’t like they played particularly great football either. In his first start, Michael Penix Jr. had 202 yards passing and one interception. He did show good command throwing the football as he connected with seven different receivers. Darnell Mooney led the team with five catches for 82 yards, but the Falcons best player was Bijan Robinson, who had 94 rushing yards to go along with two touchdowns. Replacing Kirk cousins was absolutely the right call, as Penix gives the team a legitimate chance to make the playoffs.
Arizona @ Carolina
Arizona has nobody to blame for not making the playoffs other than themselves. Kyler Murray was an absolute disaster, only throwing for 202 yards and one touchdown, as well as one interception. He was very skittish at the end of the game under pressure and no receiver had more than 44 yards receiving. Even worse was that star tight end Trey McBride only had three receptions for 20 yards. When you can’t get your best players the football, you’re not going to win. Also of note was that James Conner left the game with a knee injury. Now that the Cardinals are out of the playoff hunt there is a good chance that they may shut him down the final two weeks of the season.
He likely won’t win, but Dave Canales deserves a vote for coach of the year. The Panthers may only have a 4-11 record, but this team has been competitive for the last few weeks. Bryce Young threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns, as well as ran for 68 yards and one touchdown. The player of the game was Chuba Hubbard, who ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns, which was great to see after disappointing last week.
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
I still don’t understand why Cleveland decided to start Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He was awful, throwing for 157 yards and two interceptions. The two bright spots for the Browns were Jerome Ford, who ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, and David Njoku, who had eight receptions for 66 yards in his return from a hamstring injury.
The Bengals still cling to their playoff hopes with a big home victory against divisional rival Cleveland. Joe Burrow had 252 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Ja’Marr Chase, who had 97 yards. Moreover, the Bengals defense played very well, sacking Thompson-Robinson five times and intercepting him twice. While it’s not likely that Cincinnati will make the playoffs, they still gave themselves a shot.
Tennessee @ Indianapolis
Even though the Titans lost, they scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and did not give up. This tells a lot about a team and the fact that they played so hard. Chig Oknokwo led the team with 9 receptions for 81 yards, and Calvin Ridley had 78 yards receiving and a touchdown in the loss.
The star of this game for Indianapolis was Jonathan Taylor, who had 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns to lead the Colts to victory. Anthony Richardson had 70 yards rushing to go along with 131 yards passing and a touchdown. Richardson only completed 7 passes, which was good enough to win against Tennessee, but it won’t be good enough against 99% of the rest of the league. The Colts defense at the end of the game was embarrassing, as they almost let the Titans back into the game.
Detroit @ Chicago
Even without David Montgomery, Detroit was able to take advantage on the road and come out with a 17 point victory against divisional rival Chicago. Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Jameson Williams, who had five catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs was exceptional as the starting running back, rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching 4 passes for 45 yards. Tight end Sam LaPorta exposed Chicago’s weakness, covering tight ends catching 4 passes for 43 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears need a complete redo of this season. Caleb Williams threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns in garbage time, as well as rushed for 34 yards. The star of the game was wide receiver Keenan Allen, who had 9 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. Offensive lineman Braxton Jones left the game with a serious injury, and if they don’t have him, Williams is going to get sacked even more, if that’s even possible.
Minnesota @ Seattle
Minnesota went to the Pacific Northwest and dominated from the very beginning of the game. Sam Darnold threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Justin Jefferson, who had 10 receptions for 144 yards. Jordan Addison also found the end zone and had 35 yards receiving. Minnesota did not run the ball very effectively, only getting 81 yards on 24 carries but they did put a lot of pressure on Geno Smith and forced him into two interceptions.
Seattle is barely hanging on to playoff hopes. Geno Smith threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw 2 interceptions. DK Metcalf had 7 targets but only had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. More importantly he ran two very bad routes where he turned to the inside as opposed to going to the outside. It was obvious that he did not run the correct routes and Geno Smith was very angry at him. This can’t be happening at this point this season, as each game is do or die of whether they’re going to make the playoffs. The one bright spot for Seattle was Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who had eight catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
New England @ Buffalo
New England started this game very well, taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, they weren’t able to hang on as their run defense just couldn’t stop James Cook. On a positive note, Drake Maye threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and Kayshon Boutte caught 5 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. New England played one of its best games of the season against one of the top teams in the league on the road, so this was a moral victory.
Josh Allen really struggled only throwing for 154 yards and one touchdown. If it wasn’t for the amazing play of James Cook the Bills would have been in real trouble. Cook had 11 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown, and he also had three receptions 26 yards and a touchdown. Allen seems to be dealing with a left-hand injury, which is causing his issues. The Bills desperately want to have home-field advantage throughout, but they need to make sure that their star quarterback is available in the playoffs, so it would not be surprising to see them lean on their running game down the stretch.
Jacksonville @ Las Vegas
Although he won’t win rookie of the year, Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. deserves a few votes. He led the Jaguars with 9 receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown, doing everything he possibly could to help the team win. The Jaguars were only able to muster 72 rushing yards on 21 carries, which is just not good enough to be competitive in the NFL. Moreover, they only sacked Aiden O’Connell twice and didn’t get any interceptions. At this point, I’m not sure why Doug Peterson has a job.
The Raiders won at home behind Brock Bowers, who had 11 receptions for 99 yards. He was clearly the best player on the field. Aiden O’Connell returned as the starting quarterback and threw for 257 yards but did not have a touchdown. The biggest problem is that without Maxx Crosby the Raiders could not get any pressure on Mac Jones and only had one sack on the day.
San Francisco @ Miami
At kickoff, the 49ers had no chance of making the playoffs, but they still put up a fight as Brock Purdy threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 26 yards. George Kittle led the 49ers with eight receptions for 106 yards, and Deebo Samuel finally had a good game with 7 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Miami hangs on to their playoff hopes with a 12-point victory at home. De’Von Achane had 17 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown, and he also caught 6 passes for 70 yards. Achane is just dominant when he gets the ball thrown to him out of the backfield. He is so fluid as a receiver that it separates him from most other running backs in the league.
Tampa Bay @ Dallas
Despite a furious comeback attempt by Baker Mayfield, Tampa lost on the road to Dallas 26-24. Mayfield threw for 304 yards and 2 TDs and did everything in his power to try to lead the Bucs to a come-from-behind victory. Bucky Irving ran for 68 yards and a TD in the defeat and Mike Evans had 69 receiving yards. The Bucs OL really let the team down, as Dallas was in Baker’s face all night.
Daron Bland made one of the most incredible defensive plays of the season as he stripped the ball from Rachaad White late in the fourth quarter. Dallas’ defense pressured Baker Mayfield all game long and was the difference in this contest. On offense, Cooper Rush continues to show that he has the potential to start in the league. He threw for 292 yards and a TD to lead the Cowboys to an improbable victory.
