Week 16 had its share of surprises, but I still pulled a respectable 11-5 mark. Sadly, I mixed up one game in the app and left one off the board last week, which would have me tied in my home league but instead I’m 2nd, and 3rd in my big online league as a result. I wound up having a good week on the over/under, going 10-6 for the first time in probably ever, but I lost a couple of games against the spread at 7-9.
Christen was right about losing momentum when she does the Pick ‘Em Show but I take no responsibility for that. Anyhow, she finished with a respectable 9-7 mark while Ridley went 8-8. It was a little underwhelming as the holiday weekend took precedent, but we head to the final week with wiggle room.
The week came to a close in unspectacular fashion, but cognrats to the Chargers who clinched a playoff spot with a 20-3 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. It’s the first time in the Justin Herbet era that Los Angeles has made the postseason and it likely kept Brandon Staley as their coach, at least through next season. As for the Colts, it’s tough to say if Jeff Saturday stays around beyond this season.
It could have been exciting if the Colts actually had something to play for. Instead they sent Nick Foles out there to start his first game of the season and it didn’t go well. Foles was sacked 7 times and threw 3 interceptions. None of them were particularly good decisions but Chargers’ safety Derwin James did make a hell of a play on one of them…before he was ejected for a very blatant helmet-to-helmet shot on Colts’ wide receiver Ashton Dulin, and rightfully so.
It met all the criteria for a disqualifying offense: 1.) defenseless receiver 2.) hit to the head and neck area 3.) leading with the crown of the helmet. James was even visibly wobbly himself after the hit while Dulin left the game and headed into concussion protocol. All of it was unnecessary. Plus, James had also ripped the helmet off another Colts’ WR, Michael Pittman, the play right before so he was in some kind of mood. Los Angeles is lucky it wasn’t more costly to the outcome but it’s possible James misses a time now with concussion symptoms.
Sadly, the Sunday night game on Christmas wasn’t really better. It was closer, but the Bucs 19-16 overtime win was short on drama and intrigue. We all keep waiting for the Bucs to figure things out and even on a bad day they should be good enough to handle the Cardinals who were on their 3rd string QB. That wasn’t the case.
The game was 6-6 at the half and the Bucs scoring woes continued all the way to the 4th quarter. In fact, they had to 10 pts in the final 8 minutes just to force overtime. Ryan Succop would hit the game-winning FG but, considering how tight the NFC South is right now, it’s certainly not a vote of confidence in Tampa.
Nathanial Hackett is out as the coach of the Broncos, finally. The first-year coach was relieved of his duties after 51-14 beatdown at the hands of the Rams on Christmas afternoon. It wasn’t just this game, but you could see a Broncos team that had no interest in being out there and may have just as well flown home for the holiday at halftime.
Russell Wilson returned from concussion absence, for what I can only assume is ego reasons in a completely lost season, to play in a meaningless game and I talked myself into thinking his familiarity with the Rams would be enough to get a W. However, it was LA’s Bobby Wagner who’s familiarity with Wilson ruled the day. The Rams jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the 1st quarter and there was no sense that the atrocious Broncos’ offense could return fire.
To make matters worse, the Denver defense that had been the one bright spot on the year just threw in the towel. If I were them, I wouldn’t want to be spending my Christmas out there either. Especially after they got a rare win and scored more than 20 points for only the fourth time on the year without Wilson last week. It is a hilarious dumpster fire and Denver deserves all the scrutiny being heaped upon them. Let’s Ride!
Green Bay kept their playoff hopes alive but I was saddened to hear the Tua Tagovailoa is back in concussion protocol after the Dolphins fell to the Packers 26-20. The 24-year-old was tackled and had his head whip into and bounce off the ground near the end of the first half, then went on to throw 3 picks in the 2nd half and effectively lose the game. Then news came in on Monday that he was back in the protocol.
It is crazy to think that the league and the organization has failed this one guy multiple times in the same season, especially after the graphic images of him contorted and unconscious during a primetime game in Cincinatti early in the season. This is likely his third concussion of the season and somehow none of the spotters, who are there specifically to call out head trauma that may have been missed at field level, caught it. If anyone on that field should be under a microscope for head trauma, it should be Tua.
The Dolphins organization didn’t notice it but, sadly, that’s no surprise considering how they handled him earlier in the year. All of the Miami roster and any players that may be considering signing on with the Fins should be paying very close attention to how they have handled player safety.
Primetime on Christmas eve was frigid in Pittsburgh and the Steelers played through emotion and rallied to win it late, 13-10, in honor of their late legend Franco Harris. It was looking bleak as the Raider were ahead basically the whole game, but the weather and the Steelers’ defense held the Vegas offense in check long enough for PIT to find the go ahead TD inside the final minute of the game. Vegas is still not technically out of contention, but they need a ton of help as the Pittsburgh leapfrogged them.
The Cowboys survived a 40-34 shootout with the Eagles to keep the NFC seeding picture interesting, but I can’t help but feel like we still haven’t really seen what this matchup should look like. Philly beat Dallas earlier in the year when Cooper Rush was starting for Dak Prescott, then Garner Minshew filled in for Jalen Hurts this time around. It was a fantastic game in terms of 3rd party enjoyment, but it didn’t really change the landscape. However, it did help the Vikings.
Minnesota won yet another one-score game, beating the Giants 27-24. I believe the Vikes are 11-0 on the year in one-score games and that says a lot about their character and toughness. New York is pretty resilient too and rallied to tie the game, but it was just a bit too little too late.
The other NFC power player, the 49ers, overcame a slow first half but then hung 30 second-half points on the Commanders to win it 37-20. It was a close game in the first half, even tied 7-7 at the break, but San Francisco showed everyone why they should be feared.
Tennessee’s run as kings of the AFC South seems to be at an end as they lost 19-14 to the Texans. Houston has been playing everyone tough lately and I am sure they took joy in playing spoiler, but the Titans looks lost. Not that long ago, they were 7-3 and in cruise control but 5-straight losses has seen them cede the division lead to the upstart Jags who picked up a huge road win on Thursday night over the Jets.
Baltimore punched their postseason ticket with a 17-9 win over the Falcons. Lamar Jackson missed another game and backup QB Tyler Huntley only threw 17 passes as the Ravens got it done with a steady ground attack and defense.
In one of the bigger surprises, the Panthers took it to the Lions 37-23. Detroit was one of the hottest teams in the league and Carolina had just lost at home to the Steelers last week, but their rushing attack exploited huge deficiency. I knew the Panthers run game would be an issues but they put up a staggering 320 yards on the Lions’ defense and it seemed like every carry was a massive chunk.
The Bengals looked like they were well on their way to dominating the Patriots, but New England refused to go quietly. Cincy would hang on to win, but NE’s Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled as the Pats were inside the red zone driving to take the lead. I don’t know if the Bengals just throttled down in the second half, but they didn’t score once after halftime and they’ll need more than that vs the Bills.
Kansas City is still lurking, and stacking Ws as they hope for someone to make a mistake in front of them. The Chiefs beat the Seahawks 24-10 but they struggled to take advantage of one of the most exploitable defenses in the league.
The Saints went into the cold and the snow in Cleveland and outscored the Browns 14-0 in the second half to secure the 17-10 road win. With unfavorable conditions, you’d think Cleveland would rule the ground, but they got outrushed and out defended. New Orleans is still alive in teh NFC South hunt and it’s even better than it came at the expense of the Browns who were eliminated from contention with that L.
And of course, the Bills battled some crappy conditions and a slow start to beat the Bears in Chicago, 35-13. The most surprising part of that game was the how, as Buffalo dominated the ground attack and completely shut down Justin Fields as a rushing threat.
Week 16 solidified most of the top spots as the majority of the best teams held serve, but the Chargers broke into the Top 10 as they clinched a playoff spot.
| 1. Eagles 13-2 (=) |
| 2. Vikings 12-3 (=) |
| 3. Bills 12-3 (=) |
| 4. Bengals 11-4 (=) |
| 5. Chiefs 12-3 (=) |
| 6. 49ers 11-4 (=) |
| 7. Cowboys 11-4 (=) |
| 8. Ravens 10-5 (+1) |
| 9. Chargers 9-6 (+2) |
| 10. Giants 8-6-1 (=) |
| 11. Dolphins 8-7 (-3) |
| 12. Lions 7-8 (=) |
| 13. Jaguars 7-8 (+5) |
| 14. Commanders 7-7-1 (-1) |
| 15. Buccaneers 7-8 (+4) |
| 16. Steelers 7-8 (+7) |
| 17. Packers 7-8 (+5) |
| 18. Titans 7-8 (-4) |
| 19. Jets 7-8 (-4) |
| 20. Patriots 7-8 (-4) |
| 21. Seahawks 7-8 (-4) |
| 22. Panthers 6-9 (+2) |
| 23. Saints 6-9 (+2) |
| 24. Raiders 6-9 (-3) |
| 25. Browns 6-9 (-5) |
| 26. Falcons 5-10 (=) |
| 27. Rams 5-10 (+1) |
| 28. Colts 4-10-1 (-1) |
| 29. Cardinals 4-11 (=) |
| 30. Bears 3-12 (+1) |
| 31. Broncos 4-11 (-1) |
| 32. Texans 2-12-1 (=) |
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