NFL Week 16: Recap and Power Rankings

It was a rough week for my picks, but I did manage to stay above .500 on the straight picks. There were a number of surprises ATS and the Over/Under is always rough, but Christen out-gunned me with one last pick to tighten the season race.

Nick Total		ATS		O/U		Christen Total
9-6		7-9		6-8-2		11-3
Previous Total		Previous Total		Previous		Previous Total
155-68-1		118-101-4		81-90-5		143-84-1
Overall		Overall		Overall		Overall
164-74-1		125-120-4		87-98-7		154-87-1

The Steelers put an end to their 3-game slide with a big comeback win over the Colts. In the process, Pittsburgh seems to have rediscovered the value of taking some shots downfield. Indy was in complete control in the first half, but the recent stagnation from the Steelers’ offense finally freed them up to be more aggressive in the second half and it worked. It was a tough loss that puts Colts currently outside the playoff picture and a moment that may have revitalized Pittsburgh’s offense moving into the postseason.

Elsewhere in the AFC playoff race, the Titans got throttled by the Packers at Lambeau Field. I guess the AFC might not be as good as I thought and I’ll have to eat crow on this one. I figured Tennessee would be able to play bully ball against a Green Bay team that hasn’t responded well to physicality. I didn’t read the weather report before I picked the game so I didn’t catch the snowstorm descending on North East Wisconsin. The Titans were not ready for this game, but Davante Adams sure was. He carved up Tennessee’s defense up for 142-yards and 3-scores. A.J. Dillon also posted 124-yard and 2-TDs after Aaron Jones got hurt. There were moments for the Titans to get into the game, but they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with mistakes. It’s a major blow as there are scenarios where they could now miss the playoffs.

Speaking of missing playoffs, the Browns now find themselves on the outside looking in after their loss to the Jets. It’s a shame, after a 10-win season, Cleveland may actually not see the postseason because of that L. However, New York suddenly finding themselves late in the season only to throw a wrench in the works of multiple teams’ playoff plans has been one of my favorite late-season stories. 

The Rams were still reeling from their loss to the Jets last week as they got completely shut down by the Seahawks in Seattle. The Hawks’ defense, which was non-existent to start the season, has been a top-5 unit over the past month and smothered Jared Goff all game. He actually broke his thumb and will miss a key Week 17 game vs Arizona. Seattle has an outside chance to get the #1 seed in the NFC, which would be huge considering the game we just saw in Green Bay. It looks like the Rams will likely stay in the playoffs and they have an excellent defense in place. Regardless, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles front office are going to have a tough time figuring out what to do with Goff in the offseason and it makes the Eagles’ Carson Wentz situation seems like a blessing in comparison.

In another important NFC West matchup, I never believed in the Cardinals as serious contenders but figured they were slightly better than they’ve shown recently. The loss, at home, to the 49ers and their 3rd string QB C.J. Beathard solidified exactly where the Cards are at. Credit to Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco, who used their new home away from home to exact revenge for the loss to Arizona in Week 1. To make things worse for AZ, the Bears took out Jacksonville to leapfrog the Cards for the #7 seed in the NFC. 

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers punched their ticket to the playoffs with a dominant win over the Lions. Detroit’s defense sucks and Brady threw for 348-yards and 4-TDs…in the first half. The game was never close after Tampa touched the ball and it was a shame it was the only game on at the time. 

Alvin Kamara put the Saints on his back and scored 6-TDs in their win against the Vikings. New Orleans’ defense that had done a lot of work to improve over the season had a set back, giving up 33-points. Not just the score but Kirk Cousins had a very good day and even Dalvin Cook was effective, but the Minnesota defense could hold serve to give the offense a chance to win it. 

The NFC East race is coming down to the final week after Washington lost at home to Carolina. Even though their defense kept them in it, Dwayne Haskins couldn’t move the offense and Washington decided to part ways with him after the game. Somehow, the Cowboys are right back in it after they beat up on the Eagles and eliminated them from contention right as the Jalen Hurts hype train was gaining steam. He still filled up the stat sheet, but the Philadelphia defense couldn’t stop Dallas. The Boys take on Washington in Week 17 and somehow, someway, the 5-10 Giants can still win the division in after losing to the Ravens. 

Baltimore’s win, and losses from the Colts and Browns, jumped them up two spots to the #6 seed but the Dolphins pulled off a come-from-behind win over the Raiders to from 7th to 5th and eliminate Las Vegas from contention. With five 10-5 teams battling for the final four playoff spots in the AFC, there’s a lot on the line for them in Week 17.

At the top of the league, there’s nothing on the line for the Chiefs after narrowly beating the Falcons to secure the best record in the league and the #1 seed in the AFC. Kansas City won’t play Mahomes in the final week of the season, which means he may not play full speed professional football for 20-days. The defending champs haven’t looked great lately, but all that time off might not be the best thing either. 

In a pair of meaningless games in the AFC, the Chargers beat the Broncos by a field goal in what should have been a high-scoring affair and the Bengals outlasted the Texans 37-31. None of these teams had much to play for, but Cincy impressed the most without their star rookie QB. 

Closing out the week on Monday Night Football, my Buffalo Bills continued to send a message to the rest of the league with another dominant victory in primetime, staking their claim as the #2 team in the league. The Patriots weren’t playing for anything but the game was 10-9 at one point before the Bills really blew the doors off. I imagine Buffalo was exercising some demons from the past 20 seasons as they went for the throat and didn’t ease up until New England was lifeless at home. Cam Newton was eventually benched for Jarrett Stidham, but neither guy looked good throwing the ball. Bill Belichick has a serious rebuild ahead of him this offseason. 

Oddly enough, with all the games with playoff implications, there is no Thursday game (New Year’s Eve) and no Saturday games. Instead, Week 17 in the NFL kicks off the old-fashioned way on Sunday morning with Dolphins at Bills and Steelers at Browns highlighting the early set.  

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1-4 stay the same as the Saints and Seahawks climb back up as three of the AFC’s 10-win teams lose.

1. Chiefs 14-1 (1=)

2. Bills 12-3 (2=)

3. Packers 12-3 (3=)

4. Steelers 12-3 (4=)

5. Seahawks 11-4 (8⬆)

6. Saints 11-4 (9⬆)

7. Dolphins 10-5 (10⬆)

8. Buccaneers 10-5 (11⬆)

9. Ravens 10-5 (12⬆)

10. Titans 10-5 (6⬇)

11. Colts 10-5 (7⬇)

12. Browns 10-5 (5⬇)

13. Rams 9-6 (13=)

14. Bears 8-7 (15⬆)

15. Cardinals 8-7 (14⬇)

16. Raiders 7-8 (16=)

17. Vikings 6-9 (18⬇)

18. Washington 6-9 (17⬇)

19. Cowboys 6-9 (21⬆)

20. Chargers 6-9 (23⬆)

21. 49ers 6-9 (25⬆)

22. Patriots 6-9 (19⬇)

23. Giants 5-10 (24⬆)

24. Panthers 5-10 (29⬆)

25. Broncos 5-10 (20⬇)

26. Lions 5-10 (22⬇)

27. Bengals 4-10-1 (30⬆)

28. Eagles 4-10-1 (26⬇)

29. Texans 4-11 (27⬇)

30. Falcons 4-11 (28⬇)

31. Jets 2-13 (31=)

32. Jaguars 1-14 (32=)