Twas the days before Christmas, when all through the NFL, Week 16 was pretty entertaining, even that from bowler Le’Veon Bell.
The divisions clashed, with playoff hopes dancing in their head, a few tickets were punched, while Cleveland is mathematically dead.
The NFC East is still hard to explain, Philly’s kind of soaring and Dallas needs a plane. And the NFC South with its Thomas and Brees, Jamies was busy gifting, I wondered what coverage he actually sees.
When all of a sudden, there rose such a clatter, the Chargers were booed and hey Seattle, what’s the matter. And who’s that, over there, with the coach who’s not very chatty?
Why that’s just an AFC East powerhouse, once famously on to Cincinnati.
So happy holidays to all and enough with these rhymes, from down in the trenches of Week 16, let’s check out my favorite lines.
5. New York Giants
There’s not a ton of feel-good breakdowns for this Giants team, but the youthful surge on Sunday had to make the fan base and organization breathe a tiny sigh of Rolaids-infused air.
Daniel Jones was lights out (on?), tying a rookie QB record with five touchdown passes. (He partied with Eli afterward, which is special in its own right.) Saquon Barkley’s day? Wow. Wow. Wow! Just your not-so-typical 22 carries for 189 yards and one touchdown. And speaking of keeping an eye edge rushers, the Giants’ offensive line put together one of the better efforts I’ve seen from them (the line is still an issue for the team, but still, impressive on this day).
True, the Redskins’ defense isn’t a tormenting force, ranked 11th against the pass, 29th against the run. But there weren’t many moments where it seemed like the run block was being pushed backward, and they handled the Redskins’ blitz, too. The substantial protection gave Jones time to make his reads, including during the final onslaught, with a strong pick-up as the game-winning touchdown unfolded.
John Halapio, Will Hernandez, Kevin Zeitler, Nate Solder, and Mike Remmers: Overall, it was a job well done. Next up…yep: Blocking Chase Young.
4. Arizona Cardinals
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar had a great piece that broke down the subtle rise of Arizona’s offense, with both Pete Carroll and Bobby Wagner expressing their belief in the Kingsbury-Murray project. But, man! I didn’t think any of it meant we’re taking a giant swig of the Upset Juice before the Week 16 kickoff in Seattle. This week’s absolutely deserving winner of the Oliver Stone Award, the Cardinals’ 27-13 takedown of their division foe was tops for Week 16 insanity. Labeling the upset as such isn’t a knock against the Cardinals, mind you, but more of understood respect for what it means to win in Seattle, against a top-level team and all the 12th men and women.
But the Cardinals did it, behind a giant day on the ground and a decent showing through the air. Injuries didn’t help the Seahawks, of course, but let’s not act like they were only playing eight players at a time or anything crazy. It was 11 on 11, and the Cardinals’ 11 were better—including on the offensive line, where they even excelled at the “little things” like sticking to their assignments during some trickery:
Justin Pugh, Justin Murray, JR Sweezy, DJ Humphries, and AQ Shipley: You were like a 13th man!
3. Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens narrowly winning in Pittsburgh in Week 5 seems like it happened in another season. And the Week 4 loss to Cleveland? A DeLorean could’ve skidded across the field at 88 mph, and I wouldn’t have been as shocked. The team has officially kicked the AFC’s collective butt, snagging the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage with their win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16.
The Ravens’ offense put up nearly 500 total yards. Lamar Jackson was electric, gaining over 100 yards while throwing for another 238 with three touchdowns. He’s a highlight reel. And the best part? Typically, with each mind-boggling/athletic/incredible play that Lamar makes, some version is tweeted into the cosmos. And if you look closely, beyond his talent and the knee-buckling defenses, you’ll also get to see what has become the best O-line in the league:
Marshal Yanda, Bradley Bozeman, Orlando Brown, Ronnie Stanley, and Patrick Mekari: Like the Jelly of the Month Club, your efforts are the gift that just keeps on givin’!
2. Philadelphia Eagles
There’s so much attention given to the Dallas offense and Jerry and Jason, the Star on the helmet, the field, whatever, that people forget just how great the defense is this year—top 10 against the run and the pass!
And with the Eagles’ offense banged up with injuries—including on the line—the expectation was that Dallas would be able to squash the “Urban Meyer” rumors for at least the flight home after a win in Philly.
Didn’t happen, though, with the Eagles putting together a solid offensive effort complemented by a strong defense. Carson Wentz had protection against an aggressive Cowboys’ front that allowed him to pick on the secondary. He finished the day 31-of-40 for 319 and one touchdown, while only getting sacked once. As I’ve said, sacks don’t necessarily mean much when considering an offensive line’s greatness. But when your main running back is out, chances are the defense is going to be more comfortable blitzing like a madman—ironically, like a Jim Schwartz. So kudos to the Eagles’ front…who also did an excellent job opening the running lanes during the most critical (and run-expected) moments of the game, too:
Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, and Halapoulivaati Vaitai: The NFC East is an unknown Bouncy Castle and you guys helped inflate it!
1. New England Patriots
The Patriots and Bills both played great on Saturday, with Tom Brady and the crew picking up a close win, 24-17. The Pats’ offense clicked. The running game was effective, picking up 143 yards and one touchdown (96 of that effort was from Sony Michel), while the passing attack picked up another score behind Brady’s 26-of-33 for 271 yards. That steady momentum was undoubtedly a defining factor in a time of possession that bested the Bills’ opportunities by 17 minutes!
The main attraction, however, was the line. And while the Bills did have an offensive lineman touchdown—a magnificent Big Man spectacle that’s usually automatic admission—it was the Patriots’ O-line that was really impressive. They lined up against a Bills’ fifth-ranked passing defense and held their own. Zero sacks and only a few hits on the Hall of Fame cargo—something not customarily seen this season. Brady noticed, too:
Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney, Marcus Cannon, Ted Karras, and Isaiah Wynn: Tops of Week 16!
