Hope everyone had a restful Christmas weekend, full of family time and good spirits. I know for Ravens fans, such as myself, this morning was as satisfying of one as we've experienced in a while. It was far from perfect, but what a thorough ass kicking that was to wrap up Week 16. We can't get complacent, or have this feel like an in-season Super Bowl, but it was certainly a statement that Baltimore won't tolerate the disrespect any longer (Mike Florio...)
We'll circle back to that at the end here, but just setting the record that spirits are high as we enter this article! Let's get into things:
Rams 30- Saints 22
-Don't let the final score fool you, the Rams mailed it in during the 4th quarter. Outside of a blip in the second quarter, this game wasn't competitive at all
-Derek Carr is boring, terrible, unenthusiastic. A vanilla, overvalued bridge quarterback. But maybe that's all he's ever been?
-Rashid Shaheed is a pretty fun piece at receiver, really emerging after being kind of a gadget guy during his rookie season. He managed to post a 5/70/1 line despite Carr under center
-Chris Olave is a legit stud at receiver, catching 9/13 targets for 123 yards. He almost sat out too, making one shutter at the thought of this New Orleans offense without him
-All the credit in the world to Sean McVay. He's taken a team of late round draft picks, plus a few older blue chip guys, and made them into playoff contenders. The Rams look dangerous
-Funny enough, their formula is everything the Saints are trying to emulate down in NOLA. I'd say one of them is doing it a bit better
-Kyren Williams runs so hard. Another 104 rushing yards for the second year back, taking him up to 1,057 on the year. That's good for second best in the league, despite missing 4 games
-9/164/1 by Puka Nacua. An absolute diamond in the rough find by GM Les Snead, proving he can fuck with them picks just as quickly as he can cast them off. If CJ Stroud continues to miss time, Nacua could make a real push for OROY
Steelers 34- Bengals 11
-Fun time in the spotlight Jake Browning, but it seems like the ride's over. His duck and chuck prayers were received this weekend, however it was by those in the Yellow and Black. 3 interceptions, resulting in 17 Pittsburgh points-- that's losing football
-While Tee Higgins wasn't able to fully bail out his QB this week, he did post take 5 catches for 140 and a score. This offense clearly missed Ja'Marr Chase's presence
-Was Mason Rudolph good or the Bengals D not-so-good? Because there's no reason the Steelers' third string QB should've thrown for 290 and 2 scores
-The reality is, George Pickens is a game breaker. He kicked things off with an explosive 86-yard catch and run for his first touchdown, before mixing in a few ridiculous catches and another trip to the end zone. Pickens accounted for a little over 2/3's of the receiving yards
-Was surprised to see Allen Robinson as involved as he was, catching 4 balls on the day-- 2 more than Diontae Johnson, for what it's worth. What a fall from grace Robinson's endured, he's a wealthy man though
Bills 24- Chargers 22
-We've been saying the Bills are back after their last strong month of play. Well, maybe the actual Bills are back, barely holding off a Chargers team that had quit over the last 2 weeks. 3 turnovers gifted LA 13 of their 22 points
-Outside of a dime to Gabe Davis, Josh Allen looked really spotty against one of the league's worst secondaries. He and Stefon Diggs have been on opposite pages for a while now, with Diggs putting up just 101 receiving yards over his last 3 games
-James Cook ran well again, but these fumbles are starting to become a bigger problem
-Easton Stick looked better than I expected him to, working the ball around with relative success underneath
-Austin Ekeler ran the ball decently, especially compared to how inefficient he'd been on the ground. He's visibly the superior option to Joshua Kelley or Isaiah Spiller
-Shoutout to Giff Smith, interim coach of the Chargers, if for no other reason than being named Giff
Falcons 29- Colts 10
-What a meltdown by Gardner Minshew and the Colts. They went 75 yards on the first drive of the game, capping it off with a Jonathan Taylor touchdown. They'd muster just 187 yards and 3 more points over the final 54 minutes of play, completely neutralize by the Falcons defense
-Maybe the absence of Michael Pittman Jr. was bigger than we gave it credit for. Minshew couldn't do anything through the air
-Jonathan Taylor had no room to work either, averaging just 2.4 yards a tote
-What a breath of fresh air Taylor Heinicke was compared to Desmond Ridder. He didn't try to do too much, just found his weapons and let them do the rest
-Arthur Smith shouldn't need an army on X demanding this game plan out of him, but it was encouraging to finally see him just feed Bijan. 19 touches for 122 total yards and a touchdown, numbers that should be more of a floor than a ceiling
-Their defense posted six sacks on the afternoon, the most I can remember Atlanta racking up in a day. Calais Campbell had 1.5 of them, while rookie Zach Harrison led the way with 2
Seahawks 20- Titans 17
-I'm not sure if the Seahawks should be more encouraged by their strong 4th quarter comeback, or concerned that it had to happen against a Ryan Tannehill-led Titans team
-Geno Smith was decent in his return from a groin injury. Had higher expectations set, but he got it done
-DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are a really solid duo at receiver. Curious if Seattle exercises their opt out on the latter this offseason
-2 more sacks for Boye Mafe, up to 9 on the year
-18/26 for 152 yards. That's a Ryan Tannehill stat line if I've ever seen one!
-Derrick Henry runs well against the Seahawks, bouncing back from his worst performance ever to go for 88 and a touchdown
-Deandre Hopkins caught 2 balls for 20 yards. Dude probably hates Tannehill
Lions 30- Vikings 24
-Detroit locks up their first NFC North title ever, and first home playoff game since 1993! 30 years without hosting a postseason game is a wild run, especially with guys like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford...
-We mentioned it last week, but it feels like the tides are really shifting toward Jahmyr Gibbs taking this backfield over. David Montgomery's not going anywhere, but Gibbs is just playing at a higher level right now. 15 carries for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns Sunday, + 20 receiving
-Amon Ra St. Brown was a busy man, catching 12/14 targets for 106 and a score. If Jared Goff needed a guy, St. Brown was open
-4 QB pressures for Aidan Hutchinson, so he's being disruptive, but still only 2 sacks over the last 2 months for the former #1 pick
-Nick Mullens makes a lot of mistakes, but damn if he isn't at least fun to watch. Way better viewing experience than Josh Dobbs
-Justin Jefferson's still very good, in case anybody forgot. 6 receptions for 141 and a touchdown, just cooking the Lions secondary. His Moss on 3rd and 27 to keep a late Vikings drive alive was next level
-Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson each left early with injuries, with ankle and knee injuries, respectively-- making Mullins' 411 passing yards even more impressive. Rumor has it that Hockenson's is expected to be major, but more information will be coming out on that in the coming hours
Jets 30- Commanders 28
-Sam Howell is done done. 6/22 for 56 yards and 2 interceptions before getting benched, once again, for Jacoby Brissett. The quarterback search is officially underway in Washington
-Rookie running back Chris Rodriguez had as much of a breakout game of he may ever, rushing 10 times for 58 yards and 2 trips to the end zone. Really capitalized on the absence of Brian Robinson
-Logan Thomas took advantage of a defense that's surprisingly bad at covering tight ends, catching a team high 5 balls for 36 and a score
-The Jets don't escape this game without shade however. They led 27-7 before surrendering 21 unanswered points to the Commanders once Brissett came in. No shot this game should've came down to a last minute field goal
-Breece Hall looks like a league winner right now, taking 20 carries for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, while adding 12 receptions for 96. A monstrous performance from the game breaker
-Garrett Wilson cooked again too, catching 9/15 targets for 76 yards
Packers 33- Panthers 30
-Another game that unnecessarily got too close for comfort. The Packers allowed 14 points in a 3:09 span during the 4th quarter to blow their 30-16 lead
-Fortunately for Green Bay, the volatile Anders Carlson was able to nail a 32-yarder to win in the final minute of regulation
-Jordan Love wasn't a world beater, but he played a clean game with his actively deteriorating receiver core
-Romeo Doubs was his favorite target, posting a 4/79/1 line, but Tucker Kraft has stepped up as a solid tight end. He also caught 4 balls, for 60 scoreless yards
-As somebody who bet on an Aaron Jones anytime touchdown, it stung seeing Love and AJ Dillon take plunges into the end zone from the one yard line. Jones did all the work in between, rushing for a season high 127 on 21 carries. It's the first time he's cleared the century mark in 2023
-Gutsy showing from Bryce Young. Carolina could've easily packed it in, but they clawed back in with a few big plays late to at least cover the spread. An encouraging spark from a franchise that'd been looking for one
-Did not expect DJ Chark to go 6/98/2, but here we are. Big sign of life from the big-play receiver that's been stuck in an offense that doesn't make many big plays
Browns 36- Texans 22
-Cleveland went into Houston and demolished the Texans. It was 36-7 until late in the 4th quarter, so don't let this score trick you into thinking it was close at any point
-Case Keenum was averaging just 3.6 YPA and had thrown 2 picks before getting benched for Davis Mills, an anemic performance by any measure. Mills was slightly better, but neither had anything for this Browns defense
-Outside of a 98-yard Dameon Pierce kickoff return touchdown, Houston's offense didn't score until 6:08 of the 4th quarter. Completely outmatched
-Joe Flacco: 368 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. He did throw 2 interceptions, which we're coming to expect at this point, but he's moving the ball downfield with confidence in this offense. Elite
-Amari Cooper was not only the player of the game, but quite possibly the entire week. 11 catches, 265 yards, 2 trips to the endzone. A career game for Cooper
-David Njoku finding the end zone against the team that allows the most touchdowns to tight ends was a lock with Flacco under center. Couldn't believe that was at +260
Buccaneers 30- Jaguars 12
-Choke type performance from Trevor Lawrence. He clearly wasn't 100%, and will be visiting a doctor about his shoulder this week, but objectively laid an egg amidst a prime opportunity to jump back into the driver's seat in the division. His 3 turnovers resulted in 21 points for Tampa Bay
-A bad game script killed Travis Etienne's day. Calvin Ridley made a sick touchdown catch to provide something cool for Jaguars fans. Evan Engram was productive but also lost a fumble. That's about all worth highlighting though, things feel terrible in Jacksonville
-Quite the opposite in Tampa Bay though! Baker Mayfield balled out once again, dicing the Jags for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns. Somebody's going to pay him a decent bit of money after this resurgence. He hopes it's the Bucs
-Having a tandem like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin definitely doesn't hurt Mayfield out there. The two combined for 13 catches and 164 yards, with the former scoring twice
-The Bucs, currently on a 4 game win streak, stand alone atop the NFC South at 8-7. Nobody saw that coming a month ago
Bears 27- Cardinals 16
-Justin Fields looked really good targeting Cole Kmet, with the two connecting 4 times for 107 yards. When he wasn't targeting the tight end, he went 11 for 22 for a sad 63 yards. Not a supreme endorsement for his future there, though his 97 rushing yards were useful
-Khalil Herbert was incredible Sunday, carrying the ball 20 times for 112 and a score. D'Onta Foreman may not have a job to come back to after a performance like that, murky backfield
-Not a bad day from Kyler Murray, but Arizona's offense sputters far too regularly. The Bears have a good defense, so not the easiest of matchups, but another dull outing from a guy who may be on a new team next year. Lots of dump offs
-James Conner was busy by ground and in the air, taking 12 totes and 5 receptions for 112 total yards, plus a trip to pay dirt
-Surprising lack of productivity from Trey McBride, taking 6 catches for just 31 yards
Dolphins 22- Cowboys 20
-In a game with two suspected frauds, I left feeling no better about either. The Dolphins couldn't find the end zone, putting up 5 field goals on the evening. Dallas couldn't do enough on it's few drives either, going over 26 minutes without scoring at one point
-CeeDee Lamb was great, posting a 6/118/1 line, but Miami took him away for much of the second half. Tyreek Hill was good too, taking his 6 catches for 99 yards. But that was about it for excitement in a game with a ton of explosive potential
-Jaylen Waddle left with a shin injury, at least temporarily thinning a very top heavy unit
-Again, confidence wasn't gained in either of these teams. Very dull game
Patriots 26- Broncos 23
-The Broncos season is officially done. Maybe not mathematically, but after back to back losses, it's over
-Russell Wilson was mildly effective, particularly when considering Courtland Sutton missed most of the game with a concussion. He hasn't been the issue too often in his first year with Sean Payton
-Javonte Williams wasn't able to get anything going on the ground either, making Wilson's average day a little nicer
-Rookie Marvin Mims had a 52-yard punt return and a 47-yard reception highlight his day. The second rounder's usage is low, but he makes plays with the ball in space
-Bailey Zappe actually looked good, something I didn't expect to be typing this week. He was missing Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry and Juju, but made it work with the guys left standing
-Zeke surprisingly couldn't get anything going on the ground against the worst run defense in the NFL, but he was a PPR superstar with 9 receptions, albeit for a meager 33 yards. Alvin Kamara territory
-Three more sacks for defensive tackle Christian Barmore, taking his already-career-high total up to 8.5 on the season. The third year Alabama alumni has been a force
-Legitimately shocked Chad Ryland nailed the game-winning field goal from 56 out. The 4th round pick out of Maryland was only connecting on 63.6% of his kicks prior to that
Raiders 20- Chiefs 14
-The Chiefs are broken. They've lost 3 of 4, Mahomes is getting impatient on and off the field, the receivers don't get open and Travis Kelce has regressed. The offense vehemently failed their defense, on Christmas no less
-Defensive touchdowns on consecutive plays by the Raiders transformed a 7-3 deficit to a 17-7 lead in just 7 seconds. It was too big of a hole for Kansas City to dig out of
-Aidan O'Connell didn't complete a pass after the first quarter. And they won. 9/21 on the day, for 62 scoreless, but more importantly turnoverless, yards
-No need to throw when Zamir White was running the way he did. The career backup took his 22 carries for 145 yards, continuing to seize the opportunity Josh Jacobs' absence has presented
Eagles 33- Giants 25
-Tommy DeVito, ya done. The story was cool, but it's back to the bench for the QB. Going 9 of 16 for 55 yards will warrant such a move
-Tyrod Taylor was a spark plug, at least by comparison. Threw a really nice 69-yard deep ball to Darius Slayton
-Saquon Barkley somehow managed 80 rushing yards and a touchdown, despite such poor play under center
-Not a needle moving win for Philadelphia. The offense was okay, but Jalen Hurts' pick-six late in the third quarter was a disastrous play. The defense probably wouldn't have fared so decently against a more competent opponent
-D'Andre Swift was a dog, carrying the ball 20 times for 92 and a touchdown. The Eagles needed the steady pace he provided
-AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert each had big days, totaling at least 71 receiving yards each on 17 combined receptions
-No touchdowns for Boston Scott, a rare occurrence against the G-Men
Ravens 33- 49ers 19
-What a statement. On the road as big time underdogs, the Ravens overcame the adversity of a wonky start to essentially dominant San Francisco, staking their claim as the top team in the NFL
-Lamar Jackson was a big part of that weird first quarter, missing some open throws and tripping over the referee for a bad safety. But then it was on, throwing for 252 and 2 touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Take away a handful of drops and those numbers are even better. If the season ended today, he'd probably be the MVP
-The Gus Bus found the end zone, but wasn't able to really get going outside of that. Lamar had to shoulder the load; a task he was up for
-Zay Flowers was a big part of that too, posting a 9/72/1 receiving line. He did have 2-3 drops, but is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands
-Kyle Hamilton will win a Defensive Player of the Year award before he retires. What a special player, contributing 2 of the 4 interceptions Brock Purdy threw
-You just read that right about Brock Purdy, 4 picks on the day. He was having a lot of success throwing the ball early in the game, especially to George Kittle, but just couldn't avoid crucial, drive-killing mistakes. The Niners were trailing by 21 when he exited the game with a stinger
-The aforementioned Kittle roasted the Ravens all evening, catching 7 balls for 126 yards. Not many tight ends in the league as dynamic as him
-Christian McCaffery is a freak. He toted the rock 14 times for 103 yards and a score, looking unstoppable for stretches of the game
-A major story worth monitoring is that of LT Trent Williams, who left during the second half with a groin injury. San Francisco is substantially better with him on Purdy's blindside
-Shoutout Willie Snead, wasn't aware he was still playing. Had himself a 5-yard catch and a drawn flag, a more productive night in the NFL than I've ever had!
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@Choppinglines
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