NFL Week 16 Review

It's the last week of games before the New Year, which has some teams looking back at the success of this season, while others can't wait to flip the calendar to 2011.  Some teams are looking to bring in the new year by celebrating a spot in the playoffs, while others are apparently too focused on how they will be celebrating New Year's Eve later this week.

This article is a little delayed this week due to the snowstorm in Philadelphia that postponed their Sunday night game against the Vikings until Tuesday.  It also made my Sunday night pretty boring.  Seriously, I didn't know what to do.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• How did Steelers-Panthers get to be the Thursday night game of the week?  Thanks NFL Network!  Pittsburgh got one step closer to locking up the division and only needs to win next week against Cleveland to claim the #2 seed in the AFC.
• Jon Kitna put his team in an early hole by throwing two interceptions in the first quarter that were each returned for TDs.  He would later leave the game with a hip injury, but you can argue he should have been benched anyway.
• When Stephan McGee replaced Kitna for the Cowboys it became a match-up with John Skelton for the battle of 3rd string QBs.  When's the last time we saw two 3rd stringers going up against each other in the regular season in a game that didn't involve at least one team that had locked in their playoff spot?  This could partly explain why neither of these teams will be in the playoffs.
• McGee nearly led the Cowboys to a comeback win when he threw a 37 yard TD pass to Miles Austin to take the lead with under two minutes to go.  Unfortunately, their kicker missed the extra point (how does that happen indoors?).  Arizona drove quickly down the field to kick a field goal in the final seconds of the game, giving them the 1 point victory.
• The Patriots locked up the top seed in the AFC with a win in Buffalo, ensuring the path to the Super Bowl goes through Foxborough.  
• Tom Brady set the record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception.  Last week he had set the single season record, but this week he passed Bernie Kosar's record of 308 pass attempts, which spanned across two seasons (1990-91).
• During New England's 7 game win streak they have scored at least 30 points in each game and have not turned the ball over.
• Once again the Jets manage to back their way into the playoffs.  Despite another late season loss, the Jets clinch a Wild Card spot due to losses by the other teams competing for that spot.
• After another loss, the Jets once again suffer the Agony of De-Feet.  Ok, so I may have stolen that line from the New York Post, in reference to the bizarre story involving Rex Ryan and his wife's foot fetish video, but it was too good not to re-feet, ummm... I mean repeat.
• The Bears have already won their division, and thanks to the Eagles loss they can now be assured of a top 2 seed and a first round playoff bye.
• The Ravens may be a long shot for the division regardless of what they do next week (they need the Steelers to lose to the Browns in addition to winning their own game) but they did at least clinch a playoff spot and kept themselves alive with a chance at the division and #2 seed.
• The Chiefs skill position stars - Cassel, Bowe and Charles combined for great games to blow out the Titans and clinch the AFC West.  They will likely open up the playoffs at home against one of the Wild Card teams (probably the Jets).  They will probably look over-matched on paper, but they play well at home, so that advantage may be enough to get them out of the first round, but I don't see them winning on the road in the next round.
• Chris Johnson had another dud performance.  The man who predicted another 2,000 yard season for himself this season currently sits at 1325 for the season.  Only 675 yards in next week's game to get to his goal!
• St. Louis beat the San Fransisco awful-Niners to put themselves alone at the top of the AFC West. They still need to win next week in Seattle to win the division.  The Seahawks would win the tie-breaker and play better at home (hey, a 4-3 record for them is better), so they have the edge.  It's essentially a playoff game to determine who gets to be the team to host an opening round playoff game that they will inevitably lose.
• I hope the Rams win, if only because at least they would make the playoffs as an 8-8 team.  The thought of Seattle getting a playoff spot with a 7-9 record just made me throw up in my mouth.
• The 49ers fired coach Mike Singletary on Monday.  Seems long overdue, but what's the point of doing it with only one game left?  Is one game enough of a sample size to judge a potential replacement?
• After setting a league record for road futility, the Lions have now won 2 straight road games!  They stunned the Dolphins by scoring 17 points in the final 5 minutes, including an interception that was returned for a TD to give them the victory.
• Miami actually has a shot to finish their season at 8-8 if they can win next week against a Patriots team that has already clinched the top seed and can rest their starters.  Yet they will finish the season only 1-7 at home.  How can a team have such a drastic home-road split, with the home record being the losing side?  Can they petition the league to play all their games on the road next year?
• The Jaguars blew their opportunity to keep up in the AFC South by losing to the disaster that is the Washington Redskins.  They are now a long shot to surpass the Colts, who can win the division next week with a home win against the struggling Titans.
• Not having Maurice Jones-Drew was certainly a big factor in their loss.  This game is an example of why MoJo deserves to at least be in the MVP discussion, but he won't win it by sitting on the sidelines to end the season, and the Jags aren't likely to be in the playoff discussion much longer.
• This isn't how the script was supposed to go.  The Chargers always get off to slow starts, but build momentum at the end of he season, never losing in December, and charge into the playoffs on a roll. So much for that.  After losing for the second time in December (and only the second December loss in Philip Rivers' career) the Chargers have already been knocked out of the playoff picture.  The can't blame a tough schedule either, as both December losses have come against non-playoff teams (Raiders, Bengals).
• Caron Palmer finally figured out how to throw TDs to his own team instead of his opponents.  4 TDs and 0 interceptions this week!  Too little, too late.
• Tim Tebow got his first win as a starting QB in the NFL by leading a comeback victory against the Texans.  He threw a TD pass and ran another in himself in the 4th quarter.
• Andre Johnson was a late scratch from this game, but it wasn't the passing game that let the team down.  The Texans offense can be as explosive as any, but they won't be contenders until they can stop the other team from scoring.
• The Colts kept themselves in the drivers seat for the AFC South division with a win in Oakland.  
• Payton Manning threw 3 TD passes, but the Colts have to be concerned that he continues to throw interceptions.  With 2 more this week he's now up to 17 on the season.  It's the most he's had in a season since 2002 (19), and with another game remaining there's a chance he could equal or even surpass that amount.  His QB rating will also be his lowest since that same 2002 season.
• If last week's meltdown for the Giants was heart-breaking, then getting blown out in Green Bay must be just embarrassing.  A win would have clinched a playoff spot, but they will need to get back on track to win next week as well as hope some other contending teams lose in order to sneak in.
• Green Bay would have been eliminated with a loss, but they now have put themselves in a position where a win next week gets them a Wild Card spot.  
• Which QB helped carry Fantasy Football teams to championship victory?  Would you believe... Josh Freeman?  Ok, so most playoff teams weren't starting him, but I did in one of my leagues where I'm in the finals, and I'm sure glad I did!  5 TD passes was easily his best performance of the season.
• Tampa is an even bigger long shot for the playoffs, but they aren't eliminated yet.  They would need to win next week and also have the Packers and Giants both lose.  If that were to happen then the NFC South could end up having 3 playoff teams.
• Seattle apparently decided to use this week as their bye week to rest for the playoffs.  They knew going in that regardless of the outcome they would still have the chance to play for the division title next week against the Rams.  That didn't leave them with much incentive to put up much of a fight this week.
• For the past several weeks I've been praising the Falcons for their perception of invincibility at home.  They seemed to have a certain mystique about them when playing in the Georgia Dome.  QB Matt Ryan had only lost one home game in his 3 year career.  So of course they blow all that by losing to the rival Saints at home on Monday night.  As good as they have looked this year, this letdown on a big stage is not a good sign heading into the playoffs.  They've shown that they are vulnerable and may have lost some of their swagger.  With an easy home win next week against the lowly Panthers they can still lock up the division and the top seed in the NFC, so the loss doesn't have a major impact on their playoff spot, but it does have a major impact on their confidence.
• Michael Turner had not fumbled the ball all year.  The Saints had a streak of giving up points every time the opponent reached their 1 yard line that dated back several years.  So of course Turner fumbles the ball at the 1 yard line.  Huge momentum change for the Saints.
• The Saints offense is rolling now that the have Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas back to complement the passing game.  It's not just what they provide in the running game, but both are threats as a receiver out of the backfield as well.  Now if only Brees would stop throwing interceptions, then they'd be a real powerhouse offense.
• Brees is up to 21 interceptions on the season after throwing 2 more this week (one of which was returned for a TD).  He trails only Eli Manning (24) in interceptions.  He's also 2nd in TDs (Brady) and 2nd in passing yards (Payton Manning).  So the season Brees is having can be summed up by saying he's playing like #2. 
• So much for the argument that Michael Vick could challenge Brady for the MVP award.  He turned the ball over enough times this week (3) to get halfway to Brady's season total (6). 
• Apparently the snow delay, which pushed the Sunday night game back to Tuesday, threw off the Eagles.  They did not look prepared for this game, losing at home to the underdog Vikings that were down to their third string QB and missing out on a chance at the #2 seed in the NFC and a first round bye.  They are now locked in at the #3 seed (no NFC West team can catch them), which would have been considered a let down as recently as last week, but they now must be thankful that they can't fall any further considering they will be operating on a short week for their final game.
• Brett Favre couldn't resist keeping his name in the spotlight, speculating that the extra two days off might give him a chance to play this week.  Of course he didn't, as he shouldn't have given the concussion he suffered the previous week.  Maybe the hit to the head knocked some sense into him.
• Joe Webb turned out to be a sneaky play for Fantasy Football owners brave enough to start him in the playoffs.  While his stat line (195 passing yards, 31 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD) may not be all that impressive for a QB, Webb is actually eligible as a WR in some leagues because he started the season as a WR on the Vikings depth chart.  A mediocre day for a QB was still worth 16 points in standard leagues, which is a pretty good day for a WR.
• The playoff teams in the NFC are almost set.  Next week's games will determine if the final Wild Card spot goes to the Giants, Bucs or Packers (the other will go to the Saints unless they somehow pass the Falcons in the NFC South).  The Seahawks and Rams game is essentially a playoff game, as the winner takes the division and the loser goes home.
• Things are even more clear in the AFC, where the South division is the only one left undecided.  The Colts should be able to wrap that up fairly easily.  The only other division that is undecided is the North, where the Ravens have a chance to come out on top if they win their final game and the Steelers lose theirs, but that's unlikely.  Both teams will make the playoffs either way.
• San Diego is first in the league in total defense and second in the league in total offense... yet they've been knocked out of the playoff picture.
• The Patriots have a turnover differential of +27, which is by far the best in the NFL.  They have only turned the ball over 9 times all season.  The record for the least amount of turnovers for an offense in a 16 game season is 13 (Dolphins and Giants in 2008).  They should easily be able to break that record.
• If the Lions can somehow manage to beat the Vikings next week by at least 15 points then they will finish the season with a positive point differential, despite a 6-10 record.  Hey, that's progress!
• St. Louis needs to beat Seattle by at least 30 points next week to finish with a positive point differential - and they'd be a division winner!
• The Patriots have the best point differential at +174.  The Panthers have the worst at -174.
• Pro Bowl votes are in, for whatever those are worth.  Much like in other sports' All-Star games, the Pro Bowl is a bit of a joke.  It's being played again before the Super Bowl, so the best players on the two best teams in the league can't play.  Not to mention that a lot of veteran players that have been before try to use various injuries as an excuse not to go.  Or that many of the voters just vote for the guy they voted for last year.
• Vick and Brady were named as the starting QBs.  Both are clearly deserving, but there's a good chance at least one of them doesn't play in the game.
• The Patriots had a league high 6 players voted in: Brady, McCourty, Mankins, Mayo, Wilfork, Merriweather.  3 of those guys were locks to make the team.  I'm surprised McCourty made it due to the fact that he's a rookie and the league typically takes at least a year to catch on to how good the player is, but he's certainly deserving.  Mankins should not have been selected, despite that he's probably the best guard in the league, due to his lengthy hold out.  I like Merriweather, but having watched him play all year it's a big surprise that he made the team.
• Buffalo, Tampa, Cincinnati, and Seattle are the only teams not represented in the Pro Bowl.
• Only one week left in the regular season!  Then we get to say good-bye to the pretenders and let the contenders fight it out in the playoffs.