NFL Week 16 action started on Thursday with the Los Angeles Rams putting up another statement win. It continued on Saturday with the Pittsburgh Steelers doing their thing in a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
As Sunday’s action got going, the Dallas Cowboys continued to struggle on the road in a narrow loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions narrowly defeated the Minnesota Vikings to wrap up their first division title since 1993. That was aided by Vikings QB Nick Mullens throwing a whopping four interceptions.
These are among our NFL Week 16 winners and losers.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Winner: Sean McVay enters NFL Coach of the Year conversation
What we’ve seen from McVay and the Los Angeles Rams recently is nothing short of extraordinary. Los Angeles took out the New Orleans Saints at home to open NFL Week 16 Thursday night by the score of 30-22. Matthew Stafford continued to play stellar football, completing 23-of-34 passes for 328 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Kyren Williams continued to prove that he’s as dynamic as they come (104 yards, 1 TD). Meanwhile, rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua added 164 yards.
By virtue of this win, the Rams find themselves at 8-7 on the season and as the sixth seed in the NFC with two games remaining. For his part, McVay really should now be in the conversation for the NFL Coach of the Year award.
Related: NFL Week 16 power rankings
Loser: Nick Mullens comes up empty for the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings had a real opportunity Sunday to take out the Detroit Lions and remain very much alive in the NFC Playoff picture. Instead, Mullens proved himself to be a mistake waiting to happen. The veteran journeyman threw a whopping four interceptions, including the game-sealing pick late in the fourth quarter of a 30-24 loss to Detroit.
By virtue of this loss, Minnesota fell to 7-8 on the season and is one game out of the final wild card spot in the NFC. It was also eliminated from contention in the NFC North. Mullens’ mistake-filled game also wasted a solid effort from star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and has the team behind the proverbial eight-ball after NFL Week 16.
Winner: Mason Rudolph shines in NFL Week 16, salvages Steelers season
Making his first start since all the way back in 2021, this veteran came to play for the Steelers in a big way Saturday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals. Replacing an ineffective Mitchell Trubisky under center, Rudolph completed 17-of-27 passes for 290 yards with two touchdowns in a surprising 34-11 win over Cincinnati.
We have no idea whether Rudolph will be under center throughout the final two games of the season with Kenny Pickett potentially nearing a return. What we do know is that Saturday’s win has Pittsburgh at 8-7 and in a four-way tie for the final wild card spot in the AFC.
Related: NFL Week 16 QB rankings
Loser: Indianapolis Colts struggle, fall back in NFL Playoff race
Indianapolis entered NFL Week 16 with an 8-6 record and having won four out of five. The team was in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South and was in playoff positioning.
About that? The team laid an egg against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, losing by the score of 29-10. Gardner Minshew completed a mere 20-of-37 passes for 201 yards with an interception. Jonathan Taylor added a mere 43 yards on the ground in his return to action. Meanwhile, the Colts’ defense gave up north of 400 total yards to what had been a bad Falcons offense. The end result was an ugly loss at a time when Indianapolis just couldn’t afford it.
Related: NFL Week 16 defense rankings
Winner: Detroit Lions partying like its 1993
For the first time in nearly three decades, the Detroit Lions have won their division. It was not always pretty in a 30-24 win over the Vikings on Sunday. But Detroit did what it needed to do at the end in picking off Nick Mullens four times in a narrow win.
Jared Goff completed 30-of-40 passes for 257 yards. Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs added 100 total yards on 20 touches. Amon-Ra St. Brown went off for 12 receptions and 106 yards. Meanwhile, Detroit’s defense got to Mullens for four sacks in addition to those picks. It has Detroit at 11-4 and still in the hunt for a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC Playoffs.
Loser: Jacksonville Jaguars are a pretender
Jacksonville has now lost four consecutive games following Sunday’s blowout 30-12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Doug Pederson’s squad found itself down 30-0 in the third quarter before scoring two garbage-time touchdowns.
The Jags’ defense was a hot mess, allowing Baker Mayfield to complete 26-of-35 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence exited in the second half with a shoulder injury. The end result was yet another loss and an 8-7 record on the season. For a team that started the season 6-2, this certainly is not ideal.
Winner: Joe Flacco, Amari Cooper lead Browns to huge win
It sure looks like the Cleveland Browns will be playing playoff football. What we saw from this team in Sunday’s blowout 36-22 win over the Houston Texans was nothing short of extraordinary. Signed off the street back in November, Joe Flacco has been sensational. He completed 27-of-42 passes for 368 yards with three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Amari Cooper.
Speaking of Cooper, he went off for a franchise record 265 yards to go with two touchdowns in a brilliant all-around performance from the receiver. This has Cleveland at 10-5 on the season. It’s astonishing given that the team’s entire starting backfield of Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb are lost for the remainder of the campaign.
Related: NFL Week 16 offense rankings
Loser: Dallas Cowboys can’t pull off statement win
Dallas entered NFL Week 16 with a 7-0 record at home. Mike McCarthy’s squad was 3-4 away from Big D. With first place in the NFC East on the line against the Miami Dolphins in South Beach on Sunday, the Cowboys were holding out hope that this trend would change.
In what was a hotly-contested affair, Dallas fell to Miami by the score of 22-20. The team’s defense could not stop Tua Tagovailoa and Co. late in the fourth quarter with Miami’s offense driving down the field for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
The ‘Boys now find themselves at 10-5 on the season heading into a huge Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions. It certainly looks like Dallas is headed for a road wild card game against the NFC South winner. If that is indeed the Buccaneers, they could be in trouble.
Winner: Baker Mayfield’s redemption season continues
Even ahead of NFL Week 16, reports surfaced that the Buccaneers were looking to extend Mayfield and want him back next season. What we saw from the former No. 1 pick in a blowout win over the Jacksonville Jaguars adds another layer to that.
Mayfield completed 26-of-35 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. It was yet another banner performance for a player who had been cast off by the likes of the Browns and Panthers in previous years. It also has Tampa Bay at 8-7 on the season and looking very much like a playoff team.
Loser: Washington Commanders are a dumpster fire
Ron Rivera’s squad found itself down 27-7 at the half against another bad team in that of the New York Jets on Sunday. While the Commanders did make this a game by taking a lead late in the fourth quarter, their defense couldn’t hold Trevor Siemian and a lackluster Jets offense. The end result was a late-game 30-28 loss.
Washington has now lost 11 of 13 since starting the season 2-0. Sam Howell was benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett. His future in Washington is now in question. Meanwhile, Rivera has just two more games remaining in his career with the Commanders. Just a complete dumpster fire.