Monday, December 24, 2018

NFL - Week Sixteen Review

The Baltimore Ravens served notice they are a team to be reckoned with, especially on defense, as they beat the host Los Angeles Chargers, 22-10 on Saturday evening. The win put the Ravens (9-6) in first place in the AFC North as Pittsburgh (8-6-1) lost at New Orleans on Sunday.
The Ravens defense held the high powered Chargers offense to just 198 total yards and their lowest point total for the season in a game. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and had no touchdown passes. Also, the Chargers (11-4) blew the chance to leap frog the Kansas City Chiefs (also 11-4) for the top seeded spot in the AFC playoff picture.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (202 passing yards) had a 68-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews while they rushed for 159 yards in the win, which was Baltimore's fifth in six games since Jackson became the starting QB in place of then injured Joe Flacco.
The New Orleans Saints (13-2) held off the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28 to wrap up home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. The key play might have been the fake punt late in the fourth quarter by Pittsburgh on 4th-and-5 yards to go that didn't work. Another big blow to the Steelers was a fumble after catch by wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster with under a minute to go and the ball inside the Saints 40-yard line.
Saints QB Drew Brees passed for 326 yards (one TD pass to WR Mike Thomas for the deciding score) and running back Alvin Kamara had two rushing touchdowns to pace the offense. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger had three TD passes in the loss.
The Seattle Seahawks (9-6) topped the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, 38-31 on Sunday Night Football to wrap up a wild card playoff spot as QB Russell Wilson threw for three scores while the Seattle offense racked up 210 yards rushing against the Chiefs defense. Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes had three more TD passes (48 for the season to lead the NFL) in defeat.
The Dallas Cowboys (9-6) won the NFC East division title with a 27-20 home win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite gaining only 232 yards in offense. The Dallas defense scored on a 69-yard fumble recovery return by Jaylon Smith while QB Dak Prescott passed and ran for the other touchdowns to lead the way.
Eagles QB Nick Foles celebrates a huge win
The Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 32-30 victory at home against the Houston Texans (10-5) as QB Nick Foles, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, passed for a team record 471 yards and had four TD passes in the huge win. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott made the game winning 35-yard field goal as time expired.
Texans QB Deshaun Watson had two running scores and also two TD passes in the loss as the Texans fell back to the number-three slot in the AFC Playoff race.
The New England Patriots (10-5) clinched their tenth straight AFC East division title with a 24-12 win against the visiting Buffalo Bills as they ran for 273 yards and the defense forced three turnovers. The Patriots are now the number-two seed in the AFC playoff race and can still clinch the top spot with a win the final game along with losses by both Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers.



                                                    Elsewhere Around the NFL  . . . . . . .      

The Los Angeles Rams (12-3) beat down the Arizona Cardinals, 31-9 as reserve running back C.J. Anderson rushed for 167 yards and a TD in place of the injured Todd Gurley and the offense racked up 461 yards while Roberts Woods scored two touchdowns in the win . . .  The Chicago Bears (11-4) kept pace with the Rams for the number-two spot in the NFC playoffs with a 14-9 win at San Francisco as they did enough on both sides of the football for success . . .  The Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1) stayed in the sixth and final NFC playoff spot with a 27-9 road win against the Detroit Lions behind three TD passes by QB Kirk Cousins . . .  The Indianapolis Colts (9-6) won a nail biter at home, 28-27 against the New York Giants as QB Andrew Luck threw a one-yard scoring pass to WR Chester Rogers with 55 seconds remaining in the game. The win puts the Colts into the final playoff spot in the AFC . . .  The Tennessee Titans (9-6) beat the Washington Redskins, 25-16 on Saturday to stay in the AFC playoff race. Titans RB Derrick Henry had a rushing score and backup QB Blaine Gabbert passed for another score. Titans starting QB Marcus Mariota left the game with an elbow injury and did nor return. The loss eliminated the Redskins (7-8) from playoff contention  . . .  The Green Bay Packers (6-8-1) stormed back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the host New York Jets, 44-38 in overtime as QB Aaron Rodgers passed for 424 yards with two TD passes (including game winner in OT to WR Devante Adams) and also had two rushing scores. Jets QB Sam Darnold had three TD passes in defeat  . . .  The Cleveland Browns (7-7-1) beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-18 as rookie QB Baker Mayfield had three scoring passes. The Browns outgained the Bengals 493-209 in total yardage . . .  The Atlanta Falcons topped host Carolina, 24-10, sending the Panthers (6-9) to their seventh consecutive loss. Falcons QB Matt Ryan had three TD passes and the defense forced four turnovers in the win . . . The Jacksonville Jaguars won on the road in Miami, 17-7 as Telvin Smith took an interception back 33 yards for the clinching score in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins (7-8) were limited to just 183 yards in total offense . . . In the final Monday Night Football game of the season, the host Oakland Raiders knocked off the Denver Broncos, 27-14 as RB Doug Martin scored a TD and went for 107 yards on the ground while the Oakland defense picked off two passes to lead the way. Raiders punt returner Dwayne Harris took one back 99 yards for the first score of the game.


WEEK SIXTEEN RESULTS
Tennessee 25, Washington 16
Baltimore 22, LA Chargers 10
Minnesota 27, Detroit 9
Green Bay 44, NY Jets 38 (OT)
Indianapolis 28, NY Giants 27
Cleveland 26, Cincinnati 18
Dallas 27, Tampa Bay 20
New England 24, Buffalo 12
Atlanta 24, Carolina 10
Jacksonville 17, Miami 7
Philadelphia 32, Houston 30
Chicago 14, San Francisco 9
LA Rams 31, Arizona 9
New Orleans 31, Pittsburgh 28
Seattle 38, Kansas City 31
Oakland 27, Denver 14 

















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