5 Thoughts from Week 16
It was Christmas on Monday and there were games all throughout the weekend, so we’re going to do our “Thoughts” post a little differently this week. Instead of covering all of Sunday’s game, here are 5 thoughts coming out of Week 16:
The Ravens’ win over the 49ers delivered the biggest statement of the weekend. This was a game that just about everyone thought would take 60 minutes to decide. But it was over in the 3rd quarter. The Ravens picked apart a 49ers team that looked unbeatable prior to Week 16. Lamar Jackson threw for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, ran for 45 yards, and was generally outstanding. He also protected the ball, which was something we can’t say about the 49ers. Brock Purdy fired 4 interceptions and Sam Darnold added one more in the final minutes. Baltimore won the turnover battle 5-0, a ratio that is going to lead to a win 99% of the time.
It’s time to officially be concerned about the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is having his worst season statistically and has already thrown a career-high 14 interceptions. While not all of those have been his fault, he’s not absolved of all blame. Monday’s game against the Raiders was largely on him. Mahomes was pressing, making bad decisions, fleeing the pocket early, and unwilling to let the offense work around him. While he’s probably the best ever at playing sandlot football, that style of play still has to be a complement to running the offense from the pocket. When it becomes the main attraction, you get performances like we saw against the Raiders.
Something had to give in the Dolphins-Cowboys game. Either Miami would finally beat a team with a winning record or Dallas would actually win a big game on the road. The Dolphins ended up pulling this one out with a last-second field goal and will now face the Ravens in Week 17 with the #1 seed in the AFC on the line. The Cowboys, on the other hand, will now likely have the #5 seed and need to go on the road against the NFC South division winner as well as 2 of the 49ers, Eagles, or Lions in order to get to the Super Bowl. It’s not what you want if you’re Dallas.
Congratulations to the Lions, who won a division title for the first time in 30 years. That means they’ll finally get to host a home playoff game at Ford Field. How far will they go? Only as far as the defense will take them. We’re not likely to see that group shut any opponents down and keep them from moving the ball altogether. So it will come down to how many negative plays they can create along the way. In their 11 wins, they’ve generated 30 sacks and 18 takeaways. But in their 4 losses, they’ve generated just 4 total sacks and 1 takeaway.
The Jaguars are collapsing in front of our eyes. They’ve lost 4 in a row and neither side of the ball has been playing well. The offense has scored just 19 points in the last two weeks and Trevor Lawrence has been beat up, emerging from 3 of the last 4 games with a new injury. The defense has been a shell of itself during the 4-game skid, allowing nearly 30 points per game. Luckily, they’re still tied for the division lead, but they’ll need to get their act together and fast.