Week 16 kicked off in a Christmas Night (American Time) showdown between two of the hottest teams in the AFC…the San Diego Chargers and the Tennessee Titans.
San Diego looking to lock up their playoff hopes and win their 10th straight game in a row, came out firing as MVP candidate Philip Rivers completed 21 of 27 passes for 264 yards.
The Chargers capitalised on several Titans turnovers and penalties making quick work of a shell shocked Tennessee team 42-17.
Vince Young had a Xmas to forget throwing for only 89 yards and 2 interceptions as Chris Johnson once again blew up running for 142 yards and a touchdown.
In Atlanta, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan reemerged after a disappointing last few games to throw three touchdowns and give thew Falcons a 31-3 win over the Buffalo Bills.
In a game that meant nothing between two teams out of playoff contention, the Atlanta Falcons defense welcomed Brian Brohm in his NFL debut, constantly harrassing and pressuring Brohm and forcing him to throw two interceptions.
Falcons Wide Receiver Roddy White caught 2 touchdowns and 139 receiving yards to record his third straight 1000+ receiving yard season.
The 9-5 playoff bound Cincinnati Bengals hosted the struggling 3-11 Kansas City Chiefs, and snuck out a win via a game winning 6 yard Chad Ochocinco TD reception with less than two minutes left.
Still dealing with the recent death of fellow teammate Chris Henry, the Bengals held on 17-10 and clinched the AFC North title and their first playoff birth since 1991.
In a match up of two of the worst teams in the league the resurgent Cleveland Browns took care of the Oakland Raiders 23 to 9 through emerging Running Back Jerome Harrison.
Coming off his record breaking performance last week, Harrison once again had a great game against the pathetic Raiders run defense amassing 148 rushing yards and a touchdown in only his second NFL start.
Taking over the reins from an injured and lackluster Oakland Quarterback group, Charlie Frye threw45 passes for 333 yards and three costly interceptions. Along with Fryes three picks, the Raiders were penalised 13 times for 126 penalty yards giving the Browns every chance to wrap the game up easily.
The Green Bay Packers continued their hot streak taking care of the Seattle Seahawks 48-10.
All three Green Bay running backs dominated Seattles defense (one of the worst in the league), putting up a combined 153 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Seattle, who seems to have given up on their season and coach Jim Mora Jnr showed no firepower or spark all day and continually turned the ball over via veteran quartback Matt Hasselbeck who threw four interceptions for the second week in a row.
In Miami, the Houston Texans put together a 27-20 win over the Miami Dolphins as the two teams continue the first for a playoff birth.
Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne was sacked four times as the Texans defense took advantage of a poor Dolphins pass offense after star Running Back Ricky Williams left the game with a shoulder injury.
The Pittsburgh Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 23-20 win over Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens shot themselves in the foot with costly mistakes and missed opportunities allowing Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed to kick the game winning field goal with 5 minutes left to play to give the Steelers their second close win in a row.
Ray Rice once again came through for the Ravens, rushing for 141 yards to end Pittsburgh’s 33-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher.
The Carolina Panthers came out of nowhere to end the New York Giants hopes of a playoff run, with a 41-9 beatdown in the last game ever in Giants stadium.
Jonathon Stewart, filling in for the injured DeAngelo Williams, gashed the struggling Giants defense for 206 rushing yards and new starting quarterback Matt Moore was sharp, completing 15 of 20 passes for 171 yards as the Panthers dominated the game offensively.
The Jacksonville Jaguars hurt their chances of a playoff birth with a 37-7 loss to the New England Patriots powerhouse who seem to be once again getting hot at the right time of the season.
Wes Welker had yet another big game bringing in 13 Tom Brady passes for 138 yards. Brady had all day to pick apart a dissapointing Jacksonville defense as the Patriots clinched an AFC East title and a perfect 8-0 home record with the win.
In a surprise that shook the NFL, the 7-6 New York Jets upset the 13-0 Indianapolis Colts to give the Jets one their biggest win of the season.
The Jets defense took advantage of first year Colts head coach Jim Caldwell’s decision to rest star Quarterback Peyton Manning leading up to the playoffs.
Colts backup QB Curtis Painter was harrassed from the get go and threw an interception and a costly fumble to give the Jets the win and a chance to earn a wild-card berth with a win over Cincinnati this week.
The other big upset of the week was the 2-12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the 13-1 New Orleans Saints 20-17 via a Connor Bath 47 yard field goal in overtime.
The Buccaneers Special Teams came up big via a Michael Spurlock 77-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter and were lead by Cadillac Williams in overtime to give the Buccaneers only their third win for the season.
It is New Orleans second straight loss for the season who might have peaked to early in the season.
The Arizona Cardinals took care of business handing the St Louis Rams their 14th loss of the season 31-10 in Glendale, Arizona.
Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner playing against his old team threw for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns and Rams backup Quarterback Keith Null, filling in for the injured Marc Bulger, threw three interceptions.
In another game that exploited a bad teams poor Quarterback depth, Lions backup quarterback Drew Stanton threw three interceptions as the San Fransisco 49ers took care of the Detroit Lions 20-6.
49ers star running back Frank Gore, once again proved that the team plays well when he is given the rock as much as possible.
Gore put together 152 totals yards and teammate Vernon Davis caught his 12th touchdown pass of the season as the 49ers recorded their seventh win of the season.
The Denver Broncos hurt their playoff campaign with a 27-30 loss to the red hot Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia.
Eagles kicker David Ackers kicked a 28 yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining after a spectacular 27 yard Jeremy Maclain reception to give the Eagles their 11th win of the season.
The Denver Broncos committed nine penalties for 95 yards giving the Eagles prime field position and allowing Quarterback Donovan McNabb to throw for 322 yards and three touchdowns.
The Dallas Cowboys continued their hot end of season run with a 17-0 shutout of the Washington Redskins in Sunday Night Football.
Tony Romo put his critics to rest with another solid game as the Cowboys ended the New York Giants playoff chances and set themselves up for a huge end of season NFC East game next week against the Eagles to determine who will take out the divisional title.
In Monday Night Football the Minnesota Vikings laid an egg in a surprising 36-30 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears.
Troubled Bears quarterback Jay Cutler came out of nowhere after a horrible few last games to put up four passing touchdowns.
The Vikings continually gave up big special teams plays setting up Cutler and the Bears with great field position and only their sixth win of the season.
The Vikings have wrapped up their division but showing signs of meltdown with their third loss in four games and star Running Back Adrian Peterson rushing for fewer than 100 rushing yards in six straight games.
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