NFL Roundup – Week 16

Joshua Peacock,

Correspondent (Sport)

 

NFL This Week

The penultimate week of NFL regular season action perhaps failed to provide the closure that some teams needed. With so much still to play for in the final two weeks, lets review the excitement and results of Week 16.

 

NFL Results – Week 16

 

Atlanta Falcons                       31-18                   Detroit Lions

San Diego Chargers                27-17                  New York Jets

Minnesota Vikings                 23-6                    Houston Texans

St. Louis Rams                        28-13                   Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins          27-20                  Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints               34-31                  Dallas Cowboys

Tennesse Titans                       7-55                  Green Bay Packers

Oakland Raiders                     6-17                   Carolina Panthers

Buffalo Bills                             10-24                 Miami Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals                13-10                 Pittsburgh Steelers

New England Patriots           23-16                Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts                 20-13                Kansas City Chiefs

Cleveland Browns                  12-34                Denver Broncos

New York Giants                    14-33                Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears                         28-13               Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers              13-42               Seattle Seahawks

 

Key Stories

• The Atlanta Falcons continued to dominate the NFC South division with a memorable 1-18 victory over the Detroit Lions. The win ensured the Falcons home-field advantage for their play-off tie, thanks to QB Matt Ryan’s career best 4 TD passes.
• A dominant first half display from the Seattle Seahawks saw them enter half-time with an impressive 28-6 lead.
• New York Jets’ underachieving season continued in their 27-17 defeat to the San Diego Chargers. Third-string QB, Greg McElroy, was sacked 11 times in his first start, despite supposed second-string QB, Tim Tebow, being available.
• The New York Giants were humbled by the Baltimore Ravens, as a huge 24 first half points for the Ravens that helped them on their way to a 33-14 win. The victory saw the Ravens claim the AFC North title, saving them the angst of a final week crunch match.
• Despite 13 defeats this season for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Colts already having a play-off spot booked, it took a dramatic Reggie Wayne TD late in the fourth quarter to halt an impending upset. An unanswered 10 points in the third quarter for the Chiefs saw the Colts have to rely on rookie QB Andrew Luck’s passing to see them to safety.
• A 13-10 loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers nailed the coffin shut on the former SuperBowl champions’ play-off hopes and signed off this current season as one to forget.
• With the pro-bowl teams announced this week, keep an eye on the calendar as the NFL all-star event will be played January 27th, 2013, in Hawaii. Peyton Manning and Aaron Rogers are the starting QB’s for the NFC and AFC teams.

 

Standout Performance

This week’s standout performance has to be split based on good performances and bad performances. This week’s best performances go to the impressive Denver Broncos, who sealed their 10th straight win in week 16, as well as the Washington Redskins who have managed to turn a poor season around to see them on the verge of the NFC East title. Week 16’s other standout performances go to New York Jets’ Head Coach Rex Ryan and QB Greg McElroy. McElroy’s biggest mistake was agreeing to Ryan’s lunacy of playing him ahead of more experienced hands and Ryan’s was making the bizarre choice in the first place.

 

Looking Ahead to Week 17

With so many teams still in contention for a play-off place, the final week of the regular NFL season promises to be a tense one. The Redskins and the Cowboys face off in Week 17’s biggest match as a win for either team will see them clinch the NFC East title. Should the Giants win, the loser of this match may face the ultimate disappointment of seeing their season slip away on the final week. The NFC West title is also up for grabs and the San Francisco 49ers know a win will be enough to seal it, while the Seattle Seahawks need both a win and a 49ers loss.