NFL Week 16 Report Card: The NFC North continues to earn top grades

The Holiday season is here, which means the NFL regular season is coming to an end. The added pressure of playoff races and seedings can cause some teams to capitulate and others to shine. So let’s take a look at who was able to deal with the added weight of expectations on Sunday.

Justin Herbert continues to play at an exceptionally high level and in Thursday’s matchup against the Broncos, he showcased everything that makes him great. The Chargers are now 9-6 in Jim Harbaugh’s first season in charge, and there are the obvious foundations of a real contender here.

Bo Nix has played better than many anticipated this season, but he still hasn’t been especially good. The offense has done a great job creating YAC plays for its receivers, but when that fails, Nix’s limitations become obvious, as they did in the second half against LA.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Patrick Mahomes seemed to ignore an ankle injury (again) en route to one of his best games in recent weeks. The Chiefs outlasted the Texans in what looked like it was going to be a tight game until late. We’re still slightly unconvinced by this team, but they have the look of winners right now, which is exactly what they are.

C.J. Stroud was an emotional wreck after his good friend Tank Dell had his leg blown out in a very unfortunate coming together. It's no surprise the Texans fell apart after that. Up until that point, they had looked at least a match for the Chiefs.

A showcase of 2024 Baltimore Raven football as Derrick Henry ran for over 160 yards and Lamar Jackson threw for three TDs. We’ve said all season that when this offense clicks, there’s nothing you can do to stop it, which was the case on Saturday.

The past two weeks, the Steelers have lost to two legit Super Bowl contenders who have showcased their weakness on offense and exposed what we all assumed was a near-elite defense. Russell Wilson is a good but not great player at this point in his career, but his job is made nearly impossible given the lack of weapons around him.

Michael Penix Jr. gave the offense some juice that has been lacking under the famously juice-less Kirk Cousins. Bijan Robinson is quietly putting together a great season in his second year in the NFL. This was a much-needed win that puts the Falcons back in control of their own playoff destiny. Benching Cousins was a bold call, and it was only the Giants, but so far it’s paid off.

The Giants had no incentive to win this game as they look to lock down the number one selection in next year’s draft, but they look so far away from being a competitive team. John Breech puts it succinctly for CBS Sports, “The Giants are a bad football team right now.” We don’t need to add more.

Caleb Williams made some impressive throws in what is becoming a solid rookie season despite the continued collapse happening around him. The Bears were out-manned, out-coached, and out-desired by the Lions which given the context of their seasons, is understandable.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

The Lions’ defense is decimated with injuries but put together a solid performance against the Bears. There will be tougher tests to come for this unit, but when the offense continues to hum, as it did on Sunday, the defense’s job becomes a lot easier. It looks like the NFC will have to go through Detroit this season.

John Breech puts it well for CBS Sports, “The Panthers are still playing hard for Canales, which speaks volumes for where the first-year coach has this team headed.” After an atrocious start to the year, Bryce Young is now consistently stringing together good performances, suggesting we were all a little early to write him off.

The Cardinals may have a Kyler Murray problem as the veteran quarterback doesn’t seem to be elevating the players around him at this point in his career. James Connor rushed for 117 yards at 7.8 YPC, per ESPN, and Arizona still lost. We’re not sure where Arizona goes next as they’re unlikely to fire Jonathan Gannon, but does he really deserve another year in charge?

The Jets have too much invested in their offense to only score nine points. There were a couple of missed kicks, but that would have only added another four points to their total. The Aaron Rodgers experiment has failed, and there’s a danger it could set this franchise back even further in the short-medium term.

The Rams have taken charge of the NFC West once again with a clinical, if not dominant performance against the Jets. Matthew Stafford didn’t have his best game, but he did enough. With the Rams looking likely to make the playoffs, there is only one team (the Falcons) that don’t look good enough to beat anyone else in the NFC bracket.

What a bizarre game as the Commanders turned the ball over a million times but were still able to get the win. The defense struggled for the most part but was able to keep Kenny Pickett and the Eagles offense out of the end zone in the second half and that was enough. Jayden Daniels took risks but enough of them came off in the end.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

A strange game for Philly, who lost Jalen Hurts early to a concussion. Kenny Pickett looked utterly unconvincing in relief, allowing Washington to key in on Saquon Barkley and the running game. Defensively, the Eagles forced turnover after turnover, but surrendered 22 fourth-quarter points, which isn’t good enough for a team with their eyes on the Super Bowl.

The playoffs look out of reach, even if they are still mathematically possible for the Bengals. Joe Burrow continues to prove he is one of the best in the business, especially when he has his full complement of weapons around him. Too many early season losses (and terrible defense) have wasted one of Burrow’s best seasons so far.

Whatever the question is, we’re not sure Dorian Thompson-Robinson is the answer. Unless the question is, who made the Bengals’ defense look competent in the 2024 NFL season? The Browns are throwing away season after season by committing to Deshaun Watson as their starting QB. By the time he was injured, the Browns’ season was already over.

Anthony Richardson has some refining to do as an NFL passer, but his ability on the ground was on full display Sunday as he and Jonathan Taylor added nearly 300 yards on the ground between them. The Colts are just about still in the playoff mix thanks to Sunday’s win.

Mason Rudolph is not an upgrade on Will Levis. We didn’t think he would be, but Sunday’s performance confirmed it. The Titans have a lot of areas they need to address in the off season. If they’re being honest with themselves, quarterback should be first on the list.

The Geno Smith experience is always remarkably similar, as the Seahawks’ QB once again played a great game except for two ugly interceptions. That’s how he plays the game, making aggressive throws, and it mostly works… until it doesn’t. Seattle have lost control of the NFC West again. A playoff-less season would be disappointing.

When you have a star like Justin Jefferson, feed him. That’s exactly what the Vikings did on Sunday, with JJettas accounting for nearly half of his team’s total yardage, per CBS Sports. The Vikings have a real chance to steal the number one seed from the Lions in the next couple of weeks which would be an incredible effort from a team that lost their starting QB in training camp.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

The Bills could’ve lost this game, and it wouldn’t have mattered too much, but Sean McDermott’s defense pulled through to cover for the struggling Josh Allen. The Patriots aren’t at the same level as anyone in the AFC playoff, so the Bills will be hoping this game is just a blip before we reach the postseason.

We know the Pats lost, so it’s unusual we would give them a higher grade than the team that beat them, but we were quietly impressed by New England on Sunday. We’ve said all year Drake Maye looks the part in his first season and that continues to be true. A loss puts them second in next year’s draft which could see them draft a star, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

You’ll be forgiven for not paying too much attention to a week 16 Raiders v Jags matchup, it certainly wasn’t a priority for us. Still, the Raiders put together a solid performance, mostly due to Brock Bowers’ continued excellence. Ameer Abdullah, whose shockingly still in the league, put together a solid performance too.

We hope for Jags fans everywhere that Doug Pederson is let go at season’s end. He seems like a great guy, whose trying his best, but it’s clearly not working. Brian Thomas Jr. is the only positive to come out of this season.

De'Von Achane is a stud who is just electric to watch. He put the Dolphins’ offense on his back against the Niners, rushing for 120 yards and a score at 7.1 YPC. Miami isn’t out of the playoffs yet, but a loss here would have made it nearly impossible, so it’s worth acknowledging this team continues to fight, which is good to see.

Brock Purdy was under pressure all game long. Sometimes it was the offensive line’s fault, sometimes it was his. Either way, it wasn’t conducive to winning football, which is exactly how the game played out. What a disappointing year for the Niners.

Almost nothing has gone right for Dallas this season with injuries causing issues up and down the roster. Still, this was a performance to be proud of with the defense coming up with multiple clutch turnovers to change the game. The Bucs are a good team fighting for their playoff lives and Dallas was good enough beat them on Sunday.

Tampa didn’t play badly on Sunday, especially in the second half. They just didn’t play well enough for a team that needed to win. 23 of Dallas’ 26 points came in the first half and that was basically the game lost from that point. Rachaad White will be kicking himself for fumbling late in the fourth quarter as they were chasing the game.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!