NFL 2023 Week 16 Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. The week that was brought us some some presents both with friends and family and as well as football. NFL Fans were given gifts of the Lions winning a division title, Rudolph saving Christmas in Pittsburgh, an upset win in Denver, and a beatdown in San Francisco. All those games and more in this week's recap post!

NFL Week 16 Freaky Stat

The Lions winning their first NFC North title in their history. They last won a division title when they were in the NFC Central in 1993. 

NFL Week 16 Recap

New Orleans 22, LA Rams 30: TW: Rams; CV: Rams

The Rams stave off the Saints comeback. Derek Carr hit 27 of 40 passes for 319 yards with three touchdown passes but tossed an interception. Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson and At Perry were the Saints that caught the passes from Carr. The Saints were down early in the game thus their running game wouldn't get used a lot. Alvin Kamara was the leading rusher for the Saints with 19 yards. The Saints had 339 total yards in the game. Chris Olave had a good game with nine catches for 123 yards. Matthew Stafford hit 24 of 34 passes for 328 yards with two touchdowns to Puka Nacua and Demarcus Robinson. Nacua had a stellar game as he caught nine passes for 164 yards. Kyren Williams would reach the 100-yard rushing mark with 104 yards with a touchdown. The Rams offense would not be stopped as they held the ball for over 34 minutes in time of possession while getting 458 yards in total. Perhaps the big thing to note is that the Saints went 0 for 3 on 4th down conversions. Just seems that when you go down 17-7 at halftime that, you might not make it out alive. For the Saints, they enter the Christmas holiday with a meh 7-8 record. For the Rams, they get a nice 8-7 record with a present of a playoff spot in their midst. 

Next week: 

New Orleans: @ Tampa Bay

LA Rams: @ NY Giants

TW: 1-0; CV: 1-0

Cincinnati 11, Pittsburgh 34: TW: Bengals; CV: Bengals

Rudolph saves Christmas for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jake Browning had a rough game as he hit 28 of 42 passes for 335 yards with a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins that went for 80 yards. The rough part would be three interceptions that he would toss. One of them came on a redzone trip for the Bengals. Joe Mixon rushed for 43 yards on 11 carries. Tee Higgins had a good game as he caught five passes for 140 yards. All in all, the Bengals got 368 total yards in the game. Imagine what the game could've been if Browning didn't throw those interceptions. Maybe he was seeing ghosts. Mason Rudolph with his big arm hit 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards with two touchdowns to George Pickens. Pickens would have a similar touchdown play to Higgins, instead it was for an 86-yard play. He finished with four catches for 195 yards. Najee Harris rebounded in the game and hit 78 yards rushing with a touchdown. Calvin Austin III rushed for a touchdown on a 7-yard play. Pittsburgh got 397 total yards in the game. Unlike the Bengals, the Steelers didn't fumble the ball or turned the ball at all during the game. For the Bengals, they miss an opportunity to stay in the AFC Wild Card with an 8-7 record. For the Steelers, they improve to 8-7 and keep hope of maintaining 16 straight non-losing seasons under Mike Tomlin. 

Next week: 
Cincinnati: @ Kansas City
Pittsburgh: @ Seattle

TW: 1-1; CV: 1-1

Buffalo 24, LA Chargers 22: TW: Bills; CV: Bills

Josh Allen's three total touchdowns keep the Bills alive in the playoff hunt. Allen hit 15 of 21 passes for 237 yards with a touchdown pass to Gabe Davis. He would also hit a pass to Charger Alohi Gilman for an interception. James Cook rushed for 70 yards on 20 carries. Gabe Davis had a stellar game with four catches for 130 yards. His touchdown came on the longest play of the game, a 57-yard play. Buffalo got 335 yards total in offense. Easton Stick did alright as he hit 23 of 33 passes for 215 yards while rushing for 25 yards and scoring the only touchdown the Chargers had in the game. It was on a 1-yard run play. Austin Ekeler was the leading rusher for the Chargers with 65 yards on 15 carries. Cameron Dicker would be the player that kept it going for the Chargers hitting five field goals. Dicker hit field goals from 20, 40, 47, 45 and 53 yards. The Chargers got 273 yards of offense in the game. For the Bills, they will keep their playoff hopes alive and stay in the running for a wild card spot while stay in the running for the AFC East division title at 9-6. For the Chargers, they will miss the playoffs while getting a 5-10 record. 

Next week: 
Buffalo: vs New England

LA Chargers: @ Denver

TW: 2-1; CV: 2-1

Detroit 30, Minnesota 24: TW: Lions; CV: Lions

Ifeatu Melifonwu called game. Jared Goff hit 30 of 40 passes for 257 yards with a touchdown pass to AmonRa St. Brown. St. Brown had a good game as he caught 12 passes for 106 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs had a solid game as he rushed for 80 yards with two touchdowns. David Montgomery had a good game as well as the sidekick with 55 yards rushing and a touchdown. It wasn't an easy contest as it went back and forth between the two rivals. Detroit had 389 total yards in the game. Nick Mullens didn't quite have the best game in the week. He hit 22 of 36 passes for 411 yards with two touchdowns but threw four interceptions. Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn were the Vikings that caught those passes from Mullens. Of the four interceptions, Kerby Joseph intercepted two, Brian Branch grabbed one and the aforementioned Ifeatu Melifonwu had one. Tyson Chandler got 17 yards rushing on eight carries. Definitely not a lot of help for Mullens in the game. It was also the Vikings 2nd annual White Out game where everyone wore white. For the Lions, for the first time since 1993 they are division champions of the NFC North (they were NFC Central champions back in '93) with a 11-4 record. For the Vikings, they slip down to a 7-8 record with a tough road to get to the playoffs. 

Next week:
Detroit: @ Dallas (Saturday)
Minnesota: vs Green Bay (Sunday night)

TW: 3-1; CV: 3-1

Cleveland 36, Houston 22: TW: Browns; CV: Browns

The Browns demolish the Texans. Joe Flacco hit 27 of 42 passes for 368 yards with three touchdowns but tossed two interceptions. Amari Cooper was the recipient of the majority of those passes as he caught two of those passes for six points. David Njoku caught the other pass for a touchdown. Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt were the runners that trudged through the endzone. Ford had 25 yards rushing and Hunt had 11 yards. Amari Cooper gave his fantasy owners some amazing stats as he caught 11 passes for 265 yards, which with the two touchdowns gave fantasy a whopping 51 points. Cleveland had 418 total yards in the game. Case Keenum started the game for the Texans. The journeyman wouldn't have his best game as he hit 11 of 17 passes for 62 yards with two interceptions. He would be replaced by Davis Mills as he hit 15 of 32 passes for 149 yards with two touchdowns. Nico Collins and Andrew Beck were the Texans that caught those passes from Mills. Devin Singletary rushed for 44 yards with nine carries in the game. Houston would score a majority of its points in the 4th quarter by which the score was out of reach. Dameon Pierce would give his team a boost in special teams as he had a kick-six for a 98-yard score. For total yards, the Texans had 250 yards with 178 yards from the air. For the Browns, they improve to 10-5 and keep pace with the AFC Wild Card. For the Texans, they drop to 8-7 with some faded hope in the AFC South division title race. 

Next week:
Cleveland: vs NY Jets (Thursday night)

Houston: vs Tennessee

TW: 4-1; CV: 4-1

Green Bay 33, Carolina 30: TW: Packers; CV: Packers

Andrew Carlson hit the game-winner for the Packers. Jordan Love hit 17 of 28 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns. Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks were the players that caught the passes from Love. Love would also rush into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown. AJ Dillon had 12 yards rushing on seven carries. Aaron Jones did most of the gruntwork with 21 carries for a whopping 127 yards. Good game from him. Green Bay had 369 yards of offense in the game. Bryce Young would have his better games today. He hit 23 of 35 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Chark caught six passes for 98 yards and the two touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard had 43 yards rushing with a touchdown. Ihmir Smith-Marsette rushed for 33 yards with a touchdown on a 20-yard play. It was a 30-16 game in the 4th quarter. Then Carolina scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives with a game-tying two-point conversion. Andrew Carlson hit a 32-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the game. Carolina then proceeded to get two 20+ yard plays that moved the ball to the Packers 31-yard line. The controversy was that there was either 0:01 left on the clock or did the clock expire? Who knows. For the Packers, they move up to 7-8 and keep their playoff hopes alive. For the Panthers, they drop to 2-13 on the season. 

Next week: 
Green Bay: @ Minnesota (Sunday night)
Carolina: @ Jacksonville

TW: 5-1; CV: 5-1

Indianapolis 10, Atlanta 29: TW: Colts; CV: Colts

A bit of a surprise in Atlanta. Gardner Minshew hit 20 of 37 passes for 201 yards with an interception. Jonathan Taylor scored on the only Colts touchdown on a 1-yard run play. He finished the game with 43 yards. Gardner Minshew hit 31 yards rushing. Indianapolis had 262 total yards in the game. Taylor Heinicke started for the Falcons. He hit 23 of 33 passes for 229 yards with a touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Heinicke would have an interesting time as he ran into the a kicking net. Fortunately he was alright but the kicking net might need to spend time in the IR. Bijan Robinson rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries. Tyler Allgeier rushed for 69 yards (heheh nice) with a touchdown run in the game. It was one of the better games for the Falcons offense which had been rudderless for a past month had 406 total yards in the game. Safe to say it was a good showing. For the Colts, their playoff hopes stall a bit as they drop to 8-7. For the Falcons, they improve to 7-8 with some hope of getting into the tournament. 

Next week: 

Indianapolis: vs Las Vegas
Atlanta: @ Chicago

TW: 5-2; CV: 5-2

Seattle 20, Tennessee 17: TW: Titans; CV: Seahawks

Geno Smith returns to help the Seahawks to a win. Smith came back from injury and hit 25 of 36 passes for 227 yards for two touchdowns. The touchdowns came to DK Metcalf on a 11-yard play and Colby Parkinson on a 5-yard play. Both of them came in the 4th quarter. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 54 yards on 16 carries. Prior to the 4th quarter, the Seahawks had two field goals from Jason Myers. For total yards, the Seahawks had 273 offensive yards. Ryan Tannehill returned to the fray in this one. He hit 18 of 26 passes for 152 yards. Derrick Henry would play both passer and runner in the game. Henry the passer hit a 12-yard connection to Chigoziem Okonkwo. It brings Henry's passing touchdowns to four. Derrick Henry the runner had 88 yards rushing with a touchdown. It would be the Smith to Parkinson touchdown that gave the Seahawks the game-winning score of 20-17 in a clutch effort. For the Seahawks, they improve to 8-7 on the season. For the Titans, they drop to 5-10 with all but lost hope of getting in the playoffs. 

Next week: 
Seattle: vs Pittsburgh

Tennessee: @ Houston

TW: 5-3; CV: 6-2

Washington 28, NY Jets 30: TW: Commanders; CV: Commanders

The Jets blow a lead and then Greg Zuerlein saves them. Typical Jets. Sam Howell hit 6 of 22 passes for 56 yards and two interceptions before he would see bench. Jacoby Brissett came in relief and hit 10 of 13 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown pass went to Logan Thomas. Washington's running game got the scoring on as Chris Rodriguez Jr rushed for 58 yards with two touchdowns. Antonio Gibson had 30 yards rushing with a touchdown. It had looked like the Jets would run away with it at half time with a 27-7 lead at halftime. Washington proceeded to outscore New York 21-3 in the 2nd half. Washington got 245 yards of offense in the game. Trevor Siemian started for the Jets in what has been a QB carousel in East Rutherford. Siemian hit 27 of 49 passes for a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown pass came to Jason Brownlee. Breece Hall rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries. He had a 36-yard play that was the longest in the game as well as two touchdowns. Greg Zuerlein hit three field goals in the game for 25 yards, 27 yards and then the 54-yard field goal that gave the Jets the lead for good. I do question Robert Saleh's time management in this game. Nonetheless he will stay with the Jets into the next season. New York had 381 total yards in the game. For the Commanders, they drop to 4-11. For the Jets, they improve to 6-9 and keep their slim playoff chances alive. 

Next week: 
Washington: vs San Francisco
NY Jets: @ Cleveland (Thursday night)

TW: 5-4; CV: 6-3

Jacksonville 12, Tampa Bay 30: TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers

A rough loss for the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence hit 17 of 29 passes for a touchdown but tossed two interceptions. He would get replaced by CJ Beathard and hit 11 for 15 passes for 94 yards with a touchdown. Calvin Ridley caught the pass from Lawrence for 18 yards. Ridley would catch the 2nd pass from Beathard for a 1-yard play. Lawrence was the leading rusher for the Jaguars with 29 yards. Jacksonville would get 305 total yards in the game. Baker Mayfield had a solid day at quarterback. He hit 26 of 35 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns to his favorite target, Mike Evans. Evans' touchdowns were from 3 and 22 yard plays. Rashaad White got 39 yards rushing on 20 carries with a touchdown. Tampa Bay had 335 total yards in the game. Not that much more than the Jaguars but the turnovers really killed the Jags chances in this game. For the Jaguars, they drop their 4th straight game and that solid 8-3 record now stands at 8-7. For the Buccaneers, they improve to 8-7 and get above .500 for the first time since Week 6. 

Next week:
Jacksonville: vs Carolina

Tampa Bay: vs New Orleans

TW: 6-4; CV: 7-3

Arizona 16, Chicago 27: TW: Bears; CV: Cardinals

Chicago takes care of business at home. Kyler Murray hit 24 of 38 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns. The pair of touchdowns went to James Conner for a 16-yard score and to Greg Dortch for a big play of 38 yards. James Conner had 45 yards rushing on 12 carries while catching five passes for 67 yards. Arizona had 306 total yards in the game. Justin Fields the passer hit 15 of 27 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis for a 1-yard short pass. Fields did toss an interception in the game. Justin Fields the runner got 97 yards rushing with a 3-yard touchdown run. Khalil Herbert got 20 carries for 112 yards rushing with a 11-yard touchdown run. Cole Kmet had four catches for 107 yards. Chicago finished the game with 420 yards in total offense. For the Cardinals, they drop to 3-12 with increasing chances of winning the top 5 pick in next spring's draft. For the Bears, they improve to 6-9 on the season. 

Next week:
Arizona: @ Philadelphia
Chicago: vs Atlanta

TW: 7-4; CV: 7-4

Dallas 20, Miami 22: TW: Dolphins; CV: Dolphins

The Dolphins sneak past the Cowboys on Christmas Eve. Dak Prescott hit 20 of 32 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns. The first came to CeeDee Lamb for a 49-yard big play that gave the Cowboys a lead in the 1st quarter. The second came to Brandin Cooks for a 8-yard play. CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 118 yards. Tony Pollard got 38 yards rushing on 12 carries. He had a chance to put it into the endzone but he fumbled on a bad transfer from Prescott to Pollard. Dallas got 339 total yards of offense. Tua Tagovailoa had 24 of 37 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown pass to Raheem Mostert for a 4-yard play. Raheem Mostert got 11 carries for 46 yards. Tyreek Hill had nine catches for 99 yards. Jason Sanders was hopping and kicking well in the game with five field goals. The last field goal came on a 29-yard field goal with time expiring. Miami had 375 total yards of offense in the game. For the Cowboys, they drop to 10-5 on the season. For the Dolphins, they move up to 11-4 and get their first win against a winning team on the year. 

Next week:
Dallas: vs Detroit (Saturday night)
Miami: @ Baltimore

TW: 8-4; CV: 8-4

New England 26, Denver 23: TW: Broncos; CV: Broncos

Chad Ryland dashes the hopes of a Broncos playoffs. Bailey Zappe hit 25 of 33 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns. The first came to Ezekiel Elliott for a 15-yard play that gave the Patriots a lead. The second came to Mike Gesicki on a 11-yard redzone touchdown. Ezekiel Elliott got 27 yards rushing on 12 carries. New England's special teams, a bane on their existence this season, got a fumble six on a Marvin Mims double muff on a kickoff. It was recovered by Cody Davis. At one point the game had a 23-7 advantage for the Patriots. New England had 289 total yards in the game. Russell Wilson had 25 of 37 passes for 238 yards with two touchdown passes. The first came to Lucas Krull on a 3-yard play. The second touchdown came to Brandon Johnson on a 21-yard play. Javonte Williams had 24 yards in the game with a touchdown run on the Broncos 1st touchdown in the game. Jaleel McLaughlin had 37 yards rushing in the game. With seven seconds left in the game Chad Ryland hit one of the biggest kicks in his career on a 56-yard field goal that gave the Patriots the upset win. For the Patriots, they improve to 4-11 with not much else to play for but pride. For the Broncos, they drop to 7-8 with their playoff hopes slipping away. 

Next week:
New England: @ Buffalo
Denver: vs LA Chargers

TW: 8-5; CV: 8-5

Las Vegas 20, Kansas City 14: TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs

Two defensive touchdowns doom the Chiefs at home on Christmas Day. Aidan O'Connell hit 9 of 21 passes for 62 yards in the game. It's not a typo. Zamir White rushed 22 times for 145 yards in the game, including a 43-yard play. It was a quiet day on offense with 205 total yards in the game. As I said before, the Raiders got two touchdowns on defense. The first came on a direct snap play to Isiah Pacheco that was recovered and scored by Bilal Nichols for an 8-yard fumble six. The 2nd defensive touchdown came on a Patrick Mahomes interception to Jack Jones for a 33-yard score. Daniel Carlson hit two field goals in the game. Patrick Mahomes didn't have the best of games in this one. He hit 27 of 44 passes for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Justin Watson was the recipient of the touchdown pass that happened in the 4th quarter. It would cut the lead down to 20-14. Patrick Mahomes was the leading rusher for the Chiefs with 10 carries with 53 yards rushing. Isiah Pacheco had a rushing touchdown on the game on a direct snap play for the Chiefs first touchdown. The 2nd time that Pacheco had a direct snap to him didn't yield a touchdown. Kansas City outgained Las Vegas in the offensive yardage in the game as they got 308 total yards. The two defensive touchdowns doomed the Chiefs in the game. For the Raiders, they improve to 7-8 and keep the race for the AFC West a bit closer. For the Chiefs, they drop to 9-6 on the season. 

Next week: 
Las Vegas: @ Indianapolis

Kansas City: vs Cincinnati

TW: 8-6; CV: 8-6

NY Giants 25, Philadelphia 33: TW: Eagles; CV: Eagles

The Giants kept it close but not close enough in Philly. Tommy DeVito started for the Giants. He wouldn't generate a lot of offense as he hit 9 of 16 passes for 55 yards. Tyrod Taylor came off the bench and hit 7 of 16 passes for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Darius Slayton was the recipient of the present from Taylor as he went to the house for a 69-yard play (heheh nice). Slayton caught three passes for 90 yards. The interception came on the last play of the game. Saquon Barkley rushed for 80 yards with a touchdown in the game. The Giants had 292 total yards in the game. Jalen Hurts hit 24 of his 38 passes for 301 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The present went to Devonta Smith for a 36-yard play for six points. The Eagles running game had success running on the Giants. D'Andre Swift was the leading rusher and carrier with 92 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown. Kenneth Gainwell had 41 yards rushing on six carries. Jalen Hurts saw the endzone with 34 yards rushing on eight carries. Philadelphia had 465 total yards in the game. Certainly a step back in the right direction for the Eagles. They weren't without mistakes as they had an interception as well as had lost a fumble of four fumbles that they had. In general, the Eagles had to punt just two times in the game. From the yardage standpoint, the Eagles looked like they whooped the Giants. Just goes to show that Jalen Hurts is probably the MVP of this Eagles team. For the Giants, they drop to 5-10 on the season. For the Eagles, they improve to 11-4 and regain 1st place in the NFC East. 

Next week: 
NY Giants: vs LA Rams
Philadelphia: vs Arizona

TW: 9-6; CV: 9-6

Baltimore 33, San Francisco 19: TW: 49ers; CV: Ravens

Five interceptions doom the 49ers on Monday Night Football. Lamar Jackson looked superb as he hit 23 of 35 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and had 45 yards rushing. The first touchdown came to Nelson Agholor for a 6-yard play. The second touchdown came just less than a minute later as Jackson hit Zay Flowers for a 9-yard play. Gus Edwards had 31 yards rushing with a touchdown that came on the first touchdown for the Ravens. Baltimore had 343 yards in offense for the game. There was some controversy as the Ravens were hit by an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a safety. Lamar Jackson ran into an official on the play that resulted in the play. Brock Purdy would have a game to forget as he hit 18 of 32 passes for 255 yards with four interceptions. It was an oddity as he had never hit four interceptions at any point in his career, including college. He would see some bench time as Sam Darnold came in relief and hit 8 of 14 passes for 81 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Ronnie Bell was the player that caught the touchdown pass. It would be the the 49ers 2nd touchdown in the game. Christian McCaffrey scored the first touchdown on a 9-yard play that made it a 13-12 Ravens lead. McCaffrey finished with 103 yards rushing on 14 carries. San Francisco would outgain Baltimore with 429 yards in total offense. Just shows that turnovers really kill your chances. For the Ravens, they improve to 12-3 on the season and have a shot to win the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs next week. For the 49ers, they drop to 11-4 with the NFC's #1 seed wide open. 

Next week: 
Baltimore: vs Miami
San Francisco: @ Washington

TW: 9-7; CV: 10-6

Records

Cardinal Viking:

2023: 
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 10-6

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8

Week 6: 9-6

Week 7: 4-9

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8

Week 11: 7-7

Week 12: 9-7

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 5-10

Week 15: 10-6

Week 16: 10-6

Total: 134-106

2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2

My record: 

2023:
Week 1: 9-7

Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5

Week 4: 14-2

Week 5: 7-7

Week 6: 8-7

Week 7: 5-8

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7

Week 11: 11-3

Week 12: 8-8

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 4-11

Week 15: 10-6

Week 16: 9-7

Total: 142-98

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2

See you all on Wednesday/Thursday for the Week 16 Picks post! Enjoy your week!

-Tom