Week 16 Winners and Losers: The Rams Are Primed for Playoff Push After Perfect Sunday

Los Angeles saw everything break right to seize control of the NFC West. The Broncos and Buccaneers, meanwhile, failed to take advantage of prime opportunities.

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams runs with the ball against New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Plenty of unexpected situations occurred from the Week 16 results. 

For starters, the Washington Commanders delivered the biggest upset of the week, ending the Philadelphia Eagles’ 10-game winning streak with a 36–33 comeback victory. The Commanders’ first win against a team with a winning record—possibly vs. the best team in the league—said plenty about what coach Dan Quinn is building in Washington, and it said a lot more about how good Jayden Daniels can be in his NFL career. 

As for another unexpected development, the Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes are alive and well, but they still need plenty of help. The AFC contenders might be hoping Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase don’t get the extra help in the final two weeks of the regular season. 

The Los Angeles Rams also received surprising results when the rest of the NFC West teams lost after they defeated the New York Jets. They’re now on the verge of wrapping up the division title in Week 17.

As for a negative surprise, we might no longer get seven hours of commercial-free football from Scott Hanson and the popular NFL RedZone channel. Say it ain’t so! 

Let’s get to our Week 16 winners and losers.  

Winners

Jayden Daniels’s star power  

Perhaps the final box to check off when determining whether a promising rookie quarterback is the real deal is how they do against opponents the second time around. 

Occasionally, young signal-callers benefit from being a mystery to opposing defenses because of the lack of NFL tape to go off when building a game plan. This is especially true for mobile quarterbacks—just look at what Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson did as rookies, and now Daniels is doing the same. But Daniels is ahead of most rookie quarterbacks when it comes to accuracy and making plays from the pocket. He’s a pocket assassin first and a mobile quarterback second, which could be tough for defensive coordinators to prepare for even in second meetings. C.J. Stroud was pretty polished as a passer during his rookie season in 2023, but he doesn’t offer the mobility that Daniels possesses.   

Daniels’s vast skill set gave Vic Fangio and his Philadelphia Eagles’ defense plenty of fits in the second meeting. Sunday was the Eagles defense’s worst showing since Week 4 against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the last team to beat Philly before Washington (10–5) snapped its 10-game winning streak on Sunday. The Eagles didn’t allow a team to reach 250 in net passing yards during the winning streak, even when facing star quarterbacks, such as Burrow, Matthew Stafford and Jackson. The Commanders got there with Daniels throwing for 258 yards and five touchdowns.         

In the first meeting in Week 11, Daniels struggled to break through against the Eagles’ stifling secondary and didn’t have the luxury of scrambling because of a lingering rib injury. Daniels appears healthier now, using his legs to move the chains (nine carries for 81 yards) during the come-from-behind victory vs. the Eagles. 

Philadelphia had a tough time knowing when Daniels was going to run and had too much respect for his arm to abandon Washington's pass catchers in coverage. Daniels bought himself enough time in and outside the pocket to pick at the Eagles’ holes in coverage, and took off running when there was nothing there, which was crucial in the final quarter. And let’s not overlook the poise he’s shown in late-game situations throughout his rookie year.

Daniels did force a few balls downfield, leading to two interceptions. But he adjusted quickly, a trait that could be a problem for his opponents for many years to come. The future is bright for the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year.    

Burrow and the Bengals have won three game in a row, putting them on the cusp of the playoff picture—but they'll need some help to make the postseason. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bengals’ playoff hopes

Buffalo Bills fans might be sweating about the possibility of facing the Bengals in a potential No. 2 vs. No. 7 matchup during wild-card weekend. Honestly, every team should be worried about the possibility of having to deal with Burrow and Chase in a playoff game.

That idea didn’t seem possible until the Bengals won three consecutive games and got help from the Los Angeles Chargers after they defeated the Denver Broncos (9–6), who are two games ahead of the Bengals (7–8) for the final AFC playoff spot. Cincinnati’s playoff hopes could go from being on life support to “oh, crap, it could really happen” with a win on Saturday against the Broncos. 

I would love to see the Bengals get in because they would have a better chance than the Broncos in the wild-card round. No one needs to see the Broncos get crushed by 20-plus points on a Saturday afternoon. Denver has a 2–6 record this season against teams with a winning record. The Bengals also have their flaws, but they’re at least elite on one side of the ball. 

I was critical of the Bengals for most of the season partly because of how annoyed I was about the notion that they were Super Bowl contenders merely because of past accomplishments and Burrow being the starting quarterback, all while ignoring the glaring holes on defense. But now that we’re not overrating them, they’re definitely worthy of being the seventh-best team in the AFC. I’m just not totally convinced they’re going to make the playoffs. 

I can see a scenario in which the Bengals win out and the Broncos lose their final two games (Denver plays Kansas City in Week 18). But Cincy also needs the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins to lose at least one of their final two games, and they both play terrible teams to end the regular season. The Colts play the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Dolphins get the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. 

Plenty still needs to happen for everyone’s greatest playoff fear to occur, but it’s amazing that the Bengals still have meaningful games this late in the season after how poorly they played for three months. 

Rams’ perfect Sunday

For a long time, it appeared the NFC West title was going to come down to the final week of the regular season. The Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to host the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals are home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Now there’s a strong chance both those games could be meaningless when it comes to the division title because of the perfect Sunday the Rams had, which started with them avoiding the trap game in New Jersey to defeat Aaron Rodgers’s New York Jets. Nearly an hour later, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard walked off the Cardinals in overtime to end Arizona's playoff hopes. That was followed by the 49ers getting blown out in Miami to get mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. Also, Seattle lost a competitive home game vs. Minnesota, dropping one game behind Los Angeles for first place in the NFC West.

All the Rams (9–6) have to do is beat the Cardinals at home on Saturday and they won’t have to sweat in Week 18. They would get the division title, one week of rest if coach Sean McVay decides to sit starters and a home game during wild-card weekend. And as tight end Trey McBride put it, the Cardinals aren’t very good, giving the Rams a golden opportunity in Week 17. 

The Rams are looking dangerous, and would be a tough out in the postseason if they handle business on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Also, more people need to credit the job first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula has done. His unit has bailed out the inconsistent offense on several occasions, and often in road games. The games in New Jersey, Santa Clara, New Orleans and New England haven’t been pretty in the past month, but the Rams won all of them (and covered the spread!) in large part because of an emerging defense.

Thursday's win against Denver marked the seventh time this season that Herbert posted a passer rating higher than 100. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Justin Herbert vs. the doubters

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is known for being a chill guy, one who couldn’t care less about what pundits say about his performances. But the quiet star signal-caller does unintentionally create plenty of heated debates on social media. 

Last week, former quarterback and now football pundit Ryan Fitzpatrick felt the wrath of Herbert supporters when he said he wasn’t sold on the fifth-year quarterback. There was some truth to what Fitzpatrick said because Herbert hasn’t played as well as Burrow, Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen the past two seasons. 

He’s just as talented and making as much money as those aforementioned elite quarterbacks, but the results have been somewhat lacking since his dominant three-year start to his career. Herbert was injured last season and now he’s in Year 1 with Jim Harbaugh, who has built a conservative offense to overcome the lack of talent on the roster that needed to be stripped down. But, again, Herbert doesn’t have the luxury of excuses after signing his massive five-year, $262.5 million contract extension before the 2023 season.

To his credit, though, Herbert reminded the football public of what he’s capable of doing under the right circumstances after lighting up the Broncos’ secondary during an impressive win for the Chargers (9–6). Not many quarterbacks can complete the touchdown throw Herbert made to Derius Davis to take the lead against Denver in the fourth quarter. 

Herbert’s performance and the Chargers’ Week 16 victory was a reminder for the impatient crowd that Harbaugh and first-year GM Joe Hortiz are building the team the right way. With more reliable skill players, Herbert could be tough to stop next season, and maybe football pundits will stop questioning him as a signal-caller. Or maybe that changes even more quickly with a playoff win or two in January.  

Losers

Sean Payton’s reminder notes

Coach Sean Payton might be kicking himself for ignoring the two-word message he wrote to himself on his play-calling sheet during the Broncos’ costly loss against the Chargers last week.

Payton forgot to “run it” in the second half when the Chargers chipped away at Denver’s 11-point lead. The Broncos ran the ball 13 times for 89 rushing yards and an average of 6.8 yards per attempt in the first half. But they only ran the ball eight times for 21 yards in the second half. 

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix struggled with the lack of balance in the second half and failed to respond when the Chargers took the lead in the fourth quarter. Payton’s decision to not give his inexperienced quarterback more help with the ground game will sting if the Broncos miss the postseason because of the loss. 

Denver would have clinched a playoff berth with a win in Los Angeles. Now Payton’s team has plenty of pressure to defeat the Bengals on Saturday. The Broncos need to beat either the Bengals or the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18 to advance. To do so, Payton ought to remember to “run it” during the final two weeks of the regular season.

Joe Schoen (left) and Brian Daboll are firmly on the hot seat as the 2–13 Giants approach the end of the season. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen

For weeks, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has reported that New York Giants owner John Mara has been conflicted about firing a fourth head coach in a seven-year span. 

But coach Brian Daboll hasn’t given Mara any reason to not blow it up again. The same goes for Giants GM Joe Schoen, also known as the guy who let Saquon Barkley walk in free agency to join an NFC East rival. Barkley is flirting with Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record and helped the Eagles win a franchise-best 10 consecutive games before the loss in Washington. Meanwhile, the Giants have a franchise-worst 10-game losing streak and seem to be getting worse by the week. Backup quarterback Drew Lock threw two pick-sixes and the Giants (2–13) allowed 34 unanswered points in the Week 16 blowout loss against the Atlanta Falcons. 

It’s clear the Giants have checked out of this season and that doesn’t bode well for Daboll and Schoen that they can’t field a competitive team to close out this brutal season. Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys have played with plenty of pride, and even Antonio Pierce’s Las Vegas Raiders are keeping games close, including a victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Mac Jones’s Jaguars nearly knocked off the Jets the week prior. 

All signs are pointing to Mara blowing it up again because Daboll and Schoen haven’t gotten much right the past two years. Or maybe Mara is O.K. with all the losing because they currently own the No. 1 pick. We’ll find out soon what Mara does, but he’ll need to ignore the many angry Giants fans if he does decide to retain Daboll and Schoen for another season.  

Buccaneers’ NFC South title hopes

The Buccaneers (8–7) opened the door for the Falcons (8–7) to win the NFC South after losing to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys during Sunday Night Football. 

This divisional race is far from over, but it must sting for the Buccaneers to know that they no longer control their destiny. They’re going to need the Commanders to defeat the Falcons on Sunday for an opportunity to regain the top spot in the NFC South (Atlanta holds the head-to-head tiebreaker). And even that comes with conflicting feelings because a Commanders win likely means all wild-card spots in the NFC will be spoken for, closing one path for the Buccaneers to sneak into the playoffs.   

Odds are that only one team from the NFC South will advance to the playoffs. But all the Buccaneers can focus on is beating the Carolina Panthers, who took Tampa Bay to overtime not that long ago, and the New Orleans Saints to conclude the regular season. From there, the Bucs can hope that Atlanta loses to either Washington or Carolina in the final two weeks.

Just last week, the Buccaneers soared up power rankings and were viewed in the same light as the Rams when it comes to dangerous playoff teams to avoid. But this league constantly changes. One week you’re cruising against the Chargers and the next you’re getting beat up by the Cowboys.    

NFL RedZone 

It was disappointing to hear NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson ditch his popular intro phrase of “seven hours of commercial-free football” before the Sunday games started in Week 16. 

I truly looked forward to hearing that around 10 a.m. PT on Sundays in the fall. Some Sundays I would sleep in later than usual, starting a sprint to get through all my errands and morning routines, and feeling accomplished when I finished in time to hear Hanson say the phrase “commercial-free football.” 

Hearing those words was the perfect way to start a day filled with football, but now there’s a chance we won’t hear those words again because the company worth billions needs more money from commercials. But we as football fans understand this isn’t Hanson’s decision to air commercials on our beloved RedZone channel, a channel that was built off a promise of not airing ads for seven hours. 

It was admirable of Hanson to apologize for using the popular saying in Week 15 knowing that a commercial would be aired, which he didn’t need to do. Again, we understand what it's like to follow marching orders. It sucks that the promise of no commercials was broken, but here’s hoping the suits over in the NFL will realize this direction is a mistake and we can get back to hearing Hanson say the line.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed