After all of the off the ball shenanigans last week between Beckham Jr and Josh Norman it was good to get back to some real football action this week and boy did we get some great plays from some very special players.
The first of these players that really impressed me this week is one of the best receivers in league who if playing for any other team may stand a chance of winning a Superbowl, unfortunately Julio Jones is stuck at the Atlanta Falcons. Whilst they are not a Superbowl calibre team at least they have a quarterback in Matt Ryan who can get the ball to Jones and just watch him make plays.
This week Julio Jones was a big part of why the Falcons ended the Panthers hopes of having an undefeated season. Jones had nine receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown which was just of the highest quality. For any youngsters out there who are dreaming of becoming a receiver this is how you high point a ball:
Another player who has been breaking waves not just this week but over the last few weeks and that is David Johnson, running back for the Arizona Cardinals. This week Johnson had another amazing game against the Green Bay Packers. When you think that this kid was only drafted in the 3rd round this year and was the 7th running back taken in the draft he sure is making the biggest splash. Here is Johnson’s highlights from this week against the Packers:
Now we have covered some of the players who made a big splash this week let’s take a look at some of the big games that had playoff implications starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road to the Baltimore Ravens.
If recent form was anything to go by this game was going to be a walk in the park for the Steelers and to be honest even I thought it was going to be. Of course what I learned this week was that you can never take a division rival lightly especially if they have nothing to play for except ruining your chances of making the post season. Check out the highlights below to see how this game played out:
This result meant that if the Chiefs just needed to beat the Cleveland Browns to secure their place in the post season. As above you would’ve thought that this would be an easy accomplishment to achieve but at this stage of the season take nothing for granted. Here is how this one played out:
Now we have seen those results here is how the AFC playoff picture currently stands:
New England 12 - 3 *
Cincinnati 11 - 3 z
Denver 10 - 4
Houston 8 - 7
Kansas City 10 - 5 x
New York Jets 10 - 5
Key: * = Clinched Division and bye, z = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Playoff Berth
New England 12 - 3 *
Cincinnati 11 - 3 z
Denver 10 - 4
Houston 8 - 7
Kansas City 10 - 5 x
New York Jets 10 - 5
Key: * = Clinched Division and bye, z = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Playoff Berth
There were some big games in the NFC as well this week and several teams had clinching scenarios meaning that that they could either secure their division or a place in the playoffs if results went their way. Rather than going through each of these games we shall instead take a look at how the results have affected the post season. Here is how the teams currently stand:
Carolina 14 - 1 *
Arizona 13 - 2 *
Green Bay 10 - 5 x
Washington 8 - 7 z
Minnesota 10 - 5 x
Seattle 10 - 5 x
Key: * = Clinched Division and bye, z = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Playoff Berth
Carolina 14 - 1 *
Arizona 13 - 2 *
Green Bay 10 - 5 x
Washington 8 - 7 z
Minnesota 10 - 5 x
Seattle 10 - 5 x
Key: * = Clinched Division and bye, z = Clinched Division, x = Clinched Playoff Berth
As you can see all of the playoff teams have now been decided and the only game next week which will have implications on the standings is the NFC North battle for the division between Green Bay and Minnesota. That should be a great game and it will be interesting to see how the Packers bounce back from being man handled by the Cardinals this week.
Well that wraps it up from me for another week but before I let you go here are some of the best plays from the week 16 action:
Be sure to check out our podcast ‘Spitball’ which will be available later in the week and until next time football fans stay safe, take care and ‘Thanks for Stopping By’.