The Dime Package: 10 Thoughts on NFL Week 16

After playoff spots were clinched in NFL Week 16 and key injuries occurred, The Dime Package returns with 10 thoughts on the holiday week.

It’s no surprise that many playoff races would become much clearer in NFL Week 16. With so many division races and potential berths on the line, the action on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was always set to be wild.

However, the way things transpired may have been more unpredictable than even expected. When you have two teams that had combined for one win going into NFL Week 16 both notching victories, of course things are going to be off the rails. Throw in two devastating injuries to teams in the playoff picture, and it was just pure calamity.

After all of this, we try and make some sense of the holiday weekend. The Dime Package returns with 10 thoughts and takeaways from Week 16:

1. Teams in the NFC are going to be rooting hard for the Detroit Lions in the next two weeks. They want Detroit to secure a playoff spot tonight and a division title next week. Why are they rooting for the Lions? No one wants to face Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. Green Bay is smoking hot right now. Rodgers has thrown 14 touchdown passes and no picks in his last six games. That’s MVP-level stuff right there.

2. I feel betrayed by the Tennessee Titans. I jumped on the wagon and they let me down by getting rolled by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only did they get blown out, but then they lost Marcus Mariota with a fractured fibula. They were behind and may have blown their playoff chances anyway with a loss. But that adds salt to the wound.

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3. I think the national media is making way too much of Xavier Rhodes and Terrance Newman switching responsibilities against the Packers. Players freelance all the time. It happens at all three levels of football. It is not necessarily right, but it happens. It doesn’t mean that they don’t respect Mike Zimmer or Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, George Edwards.

4. The Buffalo Bills should fire Rex Ryan. His team fell behind early and, while they came back, they didn’t appear to be ready to play.

5. Good for the Cleveland Browns for beating the San Diego Chargers. I’m glad they aren’t going to go 0-16. The city of Cleveland, the organization and the fans deserve better. I’m glad they’ve been spared the humiliation of going winless. Now onto the future.

6. No Derek Carr, no chance for the Oakland Raiders. Losing Carr to a fractured fibula effectively ended any chance the Raiders had at competing for a Super Bowl. Maybe Matt McGloin can lead them to playoff win, but I wouldn’t expect anything more than that. Carr, like most other elite quarterbacks, is irreplaceable.

7. The Seattle Seahawks reinforced the notion that they are not a Super Bowl contender. They are the byproduct of a really bad division and a bad conference. How do you lose to the Cardinals at home? Inexcusable!

8. The Houston Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals 12-10 on Saturday night. It’s a good thing it was Christmas Eve and no one was watching, because they might be the worst division winner in recent memory.

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9. With their comeback over the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they’re the biggest threat to the New England Patriots in the AFC. They proved that even if their defense doesn’t play well, the Killer Bs are too much to contain for four quarters. I know the Patriots beat Pittsburgh earlier this season, but that doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs. It is a new season.

10. The Denver Broncos got blown out by the Chiefs on Sunday night because they couldn’t sustain drives and take pressure off of their defense. John Elway has a decision to make at the quarterback position. Trevor Siemian is not the long term answer and it’s been obvious the past few weeks.