NFL Week 16 scores and live updates: Playoff picture, draft order, standings, highlights, analysis and more (original) (raw)
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts enters concussion protocol, no update on Kenny Pickett
Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts has entered concussion protocol, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said at a press conference Monday. Sirianni had no update on backup quarterback Kenny Pickett, who had an X-ray for a rib injury after Sunday’s loss against the Washington Commanders.
Philadelphia hosts the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17. Sirianni said the team would lean on the doctors to let them know where Hurts is at. While he wouldn’t say what would happen if Hurts wasn’t cleared until late in the week without having practiced, Sirianni expressed confidence that his star QB could be ready at a moment’s notice.
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GO FURTHEREagles QB Jalen Hurts enters concussion protocol, no update on Kenny Pickett
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, perhaps underappreciated, is really good at his job
NFL Network surveyed 27 high-ranking executives, including 17 general managers, for a story posted last week naming early winners for awards such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and Executive of the Year.
Lions GM Brad Holmes earned the most votes for the latter with six. Four others received multiple votes and six executives, including Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, received one.
That’s nothing to be up in arms about if you’re a loyal Gutekunst defender since the executives with more votes come from the Lions, Bills, Eagles, Vikings and Rams, but it’s possible Green Bay’s seventh-year GM still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves for building one of the league’s best teams.
The Packers have begun each of the last two seasons as the NFL’s youngest team. And if they beat the Saints on Monday night at Lambeau Field, they’ll have made the playoffs in each of those seasons. You could argue that the last two seasons were the first two in which Green Bay was truly Gutekunst’s team, if only because it was no longer centered on a quarterback he didn’t draft. What the last two seasons have made evident is Gutekunst, 51, has set the Packers up for Super Bowl contention both now and in the future.
“I think Gutey’s done an outstanding job,” head coach Matt LaFleur said Saturday. “He probably doesn’t get enough credit for the job he’s done building our roster and just getting guys in here that love the game of football.”
GO FURTHERPackers GM Brian Gutekunst, perhaps underappreciated, is really good at his job
Texans WR Tank Dell out for year with dislocated knee, torn ACL
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Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is out for the season after suffering a dislocated knee and torn ACL, coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters Monday.
Dell was injured in Saturday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud with 11:40 left in the third quarter. On a deep throw intended for Dell, Houston wide receiver Jared Wayne was in the vicinity of the play attempting to make a catch and collided with Dell’s knee. Medical personnel carted Dell off the field after tending to him for almost 10 minutes. Many Houston players, including Stroud and Wayne, were in shock after the play, and some were in tears.
The 25-year-old Houston product spent the night in a Kansas City area hospital before returning to Houston on Sunday.
“The focus is just on Tank,” Ryans said when asked about how Dell’s injury would affect his status for 2025. “Going through this process. Getting the surgery and getting recovered. We’ll deal with that when it comes but I don’t think it is the time right now to discuss what is going to happen next year with Tank. We’ll allow him to get this time to heal up and recover.”
GO FURTHERTexans WR Tank Dell out for year with dislocated knee, torn ACL
Sando’s Pick Six: Vikings shocked the NFL. Here’s how insiders would solve the Darnold dilemma
The next two weeks will reveal plenty about what the future holds for the Minnesota Vikings and Sam Darnold.
On this Week 16 Sunday, in the moments after Darnold maneuvered through the Seattle Seahawks’ pass rush to deliver the winning 39-yard touchdown strike to Justin Jefferson, those looming games against the 10-4 Green Bay Packers and 13-2 Detroit Lions could wait.
“Sam Darnold will be a Viking next year unless he bombs in the playoffs,” read the text from a veteran NFL player agent.
This impromptu conversation quickly grew to include NFL coaches and executives as the Vikings notched their eighth consecutive victory, 27-24, in running their record to an improbable 13-2.
Only the 1999 Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams have exceeded expectations through 15 games to a greater degree than these Vikings over the past 36 seasons, according to historic Vegas preseason win totals.
Those Rams, like these Vikings, had lost their franchise quarterback to a season-ending knee injury in preseason. They later traded their starter, Trent Green, after Warner led them to Super Bowl glory.
The Vikings are not there yet, but how they proceed with Darnold — who is on a one-year contract — and injured rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy got a little more fascinating after Darnold sliced that fourth-quarter pass through Seattle’s coverage a half-tick before pass rusher Dre’Mont Jones blasted him.
The Pick Six column shares thoughts and ideas from the agent, personnel and coaching worlds in handicapping where the biggest surprise story of the season goes from here. The full menu:
- Sorting through Vikings’ dynamics
- Not open-heart surgery for Mahomes
- How worried should Steelers be?
- Rams: Most physical team in division
- Lions’ injuries simply bad luck?
- 2-minute drill: Penix’s strong debut
GO FURTHERThe Vikings shocked the NFL. Here’s how insiders would solve the Darnold dilemma: Sando’s Pick SixBrowns working through QB plans with Dorian Thompson-Robinson calf injury
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Browns starting quarterback of the moment Dorian Thompson-Robinson played through a calf injury he suffered on the first series of Sunday's loss in Cincinnati.
Monday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Thompson-Robinson is "working through" the injury, and though Stefanski said he's "hopeful" that Thompson-Robinson can play Sunday vs. Miami, the 3-12 Browns will figure out their quarterback plans as the week goes on.
Stefanski said it's "premature" to say if Jameis Winston or Bailey Zappe would be the starting quarterback if Thompson-Robinson can't play. Winston, who was benched ahead of Week 16, didn't throw much in practice due to a shoulder issue. Winston was the third emergency quarterback for the loss in Cincinnati, which led to Zappe making warmup throws in the game's first two minutes after Thompson-Robinson's injury.
Winston was benched after throwing eight interceptions in three games. Thompson-Robinson threw two more in the fourth quarter of what became a 24-6 loss to the Bengals.
Zappe has been on the Browns' practice squad and active roster at various points since the Browns signed him off Kansas City's practice squad in October, when Winston became the starter following Deshaun Watson's calf injury. With the team long eliminated from playoff contention and Winston only under contract for the rest of this season, the Browns gave Thompson-Robinson his first start of the season in Cincinnati. Thompson-Robinson went 20-of-34 for 157 yards and the two interceptions.
There have been 479 quarterbacks since 1970 who had made at least 10 career appearances and at least 100 pass attempts, per TruMedia. Prior to the game in Cincinnati, Thompson-Robinson was dead last among those 479 in yards per attempt at 3.7. But after Sunday's game, he's up one spot to 478th with a career yards per attempt average of 3.9. Spergon Wynn, who played for the Browns in 2000 and the Vikings in 2001, is now last at 3.8 yards per attempt.
Browns tight end David Njoku suffered a knee injury in Cincinnati. Njoku had an MRI Monday, Stefanski said, but the coach had no further updates.
Six Cowboys who delivered Sunday and are or should be part of the team’s future
ARLINGTON, Texas — By the time the Dallas Cowboys took the field Sunday night to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the season for the home team had already been dealt a nail in the coffin. With the Washington Commanders pulling off a last-second win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys’ faint postseason hopes ended. The 2024 campaign will end at the conclusion of the regular season in two weeks at home against the Commanders.
Despite having nothing to gain, the Cowboys played an inspired brand of football. As Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said after the game, “They played like they were trying to clinch playoffs and we didn’t.”
While some may look at the 26-24 win hurting the Cowboys’ draft position, the production on the field Sunday night was more important to the future success than a few draft slots. Many of the playmakers against the Bucs are under contract in 2025 and will be part of next year’s team. Others are on expiring deals but should be in consideration to extend their playing careers in Dallas.
Let’s look at three standouts from both categories who contributed to the win.
Already in the fold
Micah Parsons
There’s no question where the heartbeat of this defense lies. Parsons can be a game-wrecker any given week. One of the game-changing plays occurred on the first drive of the third quarter when the Bucs got the ball after the break, trailing 23-14. They moved to the Dallas 25-yard line before a holding penalty pushed them back to the 35, still on the cusp of field goal range. On second-and-19, Parsons strip-sacked Baker Mayfield and pushed the Bucs out range into a third-and-40. The Bucs punted and the Cowboys drove down for a crucial field goal on the ensuing drive.
Parsons made headlines this week for his comments about his looming contract extension. The Cowboys have Parsons in 2025 by virtue of the fifth-year option, but it’s hard to see a scenario in which Parsons plays in 2025 without a monster extension completed. The Cowboys need to reciprocate Parsons’ eagerness to find common ground and get an extension done.
Presenting the ‘12 Day-bolls of Christmas’ — an ode to a merry-less Giants season
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‘Twas the day after yet another New York Giants loss, and not a soul was surprised. Not even this writer.
With Sunday’s 34-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Giants have dropped 10 straight games and are an NFL-worst 2-13 this season.
Needless to say, it’s been a tough year for fans of this team, so in the holiday spirit, we wanted to give you something to make you smile. Or maybe just laugh through the pain. We remixed a Christmas classic with a Giants twist. Because if you’re still watching after a 10th straight loss, you need something to laugh about.
So, without further ado, we present “The Twelve Day-Bolls of Christmas.”
On the 12th Day-boll of Christmas, your Giants gave to you: 12 Saquon Barkley rushing touchdowns
Let’s get this detail out of the way: The Eagles running back actually has 13 rushing touchdowns this season. So why does he get this spot?
Though Barkley played six years in New York, he’s having the best season of his career with the Eagles. He never scored more than 11 rushing touchdowns in a season with the Giants. Barkley scored twice on Sunday to get to 13 in 2024.
He also rushed for 150 yards Sunday, putting him at 1,838 for the season and in position to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record (2,105 yards). And what’s worse, at least for general manager Joe Schoen and heartbroken Giants fans, Barkley could break Dickerson’s mark against the Giants in Week 18.
Read more from '12 Day-bolls of Christmas’
GO FURTHERPresenting the ‘12 Day-bolls of Christmas’ — an ode to a merry-less Giants season
Even after slow start, O-line continues to drive offense as James Cook stars
The Bills certainly didn’t do themselves any favors in the early stages. As if there was a hangover from going score-for-score in 40-plus point affairs over the last two outings, the offense couldn’t pick things up right away, especially after the Patriots had just punched in their first possession for a touchdown. The Bills barely collected one first down on their first series. But after that, the offensive line continued to show why it is such a powerful part of the Bills’ Super Bowl outlook.
On the next drive, the Bills opened up with a 5-yard run by Ty Johnson, and with a Cook catch in between, the Bills offensive line then opened up a hole for Cook to scamper 46 yards for a rushing touchdown. Cook, who has home run speed when the offensive line affords him that space, gave the Bills the touchdown they so desperately needed while down two touchdowns. Even after that successful rushing touchdown on a first down, the rest of the first half was oddly spent having Allen drop back to pass. The Bills called 13 straight passing plays to end the half after the Cook run. The passing offense sputtered uncharacteristically. However, once the second half started, the Bills made sure not to let the running game drift to the side any longer.
The Bills opened up with run plays on four of their first five plays, with Cook gaining 32 yards on those four plays alone. It helped set up passing success through the rest of the game, which helped the Bills hang on to the ball for longer and set up potential scoring drives. During the second half, the Bills offensive line cleared the way for them to average nearly 5 yards per carry. The Bills haven’t had to rely on their rushing attack like this in some time, but it’s a positive reminder for the playoffs that when the Bills need to pivot to their ground game to bail them out, they can — with Cook leading the way.
GO FURTHERJosh Allen throwing hand scare, Cam Lewis’ interception, other observations in Bills victory
GO FURTHERWhy the Bills’ playoff opponents are likely to test their run defense
Week 16 NFL playoff picture: Lions, Chiefs closing in on top seeds; Falcons lead NFC South
The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions have been in control of their conferences for months. And now, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season, they’ve impressively managed to keep control over the top spots.
The Chiefs knocked off the Houston Texans on Saturday to improve to 14-1 and maintain their two-game lead over the Buffalo Bills (12-2) for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They now need only one win or one Bills loss to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Things will be a little more challenging for the 13-2 Lions in the NFC, but after taking care of business against the Bears on Sunday, they still control their own fate. Win their final two games of the season, and they’ll secure the first-round bye. There is one catch, however. Their final game comes against the 13-2 Minnesota Vikings. If both teams win next week, it will set up a Week 18 showdown between these two division rivals that will decide which team wins the conference — as well as the NFC North — and gets the first-round bye, while the other team will have to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
As for the rest of the league, here’s where things stand with only the Monday night matchup (New Orleans at Green Bay) remaining in Week 16.
GO FURTHERWeek 16 NFL playoff picture: Lions, Chiefs closing in on top seeds; Falcons lead NFC South
Late lapses vs. Vikings leave Seahawks with season on the brink
Michael-Shawn Dugar writes on the Seahawks’ late lapses against the Vikings putting them in a familiar spot, with their playoff hopes on the brink and needing help in the final weeks. Geno Smith led dazzling drives but also threw back-breaking INTs, and Mike Macdonald's defense faltered late as Seattle's hopes grew dim.
GO FURTHERLate lapses vs. Vikings leave Seahawks in a familiar place, with season on the brink