There were a lot of impressive performances in Week 16, but none of those were more impressive than the one that came from Jayden Daniels. In an NFC East showdown against Philadelphia, the Commanders rookie quarterback went off with a historical performance. Daniels threw for 258 yards and five touchdowns while also tacking on 81 rushing yards, which made him just the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and five touchdowns with at least 75 rushing yards in a single game.
Daniels was especially impressive in the fourth quarter, throwing for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-33 win. Daniels was so good that Washington was able to overcome five turnovers. With their win, the Commanders became the first team since 2010 to win a game despite giving up at least 30 points and turning the ball over at least five times.
So what kind of grade do you get when you turn the ball over five times and still win? Let’s get to the Week 16 grades, starting with Eagles-Commanders.
The Eagles had to play the final three-and-a-half quarters of this game without Jalen Hurts (concussion), so the fact that they were able to keep this close was impressive. With Hurts out, the offense relied on Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, but he was held to just 27 yards in the second half. The biggest surprise here is that the Eagles had a defensive meltdown in the fourth quarter, surrendering 22 points. Only four teams had scored at least 22 points on Philly in an ENTIRE game all season, and the Commanders did that in one quarter. The Eagles are still in the driver’s seat for the division title, but this loss almost kills any chance they have of landing the No. 1 seed in the NFC. B+
The NFL might want to go ahead and give the Offensive Rookie of the Year award to Jayden Daniels right now. The Commanders quarterback had his most impressive game of the season: Not only Daniels lead the team with 81 rushing yards, but he also threw for 258 yards and FIVE touchdowns, including a game-winning score to Jamison Crowder with just nine seconds left. It was a jaw-dropping game for the rookie QB, who threw three TD passes in the fourth quarter alone.
The reason this isn’t an ‘A’ is because the Commanders turned the ball over five times, but the silver lining there is that they were still able to win despite the five turnovers. This is going to be a team that no one wants to play in the playoffs. The Browns turned to Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB this week, and that decision ended up being a dud. The Bengals defense has struggled to stop anyone this year, but it didn’t struggle to stop Thompson-Robinson, who threw for just 157 yards while also adding two interceptions. This game might have gone differently if the Browns didn’t turn the ball over three times, including two that came inside of Cincinnati’s 8-yard line. This team has been making back-breaking mistakes all year and they got more of that on Sunday. A
The Bengals needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and Joe Burrow delivered. The Bengals star threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, making him the first QB in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns in seven straight games. As good as Burrow was, the defense might have been better. Although the Bengals defense has struggled this season, they came up big against the Browns with two interceptions while also adding a fumble recovery at the 1-yard line on Cleveland’s opening drive. The Bengals are still alive for a playoff berth heading into Week 17 and if this team can get in, they could be dangerous.
The Lions have been dealing with a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but their offense is still working just fine. Jared Goff was on fire against the Bears, throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns. A good chunk of that total went to Jameson Williams, who had 143 receiving yards, including an 82-yard TD catch in the second quarter. With David Montgomery out, Jahymyr Gibbs was given a heavier workload and he handled it well, rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown. The Lions look like they’re on a mission to get the top seed in the NFC. C-
When your quarterback throws two pick sixes, you’re almost always going to lose, and Drew Lock threw two pick sixes in this game. The Giants are a bad football team right now and at this point, the only silver lining of this embarrassing loss is that New York just took one step closer to clinching the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A+
In the first start of his career, Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t asked to do much but that’s only because Bijan Robinson and the Falcons defense took over. In what was easily their most impressive defensive performance of the year, the Falcons were led by Jessie Bates III and Matthew Judon, who both came away with a pick six on a day where the Falcons forced three turnovers. On the offensive side of the ball, Penix didn’t put up huge numbers, but he did look pretty impressive for a rookie QB making his first career start.
Robinson was the star of the show for Atlanta offense, though, with 94 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. The Falcons had to win to stay in the race for the NFC South title and they had this one wrapped up by halftime. The Titans were hoping that a QB change would spark their offense, but that definitely didn’t happen. With Will Levis benched, Mason Rudolph got the start and he did his best Levis impression by throwing two interceptions. The Colts ended up getting 14 points off those turnovers. Rudolph did play better as the game went on, but the Titans couldn’t dig out of the giant hole they put themselves in early in the game. Another problem for the Titans is that their defense got steamrolled by a Colts offense that rushed for 335 yards, which is the the second most most Tennessee has given up in franchise history. B
For the second straight week, the Rams were able to win with a dominating defensive performance. With the game on the line in the second half, the defense kept coming up with big plays including two fourth-down stops and a forced fumble. Although Matthew Stafford and the passing game struggled, Kyren Williams was there to pick up the slack with 122 rushing yards and a touchdown. This wasn’t a pretty win, but the Rams aren’t being graded on beauty. This team has now inched a little closer to winning the NFC West, which is wildly impressive for a team that started the season 1-4. C
The Cardinals are going to be kicking themselves for this loss. The Cards got off to a slow start where they found themselves trailing 20-3 before they were able to get anything going on offense. James Conner led a rushing attack that topped 200 yards, but Arizona’s offense completely disappeared in overtime with just 3 total yards. The offense had the ball five different times with the chance to take the lead in the second half and overtime combined, but they just weren’t able to come up with a big score when they needed it. The Cardinals are now eliminated from playoff contention and they only have themselves to blame. B
The Patriots were leading this game 14-7 at halftime, but then they choked away the lead in the second half. On their first three possessions of the half, the Patriots turned the ball over three times, including a backward lateral that the Bills recovered in the end zone for an easy touchdown. Those three turnovers led to 10 points for Buffalo. Basically, the Patriots put the final nail in their own coffin. Bad teams are good at finding a way to lose and the Patriots were a perfect example of that in Week 16. C
Josh Allen has carried the Bills for most of the season, but in this game, Buffalo’s defense made the victory happen. With the Bills on the ropes, Buffalo’s defense flipped this game by forcing a turnover on three straight possessions to start the second half, including a fumble recovery in the end zone by Taron Johnson that essentially iced the game. With Allen struggling, James Cook became the star of Buffalo’s offense: The running back rushed for 100 yards and a TD on just 11 carries. The Bills learned that they can beat bad teams when Allen has an off day, but if he has a game like this in the playoffs, they almost certainly won’t be going very far in January. There’s a reason Justin Jefferson is the highest-paid receiver in the NFL and he showed why in this game.
The Vikings star caught 10 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, including a 39-yard score that put Minnesota up for good with just under four minutes left to play. This was a gritty win by a Vikings team that got a gritty performance from Sam Darnold and a gritty performance on the defensive side of the ball. The defense got torched by Geno Smith, but the unit made up for it by coming up with big play after big play, including a pick by Theo Jackson that iced the win with under a minute left to play. At 13-2, the Vikings are perfectly positioned to steal the NFC North from the Lions if they can win their final two games. B-
The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention before this game even started and they played like a team that had been eliminated from playoff contention before this game even started. The 49ers offense struggles when it can’t get going on the ground and that’s what happened in this game. Brock Purdy, who was sacked three times, was under constant pressure. Although he went 15 of 18 for 202 yards throwing to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, he completed just 50% of his passes for 111 yards while throwing to everyone else. San Francisco’s season-long red zone struggles continued in this game with the 49ers scoring a TD on just two of their five trips inside Miami’s 20-yard line. The defending NFC champions won’t be defending their conference title. B+
The Buccaneers had a chance to take control of the NFC South, but they fumbled away the game. Literally. A fumble by Rachaad White with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter blew any chance the Bucs had of winning.
The defense looked like it was sleepwalking through a first half where Cooper Rush diced them up for 226 yards. Although the Bucs finally came through with some huge defensive stops in the second half, the offense ended up choking away any chance of winning with two turnovers in the fourth quarter. The was a brutal loss by a team that had a lot at stake. A-
It’s tough to grade the Texans here because the offense absolutely fell apart after losing Tank Dell to a devastating knee injury in the third quarter. Before the injury, the Texans piled up 16 points and 273 yards in less than two-and-a-half quarters of action. After the injury, the Texans were only able to muster 38 yards. Dell was a key part of the offense in this game, catching six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Losing Dell will definitely be a blow to Houston’s offense moving forward. C.J. Stroud was sharp for most of the day, but he did throw two interceptions in the first half that led to 10 points for the Chiefs. Stroud is going to have to cut down on the turnovers if the Texans want to make any noise in the playoffs. The Texans will also need better play from their defense, which gave up 375 yards to the Chiefs. B+
After starting the season 10-3, the Steelers are suddenly falling apart — and that’s mostly because of their offense. After scoring just 13 points against the Eagles in Week 15, the Steelers weren’t much better this time around. Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes, but he also made the two biggest mistakes of the game with a fourth-quarter pick six and a lost fumble that came after he had scrambled all the way down to Baltimore’s 4-yard line in the second quarter.
The Steelers will now be hoping that the eventual return of George Pickens will spark the offense, because with the way they’re currently playing, they likely won’t last long in the playoffs. The more surprising part for the Steelers was that they struggled on defense. They couldn’t stop Lamar Jackson and they couldn’t stop Derrick Henry, and if you can’t stop those two, you’re not going to beat the Ravens. Pittsburgh has now lost its lead in the AFC North, and with the Chiefs coming up on Christmas Day, the Steelers, who have already clinched a playoff berth, might have to end up settling for a wild-card spot.
A
The Broncos came out on fire during a first half where they jumped out to a 21-10 lead. Not only did they run the ball well, but Bo Nix was sharp in the first two quarters, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. But in the second half, the wheels fell off the wagon on both sides of the ball. Denver’s rushing attack totaled just 21 yards in the final two quarters, which put all of the offensive pressure on Nix.
A
The Broncos came out on fire during a first half where they jumped out to a 21-10 lead. Not only did they run the ball well, but Bo Nix was sharp in the first two quarters, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. But in the second half, the wheels fell off the wagon on both sides of the ball. Denver’s rushing attack totaled just 21 yards in the final two quarters, which put all of the offensive pressure on Nix.
He certainly could have played better in the second half — on one long throw, he missed a wide-open Marvin Mims for what would have been an easy TD — but it’s hard to pin all the blame on a rookie QB who got almost no help in the second half. The Broncos defense also had a big letdown in the second half with the Chargers putting together three TD drives of at least 70 yards on their first four possessions of the half. The Broncos had a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015, but they choked away that chance by blowing a 24-13 lead in the second half. Now, things could get dicey down the stretch.B+
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