Best And Worst Of NFL Week 16

With one week left to go in the regular season, things are starting to really heat up in the NFL playoff picture. Some teams have already clinched playoff spots, like Denver, New England, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Kansas City in the AFC. Also we have Seattle, Carolina and San Fransisco locking up playoff spots i9n the NFC. But this is still leading to some intrigue as to who gets into the playoffs. Can Miami hold down the last AFC playoff spot with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and San Diego breathing down their necks? Can Dallas and Philadelphia really hold on to their division leads and make the playoffs? Can Dallas get in and be a success without their starting quarterback? A lot of those questions will be answered next week. But first things first. There was some great action in the NFL in week 16 to get us where we are right now. Here's what we got for some of the best and worst from week 16 in the NFL.

Best:
Tony Romo, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
It appears as if this was Romo's last great run with Dallas this season. Just one week after the bigtime collapse against the Packers, the Cowboys quarterback played the hero in Dallas’ 24-23 win over the Redskins. Romo came back from a third quarter pick to orchestrate his 23rd game-winning drive since 2006, rolling out to find DeMarco Murray on a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 1:06 left in the game. The late-game heroics gave Romo one final game to write his role in this Cowboys season, as Dallas hosts Philadelphia to decide the NFC East champion in Week 17. But there could be the problem. Romo hurt his back late in the game in the win on Sunday, and it was revealed yesterday that Romo's injury could keep him out for the rest of this season. Will that have a big effect on Dallas on Sunday when they play for the NFC East Title? Only time will tell. But if this was Romo's last start of the year, it really isn't all that bad a way to go out.

Worst:
Offensive Line Miami Dolphins
Miami could have locked it up. They had the playoff spot all but set, that was until they stepped on the field to play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The ongoing problems with the Dolphins offensive line hadn't really affected the team all that much until this week. The Dolphins line was just bad this week, as the Buffalo defense absolutely dismantled the Dolphins front five (and potentially the team’s playoff hopes), generating seven sacks and 10 QB hits in Buffalo’s 19-0 win. For the Dolphins to hang on and pull this out, they have to have a better effort on Sunday when they host the New York Jets with the playoffs on the line.

Best:
Paytion Manning, Quarterback Denver Broncos
It has been talked about and debated about for a long time now. Is Payton Manning one of the greatest quarterbacks ever? His performance this year is certainly making a strong case for it. The future Hall of Famer all but clinched his fifth career MVP award, setting a single-season record for passing touchdowns by throwing his 51st late in the Broncos’ 37-13 win over the Texans. Manning’s 400-yard game also put him over 5000 yards for the first season in his 16-year career as Denver clinched the AFC West and a first-round bye. Not a bad day. Not a bad,or season for that matter, at all.

Worst:
Alex Smith, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
We already knew that the Chiefs had locked up a playoff spot, and they were still in the hunt for the division title. They WERE in the hunt for the division title. KC had to beat Indy to keep those hopes alive, but by turning the ball over four times made that almost impossible. Alex Smith was to blame for some of it, as he committed three of those errors in Kansas City’s 23-7 loss, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble in a game that saw him complete 16 of 29 passes for 153 yards and no touchdowns. Smith, who entered the game with a 23 touchdowns and only six interceptions, put up a 41.3 quarterback rating for the contest, his worst mark of the season. The Chiefs are still a playoff team, that is already a given. But the one day Smith has an off performance it costs KC the Division title.

Best:
Thomas Davis, Linebacker Carolina Panthers
There were plenty of great individual performances in Carolina’s 17-13 win over NFC South rival New Orleans, but the Panthers linebacker set an impressive tone early. Davis intercepted a Drew Brees pass late in the second quarter with the Panthers down 6-0. DeAngelo Williams ran for a 43-yard touchdown on the next play, giving the Panthers a 7-6 lead heading into halftime. Davis, who has come back from three ACL surgeries, finished with nine tackles as Carolina took control of the division heading into Week 17. This win pretty much locked up the division title for Carolina, and Davis was a big reason for that happening.

Worst:
Matthew Stafford, Quarterback Detroit Lions
Here's a quarterback who's been having a rough last couple of weeks. First off he had a bad performance against the Ravens on Monday Night Football. Now the pressure was on the Lions’ franchise quarterback to pull out a win versus the Giants to save his team’s season (and potentially head coach Jim Schwartz’s job). Up 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, Stafford forced a throw to Joseph Fauria which was intercepted for a touchdown by Will Hill. After a Giants fumble in overtime set the table for a potential game-winning drive for Stafford, the Lions offense went three and out as Josh Brown won the game for New York on a 45-yard field goal the following series. this is a bigtime falling from grace for Stafford and the Lions. Detroit still has a very slim chance to make the playoffs, but they have to play a near perfect ballgame against Minnesota if they hope to make the playoffs

Best:
Daryl Washington, Linebacker Arizona Cardinals
How good was the Arizona defense in their team’s 17-10 win over the Seahawks? The Cardinals became the first team to beat the Seahawks in Seattle since Week 16 in 2011. They did so in spite of Carson Palmer’s four interceptions, holding Russell Wilson to 11 of 27 passes for 108 yards with a touchdown and a pick. The Pro Bowl linebacker was the standout of the Cardinals’ D Sunday, making four tackles, a sack and hitting Wilson three times as Arizona repeatedly kept the Seattle offense off the field.

Worst:
Nick Perry and Don Barclay Lineman Green Bay Packers
A crazy game in Lambeau Field between the Steelers and Packers could have gone any number of ways, but two crucial penalties ended up swinging it for Pittsburgh. Perry’s encroachment penalty on a Shaun Suisham field goal attempt with the game tied at 31 with less than two minutes to play gave the Steelers a new set of downs, setting up a Le’Veon Bell rushing touchdown. After a 70-yard kickoff return allowed the Packers to drive to the Pittsburgh 1 with 20 seconds remaining, the Packers’ tackle Barclay jumped offsides on a running play, forcing a 10 second run off and giving the Packers only one more attempt at a game-tying touchdown, which failed.

Best:
LeGarrette Blunt, Running Back New England Patriots
The Patriots back took on the heft of his team’s running game, rushing 16 times for 76yards and two touchdowns in New England’s 41-7 win over Baltimore. Blount punctuated his second score by mimicking the Ray Lewis dance, which is probably a little too belated of a response to the Ravens’ AFC Championship win last January.

Worst:
Dennis Allen, Head Coach Oakland Raiders
The Raiders coach certainly didn’t help plead his case to save his job Sunday with the Raiders’ 26-13 loss to San Diego. The defeat was bad enough, but the fact that Oakland committed 12 penalties in it certainly doesn’t bode well for the second year coach, as the team dropped to 4-11. Jon Gruden might expect an exploratory call shortly.

So that's what we have for week 16. By this time next week we will have our playoff scenarios set and will be ready to rock on the full launch to the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium