Best And Worst of NFL Week Sixteen

The holiday season has arrived and with that we have one week left in the regular season. After week sixteen we have a few more questions then answers in the National Football League. In a total of fourteen games over the weekend, a few teams clinched playoff spots while a few more got eliminated from contention. There were some players who had themselves a day, like Todd Gurley who went off in the Rams win. While we have that, we also have the boneheaded challenge of a great catch in Buffalo. Jimmy Garoppolo has really made a name for himself, while the Cowboys and Jaguars chances might be fading. All that and more went down in week sixteen, and here are some of the best and worst of the week that was.

Best:
Todd Gurley, Running Back Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles has been playing fantastic football the last couple of weeks and Todd Gurley has been a huge reason why. Los Angeles walked away with a 27-23 win over the Titans and Gurley went off. Talk about a magnificent performance. Gurley rushed for 118 yards while hauling in 10 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns, including an amazing 80-yard dash. Jared Goff had a huge game as well throwing for four touchdowns and over 300 yards. Both him and Gurley had outstanding afternoons. But its performances like this and what Gurley did last week that are helping propel his MVP candidacy. If the Rams are to really make noise in this years post season, Gurley is going to be the reason why.

Worst:
Devonta Freeman, Running Back Atlanta Falcons
Freeman has been one of the best backs in the game in past years, but he didn't look like it Sunday. New Orleans walked away with a 23-13 win over the Falcons and Atlanta's best back didn't look like it on Sunday. Two huge plays were made by the Saints against Freeman. First he had a massive fumble on the goal line early, which New Orleans recovered. Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, Freeman was stopped on 4th and goal at the one. The fact that Freeman was stopped in both of those circumstances shows that the back hasn't really be able to steadly find his game this season. Atlanta really needs a win in the final game of the season against Carolina. In order for that to happen, they need Freeman to have a monster game if the Falcons want to make the post season.

Best:
Jimmy Garoppolo, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
You can't get much hotter then Jimmy Garoppolo is playing right now and the Jacksomville Jaguars found that out the hard way on Sunday. San Fran walked away with a 44-33 win in a wild game, which was surprising enough. To make it even more surprising, is how Garoppolo played on Sunday. Garoppolo went 21 of 30 for 242 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a pick. This coming against one of the top defensive teams in all of the league. This kind of showing could be huge for Garoppolo come the end of the year. Think about it, he's now won four straight games since being acquired from the Patriots in a trade. He's been playing lights out football since the move and the way things are going, Garoppolo could be looking at a huge payoff over the offseason. San Francisco hopes that he can stay with the team next season, the way he's been playing that looks like it could be a possibility.

Worst:
Blake Bortles, Quarterback Jacksonville Jaguars
And while the 49ers and Garoppolo had themselves a good game, the same can't be said for Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville had been playing well in December, winning three straight games and Bortles had been playing pretty well. That all came to a stop against the 49ers. Bortles went 32 of 50 for 382 yards, which was tops in the league, and a pair of touchdowns. But why he's here on this part of the ;ist is because of the three picks and almost a fourth turnover. Those three turnovers resulted in 21 points for the 49ers, who stunned Jacksonville en route to winning their fourth straight game. Not the way Jacksonville wanted to spend Christmas. They need a win next week if they want to gain any type of momentum going into the playoffs.

Best:
Antonio Gates, Tight End Los Angeles Chargers
When you think about some of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game, one of the first names that comes up is Antonio Gates. His showing on Sunday in the Chargers 14-7 win over the Jets was that he still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Lets not take anything away from what Melvin Gordon did for the Chargers, but this more about the performance that Gates had. Gates finished the day with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, just his third this season but second in as many weeks. He still got something left in the tank at the position. There's no telling whether or not Gates will be back next season, but for now lets just relax and enjoy watching one of the very best at his position play while we still have him.

Worst:
Eli Manning, Quarterback New York Giants
This dumpster fire of a season for the Giants can't come soon enough. New York got smacked around by the Cardinals, falling 23-0 in a horrible effort from the Giants. Eli couldn't lead a scoring drive for the Giants out in the desert. Eli finished going 27 of 35 passing for 263 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Both of picks were hauled in by Antoine Bethea. Manning also lost one of the two fumbles he had in the game, which led to a Robert Nkemdiche touchdown. He also had zero help from his running game or offensive line from start to finish. It was a miserable effort from the Giants all the way around on both sides of the ball. I hate putting blame on Eli for what he's had to go through this season. He's taken the fall for this, which isn't right but somebody has to take the fall and right now the only one who can is Eli.

Best:
Dion Lewis, Running Back New England Patriots
Not exactly sure how they manage to do it, but somehow the Patriots always find a way to produce that diamond in the rough. Lewis is one of those diamonds. New England walked away with a 37-16 win over the Bills, with Lewis being a big part of that. He finished the day with 24 carries and 129 yards on the ground, plus a touchdown. New England had found a way to save his career. He was unsigned through the 2014 season and the Pats took a chance on him, which really elevated his game to what we see right now out in New England. Lewis has become a nice role player and when he has been asked to do more, he delivers. He's helped the Patriots lock up their 8th straight season of 12 or more victories. They are a good team and they keep right on rolling along.

Worst:
Dak Prescott, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
Dallas playoff hopes are slim and even with Zek Elliott having a big game in his first game back, it didn't help the Cowboys out. Dallas fell to 21-12 to the Seahawks, which knocked the Boys out of the playoffs this year. Dak Prescott had a rough go of it against Seattle and now made it even harder for the Boys to try and make the playoffs. Dak threw two really bad interceptions, one of which was returned for six points by Justin Coleman. It was his fourth pick-six of the season, which is the most in the NFL. Dak finished the game going 21 of 34 for 182 yards, no touchdowns and those two nasty picks. Those picks killed any hopes the Cowboys had of making it into the playoffs this year. Those picks loom even larger when you consider the fact that Seattle had only 136 yards of offense. Good job Dak.

Best:
Larry Fitzgerald, Wide Receiver Arizona Cardinals
This year hasn't been one to really remember if you're a fan of the Arizona Cardinals. One reason to keep watching though has been Larry Fitzgerald. He's a sure fire Hall of Famer, there's no doubt about that, and he just keeps pilling up accolades this year. In the win over the Giants discussed earlier, Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 119 yards and one touchdown. Fitzgerald eclipsed the 100-catch, 1,000-yard threshold once again. He’s now the oldest player in NFL history to catch at least 100 passes for 1,000-plus yards. There's no way to know whether or not Larry will play again next season, so if he doesn't then it really has been a true pleasure to watch this man play week in and week out for the better part of the last fifteen years. There have been few players in this game who have played at such a high level and with such class.

Worst:
Cleveland Browns
0-15. Let that number set in for just a moment. That is the record of the Cleveland Browns, following their 20-3 loss to the Chicago Bears. Cleveland now sits at 1-30 over the last two seasons. On Sunday against the Bears, turned the ball over three times, allowed Mitch Trubisky and Co. to run rampant and had a defensive touchdown negated by an offsides penalty. Just a typical week for the Factory of Sadness, really. Seems like stuff like this could only really happen to the Browns. Now they have to face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers the final day of the season, with a chance to be come the 2nd team ever, along with 2008 Detroit Lions, to go winless during the regular season.