This Christmas will be a joyous one for a few NFL franchises. Here are the teams and players who will be the happiest, the winners of Week 16.
Detroit Lions: Detroit is partying like "Jurassic Park" is the top-grossing film in the country.
The last time the Lions won their division
— Joe Rowles (@JoRo_NFL) December 24, 2023
- Bill Clinton was in the White House
- Jurassic Park owned the box office
- I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston led the Billboard top 100.
It's been awhile
It's been a long time since the Lions have won a division, but the 30-year wait finally ended with Sunday's 30-24 win over the Vikings.
Miami Dolphins: How's that for beating a good team? Miami notched its biggest win of the season by topping the Dallas Cowboys, 22-20, clinching a postseason berth for the second consecutive season. Prior to Week 16, the Dolphins were 0-3 against teams with a winning record this season. Afterward, head coach Mike McDaniel discussed the significance of the result.
Mike McDaniel on the “winning team” narrative surrounding the Dolphins:
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) December 25, 2023
“Everyone’s going to talk about stuff you haven’t done until you do it … Should we really be entitled to blind faith until we do it?”
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel: “That’s a win over a really good team that’s tough to beat … It’s satisfying to have an earned victory that took everybody.”
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) December 25, 2023
Miami ends the regular season against the Baltimore Ravens (11-3) and Buffalo Bills (9-6) and its win over the Cowboys (10-5) means it won't have to answer questions about whether it can beat a good team beforehand.
Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott defending the entire field: The biggest play of Miami's signature win of the season was Elliott's touchdown-saving tackle at the goal line on Cowboys running back Tony Pollard.
Ridiculous effort by DeShon Elliott to prevent a TD right before the fumble
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
: #DALvsMIA on FOX
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/RcMVfg6PUO
The tackle set up the Cowboys with a first-and-goal from the half-yard line, but instead of scoring a touchdown on the drive, on the very next play Prescott and running back Hunter Luepke mishandled the handoff exchange, resulting in a lost fumble.
The Dolphins recover the fumble at the goal line!
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
: #DALvsMIA on FOX
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/o1Yz1AKuQc
Amari Cooper: The Browns (10-5) are near-locks for the postseason because of Cooper's – and quarterback Joe Flacco's – brilliant game against the Texans in a 36-22 win. Cooper set a Browns franchise record for receiving yards in a game (265) and added two touchdowns on his 11 receptions. ESPN's Adam Schefter shared the elite company Cooper joined due to his incredible performance.
Browns’ WR Amari Cooper had 11 receptions for a single-game franchise-record 265 yards and two TDs in the Browns’ 36-22 win over Houston. Cooper is the fourth player in NFL history with three career games with at least 200 receiving yards and two TD receptions, joining Don Hutson… pic.twitter.com/pw1fNgqMVz
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 25, 2023
Washington Commanders: The Commanders nearly did the worst thing for the organization on Sunday – win a game. Out of playoff contention, Washington is best off improving its position in the 2024 NFL Draft, which it did by escaping New York with a 30-28 loss to the Jets.
Quarterback Sam Howell, for all the yards he's thrown for this year, isn't worth another season. He was benched on Sunday after going 6-of-22 for 56 yards and two interceptions and the offense immediately improved with backup Jacoby Brissett. The Commanders need a franchise quarterback and Sunday's loss gets them closer to finding one in the draft.
Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills: Both teams sat at home on Christmas Eve following wins earlier in the week and had their playoff odds improve. The Rams (8-7) won 30-22 over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night and saw one of their main competitors a wild-card spot, the Vikings, lose to Detroit. Buffalo's day was even better.
After winning 24-22 on a walk-off field goal against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, the Bills watched the entire AFC South implode, moving them from outside the playoff field to the No. 6 seed.
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