Christmas Day fell on a Sunday this year, so the NFL moved the bulk of its Week 16 schedule to Saturday. That left us with a three-day bonanza of holiday football, with games taking place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Playoff races are coming down to the wire, and it was a thrilling weekend.
Monday night’s game lost a lot of drama when the Cowboys clinched the NFC East and No. 1 seed thanks to the Giants, who lost to the Eagles on Thursday night. The 42-21 win by Dallas was still an impressive showing that dealt a blow to the Lions’ chances of winning the NFC North.
Christmas Day had just two games, but what games they were. The Steelers and Ravens clashed in a de facto AFC North championship match. These teams have one of the fiercest rivalries in football, and with the stakes so high, plus the holiday atmosphere, the game lived up to the hype. The two teams traded leads in the final quarter, and with nine seconds left, the Steelers scored the game-winning touchdown and won the division.
In the evening, the Chiefs officially ended any hope the Broncos had of repeating as Super Bowl champs. Denver is out after the 33-10 loss in Kansas City.
A lot of Saturday’s games didn’t have anything at stake besides draft position, but the Bills, Vikings, and Colts suffered crucial losses. The Titans and Raiders suffered worse potential losses though when their quarterbacks went down with broken fibulas.
Yet perhaps the biggest game of the day was one that didn’t involve any playoff stakes. The Browns finally won their first game of the season, and the team shared an emotional moment with Hue Jackson after the win.
In a Christmas Eve miracle, the league’s other two worst teams — the 49ers and Jaguars — also won Saturday.
The primetime game featured Tom Savage making his first career start for the Texans, against a Bengals team that’s out of the race but still playing feisty football. Houston held on for the win and clinched the AFC South title.
Complete scores
Thursday
Philadelphia Eagles 24, New York Giants 19
Saturday
New England Patriots 41, New York Jets 3
Washington 41, Chicago Bears 21
Jacksonville Jaguars 38, Tennessee Titans 17
Green Bay Packers 38, Minnesota Vikings 25
Cleveland Browns 20, San Diego Chargers 17
Atlanta Falcons 33, Carolina Panthers 16
Miami Dolphins 34, Buffalo Bills 31 (OT)
Oakland Raiders 33, Indianapolis Colts 25
San Francisco 49ers 22, Los Angeles Rams 21
New Orleans Saints 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
Arizona Cardinals 34, Seattle Seahawks 31
Houston Texans 12, Cincinnati Bengals 10
Sunday
Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 27
Kansas City Chiefs 33, Denver Broncos 10
Monday
Dallas Cowboys 42, Detroit Lions 21
Highlights
Undrafted tight end Joshua Perkins made a miraculous TD catch while getting sandwiched by two Carolina defenders.
Jay Ajayi showed off his strength on an impressive touchdown run.
Nobody could stop Kenyan Drake, even after he ran backwards in a loop to cut upfield.
Here’s one of the worst snaps you’ve ever seen, courtesy of the Vikings.
Minnesota wideout Adam Thielen ran circles around the Green Bay secondary in the first half.
Tom Brady threw a touchdown to his new tight end target Matt Lengel.
The Jets wouldn’t let the Patriots run out the clock in the first half, so New England went and scored a touchdown instead.
Even the referees were laughing at the Jets’ struggles on Saturday afternoon.
The Bills were robbed of a touchdown when Miami’s Spencer Paysinger got away with a defensive pass interference.
A trick play gave Blake Bortles his first career NFL touchdown reception.
The Bills and Dolphins weren’t in the holiday spirit during a sideline fight in Buffalo.
The Browns avoided 0-16 because the Chargers rushed and missed a last-second, game-tying field goal attempt.
Rex Ryan made a weak attempt to ice the Dolphins kicker. The Bills lost in OT and extended their playoff drought to 17 straight seasons.
Russell Wilson never stood a chance when the Seahawks OL let a Cardinals defender go untouched for a sack.
The Rams have something to celebrate: Punter Johnny Hekker broke an NFL record with his 47th punt inside the 20.
Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers went for the two-point conversion — and got it — to beat the Rams.
Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll couldn’t believe that the Seahawks missed yet another kick against the Cardinals.
No one was more excited about Jadeveon Clowney’s sack than J.J. Watt.
The Bengals blocked an extra point late in the game, but then Randy Bullock (former Texans kicker) missed a field goal that would’ve given Cincinnati the win.
Antonio Brown tied Marvin Harrison’s record with four straight seasons of 100 or more catches.
Don’t tell Odell Beckham, but Eli Rogers took out a kicking net.
Le’Veon Bell juked the entire Ravens defense with this move.
Antonio Brown reached across four Ravens defenders to save the Steelers’ season.
Tyreek Hill torched the Broncos for a 70-yard touchdown.
Merry Christmas, Alex Smith. Travis Kelce scored an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass for you.
You know who’s not fast? Kickers. So surprise, the Broncos’ fake field goal did not work out.
A fan ran on the field and a Chiefs security guard made an amazing diving tackle.
Devontae Booker have us the most Football Follies fumble ever.
Dontari Poe, all 346 pounds of him, threw the heaviest touchdown pass ever against the Broncos.
Ezekiel Elliott ran 55 yards for a TD, and finished it off with a big end zone leap.
Zach Zenner went off against the Dallas defense in the first half Monday.
Matthew Stafford scrummed his way to a rugby-like TD against the Cowboys.
An incredible one-handed catch by Dez Bryant adds to his impressive highlight reel.
Dallas punter Chris Jones laid out returner Andre Roberts with a big hit.
Injuries
Jets quarterback Bryce Petty suffered a left shoulder injury while tackling a Patriots defender after a fumble. He did not return to the game.
The Packers had a scare when Aaron Rodgers stayed down following a sack, but he soon returned to the game.
Marcus Mariota had to be carted off the field during Titans-Jaguars after breaking his leg.
Robert Griffin III left the Browns’ game against San Diego after taking a big hit in order to be evaluated for a possible head injury.
Thomas Rawls missed the second half against the Cardinals due to a shoulder injury.
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett suffered a gruesome leg injury and is done for the year.
Derek Carr had to be helped off the field. He was later diagnosed with a broken fibula and is out indefinitely.
Carlos Hyde tore his MCL against the Rams and is done for the season.
Cowboys offensive lineman Tyron Smith left the game Monday night with a knee injury.