Jaguars make statement but Lions & Ravens on brink - best of week 16

Wild finishes, big comebacks, upsets, big-name injuries and play-off places decided - just another week in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers described the end of Pittsburgh's win in Detroit as "chaos" and that pretty much summed up week 16.

Five teams punched their play-off tickets, with the New England Patriots beating the Baltimore Ravens to join the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears in the post-season.

Jacksonville are on the verge of joining them after the performance of the day on Sunday, but what else caught the eye this week?

Just ending Denver's 11-game win streak was good enough, but the way Trevor Lawrence and the Jags handled their business on the road against the AFC top seeds was hugely impressive.

Head coach Liam Coen deserves huge credit for unlocking something in former top draft pick Lawrence - who has 16 passing and two rushing touchdowns in Jacksonville's current six-game winning streak.

Lawrence was tough - bouncing back after taking five sacks from the league's best pass rush - and also clinical with four touchdowns from five red-zone trips against one of the NFL's best defences in that area.

The Jags' 34 points were the most Denver have allowed all season, and although Bo Nix threw for plenty of yards, Jacksonville's defence shut the Broncos down just when it looked like a 12th comeback win of the season was on the cards.

Throw in an electric receiving day for Parker Washington and such a complete team performance should have AFC contenders worried - the Jags have a tough squad and a game that can travel.

It's time to take them seriously.

Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Dak Prescott are already out - could Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff join the big-name quarterbacks missing from this year's play-offs?

The Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions were among the Super Bowl favourites this year but defeats on Sunday mean they are both hanging by a thread.

A back injury forced two-time MVP Jackson out of Baltimore's loss to New England that saw them slip behind the Steelers in the AFC North race.

The Ravens are 5-11 without Jackson and play at Green Bay next before a final-day showdown with Pittsburgh - if their head-to-head battle gets that far.

The Steelers had earlier clung to victory after a wild ending in Detroit.

The Lions thought they had cliched the win with a last-gasp touchdown, before it was wiped off after a long discussion between the officials.

That one single decision turned Detroit's play-off chances upside down, as they now need to win both games and hope the Packers lose both theirs to sneak in.

In all likelihood Goff and Jackson will join the list of star quarterbacks missing the play-offs - but a certain Aaron Rodgers could be back in the post-season mix.

"I've got the best coach in the world," said Bears quarterback Caleb Williams about first-year head coach Ben Johnson after Chicago's remarkable win over Green Bay.

After a mixed rookie campaign for Williams, 2024's first overall draft pick, his sophomore season has been stellar, filled with comebacks and frantic finishes where he has made the remarkable look like just another day at the office.

With Johnson's play calling and Williams' execution, the Bears have won six games when trailing inside the final two minutes - no other team has won as many since the NFL merger in 1970.

After just five wins in total last year Chicago are back in the play-offs for the first time since 2020 - and there is no doubt Johnson, who masterminded Detroit's all-powerful offence, has been key to the turnaround.

But so has Williams, an interesting character who had seemingly struggled to adapt from college to the NFL - or maybe just needed the right coach?

What makes the Bears so dangerous is their ability to fight back - Williams is in elite company as only the second quarterback under 25 with have six fourth-quarter comebacks in a season after Peyton Manning in 1999.

Against Green Bay, Chicago managed just three points in three quarters before Williams led them to 19 in the fourth and overtime - when the going gets tough the Bears get going.

That could spell trouble for opponents in the play-offs.

The Seahawks, Eagles, Patriots, Bears and 49ers all got in across week 16, and the Bills, Jaguars and Chargers will join them if San Francisco beat Indianapolis on Monday.

In the NFC five of the seven spots are already taken, with the Buccaneers or Panthers battling for one place as NFC South winners while the Packers will surely pip the Lions to the final wildcard.

Although only one spot is confirmed in the AFC it is more about positioning generally.

The Ravens are still chasing the Steelers for one spot as AFC North champions, while the Colts need plenty of help to try to catch the Texans in the final wildcard place.

Buffalo struggled in their 23-20 win over the lowly Browns, but got over the line for what was Josh Allen's 87th regular season win - only Mahomes has more wins as a quarterback in his first eight seasons.

Myles Garrett had half a sack in the game and needs just one from the final two games to break the single-season record of 22.5.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh believes his quarterback Justin Herbert is having an MVP season after another 300-yard game and two touchdowns helped beat Dallas 34-17.

The Bolts have one foot in the play-offs, but Herbert has a big test next week against Houston - an "MVP calibre" game against the league's best defence will make people take notice.

The wild win for Pittsburgh was head coach Mike Tomlin's 200th career victory and ensured the Steelers had a 22nd season without a losing record - the longest run in NFL history.

Sam Darnold's Seahawks made all kinds of history in their epic win over the Rams on Thursday - most notably the team had gone 0-155 when 16-plus points behind in the fourth quarter before that victory.

Northern Ireland's Charlie Smyth was at it again, this time booting 17 points as he celebrated his new deal with the Saints by helping them to a third straight victory.

There are three Christmas Day games on offer this year with Detroit clinging to their play-off lives as they visit Minnesota, while Denver travel to Kansas City hoping to enhance their AFC West title shot and also stick the boot in against their stricken rivals.

Elsewhere in week 17 there are a couple of belters on Saturday with the Texans at the Chargers and Green Bay hosting Baltimore, with all four sides battling for play-off spots.

On Sunday Seahawks v Panthers is a fascinating battle as is Chicago's trip to San Francisco - while what many had as a possible Super Bowl match-up takes place in Buffalo as the Bills host defending champions Philadelphia.

We'll have live text coverage of all the matches on 28 December from 17:45 along with live radio commentary from a big late game from 21:00.