Steelers MMQB: NFL Week 16 Wrap Up

What We Learned in Week 16 in the NFL Season:

San Diego outlasts San Francisco in OT
Cam Newton returns, Johnny Manziel exits early
Baltimore turns down for Watt
Dallas clinches NFC East for the first time since 2009
Steelers D stands up Chiefs; clinch playoff spot

More from Still Curtain

Now that the NFL schedules mainly divisional matchups with the last two weeks of the season it’s no longer a weekend full of games where teams are resting their starters and just a few games actually matter. Although the referees across the board this weekend still stunk up the place, it was a pretty entertaining weekend of football. Love to have Saturday football back, although I’m a bit bummed that that was it. Just a teaser and no more till the playoffs start.

What a comeback

Typically, I don’t enjoy when Philip Rivers does well. I find him just all around awful. I don’t like his face. But, this particular comeback victory for the San Diego Chargers over the San Francisco 49ers was entertaining two-fold. First, it kept the Chargers in the playoff hunt, which we’ll find out later, actually helps out the Steelers. Second, I think I’m at the point where I want to see just how badly this whole Jim Harbaugh getting ousted by the 49ers thing is going to play out. I hope he gets traded to Oakland. I really do.

Heisman vs. Heisman

Cam Newton made his first start for the Carolina Panthers after being involved in a car accident that left him with two lower back fractures. In his return Newtown went 18 for 31 for 201 yards and ran and threw for a touchdown. The Heisman Trophy winner on the other side of the field, Johnny Manziel, left early after going 3 for 8 for 32 yards with a pulled hammy. The win for Carolina sets them up to travel to Atlanta next Sunday for a winner-take-the-division showdown that will guarantee a NFC playoff team to have a losing record. Well done NFC South.

When Johnny Football went down, some of the crowd cheered as he left the field. Newton called it “classless” in his post-game press conference. Now, the move is tacky, if anything, to cheer a player’s injury. But it’s fans in a stadium being too caught up in the game and too caught up in the hype of Johnny Football and his uber-douchiness and, in my opinion, shouldn’t even have been made mention of. The players are awful quick to not want fans to question their behavior off of the field, why are they entitled to dictate our behavior inside the stadiums? As long as they’re not being destructive or violent, just let it go.

Not in my house

Before the Texans took on the Ravens there were shots of Houston DE J.J. Watt meeting former Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo. Maybe Mutombo gave Watt some extra motivation, maybe it was just time for Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco to have one of “those” days but the Ravens went out there and severely crapped the bed.

With a scenario of winning out against losing teams in front of them to clinch a playoff spot, the Ravens have now expelled themselves from the current playoff seedings on a day where Flacco went 21 for 50 for 195 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. San Diego jumps them for the sixth seed in the playoffs for this week and now the Ravens will need some help in order to play in January.

Is it really December?

It seems like something isn’t right in the universe. The Dallas Cowboys have clinched the NFC East and a playoff spot for the first time since 2009, the first time in head coach’s Jason Garrett’s tenure. The Cowboys secured their playoff spot and knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention thanks to their Saturday afternoon loss to Washington. It seems like the Cowboys were perfectly set up for another December collapse, especially with the league’s leading rusher, DeMarco Murray, having hand surgery this week and being questionable for this game. Looks like they’re probably saving the collapse for the playoffs, it’ll be more dramatic that way.

It’s playoff time

The Steelers have said for the past few weeks that they were already in playoff mode. Going into Sunday’s game against the Chiefs they had an opportunity to clinch their first playoff berth since 2011. On Sunday, they came out and took care of business. And they took care of business in a way probably none of Steeler Nation was expecting; with defense. The defense stood tall against the Chiefs, keeping them out of the endzone the entire game, holding Jamaal Charles to 29 rushing yards, sacking Alex Smith a season-leading six times, and even forcing a fumble.

The Steelers offense then did the job needed to secure the victory and the Steelers’ place in the post-season. Antonio Brown became the first Pittsburgh Steeler to have over 1,500 receiving yards in a season, and Ben Roethlisberger broke a franchise record for the highest quarterback rating for a season.

All is set up for an AFC North showdown at Heinz Field next Sunday with the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals face the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football so tentatively, the Steelers are atop the division for now.

Bring on the Bungles!

Here we go Steelers! Here we go!

Next: Steelers D Stands Tall

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