NFL Analysis
12/22/24
9 min read
Biggest Winners, Losers From 2024 NFL Week 16
NFL Week 16 was another strange week, with several upsets and wild finishes across the league.
We saw a few quarterbacks lift their teams to unlikely victories and some incredibly frustrating play by former high draft picks. But which players and coaches stood out the most in Week 16? And who left a lot to be desired? Here are the biggest winners and losers from the Sunday afternoon slate:
NFL Week 16 Winners, Losers
Honorable Mentions
Winner: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Loser: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, Cleveland Browns
Winner: Jessie Bates, FS, Atlanta Falcons
Loser: Brian Callahan, HC, Tennessee Titans
⬆️Winner: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
The term franchise quarterback is overused, and there are only a few examples in the NFL of real difference-makers at that position. However, there is no doubt that Jayden Daniels is one of the few franchise-altering quarterbacks in the NFL. And today was a perfect example of why.
Daniels didn’t play a clean game, as he had two interceptions, including one late in the fourth quarter. However, whenever Washington needed a play, Daniels made it.
Down by five with less than two minutes remaining, Daniels needed to take the Commanders down the field against one of the league’s best defenses to secure a spot in the playoffs. Not only did he throw his fifth touchdown of the day on that drive, but he drained all the clock, making sure that Philadelphia wouldn’t have a shot to tie the game back up.
Daniels finished the game with more than 340 yards of offense and five touchdowns, as the Commanders scored 36 points against arguably the league’s best defense. They turned the ball over five times on offense, yet they found a way to win against maybe the best team in the conference.
The Commanders have now won double-digit games for the first time since 2012, and it’s all because of Daniels and his influence on the offense. He’s one of the league’s most exciting players, and we can already see that he will be a problem for the rest of the NFC for a very long time.
⬆️Winner: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor had a game to forget last week against the Broncos. He had a chance to put the Colts up late in the game, but he decided to drop the ball on the one-yard line before going into the end zone. He made sure not to make that mistake again this week as Taylor had two long touchdown runs and held onto the ball until he reached the back of the end zone.
Taylor finished the game with three touchdowns and a season-high 218 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Indianapolis ran the ball 50 times after only completing seven passes. The offense was built on Taylor's explosiveness, and that led them to a 38-30 win over the Titans.
Sitting at 7-8, the Colts still have an outside chance of making the postseason. They would need Denver to lose its last two games, but that is possible, considering its opponents are the Bengals and the Chiefs. The Colts could prove to be a scary No. 7 seed for a team like Buffalo, as their run game can be incredibly dynamic with Anthony Richardson under center.
Indianapolis has a favorable schedule remaining and could easily end up with nine wins. If that’s the case, a lot of credit will need to be given to Taylor, who has had some massive performances during the last month.
⬆️Winner: Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
After a tough loss to the Bills at home last week, a lot of people moved Detroit down their list of potential Super Bowl contenders. A big reason why is due to the injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but the loss of David Montgomery was expected to have a big impact on the offense.
That certainly wasn’t the case in Week 16, as Detroit scored 34 points on the road, and Jared Goff had one of his best performances of the season. Goff completed 23 of 32 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Detroit scored 27 first-half points and coasted to an easy win against a division rival. This was the sixth time this season that Goff has thrown three or more touchdowns in a game, and he's now thrown for 830 yards and eight touchdowns during the last two weeks.
This was a good reminder that Detroit is one of the deepest teams in the league. Its offense is good enough to overcome all of the injuries on defense. With Philadelphia dropping a game against Washington, all the Lions need to do is win their final two games, and they will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
As long as Goff continues to play at this level, that shouldn’t be a problem at all.
⬇️Loser: Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
This one is tough to write because it wasn’t that long ago that Kyle Pitts was the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and had one of the best rookie seasons of all time by a tight end. But a knee injury in 2022 greatly altered his NFL career path, and he looks like a shell of his former self.
Coming into Week 16, Pitts had gone four consecutive weeks without clearing 30 receiving yards. In fact, in those four games, he had just 51 combined yards on six receptions. He just wasn’t a big part of the offense, and it’s fair to put some of the blame on Kirk Cousins, who was benched this week in favor of Michael Penix Jr.
But there isn’t anyone else to blame this week. Pitts caught just one pass for seven yards, and it was the fourth time this year he had been held under 10 yards. But that doesn’t even tell the whole story. Pitts was targeted on a slant in the second half, and it should have been a walk-in touchdown for the Falcons.
Instead, Pitts juggled that ball and tossed it right up into the arms of a defensive player for Penix’s first career interception. It was a perfect throw that resulted in another red-zone turnover for Atlanta.
Pitts is set to play on the fifth-year option in 2025, but it might be time for both parties to move on. It just hasn’t worked out during the last few years, and it’s clear that both sides are losing confidence in each other.
⬇️Loser: Brian Daboll, HC, New York Giants
It’s getting harder to justify that the New York Giants should bring back Brian Daboll in 2025. The Giants were blown out by the Falcons, losing 34-7. New York racked up just 234 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times, including two pick-sixes. Drew Lock was a disaster for most of the game, but he put together a few late drives to make his stats look somewhat respectable.
The Giants are 2-13 and on pace to have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after yet another awful season. It appears the players are starting to quit on him, and there have been no signs that he can help the offense be functional. The Giants were 30th in points per game last year and 32nd this year after 16 weeks. They have never had a top-14 offense under Daboll, and they are regressing each year.
With a career record of 17-31-1, it sure doesn’t seem like he’s the right guy for the job. And at this point, it feels like a mistake to bring him back for a fourth year. They look lifeless on both sides of the ball, and there is no way the front office can have any confidence that he’ll turn things around next year.
⬇️Loser: The San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention before they even kicked off on Sunday afternoon, and they sure played like it against the Dolphins. San Francisco scored just 17 points on offense, but it had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter, down by five. But on the first down near midfield, Brock Purdy threw an interception, which ended San Francisco's comeback attempt.
Their effort on Sunday was some of the worst we've seen in the Kyle Shanahan era, and the defense didn't put up much resistance. Miami scored 29 points and ran for 167 yards despite several backup offensive linemen on the field. It sure felt like the 49ers knew they were eliminated going into the game, and it deflated the whole team.
The 49ers have now lost five of their last six games and don’t resemble their 2023 Super Bowl version at all. Purdy has not performed as well this year as he did last season, and the roster suddenly looks really old and expensive.
With a record of 6-9, it’s hard to think of a team that has been more disappointing. They don’t do anything well, and nearly every player on the roster has regressed. San Francisco is going to have a lot of hard decisions to make this offseason, including how much to pay their franchise quarterback on his new deal.
