It’s been another exciting week in the NFL, but one that was without too many surprises when it came to the top teams in our Power Rankings.

However, we have seen a change in the AFC South, with the Jaguars timing their great run of form to perfection as they moved to 7-8 and above the collapsing Tennessee Titans who have fallen from 7-3 down to 7-8 and are now in second place in the division after their dismal loss to the Houston Texans.

Elsewhere the Los Angeles Rams racked up 51 points against the Denver Broncos, which saw them sack head coach Nathaniel Hackett on the back of that loss.

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With just two weeks of the regular season left, we still have a total of five places left up for grabs in the race for the playoffs, with two qualifiers for teams in the AFC and NFC South divisions, plus three other positions with a host of teams that could clinch one of the available berths.

As usual, you can enjoy a wide range of bets on the remaining regular season action, as well as throughout the playoffs with bet365 Sport.

Let us now take a look at how things transpired on Week 16 of the NFL.

NFL Matchday 16 – Main Stories

Broncos Blown Out By Rampant Rams Sees Hackett Fired – The Los Angeles Rams haven’t had much to cheer this season, but on Sunday night they produced a superb offensive display to blitz the Denver Broncos by a massive 51 points to 14. The Bronco’s head coach Nate Hackett was fired after the game after he admitted his team were not ready to play on Christmas Day and put in a sub-par performance against a team that had been on a six-game losing streak.

Titans Miserable Slide Continues As Jags Hit Top Of AFC South – The AFC South has new leaders this week as the Jacksonville Jaguars playoff push continued with a fine win over the New York Jets on Thursday night while the Tennessee Titans slump continued with a dismal loss to the Houston Texans. That loss dropped the Titans into second place in the South, a division they led comfortably just five weeks ago. The Titans face the Cowboys on Thursday in disarray and must finish the season with an away trip to Jacksonville. No wonder Jags fans are smiling.

Ravens And Chargers Clinch Playoff Berths – The Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers both clinched playoff berths this week with wins Falcons and Colts respectively. They join the Bills, Chiefs and Bengals as playoff-confirmed teams in the AFC leaving just two spots open in that division one of which will go to the AFC South winner and the other to the team with the best record, currently held by the Miami Dolphins on 8-7.

Cowboys Defeat Hurts-Less Eagles In NFC East Classic – In the fourth quarter, trailing by two scores, it looked like the Philadelphia Eagles had Dallas where they wanted. Facing a 3^rd and 30 from their own 29 yard line, somehow the Cowboys converted, shortly tied up the game and then clinched the win in what was a true NFL East classic. The Eagles missed Jalen Hurts but Gardner Minshew filled in nicely. If these two are to meet again in the playoffs, it could be a classic.

15 Teams In The Hunt For Just Five Playoff Berths – Speaking of playoffs, there are just five berths left available. Three in the NFC, two in the AFC and yet there are still 15 teams in with a mathematical chance of clinching one of them. That number will of course be cut considerably this week depending on results, but whatever happens, next weekend will be pivotal one in the season for so many teams and that essentially means we are playing win and in football from now on.

NFL Star Performers of the Week – Offense/ST

• TE Evan Engram (Jaguars) – 7 receptions for 113 yards.
• RB D’Onta Foreman (Panthers) – 21 carries for 165 yards and a touchdown
• RB Chuba Hubbard (Panthers) – 12 carries for 125 yards
• QB Jared Goff (Lions) – 25/42 for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns
• WR Shane Zylstra (Lions) – 5 receptions for 26 yards and 3 touchdowns
• WR Tee Higgins (Bengals) – 8 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown
• QB Kirk Cousins (Vikings) – 34/48 for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns
• TE TJ Hockenson (Vikings) – 13 receptions for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns
• TE George Kittle (49ers) – 6 receptions for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns
• QB Dak Prescott (Cowboys) – 27/35 for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns
• WR CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys) – 10 receptions for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns
• WR DeVonta Smith (Eagles) – 8 receptions for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns
• WR Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) – 5 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown
• QB Baker Mayfield (Rams) – 24/28 for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns
• RB Cam Akers (Rams) – 23 carries for 118 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 receptions 29 yards

NFL Star Performers Of The Week – Defense

• Los Angeles Chargers – The Chargers defense not only held the Colts to just three points, they intercepted Nick Foles three times and sacked the quarterback seven times in a fantastic defensive effort albeit against somewhat limited and out of sorts opposition.
• Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers defense held the Las Vegas Raiders to just ten points and intercepted Derek Carr three times, as well as holding their main offensive weapon, running back Josh Jacobs to just 44 yards rushing to lay the foundations for their comeback win over the Raiders.
• Buffalo Bills – The Bills defense did what many teams have failed to do this season, contain and nullify Bears quarterback Justin Fields holding him to just 119 yards passing and 11 yards rushing. That laid the foundation for their comfortable success over the Bears.
• Jacksonville Jaguars – One of the most improved teams of the season continued their ascent to the top of the AFC South with a superb win over the Jets. They held the Jets to just 227 yards of offense, allowing the Jets to convert on just 2 of 13 third downs, forcing a fumble, intercepting a pass and sacking the quarterback three times. The net result, the Jets scored just three points and the Jags now top the AFC South.

NFL Rookies Of The Week

• WR Jahan Dotson (Commanders) – 6 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown
• QB Brock Purdy (49ers) – 234 passing yards with 2 touchdowns
• RB James Cook (Bills) – 99 yards rushing and a touchdown
• WR George Pickens (Steelers) – 5 receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown
• LB Marcus Jones (Patriots) – 14 tackles, Fumble Recovery, 69 int returned for a TD
• CB Cobie Durant (Rams) – 2 interceptions, 1 85-yard INT return for a touchdown

NFL Key Injuries

• LB Bud Dupree (Titans) – Chest injury – Questionable for Thursday night.
• DT Jordan Davis (Eagles) – Head injury – To be evaluated for this week.
• DE Chandler Jones (Raiders) – Elbow injury – unlikely to play again this season.
• OT La’el Collins (Bengals) – Knee injury – Day to day but not as bad as first feared.
• CB Jaycee Horn (Panthers) – Wrist injury – Day to day
• DB Tre Norwood (Steelers) – Hamstring – Likely out for season.
• G Andrus Peat (Saints) – Ankle – Day to day

NFL Bonehead of The Week

When you give up a 3^rd and 30 to a heated rival in a close game, you probably expect to be listed here, but in fairness to the Eagles, I don’t think they did too much wrong on that play, the Cowboys just did a little better.

So instead, the Bonehead of the week goes to the entire Denver Broncos team, and especially their ‘Super Bowl calibre’ defense, who somehow managed to ship 51 points to a Los Angeles Rams team that was devoid of both Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp.

It was an embarrassing performance and one that saw head coach Nat Hackett pay the price with his job. The Broncos season has been a disaster from start to finish but this was a new low on a team whose gamble to sign Russell Wilson on a lengthy and expensive contract has backfired.

NFL Matchday 16 – Results

• Jacksonville Jaguars 19-3 New York Jets
• Atlanta Falcons 9-17 Baltimore Ravens
• Detroit Lions 23-37 Carolina Panthers
• Seattle Seahawks 10-24 Kansas City Chiefs
• New Orleans Saints 17-10 Cleveland Browns
• Cincinnati Bengals 22-18 New England Patriots
• New York Giants 24-27 Minnesota Vikings
• Buffalo Bills 35-13 Chicago Bears
• Houston Texans 19-14 Tennessee Titans
• Washington Commanders 20-37 San Francisco 49ers
• Philadelphia Eagles 34-40 Dallas Cowboys
• Las Vegas Raiders 10-13 Pittsburgh Steelers
• Green Bay Packers 26-20 Miami Dolphins
• Denver Broncos 14-51 Los Angeles Rams
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-16 Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angeles Chargers 20-3 Indianapolis Colts

NFL Standings After Matchday 16

Teams qualified for the playoffs are shown in Italics.

Teams confirmed as Divisional Winners are shown in Bold.

NFL Matchday 17 – Fixtures & Betting Tips

Thursday 29^th December

• Dallas Cowboys (11-4) @ Tennessee Titans (7-8)

Sunday 1^st January

• Arizona Cardinals (4-11) @ Atlanta Falcons (5-10)
• Miami Dolphins (8-7) @ New England Patriots (7-8)
• New Orleans Saints (6-9) @ Philadelphia Eagles (13-2)
• Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1) @ New York Giants (8-6-1)
• Carolina Panthers (6-9) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
• Denver Broncos (4-11) @ Kansas City Chiefs (12-3)
• Chicago Bears (3-12) @ Detroit Lions (7-8)
• Cleveland Browns (6-9) @ Washington Commanders (7-7-1)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8) @ Houston Texans (2-12-1)
• San Francisco 49ers (11-4) @ Las Vegas Raiders (6-9)
• New York Jets (7-8) @ Seattle Seahawks (7-8)
• Minnesota Vikings (12-3) @ Green Bay Packers (7-8)
• Los Angeles Rams (5-10) @ Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
• Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8) @ Baltimore Ravens (10-5)

Monday 2^nd January

• Buffalo Bills (12-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals (11-4)

NFL Matchday 17 – Top Betting Tips With Bet365

Not the greatest set of predictions last week, but we had one come in around the even money mark, but I’d like to do better with this quintet of tips for the penultimate round of Regular Season games this week.

• Dallas Cowboys to beat the Tennessee Titans by 7-12 points – 4/1
• New York Giants to beat the Indianapolis Colts by 7-12 points – 9/2
• Detroit Lions to beat the Chicago Bears by 13-18 points – 6/1
• 49ers @ Raiders – Special Team or Defensive Touchdown to be scored – 43/20
• Bengals to beat the Bills – Moneyline – Evens

NFL – Power Rankings (After Week 16)

1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-2) (7,4,2,1,3,2,2,2,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1)
2. Buffalo Bills (12-3) (1,1,1,2,1,1,1,1,2,3,4,5,5,2,2,2)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (12-3) (2,2,4,3,2,3,3,3,4,4,2,2,4,5,6,3)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) (8,15,12,11,13,9,9,13,11,12,9,7,7,6,4,4)
5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4) (16,11,17,15,9,10,13,10,14,13,10,8,6,4,3,5)
6. Minnesota Vikings (12-3) (9,12,13,9,5,4,5,4,3,1,3,3.2,7,5,6)
7. Dallas Cowboys (11-4) (19,17,11,6,4,7,6,5,5,9,6,4,3,3,7,7)
8. Baltimore Ravens (10-5) (6,8,6,8,7,8,11,8,10,11,8,11,9,8,8,8)
9. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) (3,5,16,10,8,6,10,12,13,14,16,14,15,12,9,9)
10. Miami Dolphins (8-7) (13,7,3,4,14,16,14,14,12,6,7,6,8,9,11,10)
11. New York Giants (8-6-1) (22,10,15,14,6,5,4,7,7,5,11,12,12,13,10,11)
12. Green Bay Packers (7-8) (11,9,7,5,10,11,15,16,20,18,18,20,22,18,18,12)
13. New York Jets (7-8) (32,27,31,26,19,13,7,11,6,8,12,10,11,11,12,13)
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8) (31,26,14,18,21,25,28,29,26,28,31,26,28,22,20,14)
15. Washington Commanders (7-7-1) (18,23,26,30,28,27,21,19,18,16,15,13,14,14,13,15)
16. Detroit Lions (7-8) (28,21,25,27,29,30,32,32,28,25,20,19,18,17,14,16)
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) (4,3,8,12,11,12,16,21,16,17,17,17,16,19,23,17)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8) (10,16,21,29,32,26,30,30,31,30,29,27,21,23,22,18)
19. Seattle Seahawks (7-8) (23,25,29,24,25,20,12,9,8,10,13,15,10,10,15,19)
20. New England Patriots (7-8) (26,20,24,28,24,19,23,15,15,15,14,16,17,16,17,20)
21. Tennessee Titans (7-8) (24,31,23,19,12,15,8,6,9,7,5,9,13,15,16,21)
22. Las Vegas Raiders (6-9) (17,24,30,21,27,28,24,28,29,31,27,25,19,20,19,22)
23. New Orleans Saints (6-9) (12,14,18,23,17,21,25,18,19,23,25,28,26,29,25,23)
24. Carolina Panthers (6-9) (30,32,28,31,31,32,29,27,30,29,23,23,25,24,24,24)
25. Cleveland Browns (6-9) (14,18,9,13,16,22,26,22,22,27,26,24,20,21,21,25)
26. Los Angeles Rams (5-10) (5,6,5,7,15,14,17,17,17,22,24,29,29,26,28,26)
27. Atlanta Falcons (5-10) (29,30,27,20,23,18,19,20,21,21,19,18,23,25,26,27)
28. Arizona Cardinals (4-11) (25,19,22,17,18,23,18,23,24,19,22,21,24,28,30,28)
29. Denver Broncos (4-11) (20,13,10,16,20,24,27,24,23,24,28,30,30,30,27,28,29)
30. Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1) (15,29,20,25,22,17,20,25,25,20,21,22,27,27,29,30)
31. Houston Texans (2-12-1) (27,28,32,32,30,31,31,31,32,32,32,32,32,32,32,31)
32. Chicago Bears (3-12) (21,22,19,22,26,29,22,26,27,26,30,31,31,31,31,32)

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