While most people were celebrating Christmas this past weekend, it was all work for the National Football League. Here were the top five headlines for week 16.
5) Broncos release safety Kareem Jackson.
After the Denver Broncos lost 26-23 to the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve night, they released safety Kareem Jackson of Macon, Georgia. Jackson was suspended four games for multiple violations of the National Football League’s unnecessary roughness rules after week seven, and then was suspended again for a week 11 hit on Joshua Dobbs of the Minnesota Vikings.
4) Four significant upsets.
The underdogs who won in week 16 were the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-14 on Christmas Day despite being a 10-point underdog. The reason for the Vegas win came down to two first half turnovers for major scores in the first half, and 145 yards rushing from Zamir White of Laurinburg, North Carolina.
3) Ravens are now the best team in the NFL.
Baltimore now has the best record in the NFL following a 33-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. With the win, they improved to a record of 12 wins and three losses. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 23 of 35 passes for 252 passing yards, and had seven rushes for 45 yards.
2) Lions win first division title in three decades.
Detroit won its first first division title in 30 years on Sunday. Amon-Ra St. Brown of Anaheim Hills, California had 12 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown in a 30-24 Lions win over the Minnesota Vikings. With the win, Detroit improves to a record of 11 wins and four losses.
1) Jalen Hurts sets a NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
Eagles running back Jalen Hurts of Houston, Texas made NFL history on Christmas Day in a 33-25 Philadelphia win over the New York Giants. With a one-yard run for a touchdown two minutes and 33 seconds into the first quarter, he set the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback with 15. The old record belonged to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton of College Park, Georgia, who had 14 touchdowns in 2011. With the win, the Eagles improved to a record of 11 wins and four losses, and into first place in the NFC East.
For FREE!
