December 24, 2024
Week 16 of the NFL season is in the books, and the Philadelphia Eagles' run at the No. 1 spot is already over. We have one new obituary this week, the Jonathan Gannon- and Kyler Murray-led Arizona Cardinals.
At one point this season the Cardinals were 6-4, they were leading the NFC West, and Jonathan Gannon was getting a little buzz as a possible NFL Head Coach of the Year candidate. And then... (fart noise). They lost four of their last five games, punctuated by Gannon's defense giving up 36 points to a Panthers team that was averaging 17.6 points per game heading into the matchup.
During that five-game stretch, Kyler Murray threw some of the most asinine passes of the season, like this...
And this...
Byron Murphy picks off Kyler 🙌
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
📺: #AZvsMIN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/3PrKHS78FL
Murray's career record in November, December, and January fell to 13-27 (0.325) vs. 22-17-1 (0.563) in September and October.
Gannon's career record is now 11-21 (0.344), which probably isn't quite bad enough to get him fired, but one more bad season in 2025 would likely result in the end of his tenure in Arizona and move from Murray at quarterback to someone else. Gannon is beginning to get some heat from the locals:
Jonathan Gannon said he wanted a team full of killers and the Cardinals have rolled over in every big game this season
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) December 22, 2024
9) Seahawks (8-7): With the Cardinals faltering, the Seahawks took control of the NFC West at 8-5, until they dropped two straight home games to the Packers and Vikings. Now? Their playoff hopes have narrowed significantly, as they more or less need a Rams loss to the Cardinals Week 17 to stave off elimination.
If #Rams lose to Arizona 👉 #SEAvsLAR Week 18 will be for NFC West (regardless of Seahawks-Bears result).
— Deniz Selman (@denizselman33) December 23, 2024
If Rams beat Arizona 👉 #Seahawks' only chance is to win both their games *AND* get a strength of victory miracle.
Color-coded guide of remaining games for SOV tally 👇 pic.twitter.com/ImlENMtdUT
Last week: 8
8) Falcons (8-7): Michael Penix didn't have to do much in his NFL starting debut against the pathetic Giants, but he got his first win under his belt, and this trash team reassumed the lead in the NFC South with the Bucs' bad loss in Dallas.
Last week: 10
7) Buccaneers (8-7): The Bucs' remaining two games are against the 4-11 Panthers and the completely cooked 5-10 Saints. If they can't take care of business they don't belong in the playoffs, obviously, but they also need a Falcons loss because the Falcons swept them this season. The Falcons' remaining games are at the Commanders on Sunday Night Football and at home against the Panthers.
The Bucs had a crazy ending against the Cowboys Sunday night, in case you missed it:
CHAOS! @DallasCowboys ball!
— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2024
📺: #TBvsDAL on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PROC0YBT7e
Baker Mayfield is low key one of the most fun quarterbacks to watch in the NFL.
6) Commanders (10-5): This team has Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin and not much else. And yet, they're 10-5 and they're very likely going to the playoffs. If they can find a way to build a roster around Daniels and Daniels can stay healthy, they're going to be a nightmare.
5) Rams (9-6): The Rams are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NFL, with the third-longest winning streak:
• Vikings: Won 8
• Chiefs: Won 5
• Rams: Won 4
• Commanders: Won 3
• Bengals: Won 3
If they beat the Cardinals at home on Sunday, they can clinch the NFC West with a Seahawks loss or a "strength of victory" tiebreaker over the Seahawks, as noted above.
4) Packers (11-4): The Packers are another hot team, winning five of their last six, with the one loss on the road to the Lions. Their last four wins have all been by double-digit points by a combined score of 132-40. They've scored at least 30 points in five straight games, and all four of their losses this season have been to teams that all have at least 12 wins.
Last week: 4
3) Eagles (12-3): The Giants cut Daniel Jones a month ago. He was available to every team in the league, and the Vikings signed him. So let's circle back to that debate now that we've seen Kenny Pickett play a game for the Eagles.
Now that we've seen Kenny Pickett play a game in an Eagles uniform, I'm just curious who you would rather have... Pickett, or Daniel Jones?
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) December 24, 2024
Last week: 1
2) Vikings (13-2): I think we've all been waiting for this team to come back down to earth and start losing some games, but, you know, they just... haven't. Still, it's worth noting that the Vikings' 8-game winning streak has come against teams with a combined point differential of -432 (if we're counting the Bears twice):
Credit the Vikings for handling lesser opponents, but they'll be tested the final two weeks against the Packers and Lions.
Last week: 3
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