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NFL Week 16, Fastest 2 Minutes, Bills Big Win, Chiefs Keep Rolling & The Giants Are Torturing Their Fans

Monday, December 27, 202117 takes

Week 16 Fastest 2 Minutes. We then recap every game from Saturday and Sunday(-) WFT/Dallas(-). Packers/Browns(-). Colts/Cardinals(-). Bills/Patriots(-). Rams/Vikings(-). Bengals/Ravens(-) Eagles/Giants(-). Texans/Chargers(-). Bucs/Panthers(-). Jets/Jaguars(-). Falcons/Lions(-). Bears/Seahawks(-). Raiders/Broncos(-). Chiefs/Steelers(-). Football guy of the week and Who's back of the week finishes up the show(-).

NFL Week 16 Recap: Bills Reclaim the East, Chiefs Keep Rolling, and the Giants Torture Fans

Week 16 was a massive weekend for playoff positioning, Christmas football, and Big Cat once again declaring the Bears back after a meaningless snow game in Seattle. We kicked things off with the Fastest 2 Minutes, where PFT managed to work in a Linkin Park reference into a Texans recap and Billy delivered a remarkably coherent summary of the Jets' victory over the Jaguars. The energy was high, even if the Washington football team's performance against the Cowboys was low enough to trigger an actual sideline fight between teammates.

Dallas Dominance and Washington Woes

The Cowboys look like a completely different animal right now. They dismantled Washington so thoroughly that Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne started throwing hands on the bench. While the national media is going to be insufferable about this, Big Cat is finally ready to buy the ticket.

Loss
Dec 27, 2021
#5188
Big CatBig Cat

The Cowboys are back and are legitimate Super Bowl contenders

The hype is going to be off the charts on Monday morning for the Cowboys... This was their, oh shit, the Cowboys are actually like super woke debtors. I'm mad at myself. Cause I thought about making a wager on them to win the super bowl on Monday at 12 to one... but the Cowboys are back.

The Cowboys were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the 49ers later that season.

PFT, however, is trying to find stability in the wreckage. Even with the season effectively over for Washington, he isn't ready to blow the whole thing up just yet.

Void
Dec 27, 2021
#5189
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Washington should give Ron Rivera an extension despite the losing season

I actually think the best thing for the football team right now would be to give Ron Rivera an extension. That's really what we need... It would send a message that, okay. Yeah, we're kind of a clusterfuck, but at least we're a clusterfuck with some stability.

Rivera remained the coach but did not receive a major extension in 2021/early 2022 that stabilized the team's long-term future, eventually being fired in 2024.

The AFC North Bloodbath

Joe Burrow didn't just beat the Ravens; he personally deleted their secondary from the record books with 525 passing yards. It was a statement performance from a guy who Big Cat thinks has that unteachable quality that separates the greats from the merely good.

Win
Dec 27, 2021
#23761
Big CatBig Cat

Joe Burrow has the 'it factor' because of his elite pocket awareness and ability to sense pressure

Joe Burrow, who's going to be a superstar... it's all about his ability to just move in the pocket and sense pressure. Like either guys have it or they don't. What makes a guy have that it factor? It's can he—does he feel like he has eyes in the back of his head when he can slide up with an oncoming rusher coming at him? And he has that.

Burrow's subsequent performance, leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl just months after this and establishing himself as a top-3 QB, confirms this observation.

While Burrow was carving up a COVID-depleted defense, Big Cat couldn't help but notice the Pro Bowl snubs. The fact that Lamar Jackson made the roster over Burrow or Josh Allen based on name recognition alone was enough to send the guys into a spiral about the validity of fan voting.

Void
Dec 27, 2021
#5195
Big CatBig Cat

Lamar Jackson should not have made the Pro Bowl over Joe Burrow and Josh Allen

Lamar Jackson should not have made the Pro Bowl. Lamar Jackson made the Pro Bowl over Joe Burrow and Josh Allen. That's crazy to me. That's fucking crazy. Like by any statistical analysis, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow have had better seasons than Lamar Jackson.

Statistically, Burrow and Allen had significantly more passing yards and touchdowns than Lamar Jackson in 2021, though Pro Bowl selection is based on fan/player/coach votes and therefore technically subjective.

Bills Mafia Returns to the Throne

Hank had to eat a massive serving of humble pie as the Bills walked into Foxborough and didn't punt a single time. Josh Allen played like an MVP, while Mac Jones looked every bit the rookie wall-hitter. Hank attempted to retreat to the "Rome wasn't built in a day" defense, but the guys weren't letting him off that easily after his weeks of "Soupy" talk.

Win
Dec 27, 2021
#5193
HankHank

Expectations for a rookie QB to go deep in the playoffs are delusional

I don't think anyone that expected a rookie quarterback to take your team deep in the playoffs is delusional... If we're having this conversation in four years, like I do compare it to Josh Allen... It takes time. It's a progression. If Mack Jones is still where he's at today in four years, then we can have this conversation.

Mac Jones and the Patriots were blown out in the Wild Card round. Four years later, he was no longer the starter for the Patriots.

PFT still has his reservations about the Bills' ability to survive a deep run if they have to stay in the elements, but he's sold on their ceiling in a dome environment.

Loss
Dec 27, 2021
#5194
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Bills are built to win the Super Bowl in Los Angeles but not playoff games in the cold

I still stand by my take that these bills are, they're like built to win the super bowl. The game in Los Angeles. They, they're probably not built to win playoff games, multiple playoff games and the cold. But if they can get to the super bowl, I think they can win the super bowl.

The Bills lost in Kansas City (not the cold, but not SoFi) in the Divisional Round in the '13 seconds' game.

The New York Giants Are a Crime Scene

The report that Joe Judge and Daniel Jones are likely back for another year sent shockwaves of misery through the Giants' fanbase. Big Cat was particularly baffled by the logic of potentially firing the GM while keeping the failed experiments on the field.

Win
Dec 27, 2021
#5196
Big CatBig Cat

Firing a GM but keeping the coach and QB is the dumbest thing a team can do

The firing of a GM and not of a coach is one of the dumbest things that a pro sports team can do. It's not stability when you've lost 10, 10 games or more every single season for five straight... Why wouldn't you just clean house top to bottom?

The Giants eventually fired Joe Judge just days after the season ended, proving Big Cat's point that a half-measure was illogical.

It led to a deeper discussion about Daniel Jones' pedigree and why the "Generic Video Game QB" look can only take you so far if you weren't even a standout in the ACC.

Win
Dec 27, 2021
#23759
Big CatBig Cat

There has never been a quarterback who was average in college and went on to be a superstar in the NFL

There's never been a quarterback in the history of football who was average in college and then went on to be a superstar in the NFL. It doesn't happen. Like you don't, you're not just like, oh, okay at Duke, and then all of a sudden you're a franchise quarterback. The guys who are franchise quarterbacks looked good in college at some point.

Daniel Jones has generally remained a middle-of-the-pack starter or backup, never reaching superstar status, which aligns with Big Cat's historical assessment of average college QBs.

Chiefs Kingdom and the AFC Hierarchy

The Chiefs clinched the AFC West for the sixth straight year, and they did it by absolutely burying the Steelers. It’s a remarkable turnaround from their October slump when everyone was ready to write the Mahomes obituary. Big Cat sees a lot of 2010s New England in this current Kansas City run.

Win
Dec 27, 2021
#5199
Big CatBig Cat

The 2021 Chiefs are having a resurgence similar to the vintage Patriots

The way everyone talked and ourselves included, talked about the chiefs and my homes in October... and what they have done since is very Patriots ask where everyone's like, have the chiefs been figured out is Patrick or home's bad. And then they've just wanted 11 in a row... That's a very, I think an apt analogy.

The Chiefs did indeed reclaim the AFC's elite status, hosting their 4th straight AFC Championship game that season.

We wrapped up with Football Guy of the Week and some very questionable New Year's resolutions from the crew. PFT is planning to get into scotch, Big Cat is going to "get back in shape" (again), and Billy is trying to go "full primal" while still spending fourteen hours a day on TikTok.

Let’s just hope the Gila Monsters don't paralyze the Cowboys before the playoffs start.

nflbillspatriotscowboysgiantschiefsjoe-burrowweek-16

More Takes

Void
Dec 27, 2021
#5190
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Browns would be better with Kirk Cousins and the Vikings would be better with Baker Mayfield

I actually think that the way that those two teams are built, the Browns would be better with Kirk Cousins. And the Vikings would be better with baker Mayfield than they are right now... if Kirk cousins was on the Browns and it's like, okay, all you do is you take what's there. You let your defense handle business, you run the ball. That's kind of the team that he's built to win for... I think that baker would be better with the weapons that they have in Minnesota, where yeah. You can make a few mistakes, but also you can hit a shitload of home runs.

This is a hypothetical swap that can never be proven, though both teams eventually moved on from these QBs.
Win
Dec 27, 2021
#5191
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Packers are a finesse team not built for the cold

I don't think that this Packers team is built for the cold. I think that the, I think they're built for a finesse. You know, they're built for global warming... I don't know if they're built for the call. I think that the, the Cowboys team that we're seeing right now, that team travels better than the cold than the Packers do.

The Packers lost at home in the snow to the 49ers in the Divisional Round just a few weeks later, scoring only 10 points.
Win
Dec 27, 2021
#5192
Big CatBig Cat

The Arizona Cardinals are frauds who fall apart down the stretch

The Cardinals are frauds. The Colts went in with like a backup offensive line... and the Cardinals are back to where they were last year, where it's like falling apart, down the stretch, getting worse down the stretch... they've fallen apart two years in a row. And it's like, it's more than just a trend at this point.

The Cardinals lost 4 of their last 5 regular season games and were crushed by the Rams in the Wild Card round.
Void
Dec 27, 2021
#5198
Billy FootballBilly Football

The New York Jets are low-key electric and building something

I'm going to be on jets. Jets are low key electric. They may not have it all together yet... Braxton Barrios state it coast to coast, 103 yards on a kick return. Like they have something going there... Zach Wilson on that run, he looks faster in the all black uniforms.

The Jets remained a struggling franchise, though they improved defensively, Zach Wilson eventually lost the starting job.
Loss
Dec 27, 2021
#5197
Big CatBig Cat

Trevor Lawrence might be a bust after his late-game spike play

That spike he had on third down, what the fuck was that? That was crazy... he burned third down with the, with the spike. It's like, why wouldn't you, why don't you throw it to the end zone? It was crazy... that one made me think, like he might actually be a bust.

Lawrence led the Jaguars to a division title and a playoff win the following year, largely shedding the 'bust' label.
Void
Dec 27, 2021
#23763
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Josh Johnson is the best emergency quarterback in NFL history

He's a mercenary. He's like, he's probably the best emergency quarterback of all time. I don't know what it is about Josh Johnson. Why he's never had a team that wants to commit to them... If there's, if you had to draft quarterbacks, like of all time for one guy that you would want on three days' notice, I think Josh Johnson is one, one overall.

Subjective, though Johnson's longevity across nearly every pro league (NFL, XFL, AAF, etc.) and his ability to start for the 49ers in an NFC Championship game on short notice supports the claim.
Void
Dec 27, 2021
#23762
Big CatBig Cat

Losing sucks, and I love the Harbaughs because they are 'bad losers' who get depressed and complain when they lose

The Harbaughs are such, I love them so much, but they are so blinded by competitive rage when they lose... I actually love that about them because way too often in life, people like you gotta be a good loser. No, fuck it. Losing sucks. Don't be a good loser. Be a bad loser. ... They become depressed. They become sad human beings. They yell about the rules. They're not good losers, and I actually love that about them.

This is a personal philosophy on sportsmanship and fandom that can't be proven right or wrong, but it accurately describes the Harbaugh brothers' public personas.
Void
Dec 27, 2021
#23760
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Using a top-10 draft pick on a tight end is only for teams looking for the last piece of the puzzle, not the first

Using a top 10 pick on a tight end, unless it's a guy like [Rob Gronkowski] where who can dominate the blocking game and the catching game... if you're the Falcons, you've probably got some other issues that you might wish that you have addressed at that point instead of tight end. ... A tight end feels like the last piece to a puzzle, not the first piece.

This is a subjective philosophy on team building, though many draft analysts would agree that taking a TE over premium positions (QB, Edge, OT) for a bad team is inefficient.

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