Week 16 of the NFL season absolutely delivered. It got started with an overtime thriller to decide who took control of the 1-seed in the NFC. Then, on Saturday, we got another overtime game in a crucial NFC North matchup. Sunday also delivered, with multiple upsets and wire-to-wire battles.

There was a lot to take away from this wild week of football, so here were my 10 biggest takeaways from NFL Week 16.

GAME OF THE YEAR

WOW. What a game we were treated to on Thursday night. The Los Angeles Rams led the Seattle Seahawks 30-14 with under 10 minutes to go, and the Seahawks mounted one of the craziest comebacks you’ll ever see, which was sparked by a punt return touchdown and an unprecedented 2-point conversion.

After giving up 30 points in the first three quarters and change, the Seahawks’ defense made a 180, forcing three straight three-and-outs, a missed field goal, and another punt to end regulation. Their play allowed Sam Darnold and Co. to get the offense going and score the game-tying touchdown and 2-point conversion with mere minutes left on the clock.

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In overtime, the Rams got the ball first and went 80 yards down the field, which was capped off by a 41-yard Puka Nacua touchdown. The Seahawks got the ball back and drove 65 yards in nine plays to score a touchdown, and instead of playing for the tie, which would’ve done nothing for them in the playoff race, they went for the win and got it on a beautiful play design by Klint Kubiak.

The Seahawks looked dead in the water, but now they’re the 1-seed in the NFC and have a 52 percent chance to earn a first-round bye. This was one of the most important games of the season, and it absolutely delivered.

Man, maybe KC is just bad

I was on the boat of the Kansas City Chiefs, not being a bad team; they just couldn’t win close games this year. But man, they might just s-ck now. I couldn’t believe my eyes watching this game. I figured their offense would struggle without Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice, but their defense’s performance was just a horrible showing

Cam Ward played one of the best games of his career this week, throwing for 228 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. And he wasn’t just throwing it to one guy. Five receivers had between 40 and 60 receiving yards, and all five of them had 3+ catches. Even the ground game was working for Tennessee. As a team, they rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown while averaging 4.1 yards per carry.

Maybe Kansas City just s-cks, and Mahomes is that good. It’s hard to believe because they’ve been competitive this year despite their record, but they’re not a good team without 15 under center.

Buffalo is going to regret not making a move for a receiver

The Buffalo Bills are already regretting not making a move for a receiver at the deadline, but they’re really going to kick themselves when they lose in the playoffs because their offense couldn’t provide them a spark.

Josh Allen completed 12 passes on Sunday. Here were the names who caught passes from him: Khalil Shakir, Tyrell Shavers, Jackson Hawes, Ray Davis, James Cook, Dawson Knox, and Joshua Palmer. Those are the types of receivers Shedeur Sanders is throwing to. If it wasn’t Allen under center, they’d be a five-win team.

There were receivers on the market at the trade deadline. There wasn’t an All-Pro guy, but they could’ve added a Jakobi Meyers, Rashid Shaheed, or maybe even tried to get a Chris Olave or A.J. Brown. There were options, and they elected to go with the guys they had, and it is not paying off.

Drake Maye for MVP?

Drake Maye entered the week with the second-best odds to win the MVP award, but after the Rams’ loss and the Patriots’ win, will he take over as the favorite?

Statistically, the numbers aren’t quite there. Matthew Stafford, the MVP favorite entering the week, has thrown for 4,179 yards and 40 touchdowns, compared to Maye’s 3,847 yards and 29 total touchdowns. But is Stafford truly more valuable to his team than Maye?

The Rams have an all-star roster. Stafford is surrounded by Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kyren Williams. Not to mention one of the best defenses in the league. On the other side, Maye has Stefon Diggs and TreVeyon Henderson, the latter of whom broke out just a few weeks ago and was a non-factor for most of the year. He also has a defense that is good, but I don’t think I’d say they’re as good as LA’s.

I think I’d still give the nod to Stafford, but Maye is right on his heels. If the Patriots end up with a better regular-season record than the Rams, there’s certainly a case to be made for Maye to be the MVP in year two.

The Jags are the hottest team in the AFC

How bout them Jaguars? I thought these guys were pretenders all season, but they have proved me wrong over the last two months. They’re riding a six-game win streak, but none of their wins have been bigger than Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos came into this week riding an 11-game win streak, the longest in the NFL. They seemed unbeatable. Even when teams got the jump on them, they’d scratch and claw their way back into it and come out on top. Not today. The Jaguars put their foot on the gas on the opening kickoff and didn’t let off until the clock hit 0:00.

What made this win so impressive was how they did it. This wasn’t a defensive battle where they ended up making just enough plays to win it. After punting on their first two drives, Jacksonville scored on seven of their next eight drives to build a 34-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. They made the Broncos’ defense, which is one of the best in the league, look like buffoons. They just had no answer for Trevor Lawrence and Co.

Right now, the Jags are the hottest team in the AFC. New England and Denver have lost in the last two weeks, and it seems like nobody can touch Jacksonville. Denver and New England better watch out. One slip-up, and Jacksonville could be the 1-seed in the AFC.

A crazy ending may have cost the Lions a playoff berth

The Detroit Lions REALLY needed to win this game. If they did, they would’ve moved to 9-6 and would’ve been right on Green Bay’s tail for the 7-seed in the NFC. They arguably should’ve won the game, but a questionable call cost them a game-winning touchdown.

It was 1st-and-goal with about 25 seconds on the clock. The Lions ran a little pick route for Amon-Ra St. Brown, and it worked to perfection as No. 14 walked into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown, or so we thought. Instead, there was offensive pass interference called on the play, but should there have been? I’ll let you be the judge.

In my opinion, this was too close to call. Did he get in the defender’s way? Probably. Was it more than one yard from the line of scrimmage? Yes. Did the defender also engage with him instead of trying to get around him to cover St. Brown? Also yes.

If the defender was trying to get around him and got tangled up, it’s 100 percent a penalty. But he engaged with him like he was trying to defend TeSlaa. I don’t believe it should have been a penalty, and it probably will end up costing the Lions a trip to the playoffs.

Caleb Williams came through in the clutch

Caleb Williams looked like Bo Nix in the fourth quarter. After the Chicago Bears fell behind 13-3 entering the fourth quarter, Williams turned on the gas, totaling 164 yards and scoring two touchdowns, which included two incredible throws to tie and win the game.

With under 30 seconds left, it was 4th-and-4, and the Bears were trailing by seven. Williams dropped back to pass, but was immediately pressured. He didn’t blink, falling back in the pocket and throwing a dime to a wide-open Jahdae Walker.

In overtime, the Bears’ defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to Williams and the Bears’ offense. After picking up a first down, Williams took a deep shot to D.J. Moore, and when I tell you it was one of the best throws of the season, I mean it.

When you consider not just that it was overtime against your biggest rival, but also that this throw could have won them the NFC North, it’s hard to find a better throw in a bigger situation. Great stuff from Williams in the fourth quarter and overtime. If he can be this clutch in the postseason, there’s a real chance Chicago makes a run.

The Eagles still aren’t convincing

I know the Philadelphia Eagles won, but they just refuse to make it convincing. They were trailing the Washington Commanders, one of the worst teams in the league, at halftime, and all it took for them to get a stop was for Marcus Mariota, Washington’s QB2, to get injured and be replaced by long-time journeyman Josh Johnson.

I know the Eagles’ offense got things going in the second half and scored 22 points, but that first half was pretty ugly. In the end, a 29-18 win doesn’t look too bad, but if you really paid attention to the game, you’d understand it was not pretty for Philly.

If this team wants to go far in the playoffs, they have to figure things out offensively. They cannot afford to start games slowly in January, because if they do, their opponents will be good enough to make them pay.

Tampa can’t stop giving away the NFC South

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the NFC South in their hands after Week 6. The Carolina Panthers were on their tail, but nobody believed in them. It was Tampa’s division to lose, and boy, are they losing it.

What has Tampa done since starting 5-1? Loss, win, loss, loss, loss, win, loss, loss, loss. Their two wins came against the Spencer Rattler-led Saints and the 3-6 Cardinals. Despite that, they had a chance to take firm control of the NFC South with a win over the Panthers, but they let it slip away.

The Buccaneers went up 10-3 early, but let Carolina back into it, and with two minutes to go, they were trailing 23-20. They had the ball, though, and they were driving with a chance to tie or win it. They were right on the edge of field goal range with 49 seconds left, but Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans weren’t on the same page, and he threw the game-losing interception.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Mayfield, the MVP leader through six weeks, has struggled. Even with all his weapons back, they could only score 20 points and couldn’t get the job done when it mattered most. The NFC South is slipping through their fingers, and now it’s completely out of their control. They need to hope Carolina slips up.

I don’t understand Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Bengals are one of the hardest teams to come to grips with. One week, they look like one of the best offenses in the league. And then the next, they lay an egg. It was actually the other way around these past two weeks, but you get my point.

In Week 15, the Bengals were shut out by the Baltimore Ravens, 24-0. After the game, Joe Burrow said it was one of the worst games he’s ever played, and right before the game, he made some cryptic comments about not having fun playing football. Well, he seemed to have fun on Sunday.

The Bengals went off against the Miami Dolphins. They scored 45 points, and Burrow threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns. They also ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns as a team. The Dolphins had absolutely no answer for them, which makes last week’s blowup even more confusing.

I don’t understand this team, and I won’t pretend to. They’re just what they are: wildly inconsistent.