Neil Reynolds
American Football Expert & Columnist
The Buffalo Bills lean on Josh Allen, the Houston Texans shock the Los Angeles Chargers and Antonio Brown stars on his return to action
Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on Week 16 in the NFL; join Neil and guests for Inside the Huddle, every Tuesday at 9pm on Sky Sports NFL as they look back on the best of the weekend's action...
Last Updated: 03/01/22 7:06am
Our Sky Sports NFL Boxing Day Sunday show covering the league's Week 16 is one I will never forget,
It not only served up the usual array of drama, but involved me providing updates from my kitchen for seven-and-a-half hours while recovering from COVID.
I even had to break into a little bit of play by play when the commentary from our main game went down. It's all par for the course in the crazy world we now live in.
Five Major Takeaways from Week 16
1) Bills lean on their biggest star
The Buffalo Bills had two clear plans in their 33-21 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday. Be aggressive throughout (Buffalo went for it on fourth down on four occasions and were throwing time and again in order to protect their lead) and ride Josh Allen for the entire game.
The second of those approaches makes the most sense. Allen is Buffalo's biggest star so the game should be put in his hands every week. Allen was outstanding in throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 64. With home games against Atlanta and the New York Jets to come, the Bills are in great shape to take the division.
2) Burrow goes off!
Joe Burrow enjoyed a career night as the Cincinnati Bengals recorded a 41-21 thrashing of the Baltimore Ravens to take top spot in the AFC North. Sure, Burrow may only be in his second season, but he will be hard-pushed to top this day in the coming 12 or 13 years.
Time and again Burrow shredded Baltimore's secondary and ended the night with 525 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Bengals have found some form in the division nobody seems keen to win, but they face a big test this weekend as Kansas City come to town.
3) Colts keep winning
No one is going to want to play the Indianapolis Colts when the AFC playoffs roll around. Frank Reich's side has now won eight of 10 after beating Arizona on Christmas night. That was a game played without key offensive linemen in Ryan Kelly, Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski, and All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard.
Jonathan Taylor was good if not great as he rushed for 108 yards, but it was Carson Wentz who stole the show. His late touchdown strike to Dez Patmon was a thing of beauty. The Colts are well coached and have a really good thing going on right now.
4) AB back in the fold
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were being encouraged, from some quarters, to take a stand against controversial wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was suspended by the NFL for faking a Covid vaccination card. The brutal reality in the NFL is that when you are needed, you're going to stick around.
The Bucs are without wide receiver Mike Evans for the rest of the regular season and Chris Godwin for the remainder of the entire campaign. With Leonard Fournette also on ice through injury, Tampa are short-handed and that's why Brown featured heavily in Sunday's 32-6 win over Carolina, catching 10 passes for 101 yards.
5) Texans shock the Chargers
I don't know what to think about the Los Angeles Chargers. They are so flaky. I could forgive them for losing in overtime to Kansas City in Week 15, but I was massively disappointed to see them fall 41-29 in Houston on Sunday, even with some of their biggest stars missing through Covid.
Justin Herbert was picked off twice on a night when the Texans rose up behind the energetic play of rookie quarterback Davis Mills and the rushing of veteran Rex Burkhead, who rolled back the years to deliver 149 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Player of the Week - Joe Burrow, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
What impressed me the most about Burrow's big day against the Ravens was how he spread the football around and how he kept attacking deep. Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon all had catches over 50 yards. Burrow is not just a quarterback who is going to slice you apart with accuracy. He has been one of the best deep-ball throwers in the league this year.
Play of the Week
Special teams plays can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of a busy NFL weekend but I have to give some love to Brandon Powell, of the Los Angeles Rams.
On a night of big offensive plays across this league, Powell's 61-yard punt return touchdown deserves to stand out from the crowd.
The Rams were struggling on offense and were nursing a narrow 13-10 lead when Powell broke free to race down the right sideline. LA never really looked back after that and moved to a fourth win in a row as they emerged victorious 30-23 in Minneapolis.
Coach of the Week - Sean McDermott, Head Coach, Buffalo Bills
McDermott decided that if he was going down against Bill Belichick, he was going down swinging. The Bills didn't end up going down at all, thanks to the aggressive approach of their head coach - on both sides of the ball. On New England's very first drive, the Bills sent blitzes after Mac Jones. And they were just as aggressive on offense, constantly going for it on fourth down and throwing throughout the entire contest. McDermott kept the pedal to the metal all night long and was rewarded with a massive divisional win.
On my Radar
Covid cases are on everybody's radar during every NFL game week because some teams are getting totally decimated and the whole thing is becoming a bit of a lottery. Baltimore travelled to Cincinnati on Sunday with just one quarterback - the recently-signed Josh Johnson.
The New Orleans Saints played their fourth quarterback of the season in Ian Book during Monday's loss to Miami, as well as both of their starting tackles being among 22 on the Covid list. The Chargers were without Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams and Joey Bosa. Sadly, the league is being ravaged by Covid.
Last season, from the start of the regular season through the Super Bowl, there were 262 players who tested positive for Covid. There have already been more than 400 player positives in the month of December alone. I fear we are going to see some playoff games, and possibly even a Super Bowl, minus some of the biggest stars in the game.
Join Neil Reynolds and guests for Inside The Huddle, every Tuesday from 9pm on Sky Sports NFL for a look back on the best of the weekend's NFL action.
