It feels like every game means more at this time of the season.
Whether it is teams fighting for playoff positioning or individuals trying to keep their jobs after underwhelming campaigns, there is still something on the line.
In the festive spirit we’ve got our five big takeaways coming a day early from Week 16 so read on and see what they are.
1 – Harbaugh’s Impact in LA Is Huge
In game coaching was a long time liability for the Chargers franchise with the likes of Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn and most recently Brandon Staley having some high profile gaffes in games.
That’s why they went out and made the biggest splash of the 2024 coaching carousel, bringing in Jim Harbaugh, a guy who has a history of turning programs around and surrounds himself with good assistants.
On Thursday Night Football, his in game coaching was a big reason why the Chargers were able to claw their way back into the game after a very slow start.
With the first half set to expire, a penalty on Denver gave LA a chance for the free kick field goal attempt, something that has not been attempted in a long time and made in almost 50 years.
That reduced the halftime deficit to 21-13 in favour of Denver, then Harbaugh and his staff made some very important tweaks to help stage a comeback.
After Denver kicked a field goal on their opening possession of the second half, LA scored touchdowns on back to back possessions to take the lead, with this two point conversion the most impressive play of the game.
Justin Herbert is thriving in this new system and the trust put in him by Harbaugh and company to make the right decision paid off here.
Holding on to a three point lead, the fifth year quarterback managed the critical drive (with the aid of a big run from Gus Edwards) and took the right option to give LA a two score lead with just over two minutes left.
What made it most impressive though is how well LA bounced back from a horrific loss to the Buccaneers four days prior to resume their playoff push.
2 – Mahomes Was In Fact Fine
In a surprise to nobody that has watched the Chiefs over the last few years, but it turns out the world is not coming to an end because Patrick Mahomes hurt his ankle.
Despite trying to play up the chance he would actually miss the Texans game on Sunday morning (AEDT), it was as expected, a smokescreen and nowhere near as bad as first feared.
In fact, he looked pretty much like his normal self running it in for the first touchdown of the game.
All up Mahomes managed five carries for 33 yards to go with his 260 yard day through the air, with the latter total actually an improvement on his season average.
We know the Chiefs are good, but they don’t need to add in the drama by channelling the early to mid 2010’s Aaron Rodgers who would also seem to pick up an injury after Thanksgiving.
3 – Lamar Jackson Is Not Giving Up On The MVP
The 2024 NFL MVP race has taken a few twists and turns, with several different players taking the lead before falling away.
There was a point where it looked like it would just come down to how many votes Lamar Jackson would win it by, before Josh Allen seemingly took an unassailable advantage.
However as we enter the final stretch of the season, Baltimore’s quarterback is not ready to relinquish his title just yet.
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that has given him fits throughout his NFL career and with the division on the line, Jackson came up in a big way.
It was not a perfect performance but he made sure that the Ravens were never playing from behind, driving the Ravens to a touchdown on the first possession, before restoring their lead with this throw to Rashon Bateman early in the second quarter.
When the Steelers drew level late in the third quarter, Jackson responded on the next drive by taking over the game.
He had the ball in his hands on all six plays, completing four passes for 53 yards and running twice for seven, capping the drive with this touchdown to Mark Andrews.
While he may eventually fall short in the race for MVP this year, Jackson looks like he will give the voters something to think about over the next two weeks.
Especially if presumptive winner Josh Allen plays like he did against New England this week.
4 – Philadelphia’s Costly Loss
It was a simple equation for the Philadelphia Eagles, beat the Washington Commanders, win the NFC East and keep their hopes of pinching the top seed in the playoffs alive.
Instead, it could not have gone worse for a team that remains one of the bigger enigmas in the league.
Five minutes into the game, Jalen Hurts was lost due to a concussion and Kenny Pickett’s initial contributions were strong.
Saquon Barkley continued his pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record with a couple of big gains early.
At this point it looked like the blowout would be on as Washington seemingly had no answer.
After all, the Eagles have the best defence in the league defending a two score lead and a running back capable of breaking a big one every time the ball was in his hands.
Things were going well (enough) as they took a 27-14 lead into the fourth quarter, but it all unravelled as Jaden Daniels threw three fourth quarter touchdown passes including the game winner to Jamieson Crowder and the Commanders won 36-33.
At 12-3 they are pretty much locked in to the second seed in the conference which could give them a chance at getting some revenge on Washington on Wild Card Weekend.
But first they have to deal with the fallout of this week, especially at the quarterback position.
Jalen Hurts is unlikely to recover in time to play Dallas next week and Pickett also getting shaken up in the latter stages of the game.
We may see the Eagles put the cue in the rack over the next two weeks and get ready for the weekend of January 11.
5 – Some Big Questions Await San Francisco
It has been coming for a while but today it was mathematically confirmed, the San Francisco 49ers will not make the playoffs this season.
Which made their performance against Miami a little but more understandable as they now just have to get through this nightmare of a season for them.
However John Lynch and the front office will have a tough offseason ahead as they look to build a team that is capable of returning to the Super Bowl in February 2026.
First and foremost, they have to decide what to do at the quarterback position with Brock Purdy eligible for a massive extension, having played for peanuts so far.
But does Purdy want to give the 49ers any sort of discount and “settle” for something in the range of $40m per season or push the envelope and go for $60m per year.
It would be easy to build a highlight reel for both extremes and for the 49ers, they know they could do a lot worse than Purdy, although they could also find an upgrade if they were desperate.
But when you’ve got a guy who the locker room clearly likes, moving on is not going to simply come down to dollars.
Their projected $67.078m in cap space at least gives them room to manoeuvre, but there will still be some debate over whether their resources are being efficiently used.
Not only will Purdy be due for a pay raise, but other key players such as Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw are off contract, while Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Jauan Jennings are all 12 months off free agency.
Kittle is still contributing but is getting on in years, while Samuel has been rather underwhelming and has had problems staying healthy, so both could be candidates to be moved on.
San Francisco will once again be competitive in 2025, but they have to make some calls on the long term futures of their players.