WASHINGTON — Rudolph saves the day, St. Nick comes to play and Christmas cheer is stolen in a special NFL Week 16 Recap delivered just in time for the holidays.
Here is a look at how NFL teams did.
Seahawks 38 Russell Wilson has an NFL-best 36 TDs in the fourth quarter or OT of one possession games since 2012. Patrick Mahomes is … well, Patrick Mahomes. The NFL owes us a Super Bowl featuring the two most exciting QBs in the sport. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Saints 31 Now that New Orleans has homefield advantage, methinks Teddy Bridgewater’s dancing is going to last into February. And I know Pittsburgh doesn’t change coaches often, but Mike Tomlin’s seat has to be mighty warm if this up-and-down season doesn’t end with a playoff berth. The Steelers have lost four their last five despite holding a second-half lead in each game, and now need a win on Sunday and hope the Browns knock off the red-hot Ravens. What could go wrong? (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Niners 9 Based on what the Bears defense is doing to opposing QBs, I don’t think anyone outside of New Orleans can knock Chicago out of the NFC playoffs. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)
AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron
Cardinals 9 Even with Jared Goff in a wicked slump, C.J. Anderson caps his yo-yo year with a 167-yard performance and Aaron Donald set an NFL record with 18.5 sacks from the defensive tackle position to keep L.A. in the driver’s seat for a first round bye. If there’s an MVP on the Rams roster, it’s Donald — not Todd Gurley. And how about Larry Fitzgerald with his first career touchdown pass in what looks like his last home game in Arizona? If he plays in 2019, I really hope it’s with a legit contender. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
Cowboys 27 Against all odds, Dallas wins its third NFC East title in five years and finishes 7-1 at home to match a franchise-best at AT&T Stadium. Don’t count on that meaning much when Seattle comes to town wild-card weekend. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Eagles 32 Philadelphia is now 22-5 since 2013 when Nick Foles starts and plays more than a quarter for the Eagles, including Sunday’s franchise-record 471-yard effort against a stout Houston defense. No wonder his teammates are building him shrines and Carson Wentz is in a rush to get better — St. Nick is Philly’s best shot at a wild card berth. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Lions 9 It’s only fitting that a guy with the name Rudolph caught two of Kirk Cousins’ three touchdown passes, including a Hail Mary before halftime to grant Minnesota’s Christmas wish of back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2008-09. Can’t wait to see if they emphatically sing Auld Lang Syne against Chicago next week. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Colts 28 Darius Leonard missed his goal for tackles, but Andrew Luck hit his target by completing a 14-point comeback to pull Indianapolis from 1-5 afterthought to 9-6 team controlling the final AFC wild card. The Colts need only win in Tennessee on Sunday Night Football and they’re in. Can’t wait. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Patriots 24 Three things in life are certain: Death, taxes and New England winning the AFC East. Tom Brady is the fourth player to throw for over 4,000 yards in 10 seasons, but no one in North American professional sports has matched the Patriots’ 10 straight division titles and their 16 out of the 18 years of the Brady-Belichick era. Now they need only beat the Jets to clinch a first round bye, which is the lifeblood for their Super Bowl hopes. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Browns 26 In the rare position of heavy favorite, Cleveland broke out the brooms (and the shade) and swept Cincinnati for the first time in the Marvin Lewis era — which has to finally spell the end of the Marvin Lewis era. Even though the Browns won’t make the playoffs, they at least clinch their first winning division record since 2002 and have a crack at their first winning season overall since 2007. (AP Photo/David Richard)
AP Photo/David Richard
Jets 38 (OT) To complete the trend of Sam Darnold’s best efforts getting overshadowed, Aaron Rodgers rushed for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter alone, and tossed the game-winner in overtime to make Darnold’s gem a mere footnote. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Panthers 10 Carolina’s 8-game losing streak has derailed their season, but Christian McCaffrey’s sophomore campaign for the ages stayed on track by setting an NFL-record with 106 catches from the RB position and becoming only the third player to top 100 catches and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. His dad has the Super Bowl clout, but Christian has the bragging rights. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Dolphins 7 Miami has a lot of nerve filing to trademark a game they won to stay in the playoff race but losing two winnable games thereafter to play their way right out of it. Pro football in Florida is a mess right now. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images
Chargers 10 Baltimore’s torrid rushing pace cooled a bit, but Lamar Jackson saved his best passing performance for perhaps his biggest game, and the Ravens defense scored on one of their three takeaways to simultaneously shutdown Philip Rivers’ MVP hopes and talk of the Chargers getting homefield advantage. Baltimore is just a win away from completing an improbable run to an AFC North title — and they look like a team thirsty for more than that. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Titans 25 The Redskins can question the defensive coordinator and scrap after the game all they want. But if you can’t beat Blaine Gabbert with a lead, you don’t deserve to go to the playoffs. Tennessee, however, does deserve a place in the postseason — and they get to play for it on their home field against a division opponent in primetime. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
AP Photo/Mark Zaleski
