Odell Beckham Jr, Cam Newton and Big Ben make Neil Reynolds' Pick Six
Tuesday 22 December 2015 14:01, UK
As always, Neil Reynolds' takes a look back on the thrills, spills and er... professional fouls, that had the world talking on Week 15.
The NFL play-off picture became clearer across the league on Sunday evening as the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks booked their post-season berths.
But this was about more than the knockout tournament - this weekend was about great games, big plays and more than its fair share of controversy...
Cam the Man!
Let's start with the positives from one of the games of the season as the Carolina Panthers stayed undefeated with a 38-35 win over the New York Giants. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton continued his fine form and his performance actually looked pretty routine by his high standards.
Newton continues to spread the ball around his offence beautifully and did so to the tune of 340 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions on Sunday night.
He also added 100 rushing yards on eight attempts, including a late scramble that set up Graham Gano's winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. That late run was classic Cam Newton and showed just how dangerous he can be.
Cam played this game at a ridiculously high level but he almost seemed nonchalant in his approach to this big contest in the Big Apple. Newton is so comfortable in the spotlight and he looked like he had more in his locker, which is amazing given the numbers he produced against the Giants.
Beckham 'shames the game'
As we built up to the Giants-Panthers game on Sky Sports, I said in the studio that the match-up between New York wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr and Carolina cornerback Josh Norman was worth the admission fee alone. It was all set to be a mouth-watering contest, albeit one with the potential to explode due to the volatile nature of both players.
And that's just what happened and how Beckham and Norman were on the field at the end of the game is beyond me.
To be fair to Norman, I think he reacted angrily to some Beckham cheap shots in the second half but he was not as guilty as his counterpart when it comes to despicable actions on the field. Beckham could not handle being marked out of the game by Norman and resorted to throwing punches and delivering flying headbutts from the blindside.
Beckham, who also appeared to try to rake Norman across the face by placing his hands inside the face mask, brought shame on a proud Giants franchise and head coach Tom Coughlin admitted afterwards that benching his star receiver was a serious consideration.
Beckham was out of control and dangerous and while he got himself back into the game and scored the tying touchdown, I thought he acted like a petulant child and should have been sent off long before he found the end zone. I love watching this guy play the game, but he must learn to deal with adversity better than he did on Sunday evening.
Cousins delivers again
Kirk Cousins has well and truly made Washington Redskins fans forget about Robert Griffin III. He was outstanding on Sunday night as Washington recorded a 35-25 win over the Buffalo Bills to improve to 7-7 on the season.
Cousins is a real gamer who seems to come alive when his team needs him the most. He hit on 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions and also ran for a score. This is very much his team now and the Redskins will surely part company with the failed and expensive RGIII after this season.
Washington have some nice weapons around Cousins as well in the form of tight end Jordan Reed and receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.
If I could just trust them to play well on the road (Washington are 6-2 at home and 1-5 away from home this season), I'd be shooing this team into the play-offs with two weeks to spare.
Bills fall short
In losing to the Redskins, the Bills officially fell off the Rex Ryan hype train. When Ryan arrived in upstate New York this past off-season, he boldly predicted that Buffalo would end a league-long play-off drought dating back to the 1999 campaign.
And Bills fans were most definitely buying what Sexy Rexy was selling. I'm sure they're asking for a refund today because Buffalo have disappointed in a supposed area of strength as the defence has fallen apart in 2015.
How that can happen under a defensive-minded coach like Rex Ryan is baffling but I think he tried to fit too many square pegs in round holes, insisting that an already-successful defence adapt to play his preferred scheme rather than letting them do what they have been comfortable doing for many years.
The result is another lost season in Buffalo and some interesting times ahead for the Bills.
Chiefs stick to winning formula
The Kansas City Chiefs have been rinsing and repeating the same formula for a few weeks now and are on course for a play-off spot in the AFC. Andy Reid's men won their eighth game in a row on Sunday evening, romping to a 34-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
It was more of the same from the Chiefs. Quarterback Alex Smith was his usual efficient self as he completed 21 of 25 passes for 171 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. In 14 starts this season, Smith has thrown just four interceptions and continues to take great care of the ball.
The Chiefs also got some strong running as Charcandrick West found the end zone from 38 yards out and the defence showed up once again as Tyvon Branch and Marcus Peters scored on 73 and 90-yard runbacks respectively.
They are not always flashy, but it's hard to fault how consistent these Chiefs have become and they will make for a tricky opponent if and when they book their place in the AFC post-season tournament.
Big Ben strikes for Steelers
I really do think it will be a crying shame if Houston or Indianapolis are in the play-offs while the in-form Pittsburgh Steelers could end up sitting at home. I know the rules are the rules and everyone knows what they signed up for, but I don't want to watch the stumbling Texans or Colts when I could be watching the Steelers.
With the exception of a mind-boggling late interception, Ben Roethlisberger was outstanding for the Steelers as he shredded the league's best defence and best secondary to the tune of 380 yards and three touchdowns in Pittsburgh's 34-27 win over the Denver Broncos.
Big Ben was cool and on the money and star receiver Antonio Brown was simply unstoppable as he caught 16 passes for 189 yards and two scores.
The Steelers proved on Sunday evening that their offence - when firing on all cylinders - can be virtually unstoppable. Without wishing to show bias here, I want to see more of Roethlisberger and Brown in the play-offs.
Week 16 Sky live NFL games
Fri December 25 - 1.25am Sky Sports 1
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders
Sunday December 27
Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles - 1.15am Sky Sports 3
New England Patriots @ New York Jets - 5.30pm Sky Sports 2
Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals - 9.15pm Sky Sports 2
Monday December 28
New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings - 1am Sky Sports 2
Tuesday December 29
Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos - 1.15am Sky Sports 1
