The Jaguars’ win over the Broncos served up notice that Jacksonville could be a serious threat in the wide-open AFC playoff field.
Even amid plenty of turmoil in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin secured a 19th consecutive non-losing campaign.
Myles Garrett got closer to the NFL single-season sack record with some questionable assistance, but the Browns DE fell short of setting he mark on Sunday.

The 32 things we learned from Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season:

0. The number of division titles clinched though 16 weeks in the AFC. This year’s playoff chase may not be the most compelling in terms of the number of teams that are still relevant – which is just 18 of the league’s 32 clubs going into Week 17 – but very little has been sorted out among those jockeying for seeding and home playoff games.

1. The number of division titles clinched though 16 weeks in the NFC – the Philadelphia Eagles doing the honors Saturday by beating the Washington Commanders and becoming the first squad to capture the NFC East in successive years since Philly did it in 2003 and ’04.

2. The number of points the Seattle Seahawks scored on their final play Thursday night – making them first team ever to win an overtime game on a two-point conversion. Also, the number of points they scored when officials awarded them two on an earlier conversion when QB Sam Darnold’s lateral was deflected into the end zone and nonchalantly picked up by RB Zach Charbonnet.

3. Let’s appreciate the three-pronged accomplishment of New Orleans Saints jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill. Sunday, he became the first player in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) with more than 1,000 career yards passing, 1,000 career yards rushing and 1,000 career yards receiving.

4. The number of losses suffered this season by the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars, who did not add to that total Sunday after putting a licking on the Broncos at altitude in Denver … nearly three decades after the “small-market” Jags did the same thing to John Elway and Co. in the postseason.

5. But the Jaguars’ victory spotlights what a complete team they’re becoming under first-year coach Liam Coen, to say nothing of the MVP-caliber play QB Trevor Lawrence has provided over the past four weeks. Pull back more, and the wide-open nature of their conference becomes even more apparent. Jacksonville, New England, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Buffalo and maybe even Pittsburgh are all showing signs they could legitimately reach Super Bowl 60 in a year when the Kansas City Chiefs have left a power vacuum.

6. The number of AFC teams still in play for the conference’s No. 1 seed, Denver’s loss maintaining more pathways outside the Rocky Mountains. Only the AFC North has been eliminated from this pursuit as a division.

7. The number of quarterbacks in league history who have 10 seasons with 4,000 passing yards, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford joining their ranks Thursday night.

8. Stafford also now has three seasons with at least 40 TD passes, an exclusive club he shares with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Nobody has managed that four times in a career.

9. Having fun yet? Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow had his best game of the season, torching the Miami Dolphins for 309 yards and four TD passes in a 45-21 walkover in the Fins first outing since benching QB Tua Tagovailoa.

10. RB Chase Brown scored three of Cincy’s TDs and became the first player this season to find the end zone three times in one quarter, the third in Brown’s case.

11. The number of kicks Arizona Cardinals DL Calais Campbell has now swatted during his 18-year career after blocking an extra-point try Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

12. Interesting times amid reports the Dolphins offered up to four first-round picks in order to obtain Burrow at the top of the 2020 draft.

13. Which begs the question: Would you rather have Burrow, or Justin Herbert and three other blue-chip players?

14. Despite all the injuries they’ve dealt with, Herbert and the Bolts are on the cusp of successive playoff berths for the first time since Old Man Philip Rivers was throwing the ball for this franchise nearly two decades ago. Herbert’s resilience, his team’s toughness and willingness to play physical ball marks a new brand for the Jim Harbaugh Chargers, who are suddenly a clear and present danger to win the AFC West … and maybe more.

15. The Houston Texans took a while to wake up Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, but their defense alone should give them more than a puncher’s chance to make a deep playoff run. Houston is very likely to become the sixth team since 1990 to reach the playoffs despite an 0-3 start to its season.

16. Congratulations to the New York Giants and Raiders, who both narrowly avoided devastating wins Sunday. The teams will meet in Week 17 in the game that could decide who winds up with the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft.

17. The Broncos still have the inside track to the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But Sunday’s loss was the latest reminder of their weekly tendence to fall into deep holes, and the usually sterling defense didn’t allow them to dig out against Jacksonville.

18. The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl mix, too, though they still have to prove they can win high-stakes games – and there haven’t been many on their schedule this season.

19. The number of consecutive non-losing seasons – his entire career – that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin now has after his team improved to 9-6 by beating the Detroit Lions in Motown on Sunday.

20. Pittsburgh’s organizational string of .500-or-better campaigns now stands at 22, surpassing the 1965-85 Dallas Cowboys for the longest such run in NFL history.

21. Tomlin, 53, now has 200 career wins (including postseason), making him the third-youngest coach to reach that benchmark after Curly Lambeau and Don Shula.

22.The number of sacks collected by Browns DE Myles Garrett after he was awarded a chintzy half-sack of Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen on Sunday. Allen appeared to slip and fall on the play, after which a sack was initially awarded to Cleveland DT Mason Graham … but half of it was retroactively credited to Garrett. (Maybe Brett Favre was the official scorer Sunday at Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field?)

23. Garrett needs one more sack, hopefully a legitimate one, to break the league’s single-season record.

24. The Steelers defense has taken its share of (often deserved) flak this year. But holding Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs to a career-low 2 rushing yards – an average of roughly one foot per carry? Most impressive.

25. With the Chiefs left by the wayside, this could also be the year the Bills finally make a successful run for the Lombardi Trophy that has forever evaded the franchise.

26. It certainly helps to have a back like James Cook, who now leads the NFL with 1,532 rushing yards going into Monday night.

27. Of course, the foot injury Allen, the league’s reigning MVP, is coping with looms as a significant concern. Could be an interesting dilemma for a team still in play to win the AFC East as to whether they should rest the most important player sooner or somehow hope they can steal the first-round bye later. Though Buffalo narrowly won Sunday in Cleveland, Allen didn’t account for a touchdown (for only the third time this season) and only managed 147 combined passing/rushing yards.

28. What’s wrong with Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense? Knocked out of first place in the NFC South with Sunday’s loss in Charlotte to the Carolina Panthers, Mayfield has been held to fewer than 200 passing yards in five of his last six starts despite having most of his offensive weapons back.

29. Congratulations to the Tennessee Titans, who won their first game in Nashville in nearly 13 months.

30. Music City was less kind to Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, who had one catch for 6 yards as his depleted team lost in the hometown of Tight End University. But as long as Taylor Swift likes the town …

31. Finally, congratulations to Saints DE Cam Jordan, who recorded two sacks in Sunday’s blowout of the New York Jets, giving him 130 in his 15-year career. If Jordan doesn’t return to the team in 2026, the game could be his final one at the Superdome.

32. A shame the Saints donned such horrid uniforms in what was potentially Jordan’s Big Easy finale.

The Baltimore Ravens lost Lamar Jackson just before halftime of the game they needed to have with a back injury, then they lost the game, too.

Yet the New England Patriots surely had a full share of injury setbacks, too, while surviving with a 28-24 triumph that clinched a playoff berth in Mike Vrabel’s first year as the coach they needed to have.

Another way to assess the result, though, was reflected in identity.

And that is not a good thing for the Ravens (7-8), who blew it again while fighting for their playoff lives.

Sure, the Patriots (12-3) bounced back in dramatic fashion, rallying from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit a week after coughing up a 21-point lead in losing to the Buffalo Bills with a chance to win the AFC East title.

This time, Drake Maye, who threw for 380 yards and 2 TDs, not only notched his first NFL 300-yard game, he also posted his first professional fourth-quarter comeback win. All told, it was an indication of lessons learned from a missed opportunity, with resilience you can believe that Vrabel seeks to instill in his evolving operation.

“We talked about bringing a belief in our identity,” Vrabel said. “Believing that under any circumstances we were going to win a football game – that’s what we talked about before we left. We said we needed to pack two things: We needed to pack our belief and our identity. I feel like we did.”

But in another sense, haven’t we seen this before?

Of course we have, from John Harbaugh’s team. It’s safe to suggest that no would-be contender in the NFL in recent years has squandered big, fourth-quarter leads quite like the Ravens. Since 2022, the Ravens have lost nine games after holding double-digit leads in the second half.

As much as they’d want to think otherwise, that is an unfortunate essential to their identity. And, fumbles or not, they just let another one slip away.

The loss left Baltimore, which plays at Green Bay on Saturday, without control of its playoff destiny. Even with an upset win against the Packers, the Ravens would be eliminated with a Pittsburgh victory at Cleveland, which would give the Steelers the AFC North crown.

The formula for heartbreak goes beyond Jackson going down in what has been such a trying season, which was severely unhinged when he missed the four games due to a hamstring injury.

There was also another momentum-swinging Derrick Henry fumble, this time in the first quarter when the Ravens seemed poised to go up to two touchdowns. Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins punched the football loose…and it jump-started a 10-play, game-tying TD drive for the Patriots.

“It’s just really embarrassing,” Henry said. “I feel like I took a little bit of the momentum from the team.”

Take away that gaffe, and it was a banner night for Henry. He rushed for 128 yards and 2 TDs. And he averaged 7.1 yards per carry. It was inexplicable that he never touched the ball in crunch time – as in zero carries after his 2-yard score made it 24-13 early in the fourth quarter.

That too, has happened before with the Ravens, with Harbaugh and his offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, seemingly intent to go with a rotation that gets Keaton Mitchell (9 rushes, 13 yards, 1.4 per carry) some work rather than going with a hot hand.

“It’s part of that rotation,” Harbaugh said afterward. “He was going to back in the game, then we got stopped.”

Not the most convincing explanation.

Then there’s Zay Flowers. Typically, the slippery Baltimore playmaker was the go-to target in the passing game (7 catches, 84 yards) for Jackson and his sub, Tyler Huntley. He also delivered with a splendid 18-yard TD burst on a jet sweep. Yet Flowers also had the ball punched out for a fumble in the fourth quarter – linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson forced it by rallying back to the football – which essentially doomed Baltimore.

And no, it’s hardly the first time that Flowers has made a crucial error in a big moment. It was Flowers’ third lost fumble of the season. Compounded with Henry’s issues with fumbles, it’s no wonder that the Patriots defense had such a heavy emphasis during the practice week on creating turnovers.

“We knew they had a couple of speed skaters on their side,” Chaisson said, referring to running style of Henry and Flowers, leaving the football exposed.  “So, obviously, it’s time for us to make a play.”

That’s one way to create an identity. Of course, it goes both ways.

The Ravens lost their sixth home game of the season. So much for the home-field advantage that used to be so well-established for Baltimore. That’s the old identity.

Meanwhile, the upstart Patriots are 7-0 on the road this season. And they’ve shown an ability to bounce back from a heartbreaking defeat.

A week earlier they had a chance to win with a last-minute drive and came up short. This time, they started at their 11-yard line with 5:02 on the clock and didn’t flinch. Maye led an 89-yard TD drive capped by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 21-yard jaunt.

That’s an identity to grow with.

“It was kind of a wakeup call last week,” Maye said. “We had a chance to win the game with a game-winning drive, and this week it was like, ‘Let’s not have that same feeling two weeks in a row.’ It was kind of an elephant in the room going out there once the defense got the ball back. Like I said, just trust and belief. I like our chances when we’re in those scenarios. I like our chances.”

Which sounds like the ultimate identity. 

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

The Indianapolis Colts were once the top team in the AFC in the early stages of the 2025 NFL season. Now, the team is fighting just for a chance to get into the playoff race.

The Colts have dropped five of their last six games, including four in a row, while navigating quarterback injuries. Daniel Jones went down with a torn Achilles in Week 14, which prompted the team to sign 44-year-old Philip Rivers to play in the NFL for the first time since 2020.

Rivers performed admirably in an 18-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but the Colts as a whole will need to be a bit better in Week 16 to beat the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers are sitting at 10-4 entering their ‘Monday Night Football’ game against the Colts. They aren’t presently atop the top-heavy NFC West, but they appear to be safely inside the NFC playoff picture with three games remaining in the 2025 NFL season.

Here’s what to know about the ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup in Week 16.

Who plays on Monday Night Football tonight?

Matchup: Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana

The Colts are hosting the 49ers on ‘Monday Night Football’ to close Week 16. Both Indianapolis and San Francisco will be looking to earn victories to bolster their playoff chances during the 2025 NFL season’s stretch run.

What time does the Colts vs. 49ers MNF game start?

Start time: 8:15 p.m. ET

How to watch Monday Night Football tonight

TV Channel: ESPN | ABC
Live stream: ESPN+ | NFL+

ESPN2 will also host an alternate broadcast called ‘MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats’ as part of ESPN’s coverage of the event.

Watch ‘Monday Night Football’ on ESPN+

Monday Night Football preview

The Colts will be hoping an extra week of practice helps Rivers as he continues to develop chemistry with his pass-catching weapons. They will also continue to tailor the offense to the 44-year-old, who no longer has the requisite arm strength needed to push the ball down the field consistently.

As such, the Colts will rely heavily on Jonathan Taylor and the team’s rushing offense to lead it against the 49ers. That won’t necessarily be an easy matchup, as the 49ers are allowing just the 12th-most rushing yards per game league-wide (106.1) while Indianapolis will be missing left tackle Bernhard Raimann due to an elbow injury.

Meanwhile, the Colts’ defense is banged-up at cornerback, as neither Sauce Gardner nor Charvarius Ward will suit up on Monday. That will give Brock Purdy plenty of time to find Jauan Jennings open, though the absence of Ricky Pearsall will remove a down-the-field weapon from San Francisco’s passing attack.

Still, Jennings shouldn’t have an issue finding space in which to operate, especially as George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey draw the attention of Indianapolis’ defense.

All told, the Colts just have too many injuries to trust against a 49ers squad that has been steady as ever this season. Indianapolis will be playing with desperation, but that may not be enough to give the team a win over San Francisco in Week 16.

The Boston Red Sox acquire first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Boston will be responsible for $33.5 million of the $41.5 million owed to Contreras, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale.

The Cardinals will receive three players, including right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins. Right-handed pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita also will head to St. Louis, according to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal.

As a result of the trade, the Red Sox are expected to end their trade talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding Ketel Marte, per Nightengale.

Either side has yet to announce the trade, which will have to meet the approval of Contreras, who has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Contreras signed with the Cardinals as a free agent in 2022.

Willson Contreras stats

Contreras has 172 home runs, 548 RBI and 526 runs during his 10-year career. He produced 20 home runs, 80 RBI and 70 runs for the Cardinals in 2025.

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Every week for the duration of the 2025 regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the NFL’s ever-evolving playoff picture − typically starting Sunday afternoon and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Here’s where things stand with Week 16 nearly complete:

NFC playoff picture

x − 1. Seattle Seahawks (12-3), NFC West leaders: Splitting their season series with the Rams in Thursday night’s classic means they’ll wind up with the No. 1 seed if they simply win their final two games. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, at 49ers

x − 2. Chicago Bears (11-4), NFC North leaders: A remarkable overtime win against Green Bay on Saturday night helped them clinch a playoff berth − cemented by Detroit’s loss Sunday. Chicago is also still in play for the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Remaining schedule: at 49ers, vs. Lions

y – 3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-5), NFC East champions: With Saturday’s defeat of Washington, they became the first team this season to wrap up a division − and the first to win this division in successive years since they last did it 21 years ago. Philly’s victory also officially knocked the hated Cowboys out of playoff contention. Remaining schedule: at Bills, vs. Commanders

4. Carolina Panthers (8-7), NFC South leaders: Their defeat of the Bucs on Sunday moved them into first place. They can win the division next week with a win and Tampa Bay loss. A Week 18 defeat of the Buccaneers would also do the job regardless of circumstances. Remaining schedule: vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers

x − 5. Los Angeles Rams (11-4), wild card No. 1: They became the first team to clinch a playoff spot but lost the inside track for home-field advantage and a first-round bye after failing to sweep Seattle. Remaining schedule: at Falcons, vs. Cardinals

x − 6. San Francisco 49ers (10-4), wild card No. 2: Win out, which would entail completing a season sweep of Seattle on the final weekend of the regular season, and the Niners would get the No. 1 seed. Detroit’s loss Sunday clinched their spot in the postseason field. Remaining schedule: at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks

7. Green Bay Packers (9-5-1), wild card No. 3:They were undermanned going into Saturday night, then it got worse. But the Pack should have gotten out of Chicago with a win. At least Detroit’s loss allowed Green Bay to maintain its 1½-game lead over the Lions in the wild-card standings. One more Packers win or Lions loss puts Green Bay into the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, at Vikings

8. Detroit Lions (8-7), in the hunt: Sunday’s loss not only locked two of their competitors (Chicago and San Francisco) into the field, it left the Lions on life support. Detroit needs to win its final two games and hope the Pack lose theirs in order to qualify. Remaining schedule: at Vikings, at Bears

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8), in the hunt: Sunday’s loss in Charlotte was Tampa Bay’s sixth in its last seven outings. But win their last two games, and the Bucs will retain the NFC South crown by a one-game margin in the common-games tiebreaker over Carolina (assuming the Panthers also finish 9-8 overall). Remaining schedule: at Dolphins, vs. Panthers

AFC playoff picture

x − 1. Denver Broncos (12-3), AFC West leaders: They came into the day with the possibility of clinching home-field advantage and the first-round bye. A decisive loss to Jacksonville re-opened that door to New England. Still, win out and Denver gets the top seed. Remaining schedule: at Chiefs, vs. Chargers

x − 2. New England Patriots (12-3), AFC East leaders: Officially headed to the playoffs, the Pats are also still in driver’s seat to win AFC East and just a tiebreaker (common games) of sitting atop the conference. Remaining schedule: at Jets, vs. Dolphins.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4), AFC South leaders: They won their seventh straight Sunday with an impressive win over Denver but need help from the 49ers on Monday to wrap up a spot in Week 19. Remaining schedule: vs. Colts, at Titans

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6), AFC North leaders: Their win Sunday in Motown clinched spots in the NFC field for the Bears and 49ers. No matter what else happens over the next two games, sweep the Ravens, and Pittsburgh secures the division. A win next week in Cleveland will also sew up the division. Remaining schedule: at Browns, vs. Ravens

5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4), wild card No. 1: The Bolts have now won seven of eight but need a little more help this weekend to secure back-to-back postseason trips. A half-game advantage in AFC games (8-2) keeps them ahead of Buffalo. Win out, and the Chargers win the AFC West … and maybe more. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, at Broncos

6. Buffalo Bills (11-4), wild card No. 1: Still alive to win their sixth straight AFC East crown, the Bills also need some outside help to lock up a playoff bid this weekend. Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, vs. Jets

7. Houston Texans (10-5), wild card No. 3: They’ve won eight of nine, including seven in a row but haven’t been able to overtake similarly surging Jacksonville yet for the top spot in the AFC South. Houston’s win prevented the Bills, Chargers and Jags from clinching playoff spots Sunday. Remaining schedule: at Chargers, vs. Colts

8. Indianapolis Colts (8-6), in the hunt: Now in the hands of 44-year-old QB Philip Rivers, they face a steep climb back to relevance − their 7-1 start already feeling like ancient history. And the Colts’ schedule doesn’t let up henceforth, including Monday night’s home date with San Francisco. Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans

9. Baltimore Ravens (7-8), in the hunt: The lost control of their playoff path with Sunday night’s loss to New England and can be eliminated next weekend by a Pittsburgh win. Remaining schedule: vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers

NFL playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 17 (incomplete)

Pittsburgh clinches AFC North with:

Win OR
Ravens loss

Carolina clinches NFC South with:

Win + Buccaneers loss

Green Bay clinches playoff berth with:

Win OR
Lions loss

NFL playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 16

Buffalo clinches playoff berth with:

Colts loss or tie

Jacksonville clinches playoff berth with:

Colts loss or tie

Los Angeles Chargers clinch playoff berth with:

Colts loss or tie

NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025

x – clinched playoff berth

y – clinched division

z – clinched home-field advantage, first-round bye