Here's my quick review of everything we saw in Week 16 of the 2001 NFL season:
| TJ'S TOP 10 |
W-L |
TJ SAYS |
| 1. Rams |
13-2 |
Unstoppable against awful Colts' defense.
|
| 2. Bears |
12-3 |
Defense rules in shutout win at Silverdome.
|
| 3. Steelers |
12-3 |
Lesson to be learned in stunning loss to Bengals.
|
| 4. 49ers |
11-4 |
49ers' defense taken to school by Emmitt Smith.
|
| 5. Packers |
11-4 |
Struggled early, but now primed to host playoff game.
|
| 6. Patriots |
10-5 |
Sat back and watched playoff position improve.
|
| 7. Raiders |
10-5 |
Slump continues for Silver and Black.
|
| 8. Eagles |
10-5 |
First NFC East title since 1988 for Birds.
|
| 9. Bucs |
9-6 |
Surging Bucs spanked Ravens in primetime.
|
| 10t. Dolphins |
10-5 |
Not pretty, but 'Fins in playoffs for fifth straight year.
|
| 10t. Ravens |
9-6 |
Now the defense is looking kind of ordinary.
|
Offensive player of the week:
Rams running back Marshall Faulk. Ran for 118 yards and three scores, caught seven passes for 47 yards and another touchdown. Since last season, Faulk has scored an amazing 46 touchdowns (20 in '01).
Defensive player of the week:
Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Six tackles and 3½ sacks in the loss at Philadelphia, giving him 21½ sacks for the season. He needs one sack to break Mark Gastineau's mark of 22 set in 1984.
Special teams player of the week:
Seahawks kicker Rian Lindell. Less than three minutes after missing a 48-yard field goal, he connected from 54 yards out on the final play of the game (thanks to kick returner Charlie Rogers' 64-yard kickoff return) as Seattle stayed in the playoff hunt.
Numbers of the week:
14 and 9. Seahawks quarterback Trent Dilfer has now won his last 14 starts (including playoffs) dating back to his Ravens days in 2000. Chargers quarterback Doug Flutie lost his last nine games this season as the Bolts finished 5-11.
Surprise of the week:
Bengals over Steelers. Pittsburgh had won seven straight and the Bengals had lost seven straight. Go figure.
Coaching move of the week:
Bills head coach Gregg Williams saw his team hampered by the bad weather conditions in Buffalo all week, and proceeded to beat the stunned Jets at the Meadowlands.
Rising this week:
Chicago Bears. Dick Jauron's team is bound and determined to win the NFC Central.
Falling this week:
Oakland Raiders. A Super Bowl contender has turned into a complete mystery.
Store it away:
Rams quarterback Kurt Warner may be on his way to league MVP honors for the second time in three years.
Tom Jackson is an NFL analyst for ESPN.
