Week 16 Quick Hits: Ravens Up, Giants Down Andy Benoit takes a quick tour through Sunday's Week 16 games. Ravens 33, Giants 14 By halftime everyone had forgotten that the Ravens were one of two teams that came into this game on a serious down note. By the end of the third quarter, people could probably hear faint whispers about a Super Bowl run. That might be a bit much considering this victory came against a reeling Giants team. New York can point the blame in a million different directions. The most just would be along the defensive line, which for some reason can't rush the passer these days. But there was a time this season when Eli Manning and the offense could have compensated for that. Not now. Manning has struggled with his timing and mechanics the past few weeks, while his receivers have not consistently gotten open against quality zone coverage. Bengals 13, Steelers 10 For the second week in a row, Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception that essentially cost his team the game. This week, the costliest interception may have come in the first quarter, as Leon Hall, aligned uncharacteristically tight on the inside, jumped a Heath Miller underneath route and returned it 29 yards for Cincy's only touchdown. If that wasn't ultimately the back-breaking play for Pittsburgh, Reggie Nelson's interception on a Big Ben overthrow in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter was. That set up a game-winning field goal that eliminated the Steelers and propelled the Bengals to their first back-to-back playoff appearance since 1981-82. The A.F.C. should let out a sigh of relief; the Steelers were starting to look healthier and more dangerous on defense. Colts 20, Chiefs 13 For a fourth straight game, Andrew Luck completed less than 50 percent of his pass attempts. No matter, because for a rookie-record seventh time this season, Luck orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback. Before the season, everyone assumed Luck and the Colts would be playing a meaningless game in Week 17. But few assumed the reason it would be meaningless: because the Colts' playoff spot had already been clinched. Saints 34, Cowboys 31 (OT) Tony Romo said earlier in the week that if the Cowboys were within 10 or 14 in the fourth quarter, they'd find a way to win. Sure enough, Romo and the Boys came from 14 down in the final four minutes to send this game to overtime. The Saints ultimately won, thanks to 446 yards passing by Drew Brees and 116 grinding yards from their ground game. Romo also had over 400 yards passing (the first time all season that two quarterbacks in one game have reached that mark), but the Cowboys ran the ball just 11 times, mustering 40 yards. This against a Saints run defense that, although better in recent weeks, has been awful in 2012. Dallas's disregard of the run was the difference. Yes, Romo was making enough plays through the air to justify a pass-happy approach. But by playing so fast, the Cowboys failed to control tempo and possession. That allowed the Saints to run 91 plays from scrimmage. You simply can't give a good offense that many opportunities. Redskins 27, Eagles 20 In what was almost certainly Andy Reid's final game in Philly, the Eagles were beaten by a Redskins squad that relied heavily on Robert Griffin's arm. Playing on a knee that, judging by Washington's paucity of read-option play calls, was less than 100 percent, Griffin rushed for less than 10 yards for just the third time this season. The previous two times - against Atlanta and Pittsburgh - were losses. Griffin made it work by managing the game through the air. His solid passing performance - 16/24, 198 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception - was not the only factor in Washington's win. Jim Haslett's defense, which has come alive with a myriad of blitzes and disguises in the last few weeks, posted a season-high five sacks. The Redskins were also plus-one in turnover margin, which means the Eagles are now a crippling minus-23 in turnovers. Vikings 23, Texans 6 Congratulations to Adrian Peterson. He's so good that his 86-yard rushing performance is being met with disappointment. Peterson is lucky he didn't face his own defense on Sunday. The Vikings held Arian Foster (the closest thing the A.F.C. has to Peterson) to 15 yards on 10 carries. It was Foster's most unproductive outing in two years. Credit the penetration of Minnesota's defensive front. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Foster was hit behind the line of scrimmage on 6 of his 10 rushes. The Vikings now find themselves in an improbable win-and-you're-in situation as they get ready to host Green Bay in Week 17. Patriots 23, Jaguars 16 Despite a fast start in which they intercepted Tom Brady twice, the Jaguars lost for the 11th time in 12 outings. They've now locked up the worst record in franchise history. The most unfortunate part of Jacksonville's failures is that the success of the club's marketing department has been overshadowed. Few realize that the Jaguars, once plagued by poor attendance, haven't had a single home blackout in the last three seasons. Packers 55, Titans 7 Titans Coach Mike Munchak might be wise not to take Bud Adams's calls this week. The soon-to-be 90-year-old owner is known for his impetuous reactions to embarrassing losses. And his impetuous reactions to impressive wins. Unfortunately for Munchak, Adams has had plenty of chances to improve his self-control this season; 7 of Tennessee's 10 losses have been by 14 points or more. Rams 28, Bucs 13 This victory put St. Louis in the highly unusual position of having a .500 record through 15 games (7-7-1). A factor in the win was defensive end William Hayes. Getting top rotational snaps behind Chris Long and Robert Quinn (whose reps have been scaled back somewhat lately because of injury), Hayes recorded a pair of sacks against Josh Freeman. Last week, the former Titan also made a few flash plays in run defense against the Vikings. Dolphins 24, Bills 10 The Dolphins kept their playoff hopes alive, but just minutes after the final gun sounded, the Bengals killed those hopes by beating the Steelers. Perhaps the Dolphins knew in the back of their minds that this would ultimately be a meaningless game. After all, they activated the rookie Michael Egnew for the first time. Those of you who watched "Hard Knocks" are familiar with the disappointing third-round tight end. Egnew, who is long on athleticism but short on polish, played seven snaps. Chargers 27, Jets 17 Greg McElroy was sacked 11 times - a feat not even Tim Tebow has ever accomplished. This is a classic example of what inexperienced quarterbacking looks like. The Chargers don't have a dominant pass rush. And while the Jets' offensive line hasn't been great this season, it's nowhere near bad enough to surrender 11 sacks. The O-line's five members didn't all suddenly forget how to pass-block. What happened was their untested quarterback had no feel for timing and field reading. Norv Turner's postgame praise of his defense could also be portrayed as an inadvertent critique of McElroy. "A lot of those sacks weren't where they beat a guy quick and went," Turner said. It was guys staying relentless and staying after the quarterback. You're playing a young quarterback. You'd like to be able to pressure him and disrupt it. Panthers 17, Raiders 6 This game was marred - or enhanced - by a series of scuffles and heated exchanges. One player who drew a personal foul was Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (hit on a defenseless receiver). The flag might have fired up the first-round rookie; he went on a tear and recorded six tackles in a seven-play span. But emotion is not a prerequisite for Kuechly to take over. Since stepping in at middle linebacker in Week 5, the Boston College product has become more instinctive (and thus faster) by the week. He finished this game with a team-high 13 tackles. Don't be surprised if he leads the league in that department next season. Broncos 34, Browns 12 The Broncos have won an N.F.L.-high 10 straight and will enter the postseason as the A.F.C.'s most complete team. Which means we'll have plenty of opportunities to talk about them in the coming weeks. This may be our last opportunity to talk about the Browns, though. Let's use it by taking a closer look at Trent Richardson. It's amazing that no one is talking about the No. 3 overall pick as a bust. Perhaps "bust" is too strong a word, but that's never stopped the blogosphere and talk radio programs before. Richardson's 9-carry, 53-yard performance at Denver leaves him with 950 yards and a 3.6-yards-per-carry average. That's mediocrity. Of course, it's hard to evaluate a starting running back's performance when he gets just nine carries. The reason for Richardson's limited touches is that the Browns may be doing an intensive evaluation of Brandon Weeden. Over the past several weeks, what's been most apparent on Browns film is that the offensive game plans are going through the first-round rookie quarterback - even when it'd make more sense for them to go through Richardson. Is it possible the new owner Jimmy Haslam wants his football people (both current and future staff) to make a determination of the future of Weeden? Bears 28, Cardinals 13 Aside from a few occasions when Brandon Marshall won his entertaining one-on-one battle with Patrick Peterson, the Bears' offense didn't do a whole lot against a solid, complex Cardinals defense. Not a problem, though, as the Bears' defense came back to life, getting a touchdown return by Zackary Bowman off a fumble recovery in the first half and a touchdown return by Charles Tillman off an interception in the second half. It had been seven weeks since the defense had reached the end zone. This could be a case of too little, too late. To get into the playoffs, the Bears, once 7-1, must beat Detroit and hope that rival Green Bay can knock off Minnesota. Seahawks 42, 49ers 13 Are the Seahawks the most dangerous team in the N.F.C.? They have 150 points over their last three games - the most the league has seen in that span since the 1950 Rams. Russell Wilson has gotten better by the week, especially coming to life once the Seahawks installed the read option into Darrell Bevell's system (a play that the mobile Wilson, surprisingly, did not run in college). Equally as impressive is that Seattle's defense has continued to play at a high level even with the star corner Brandon Browner suspended (Browner's replacement, Jeremy Lane, has been terrific the last two weeks). Obviously there is somewhat of an aberrational element to Seattle's hot streak. The first blowout win came against a turnover-prone, quarterbackless Cardinals team. This latest blowout came against a Niners team that looked exhausted after its 12-round bout at New England last Sunday night. Still, not much happens by accident in the N.F.L. Right now, the Seahawks are white hot.