The Bengals won a big one in Pittsburgh, the Giants forgot to show up for their game in Baltimore, and the Seahawks made quite the statement over the division-leading 49ers. The Packers blew out the Titans, the Chargers beat the Greg McElroy-led Jets, and the Bears got back on track in the Arizona desert. Week 16 was yet another wild one. Here are my Ten Takeaways.
— Peter Schrager

The Packers are red hot, the Redskins haven’t lost since Nov. 4, and the 49ers have won in Green Bay, New Orleans and New England this season. But the NFC team I’d least want to play in the playoffs? It might just be Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Over the past three weeks, the Seahawks have combined for 150 points, winning those games by a margin of 120 points. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch get all the headlines, but the defense has been lights out. Seattle’s given up just 30 points in its last three, with the bulk of those points coming well after the game’s final outcome was determined. The Seahawks need a lot of help from the Arizona Cardinals (playing the 49ers next week) to get a home playoff game, but they might not need one. Seattle’s not just a home team anymore. They’ve won their last two road games — in very impressive fashion — too.

The Cowboys nearly pulled off a miracle comeback win, but came up just short in Sunday’s 34-31 overtime loss to the Saints. Amazingly enough, the ‘Boys still control their own destiny in the NFC East. With a win Sunday in Washington, the Cowboys will earn their second division title in four years and will lock up a home playoff game in the NFL’s wildcard weekend. Robert Griffin III lit up the Cowboys for four touchdowns over Thanksgiving weekend. On the road and in front of what will be a crazed crowd at FedEx Field, Tony Romo and Jason Garrett can silence critics . . . for now.

After an NFL-best 15 straight wins in front of their home crowd, the Ravens lost three games in a row, including two in Baltimore. With skeptics abound, the Ravens pulled it together and put up their most yards of the season. Playing their second game with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator, the offense amassed a season-high 533 yards — 289 in the first half alone. Joe Flacco didn’t throw any interceptions and the Ray Rice/Bernard Pierce combo gobbled up 224 yards on the ground. Everyone was jumping ship on the Ravens a few days ago. They’re going to be getting back on after Sunday’s dominant win.

Riddled with injuries, spotty offensive line play and a non-existent running game, the Packers offense looked anything like the one that tore up the NFL in 2011. On Sunday, the squad that couldn’t be stopped last season showed up versus Tennessee. Just in time for the playoffs, the Packers put up 55 points for the first time since 1983, and notched their largest margin of victory since a 52-3 win over New Orleans in 2005. Rodgers completed 27 of 38 passes for 342 yards and tossed three touchdowns, while Ryan Grant and DuJuan Harris combined for 109 yards and three rushing touchdowns. The Packers have been winning games with defense and clutch play. Sunday’s game looked like the team that won the Super Bowl in 2010 and went 15-1 in the 2011 regular season.

No, he won’t be in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, but Ryan Tannehill — awfully quietly — has put together a very strong rookie season in Miami. Now 7-8 on the season, Tannehill has as many touchdowns as interceptions (12) for the first time all year. On Sunday, he completed 13 of 25 pass attempts and tossed two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 24-10 Dolphins win. Luck, Griffin and Wilson get all the buzz, but Dolphins fans should be awfully pleased with their rookie signal caller, too. There’s plenty of reason for optimism in Miami.

The Bengals did more than just clinch a playoff berth with their 13-10 win on Sunday. They put major demons to rest, too. For all their success the past two seasons, the Bengals still hadn’t beaten either the Steelers or Ravens, going 0-3 entering Sunday’s game. A.J. Green, Andy Dalton and the rest of the young Bengals went into Pittsburgh and eliminated the Steelers with the win. Cincinnati hasn’t won a playoff game under Marvin Lewis (0-3 all-time). They’ll have to go into Houston, New England or Denver in two weeks. They’ve gotten one thing off their backs with a win over Pittsburgh. Could a playoff win be next?

Cam Newton’s not going to make the Pro Bowl this year — there are too many other worthy candidates at quarterback in the NFC — but he’s having quite the second half to the season. In their last six games, the Panthers are 4-2 and Newton’s played tremendously well. Though he lost his cool in embarrassing fashion in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Newton also threw and ran for touchdown scores in the 17-6 victory. Dating back to their Nov. 26 win over the Eagles, Newton’s thrown 10 touchdowns and just one interception. He’s also run for four scores during that span.

Adrian Peterson had his lowest rushing total (86 yards) since getting 79 yards on Oct. 14 in a loss at Washington, but he was just fine with the outcome of Sunday’s game in Houston. A Palestine, Texas, native, Peterson had more than 100 family and friends at the game, as Minnesota — 7.5 point underdogs — beat the Texans handily 23-6. Dismissed as a 'one-man team' of late, the Vikings had 174 passing yards, while the defense held Houston to just 187 total yards on the day. Christian Ponder will never put up huge numbers, but he’s getting the job done. 'We knew they were going to focus on the run, which is OK,' Peterson said of the Texans. 'It felt good to see other guys get involved and us continue to move the ball down and score some points.' Minnesota, now 9-6, controls its own playoff destiny.

Janoris Jenkins wasn’t exactly the most coveted draft prospect heading into April’s draft. The father of multiple children with multiple women, Jenkins was also dismissed from the University of Florida for reported drug-related reasons. Likely considered a headache and not worth the trouble off the field, 30 different teams passed on Jenkins in April’s draft. Jeff Fisher and the Rams took him in the second round and he’s flourished. Jenkins returned an interception for a touchdown in St. Louis' win versus the Buccaneers on Sunday, his third of the season to tie the NFL rookie record. With a fumble recovery for a score against the Niners, he’s got four scores on the year. At 7-7-1 on the year, the Rams can go over .500 with a victory in Seattle next weekend.

Officially eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Bengals on Sunday, the roller-coaster ride that’s been the 2012 season finally came to a stop for Steelers fans. Bad losses to the Raiders, Titans and Chargers finally caught up to the aging Steelers as their offense sputtered and their special teams failed them in a tough 13-10 loss to Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Bruce Arians, Pittsburgh’s longtime offensive coordinator who was shown the door after last season’s playoff loss to the Broncos, is headed to the playoffs as the interim head coach of the Colts. There will be lots of finger pointing in Pittsburgh this week. The team just didn’t have it this year.