Each week, we offer up the very best of the NFL on a given Sunday, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.
All year, we’ve picked one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end — OK, this sounds a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team. We’re also recognizing an entire offensive line, a few select defensive stars and even a special-teams standout of the week.
If you’ve followed our list each week, you might notice some repeat names from last week. But are we not going to include a quarterback on here after he got one of the biggest wins of his career, or a wide receiver who had a 200-yard day? Of course not. So, let’s dive into Week 16:
For a while, it looked like Matthew Stafford would get it again. Even in a losing effort on Thursday, Stafford threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns without a pick. But Trevor Lawrence was just dominant in the Jaguars’ win over the Broncos with three touchdown passes and another score rushing. The Jaguars have clinched a playoff berth, and this is the kind of win that will have everyone writing about Liam Coen as a Coach of the Year candidate as they continue validating their success with big wins.
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars made a statement on Sunday in Denver. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
Remember Ashton Jeanty? He’s been so underwhelming for most of his rookie year, but he finally broke out again Sunday in a close loss to the Texans, rushing for 128 yards and a score and adding a 60-yard touchdown catch. It wasn’t enough to win, but it’s a reminder that Jeanty could be a game-changing back in a better offense with a better line.
There are a lot of compelling backs this week, so we know now this is the position that you guys will complain about. We only get to pick two.
So many good games from running backs, but Warren gets the other nod at the position. He rushed for 143 yards on 14 carries, giving him a great 10.3 yards per carry, with two touchdowns, which were both 45-yard scores in the fourth quarter of a one-score victory. How do you not reward that?
You have James Cook with 117 rushing yards and two scores, you have Bijan Robinson with 168 total yards and a touchdown, you have Kenneth Walker with 164 and a score, you have Saquon Barkley with 132 and a score. But did any of them have two 45-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter? No further questions.
Another monster game, worthy of inclusion here, even in a loss — 12 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns. To do this in a game where Davante Adams is sidelined, when defenses know you are the focal point of the passing game, and they still can’t stop you. He’s now 45 yards behind Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the NFL receiving yards lead, and he leads the league with 114 catches. You have to think of those two as first-team All-Pro receivers, right?
The Saints have won three in a row, rallying around rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, and Olave was a huge part of Sunday’s win — 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. His big day pushed him over 1,000 receiving yards for the season — third time in his four NFL seasons — and extended his career best to eight touchdowns.
New Orleans has picked up Olave’s fifth-year option for 2026, but it still might be smart to extend him. If Jakobi Meyers can get $20 million a year, Olave should be higher than that, and the Saints have the cap flexibility now to get it done.
TE: Kyle Pitts, Falcons
Wait, Pitts got it again? Last week, it was easy with his three touchdowns, but this week, he has a pretty good case to repeat somehow. Harold Fannin Jr. had two touchdowns for the Browns, one rushing and one receiving, and the rest is a mass of 40-yard, one-touchdown games — Jacksonville’s Benton Strange, Tennessee’s Chig Okonkwo were both worthy of inclusion. But none of them had more yards than Pitts with his 57 and a score in the win over Arizona.
In his last four games, Pitts has 395 yards and four scores. He’s doing it at just the right time as a looming free agent in March.
We thought about the Chargers, who rushed for 152 yards and had zero sacks, but it was against the Cowboys, right? Chicago’s line stepped up Saturday night against the Packers, protecting Caleb Williams with a zero-sack night and paving the way for 150 yards rushing in the overtime win. Kudos to (left to right) rookie Ozzy Trapilo, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright. Bonus points for opening the game with a three-TE set as well.
He’s on here because he got 2.5 sacks in Buffalo’s win over the Browns, but the wild number is seven quarterback hits. That’s the most for any player in any game this season — Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett and Zach Allen each had games with six, but that’s it. The last time someone had more in a game? Chris Jones had eight in 2018. Rousseau only has 6.5 sacks on the season, but this was a massive game when Buffalo desperately needed it.
Which fan base do we want to upset by not including their two-sack guy this week? The Saints got two from Cam Jordan in a win. The Lions got two from Hutchinson in a narrow loss. But we’ll go with Burns, who got two more sacks and a forced fumble in New York’s loss to Minnesota. Obviously, Garrett deserves all the national love because he has 22 sacks, but Burns has had a strong year with 15, and he has three forced fumbles, as well.
Brian Burns looked like the elite pass rusher that he is on Sunday against the Vikings. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Not a huge week for linebackers. It’s not a great year for defensive rookies either, and Schwesinger could end up winning Defensive Rookie of the Year just by piling up a million tackles for Cleveland. He had 12 and a sack in a loss to Buffalo on Sunday. That gives him 137 tackles for the year, leading the Browns and top 10 in the league. Not bad for a second-round pick out of UCLA, even if it’s in the Garrett school of playing well for a bad team.
DB: Derek Stingley Jr., Texans
Sunday saw Stingley get his first career pick-six, intercepting a Geno Smith pass and returning it 31 yards for a touchdown. Who knew then the Texans would actually need that score to get past the Raiders? It’s Stingley’s fourth pick this season, giving him 14 over the last three seasons. He added a forced fumble as well. Houston’s defense has carried them to seven straight wins and their 10-5 record, and Stingley is as responsible for that as anyone on the back end with the Texans.
As sparks go, it’s hard to top Shaheed’s 58-yard punt return for a touchdown with eight minutes left Thursday night — the Seahawks were down 30-14 when he did it, and it started the comeback that gave them a 38-37 win over the Rams. He has a punt-return and kickoff-return in seven games since the Seahawks traded for him, and it’s the second time in three seasons he’s had one of each in the same year.
Shaheed has had a small role offensively in Seattle with 242 receiving yards in seven games, but he’s made up for it in the return game.
Rashid Shaheed’s punt-return touchdown changed the game in the Seahawks’ favor last Thursday night. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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