NFL Winners and Losers: Khalil Mack and the Oakland Raiders are soaring – Yahoo Sports

It’s pretty easy to root for Berry. One of the NFL’s best stories got even better on Sunday.

Detroit Lions and their newfound defense: You don’t go into the Superdome and shut down New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Even the great Denver Broncos defense gave up 303 yards and three touchdowns to Brees earlier this season.

So what do we make of what the Lions did on Sunday?

Detroit, a middle-of-the-pack defense in most measures, shut down the Saints and Brees. Brees had 326 yards, but didn’t throw a touchdown and threw three interceptions as the Saints reached the end zone just once in a 28-13 Lions win.

The Lions are in control of the NFC North. They have a two-game lead with four games to play. If what we saw from the Lions defense Sunday is what we can expect going forward, maybe they can make some noise in the playoffs too. It’s been a while since we could say that about Detroit.

Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers: Remember when Ravens-Steelers was the best rivalry in the NFL? The rivalry may not reach those heights this season, but they both took steps toward a pretty fun Christmas matchup.

Both teams have had their issues, but they looked good Sunday. The Ravens obliterated a Miami Dolphins team that had won six straight in a 38-6 victory. The defense was fantastic, as it has been most of the season, and the offense had its best game of the season.

Later on Sunday, the Steelers rolled over a New York Giants team that had also won six straight. They won 24-14 in a game that never really seemed in doubt.

The Steelers and Ravens are tied atop the AFC North at 7-5. They play on Dec. 25 at Pittsburgh in a game that could decide the division. And with the AFC West having three top teams, there’s no guarantee the second-place team in the AFC North will get a wild card. Should be a fun Christmas day game.

Jordy Nelson: Nelson hasn’t looked like his normal self throughout this season, at 31 years old coming off ACL surgery. But the Green Bay Packers receiver has had his moments, including a huge one on Sunday.

Nelson scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of a tight, snowy game against the Houston Texans, but that wasn’t his biggest play. With the Packers facing third-and-6 at midfield with less than six minutes left, Aaron Rodgers threw one up to Nelson, who made a phenomenal catch over cornerback Kareem Jackson for 28 yards and an enormous first down. The Packers scored a key touchdown at the end of that drive and won 21-13. Nelson finished with 118 yards.

The Packers have strung together a couple wins. At 6-6 they aren’t dead in the playoff race. The Packers have a home game against the Seahawks next week, then games against each of their NFC North rivals after that. If Nelson plays like he did Sunday, running the table doesn’t seem impossible.

LOSERS

Washington Redskins: Redskins coach Jay Gruden knew what Sunday’s game meant for Washington’s playoff chances. He must wonder if his players did.

According to multiple reporters outside the Redskins’ locker room, Gruden blasted his team after Sunday’s 31-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Unlike last season, when the Redskins rallied late to make the playoffs, they could be in some real trouble this year.

After two straight losses, Washington is 6-5-1. Washington would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today, and are now battling a bunch of 6-6 and even 5-7 teams like the Packers, Vikings, Eagles, Saints and Cardinals (who are 5-6-1) for a wild-card spot.

Washington had plenty of chances to win but the defense didn’t get much done. Carson Palmer threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. David Johnson had 175 total yards and two scores. Arizona has looked lost on offense much of the season, but looked just fine on Sunday.

It’s probably not going to be a fun time around the Redskins’ facilities this week.

Paxton Lynch: This is why “quarterback wins” is a terrible stat.

The Denver Broncos had more punts (11) than first downs (10) on Sunday. Lynch, Denver’s first-round pick who was starting due to Trevor Siemian’s foot injury, was 12 of 24 for 104 yards. He “won” because the other quarterback, Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was even worse.

Lynch was good enough for Sunday, but neither of his starts have gone well. He also struggled in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. It’s fair to wonder how that will affect the way Denver approaches the offseason. There’s zero chance the Broncos voluntarily start Lynch over the remainder of this season – any remote possibility of that happening is done now. What about 2017? Lynch hasn’t shown anything that would lead the Broncos to groom him next offseason to start on opening day over Siemian. Maybe the Broncos will even consider some new blood at quarterback if a certain veteran from Dallas is available?

Who knows what will happen down the road, and it’s not unusual for a quarterback in his second start to struggle, but this much is true: Lynch has had two chances to impress the Broncos this season, and it’s hard to believe the team feels great about how those starts went.

Jeff Fisher, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff and the unwatchable Los Angeles Rams: There was a moment in Sunday’s game when Fisher wanted to challenge a play. And, somehow, he couldn’t find the challenge flag no matter where he looked for it.

Fisher got his challenge in, but it summed up things for the Rams. They can’t do even the simple things right.

Gurley had 38 yards on 11 carries, continuing an amazingly disappointing season. Goff was 14 of 32 for 161 yards in his third career start. The Rams gained 25 yards in the first half. Twenty-five. They were worked over 26-10 by the New England Patriots and now have a 4-8 record.

Yet the news on Sunday morning was that the Rams gave Fisher a two-year extension, which was reportedly agreed to before the season. Could Fisher become the first coach to be fired before his extension kicks in? He and the Rams haven’t given ownership any reason to keep the status quo into 2017.

The early season Philadelphia Eagles hype: Hey, remember when the Eagles being good was a thing?

Philadelphia was 3-0 and the talk of the NFL at one point. That seems so long ago. The Eagles were blown out 32-14 against a Cincinnati Bengals team that has little left to play for and was without A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard. Philadelphia has lost seven of its past nine. Rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who was so good early on, has seen his mechanics fall apart (read Charles Robinson’s piece on what’s wrong with Wentz). The Eagles’ receivers are inept and there’s no running game. Even the defense wasn’t good on Sunday.

Maybe next year will be better for the Eagles. Because they’re pretty much finished this season.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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