The RedZone: Week 16 in the NFL

Ryan's Top 5

5. Everybody involved in the Vikings at Eagles game. This is for entirely non-sporting reasons. It's not often I get to spout off about issues outwith the sporting world, so this seemed like an opportunity. This game was initially postponed because of a blizzard as part of the horrendous weather in the NE coast of America. When was it reschduled? For two days later. Now why is it that we cannot deal with a bit of climate change at an typically cold time of the year when our cousins over the pond are dealing with much worse successfully? A small flurry in the UK and the whole country comes to a standstill. The US get on with it the best they can. Incidentally, the Vikings ran out 24-14 winners, meaning the Eagles will miss out on a bye in the playoffs.

4. Tim Tebow - 16/29, 308 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 10 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD. If you're going to get your first win as a starting QB, it's great to be facing the Texans awful banged-up defense. Particularly when your team has no running game to speak of. The first-round pick out of Florida came up big in the 4th quarter of the Broncos 24-23 win, putting doubts over his accuracy and throwing action to bed and then demonstrating what we already knew about his ability to scramble out of the pocket. He could still be big in this league...

3. Johnny Knox - 4 catches, 92 yards, 2 TD's. To my mind, the forgotten man in a very successful Chicago Bears side. All the talk is of Jay Cutler's breakout year, Devin Hester and Matt Forte as the lynchpins of the offense and a hard-hitting defense led by Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher. But boy, can Knox make plays, reeling in 2 fantastic touchdown catches in a 38-34 win over the Jets. To my mind, Cutler isn't nearly consistent enough to win a Superbowl right now, but he has all the weapons at his disposal to have a pretty good tilt.

2. Matt Cassel - 24/34, 314 yards, 3 TD's. I cringed when I looked back at my AFC West preview from August. Quotes such as "Kansas City Chiefs - still rubbish" and "Eric Berry will make plays, whilst the offense will not" stick out. Although Berry did run in a pick six in a 34-14 win over the Titans. Which took the Chiefs to the playoffs as AFC West champions. Cassel in particular took some stick back in August but has been so accurate and error-free all season, despite playing it safe early on but flourishing into a quality man to have under centre. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to him and his team and refuse to write them off come the postseason!

1. Jeff Charleston - 1 tackle, 1 FF. Awarded on behalf of the entire Saints defense, for a big hit on Michael Turner on the 1 yard line, turning the ball over, leading to a 17-14 victory over the high-flying Falcons. It appears they are fallible in the Georgia Dome after all - a good thing for all teams in the NFC as they look a good bet to wrap up homefield advantage next week. As for the Saints, Drew Brees didn't have his best game, but the defense kept Matt Ryan quiet and did just enough to ensure the champions would return to the playoffs for another shot at glory.