$.01--Sunday Night Football doesn’t always live up to expectations, but this week’s matchup between the Cowboys and Buccaneers was worth staying up for. Dallas improved to 12-2 with an efficient 26-20 win.

Once again the two Cowboys' rookies carried the offense. It’s hard to say Ezekiel Elliott was the second fiddle when he rushed for 159 yards on 23 carries, but this was the Dak Prescott show. The young QB put on a clinic, dissecting a stingy, aggressive Buccaneers' defense almost at will. Prescott completed 32-of-36 for 279 yards and had one TD taken back because of a penalty.

Prescott’s poised play and smart decision-making outshined Jameis Winston. Yes, the Cowboys' offensive line is vastly superior to Tampa Bay’s and that absolutely played a role. But the skill position players still have to deliver, and Prescott was right on target all night long.

This was the first national exposure for Winston and the Buccaneers. If you haven’t gone out of your way to watch them earlier, this was a fairly typical Winston game. He makes some special plays but also some head-scratchers. Though his second INT came when his elbow got hit during his windup, he still made mistakes which cost his team. Yet he can also throw strikes on the move and create things few other QBs can.

Down 26-20 late in the 4th, Winston had a couple of chances to author a stirring comeback and thoroughly shake up the NFC playoff picture. Instead it was the Dallas defense who seized the day. Rush end David Irving bagged a sack on 1st down, then forced an errant throw on 2nd down. On third down Winston missed Mike Evans over the top. After the Bucs' defense held nicely, Tampa and Winston got one last shot. An Orlando Scandrick INT snuffed that out.

With the loss, Tampa Bay falls to 8-6 and tied with Green Bay. Both trail Washington (7-5-1), which plays Carolina Monday night. That opens the door for three NFC East teams to get into the postseason a year after Washington won it at 9-7 and the division had the second-worst point differential of the eight. The Cowboys' stark turnaround remains the NFL’s biggest story in 2016.

$.02--Jacksonville finally had enough of Gus Bradley as Head Coach. The Jaguars fired Bradley immediately after Sunday’s inexcusable loss to Houston. Bradley’s squad blew a 20-8 lead to a Texans' team that yanked Brock Osweiler and looked completely lifeless for the first two thirds of the game.

Bradley leaves with a career record of 14-48, the second-worst in NFL history. He lost his last nine, and none is more embarrassing than collapsing to Tom Savage and the Texans.

Simply not throwing the ball away was enough for Savage to be demonstrably better than Osweiler, who left after throwing two INTs in the second quarter. That’s certainly more than Blake Bortles and the Jaguars could do. Savage threw for more yards (260) in 2-plus quarters than the entire Jaguars offense has in its last six quarters. They managed just 150 total yards and 9 first downs.

The fact Bill O’Brien pulled the plug on the $72M mistake in Osweiler and found a spark in Savage had to weigh on the Jaguars’ decision. Blake Bortles continues to devastate the Jacksonville offense with his regressing mechanics, slow decision making and almost unbelievable efficiency. Bortles threw 28 passes and gained just 92 yards. That’s inconceivably ineffective. Veteran Chad Henne might not have performed any better, but he couldn’t have been worse. He could easily have thrown the game-sealing INT, a play which Bortles really did appear to be playing in slow motion.

The win salvages Houston’s playoff hopes. A loss here would have put them looking up at the Tennessee Titans, who rallied from their own big second-half deficit to stun the Chiefs 19-17 in Kansas City. Both teams are 8-6 and meet in Week 17 in Nashville, with Tennessee carrying a clear advantage into that contest by playing the Jaguars next week. 

$.03--The New York Giants sorely needed an impressive win over a team other than Dallas, who they’ve beaten impressively twice. Every other “good” team they’ve played with the exception of Baltimore has come up victorious against the G-Men.

That changed Sunday with the 9-4 Lions in town. New York had the better offense. The Giants' defense shut down Matthew Stafford and the Lions' offense, holding the visitors without a touchdown. Ben McAdoo and his coaching staff definitively bested Jim Caldwell and his coordinators on the strategy and adjustment fronts too.

New York’s convincing 17-6 was a complete team win. It even extends to the front office for assembling superior depth. As an example, both teams lost their top cornerbacks in the game to injury. Detroit struggled with Johnson Bademosi and Asa Jackson, who was on the hook for the game-sealing TD, in Big Play Slay’s place. New York soldiered on just fine with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Eli Apple, each of whom made clutch plays at some point.

The Giants' pass rush helped out the secondary a lot more than Detroit’s did. On offense their running game helped move the chains enough to keep the Lions defense from focusing more on coverage help. Despite some truly horrid and inexcusable officiating gaffes which favored New York, the Giants were clearly the better football team.

The win all but wraps up a playoff berth for New York. Interestingly, the Giants must now become Lions' fans as Detroit plays Dallas net Monday night. If New York wins out and Dallas loses both, the Giants win the NFC East.

Detroit still controls its destiny in the NFC North, but it’s a precarious perch. They are 9-5 but play at Dallas and then are home for Green Bay. The Packers narrowly escaped a death-blow loss in frigid Chicago thanks to Jon Fox and Chicago passively playing for the tie. Aaron Rodgers played for the win…

With that win, the Packers also seized control of their own divisional destiny. If they win out, including the Week 17 game in Detroit, Rodgers and Green Bay roll into the playoffs with another North title.

$.04--Los Angeles dumped Jeff Fisher last Monday after yet another loss where the team was thoroughly overmatched and showed little promise of getting better anytime soon. It spared Fisher the ignominy of becoming the coach with the most losses in NFL history, a fate that would have befallen him Thursday night.

Instead, interim coach John Fassel lost his debut in a 24-3 shellacking by the Seattle Seahawks. The key to any future Rams hope, rookie QB Jared Goff, left the game with a concussion as their inept offensive line couldn’t protect him. They couldn’t run block for Todd Gurley (38 yards) either. Perhaps they were distracted by Seattle’s atrocious electric neon green uniforms. This picture doesn’t do justice to the retina-searing hue…

Seattle clinched the NFC West title with the lopsided win, their first over the Rams in two years. Even so, there was consternation on the sidelines as Richard Sherman (rightly) objected to Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell’s ponderous red zone play calling. Russell Wilson was good-not-great once again, which is good enough to vanquish the pathetic Rams but won’t cut it in the postseason. Teams which can survive their excellent defensive front pressure and can also deliver against Seattle’s own embarrassment of an offensive line will be a very tough draw for the Seahawks.

As for who will take over long-term for Fisher, the rumor mills are swirling. One name to watch is Saints coach Sean Payton, who has done all he can do in New Orleans and both sides of that Saints equation appear to realize this. 

$.05--Any Given Sunday, Week 15 edition came in Minnesota. It’s not so much that the Colts were perceived as inferior to the Vikings or that anyone is surprised by Indy winning. It’s about how thoroughly dominant Chuck Pagano and the Colts performed against the home team.

Indy won 34-6 and it was not close to being that close. Andrew Luck shook off a couple of ugly early misfires and blistered the Vikings heretofore strong defense. Frank Gore topped 100 yards rushing while backup RB Robert Turbin adeptly played the role of fantasy vulture, scoring two TDs.

Minnesota looked lost on defense. Luck was outstanding in reading the coverage and quickly finding the mismatch. One drive it was TY Hilton, then another it was Erik Swoope, who hauled in two passes on one drive, including his first career touchdown. The Indianapolis line played its best game of the season up front, too.

As he often does, Vikings QB Sam Bradford struggled under pressure. Given how negligibly the Vikings offensive line blocks, that’s a bad recipe. He got no help from the return of Adrian Peterson (6 carries, 22 yards and a lost fumble) and got sacked five times. He also threw almost the exact same interception which gave away the Detroit game on Thanksgiving.

Both these teams are now 7-7 but the timbre couldn’t be more divergent. The Colts have resuscitated playoff life in the AFC South and rebounded nicely from a lackluster loss a week ago. The Vikings were 5-0 but have fallen out of the NFC playoff race with their 7th loss in nine weeks. One of those wins came last week against lowly Jacksonville. If they can’t win in Green Bay next week, these Vikings will be a very rare NFL species to go from 5-0 to a non-winning record.

$.06--The NFL apparently scheduled a game for Saturday night. Raise your hand if you knew there was a game before it started.

My hand is still down. Granted it was a fairly meaningless game between the Jets and Dolphins, two fairly low-profile teams nationally despite their prominent locales. Unless you are a die-hard fan of either team there was no real reason to pay any attention to it…

…and I didn’t. I missed the first half or so watching a thrilling Camellia Bowl between Toledo and Appalachian State (more on that below), a battle of two of the better Group of Five teams with several NFL prospects on display. On the heels of a compelling Las Vegas Bowl, where San Diego State upended Houston as RB Donnell Pumphrey set the NCAA record for rushing yards, I was fully engaged in college football mode.

As Saturday progressed, a compelling FCS semifinal between Youngstown State and Eastern Washington on the blood red turf was on deck. So was a New Orleans Bowl between Southern Miss and Louisiana Lafayette, two teams with a couple of prospects I wanted to see more. Between those games and the NCAA Women’s Volleyball final, there just wasn’t any room for the NFL. I certainly wasn’t going to miss those other, more important events for the NFL when I get to watch 11 hours of NFL action on Sunday.

I’ve written quite a bit about NFL oversaturation and overkill. If you follow the league enough, you’ve no doubt seen an oversaturation and overkill of folks like me complaining about those issues. Scheduling an insignificant game on such a busy Saturday night is not going to help that impression. Stay in your lane, NFL.

By the way, the Dolphins won 34-13 as backup QB Matt Moore lit up the Jets for 4 TDs. I’d comment further but I haven’t even seen a highlight of this game as of Sunday at 7:52 PM.

$.07--One of the more difficult challenges of evaluating prospects for the NFL is when character issues get involved. This week presented a very unfortunate example.

I wrote about Chiefs rookie dynamo Tyreek Hill this week for FanRag, talking about his off-field issues and how to weigh talent versus trouble. One of the other players I mentioned in the piece is Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, a very skilled and versatile talent who was all over the late-week news cycle for all the wrong reasons.

Mixon punched a woman in the face back in 2014 with enough force to knock her unconscious. NFL scouts have known for some time there is video of the incident, but it was not released until Thursday.

I watched it, and it’s horrifying. You can search for it and view it for yourself, but be warned it’s graphic and sickening. Mixon’s response is something you never want to see from a man. Never.

It is imperative we teach our young men to never do things like this to young women. We owe it to society to make sure every man knows this is abhorrent, unacceptable behavior. If you have a young man who can process this, show them the video. Watch it with them. Stress to them how wrong it is and how evil they will be if they even come close to that level of deplorable behavior.

As for Mixon, there is no doubt he’s a very talented running back. Strip away the off-field ugliness and he’s a second-round prospect. Yet I don’t want him anywhere near my team. If you feel the same way, don’t just be a bystander. Do something about it. Let your favorite NFL team know that you do not support them pursuing anyone like Joe Mixon. Threaten to boycott, cancel your tickets, send them the ashes of your team merchandise. Do it for the women who can’t. Someday it might be a woman you care about on the wrong end of that punch.

$.08--NFL Quickies

--Ezekiel Elliott celebrated a touchdown by jumping into the large Salvation Army kettle on the Dallas sideline. Even though everyone loved it, the entertaining act was penalized and Elliott will be fined. Such is life in the No Fun League…

--Oakland clinched a playoff berth with a 19-16 win over San Diego to improve to 10-3. It’s the Raiders first postseason trip since 2002. Congrats to the long-suffering fans.

--Cleveland falls to 0-14 with a blowout loss to a Buffalo team which may or may not, depending on who you trust as sources, be firing Rex Ryan the second their season ends. It’s that bad for the Dawg Poud.

--One of myriad reasons why I seldom watch the network pregame shows, and why pundit picks are ponderous:

--The Eagles' downward spiral continues with a 27-26 loss in Baltimore. Since opening 3-0, rookie Head Coach Doug Pederson and rookie QB Carson Wentz are 2-9. Both need more time in what was supposed to be a last-place season anyway.

--New England wrapped up its 13th division title in 14 years by stomping Denver 16-3. The reigning champion Broncos are in very real danger of missing the playoffs, as the loss drops them to 8-6. Denver has scored 20 points in the last 10 quarters. 

$.09--College/Draft quickies

--The Camellia Bowl will go down as one of 2016’s best bowl games. Appalachian State held off Toledo 31-28 after Toledo’s coach dropped the proverbial ball. The Rockets drove into the red zone, but inexplicably kept RB Kareem Hunt and TE Michael Roberts on the sideline for 2nd and 3rd downs. Both Hunt and Roberts will be playing on Sundays next year, but they weren’t on the field when Toledo needed them most.

With 4th and 2 and needing just the 25-yard field goal to tie, Coach Jason Candle didn’t call timeout but rather took a delay of game penalty. The ensuing 30-yard field goal just missed high and wide right, and it would have been good from 25. Oops. Still a very entertaining contest that was close to the very last play.

--Tis the season for coaching changes, and Florida Atlantic made an interesting hire off the carousel: Lane Kiffin. Most recently Alabama’s offensive coordinator and frequent recipient of legendary Nick Saban tantrums, Kiffin is probably better-known for being a pretty unsuccessful coach at Tennessee and a very unsuccessful one for the Oakland Raiders. The Owls are about as low as you can go in the FBS pecking order, so Kiffin can really prove himself by turning them into a consistent winner. If he doesn’t, he took a massive pay cut, perennial title contention and working with future NFL players all over his offense to bury his career.

--Youngstown State shocked Eastern Washington in the FCS semifinal (see $.07), going ahead on this incredible catch with :01 second left:

With James Madison also pulling off the thrilling upset win over defending champ North Dakota State, there was plenty to get excited about in the division where there is an actual tournament-style playoff.

--For Youngstown State, defensive end Derek Rivers is a top 150 overall prospect. He has great speed and decent flexibility at 6’4” and about 250, and he looks like a ready-made rush 3-4 OLB in the NFL. He’ll be at the Shrine Game to bolster his draft stock against higher competition. Check out No. 11’s handiwork here:

--I have a draft ready for the Top 125 prospects, but I’m holding off on releasing it until a few prominent underclassmen make their draft intentions clear. One of those is LSU safety Jamal Adams, who sits No. 3 overall right now. He’s hinting at a return to Baton Rouge. Top QB Mitch Trubisky, No. 8 overall, is also up in the air whether he returns to North Carolina or enters the draft. Look for it late this week regardless. 

$.10--Since it’s the end of the year, it’s time for all those lists to come out. I happen to love them. I read “10 best of the year” lists about topics I wouldn’t even have heard of one of the recipients. Given my affinity for music and the response I got doing this last year, I decided to do one again.

My top 10 songs of 2016

If you’re looking for hip hop, country or folk, you’re not going to like this list. Also note the lyrics and videos are not safe for work or children without supervision.

10. The Gift of Music by Dream Theater. This is the band which I’ve held dearest to my heart for 25 years. This is also the only real strong point from their overwrought, musical theater-inspired concept album. Some fans loved it, but The Astonishing was a big swing and miss for me. This song is the only track from the tedious double CD I ever need to hear again.

9. Dystopia by Megadeth. “The quickest way to end a war is lose”. Dave Mustaine embraced his aging raspiness, harnessed a couple of new bandmates and wrote some of the best political thrash metal in years. This song harkens back to the Hangar 18 glory days.

8. Rise by Sixx A.M.Nikki Sixx has quietly (for him) done great work with his project. Motley Crue never sounded as polished or harmonic as this enthusiastic shout-along anthem. Pop metal always has a place in my life soundtrack, especially when it’s this well-crafted.  

7. The Stage by Avenged Sevenfold. The only disappointment I have with this 8:30 epic from A7X is they released this exactly three days after I saw them in concert, a complete surprise on the rock world. Synyster Gates has never been better and I like the lyrical storytelling. The video is, umm, odd.

6. Atlas Rise by Metallica. They’re back, they’re angry and they’re sounding better than they have in the 25-plus years since the Black Album. I love the entire new album but this song stands out for me. I feel bad putting this so low on the list but it’s not really a “single” either. More of this please, Lars…

5. Blue Automatic by Thank You Scientist. If Frank Zappa made jazzy contemporary prog metal with a trumpet and saxophone, it would be Thank You Scientist. They never get radio play but the New Jersey collective writes insanely catchy songs for their genre-bending virtuosity. If you like this, check out the instrumental Rube Goldberg Variations, the best rock/metal horn work you’ll ever hear.

4. Amnesia by Red Sun Rising. One of my favorite new bands, I caught this rock group from Akron opening for Pop Evil (and others) at a festival in June. They were outstanding live and this single stands out. The video captures their fun attitude nicely.

3. Invincible by Twelve Foot Ninja. I tried to describe Twelve Foot Ninja to my wife before I attended their lively show in Grand Rapids this year. The Aussies call themselves “fusion rock” and this song hints at why; they range from growl metal to virtuoso prog rock to sing-along power pop, with the occasional calypso interlude mixed in. They’re outstanding live and couldn’t have been nicer when I accosted lead singer Kin and rhythm guitarist Rohan for pictures at the merchandise booth.

2. Square Hammer by Ghost. The band who topped last year’s list with the brilliant Cirice came back strong with the Popestar EP. The first single from the Swedish shockers is the insanely catchy Square Hammer. They’re far more pop-oriented than their neo-Satanic getup would have you believe, and this melodic trip featuring a new bassist (and perhaps other Nameless changes) almost plays like a Taylor Swift song as played by Deep Purple.

1. Crushed by Parkway Drive. It’s not actually my favorite tune of the year. Heck, I actually like the song Vice Grip from the same band more. Yet Crushed is the most fitting for the negatively charged political climate in the US. So of course the best song about it comes from an Australian metalcore band. The second verse says it all:

To the left I see the rats and to the right I see the snakes
In my ear they’re whispering sweet sermons of cruel hate
So do you buy the fear, or do you buy the lies
Tell me, what will set us free
Do we kneel before the crooked few
Or do we bite the f***ing hand that feeds

2016 will be remembered as the year America jumped over the line and became irreversibly, hopelessly divided by politics, race, fear and class. I hope I’m wrong about that, but it’s hard not to hear those lyrics and wonder how our great nation can continue down this treacherous path without being crushed.

Because I don’t want to end on such a negative note, if you feel the same way, raise up your fist, raise up your voice and do something about it. Don’t accept the cosmetic divisions. Refuse to take the bait of hate. Find common ground. Seek a higher truth. Try being nice and respectful. Attempt to listen to a different point of view; don’t just hear it, but really listen. Accept that your own beliefs and values seem strange and perhaps even offensive to others, but don’t be angered by that either. That’s how we can help keep America great.