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In The First Read, Jeffri Chadiha provides a snapshot of the hottest stories and trends heading into Week 16 of the 2024 ߣÏÈÉúAV season, including:

• Three games worthy of ߣÏÈÉúAV Pro deep dives
• Most intriguing game of Week 16
• Top five MVP candidates

But first, winners and losers from Week 15 as the playoff race tightens ...

Nobody doubted what the ߣÏÈÉúAV had to offer in Week 15. There was a bushel of consequential games on the schedule, with division races, wild-card spots and first-round byes all hanging in the balance. You had the league's two best offenses squaring off in Detroit, an intrastate showdown in Pennsylvania and a couple AFC West teams looking to take yet another step toward postseason bids. The race for league MVP also had the potential to become much clearer, with so many notable candidates appearing in marquee games.

That is why, in this edition of The First Read, I'm assessing winners and losers from the past weekend. There was just too much on the line to pass up the opportunity. Here's what this writer thinks …

WINNERS

1) Josh Allen: The Bills quarterback likely cemented his first ߣÏÈÉúAV Most Valuable Player award with a 48-42 win over the Lions. Allen followed up a six-touchdown effort in a Week 14 loss to the Rams with another spectacular performance (362 passing yards, 68 rushing yards and four total touchdowns) on the road against the league's best team. Allen now has dealt the Chiefs their only loss and he just won a shootout with his defense missing three starters in the secondary. He also finishes the season with two games against the Patriots and one against the Jets. Throw in a subpar showing by Saquon Barkley (19 carries, 65 yards) in Philadelphia’s win over Pittsburgh and you can see the obvious separation Allen has created in this race. He's going to cruise to the honor now, barring something crazy happening down the stretch.

2) Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown: You knew the Eagles couldn't go through all that drama last week -- after Brown openly complained about the team's passing game and started a domino effect of comments by a variety of teammates addressing the relationship between the star receiver and his quarterback -- and not build a game plan designed around throwing the football more consistently. Brown got what he wanted in Sunday's 27-13 win over Pittsburgh, as he finished with season highs in receptions (eight) and targets (11) to go along with 110 yards and a touchdown. He also did plenty of celebrating with Hurts, whose 290 passing yards were the most Hurts had generated since Week 3. It's fair to argue that the passing game opened up because the Steelers weren't going to let Barkley beat them in the way he has other teams. That also would be naïve. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore surely knew it was time to quash the whining about the offense. They did just that on Sunday.

3) Vance Joseph: The Broncos' defense has been essential to this team's turnaround this season, and Joseph's unit once again delivered in timely fashion. Denver forced Indianapolis into five turnovers in Sunday's 31-13 win over the Colts -- including a 50-yard return for a touchdown by edge rusher Nik Bonitto -- and seriously improved their hopes of landing a wild-card spot. The Broncos currently hold the sixth seed in the AFC. They also have the kind of stellar defense that can create problems for opposing offenses when the postseason begins. Denver leads the league in sacks and is tied for first (with the Chargers and Eagles) in points allowed. This was one of the worst units in football last season. The two biggest stories in Denver may be head coach Sean Payton and rookie quarterback Bo Nix, but Joseph deserves ample credit for the job he's done with this defense.

4) DeMeco Ryans: The Texans head coach has dealt with a variety of issues -- including injuries and inconsistency -- but his team can still say it won the AFC South for the second straight season on his watch. Houston claimed the crown after beating Miami and watching the Colts lose to the Broncos. The question now is whether the Texans can find a way to look more like the team many people touted as a Super Bowl contender coming into this season. They have the talent to do it, especially if their offensive line can become more reliable. Ryans also will get a great opportunity to gain a big win this coming Saturday, when Houston travels to Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained an ankle injury at the end of his team's win over Cleveland, and that might be problematic for him on a short week. Ryans already can feel good about achieving one goal for this season. A win over Kansas City with a potentially limited Mahomes would elevate his team's stock even more.

5) Liam Coen: The Buccaneers have the best offense that nobody ever talks about, and that's largely because of Coen's leadership as coordinator. Tampa Bay just lit up the Chargers in a 40-17 win, which is notable because Los Angeles had the top scoring defense in the league coming into that contest. The Bucs beat the Chargers with the pass (Baker Mayfield threw for four touchdowns, while Mike Evans accounted for 159 yards and two scores) and the run (223 yards on the ground, led by Bucky Irving's 117 yards) and there might have been more if not for two Tampa Bay turnovers. The Buccaneers' offense clearly isn't as sexy as those operating in Buffalo or Detroit. However, you can't argue with the results Coen has created. This unit lost wide receiver Chris Godwin for the season and Evans for three games to a hamstring injury. It still ranked fifth in the league in scoring coming into Sunday, and it's likely to do more damage in the coming weeks. Coen will be a popular name when the head coach hiring cycle begins next month.

LOSERS

1) Dan Campbell: The Lions head coach has kept this team focused on substantial goals all season, which is why the loss to Buffalo had to sting. Detroit's quest to attain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs took a hit because the Lions and Eagles are now tied for the NFC's best record at 12-2. The Lions' hopes of winning the NFC North are suddenly more precarious, as well, as Minnesota is 11-2 and playing a winnable game against Chicago on Monday night (the Vikings and Lions will meet in the season finale). Finally, the Lions keep losing bodies on defense. Three players on that side of the ball didn't finish Sunday's game -- defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Khalil Dorsey -- and this is a team that already had 11 defenders on injured reserve and four others ruled out before Sunday's contest. Campbell has constantly preached grit when it comes to discussing his team. He's finding out just how much this current group has with each passing week.

2) Patrick Mahomes: You typically don't make this list in victory, but that's how bad Mahomes was limping after sustaining an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over Cleveland. It's usually safe to bet on Mahomes to rebound from injuries quickly, as proven by the way he overcame a high ankle sprain in the 2022 playoffs to lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win that year. However, the problem here is two-fold. One is that Mahomes is now in line to play two games in five days (against Houston on Saturday and at Pittsburgh on Christmas Day) as his team tries to stay ahead of Buffalo in the chase for the top seed in the AFC. That's a brutal turnaround for a player who was wincing like he was. The other issue is Kansas City's woeful pass protection. Mahomes has been sacked 35 times this season, which is the most of his career. The Browns didn't get him down, but he was hit often and pressured 17 times, per Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs tried their fourth option at left tackle on Sunday -- left guard Joe Thuney moved to that spot -- but Kansas City finishes the season with games against some of the best pass-rushing defenses in the league (including the Broncos in the regular-season finale). It's hard to see Mahomes avoiding more punishment during that stretch if his mobility is limited. His ability to escape was the main reason he hadn't taken more abuse thus far.

3) Pittsburgh Steelers: This team just delivered a dud in the first leg of a grueling three-game stretch. It wasn't merely that the Steelers lost at Philadelphia on Sunday. It was the way the Eagles thoroughly outplayed them that should've turned heads. Head coach Mike Tomlin prides himself on the way his squad can muck up games and drag opponents into cage matches. Pittsburgh never came anywhere close to creating such problems for the Eagles, who threw the ball all over the place after playing conservative offense for weeks. The Steelers' offense also displayed no ability to keep up with wide receiver George Pickens missing the game due to a hamstring injury. The big takeaway here: He better be healthy if the Steelers want to win in the postseason. It also had to be deflating to see edge rusher T.J. Watt knocked out of the game with an ankle injury. The Steelers see the Ravens next and the Chiefs on Christmas Day. They could easily lose their current spot atop the AFC North if they can't get healthy (and right) quick.

4) Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons once looked like they were going to run away with the NFC South. You know -- back when they were 6-3 and the rest of the division was in disarray. Now you have to wonder how they ever catch the Buccaneers after Tampa Bay beat up on the Chargers. The Falcons go into their Monday night game with Las Vegas needing a victory just to stay one game behind the Bucs in the race for the division crown. Atlanta would've been in better shape had the Bucs lost to Los Angeles, but so much for that. The Chargers were the last winning team Tampa Bay will play in this regular season, as the Bucs finish with Dallas, Carolina and New Orleans. Atlanta could still win the division if it comes down to tiebreakers (it did beat Tampa Bay twice already), but that's a lot to ask at this point. The Falcons are carrying a four-game losing streak into Monday night, while the Bucs have won four in a row. This is the epitome of two teams going in different directions.

5) Anybody in the NFC West who doesn't call Los Angeles home: The wonkiest division in football this season feels like it's about to be won by a team that started the season at 1-4. The Rams should've been left for dead when they were decimated by injuries so early in the season. Instead, they've endured -- and the rest of the division has faced their challenges. The Seahawks had a one-game lead when the weekend began, but the Packers thumped them on Sunday Night Football. The 49ers have fallen so far that they only managed two field goals in a Thursday night loss to the Rams and watched linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refuse to enter the game. The Cardinals did have a positive weekend -- earning a 30-17 win over New England -- but they had lost three in a row before that. The Rams are playing the best football of anybody in the division. They're also healthy and in control of their destiny, since they'll finish the regular season with home games against the Cardinals and Seahawks. You don't want to bet against that.

WORTHY OF DEEP DIVES

1. . Buffalo surpasses the 40-point mark for the second straight week, only this time in a win.
2. . Washington survives after the Saints fail to convert a two-point conversion on the final play of the game.
3. . Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams work some familiar magic in the fourth quarter to help New York rally for the win.

MOST INTRIGUING GAME OF WEEK 16

MVP WATCH

A simple ranking of the top five candidates, which will be updated weekly, depending on performance. Here is how it stands heading into Week 16 (with DraftKings odds as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 16):

EXTRA POINT

My slowly evolving Super Bowl pick, which also will be updated each week, depending on performances: Bills over Lions.

Previous picks:

• Week 14: Lions over Bills
• Week 13: Lions over Bills
• Week 12: Lions over Bills
• Week 11: Lions over Bills
• Week 10: Lions over Bills
• Week 9: Lions over Bills
• Week 8: Lions over Bills
• Week 7: Ravens over Lions
• Week 6: Ravens over Vikings
• Week 5: Ravens over Vikings
• Week 4: Bills over Vikings
• Week 3: Bills over Packers
• Week 2: Lions over Bengals
• Week 1: Lions over Texans

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