Lumps of coal
| Week 16 results | ||||
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| 139-101 5-11 |
151-89 10-6 |
141-99 9-7 |
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| Thursday, December 21, 2023 | ||||
| New Orleans @ L.A. Rams | New Orleans | L.A. Rams | L.A. Rams | |
| Saturday, December 23, 2023 | ||||
| Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | |
| Buffalo @ L.A. Chargers | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | |
| Sunday, December 24, 2023 | ||||
| Indianapolis @ Atlanta | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Atlanta | |
| Green Bay @ Carolina | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | |
| Cleveland @ Houston | Houston | Cleveland | Cleveland | |
| Detroit @ Minnesota | Minnesota | Detroit | Detroit | |
| Washington @ N.Y. Jets | N.Y. Jets | N.Y. Jets | Washington | |
| Seattle @ Tennessee | Tennessee | Seattle | Seattle | |
| Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | |
| Arizona @ Chicago | Arizona | Chicago | Chicago | |
| Dallas @ Miami | Dallas | Miami | Dallas | |
| New England @ Denver | Denver | Denver | Denver | |
| Monday, December 25, 2023 | ||||
| Las Vegas @ Kansas City | Kansas City | Kansas City | Kansas City | |
| N.Y. Giants @ Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | |
| Baltimore @ San Francisco | Baltimore | San Francisco | San Francisco | |
| © 2023 Gehlke Bros. Football | ||||
There were no Christmas miracles in Week 16, unless you consider avoiding a 7-game sweep to be a miracle — which it sort of was, considering that the only split won by the Senior Bro was Monday night’s finale between the Ravens and the 49ers. It was sort of like that one hidden present on Christmas morning after all the other gifts have been unwrapped and you’re thinking to yourself, “That’s it?”
Well yes. That, pretty much, is it. At least as far as the 2023 GBF season is concerned. With 32 games remaining on the regular season schedule, about the only thing separating Sean from a record sixth straight Surfy Trophy would be a record-setting collapse, and already Glenn seems to have that title cornered, going from 5 games back two weeks ago to 12 down now. That’s the sort of thing that can happen when weeks of futility turn into desperation as the season winds down.
The seven splits on the table in Week 16 easily were the most we’ve seen this season. Things got off to a rocky start for the Senior Bro right off the bat when the Rams dominated the Saints, 30-22, to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. After a pair of meaningless Saturday games, the losses continued to mount on Christmas Eve when Cleveland downed Houston, 36-26; Detroit edged Minnesota, 30-24; and Seattle took care of Tennessee, 20-17 to guarantee Sean another winning week. But the hits kept coming in the afternoon frame, when Chicago beat Arizona, 27-16, and Miami held off Dallas with the last-second field goal, 22-20.
It was perhaps for the best that Glenn wasn’t glued to his TV this weekend, otherwise engaged in Christmas preparations and celebrations, so as to avoid watching Santa deliver all these lumps of coal to his weighty stocking. It was a kindness that he correctly called the Ravens win over the 49ers, 33-19, on Monday night — just his second split victory for the month of December.
Sean easily won a not-so-easy week, going 10-6. Ben gave him a good run for the money by finishing 9-7, but fell 10 games off the pace in the overall standings despite regaining sole possession of second place. Glenn turned in one of his worst weeks in years, going 5-11 for a third-place finish that puts him 12 games behind Sean in the Surfy standings. We were all correct with our picks of Buffalo, Green Bay, and Philadelphia. No one correctly predicted wins by Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, New England or Las Vegas.
