When the MVP chants are audible for a player on the visiting team, he's probably doing something right.
That was the case for second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who led the New England Patriots to a come-from-behind 28-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
The victory clinched a playoff spot for the 12-3 Patriots and levelled with them for the Denver Broncos for the best record in the AFC.
But more importantly, it was a strong show of resilience after last Sunday's collapse against the Buffalo Bills.
Down 11 points in the final quarter, Maye orchestrated two touchdown drives to complete the first fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Maye threw for 380 yards — the first time in his career he's eclipsed the 300-yard mark — while completing 70 per cent of his passes.
It was a performance worthy of the MVP serenades he received on the road, and essentially assures that the award will come down to him and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at the end of the season.
On the Ravens' side of things, it was a loss that summed up a disappointing season. Star QB Lamar Jackson was forced to exit the game in the second quarter with a back injury, a devastating blow, especially with Baltimore's playoff hopes hanging in the balance.
It was another injury for Jackson, who was already forced to miss time earlier this season. Jackson's injury-plagued campaign, combined with an inability to finish games, has made the Ravens look like a shell of what many expected them to be at the start of the season.
After Sunday's loss, the 7-8 Ravens no longer control their own playoff destiny. A win by the Pittsburgh Steelers next week or a Ravens loss will eliminate Baltimore from the post-season and make the Week 18 finale between the two division rivals irrelevant.
Meanwhile, for the Patriots, they are officially headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 with an MVP favourite leading the way.
Here are some other takeaways from Week 16:
Lions' playoff hopes dealt big blow after bizarre ending vs. Steelers
The Detroit Lions entered Week 16 knowing they basically had to win out to have any chance at making it to the post-season.
Which makes the way they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday all the more heartbreaking.
Trailing by 29-24 late in the fourth quarter, the Lions drove the length of the field and were in position to score a walk-off touchdown.
On the last play of the game, Jared Goff connected on a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown just short of the goal line. As he was stood up by Steelers defenders, St. Brown lateraled the ball back to Goff, who appeared to dive in for a game-winning touchdown.
But with a flag on the field and both teams convinced they had won the game, the referees huddled up to discuss the play.
After an agonizingly long conversation, the officials announced that there was an offensive pass-interference penalty on St. Brown that negated the TD, and the Steelers walked away with a 29-24 victory.
Right call or not, it was a devastating blow to Detroit's playoff chances. The Lions now have just a six per cent chance of making the post-season, per NFL.com.
Their only hope is to win their final two games and have the Green Bay Packers lose both of their final two.
For a team that started the season with Super Bowl aspirations, Sunday's loss was another chapter in what had been a frustrating season in Detroit.
Jaguars are for real
It's official, the Jacksonville Jaguars are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Despite entering Sunday's matchup against the Denver Broncos on a five-game win streak, the Jaguars still seemed to be getting a lack of respect around the league.
Heck, Broncos head coach Sean Payton even referred to Jacksonville as a "smaller market" this week in the lead-up to the game.
The Jaguars responded by taking it to Payton's team on Sunday, as they thoroughly outplayed the Broncos in a 34-20 road win and ended Denver's 11-game win streak in the process.
"Grateful that a small market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done," Jaguars first-year head coach Liam Coen told reporters after the game.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Sunday's win was what the Jaguars did to the stellar Broncos defence.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence continued the best stretch of his career, as he accounted for another four TDs (three passing, one rushing) in the win, which now gives him 10 over his past two games.
Against a Broncos defence that may very well break the record for sacks in a season, Lawrence stood in amongst the chaos and made a number of big-time throws that Denver had no answer for.
The victory not only keeps the 11-4 Jags in the AFC South driver's seat, but also puts them in contention for the AFC's No. 1 seed. Just one game back of the 12-3 Broncos, the Jaguars now own the head-to-head tiebreaker if Denver were to have another loss in its final two games.
But regardless of where the Jaguars end up in the playoff seeding, Sunday proved they can beat any team the league has to offer.
Panthers take control of NFC South
There hasn't been a more Jekyll and Hyde team in the NFL this season than the Carolina Panthers.
But credit where credit is due, when they needed it, the good version of the Panthers showed up on Sunday.
After a shocking loss to the New Orleans Saints last week, the Panthers bounced back in Week 16 with a massive 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The victory moves the Panthers 8-7, one game up on the now 7-8 Buccaneers in the NFC South.
Most importantly, the Panthers have now guaranteed that in the Week 18 rematch with the Bucs, they will have a chance to clinch the division title no matter what happens next week.
Which is especially key given that the Panthers host the NFC-leading Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.
For Tampa Bay, the loss continues what has been a downward spiral for Baker Mayfield's squad. The Buccaneers have now lost six of their past seven games, and will need to beat the Miami Dolphins next week if they want to guarantee themselves a shot at redemption in Week 18.
Herbert doing it all for surging Chargers
Justin Herbert isn't currently in the MVP discussion, but perhaps he should be.
Because the argument could be made that no QB in the league is doing more to lead his team to the post-season.
Down both of his star tackles for the season and playing with a broken hand, Herbert has been the driving force in what is a four-game Chargers win streak after Sunday's 34-17 triumph over the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite being hit league-high 123 times this season, Herbert has played through the pressure and the pain and has the Chargers at 11-4 and on the verge of clinching a playoff spot.
Herbert threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Dallas, the 31st time he's thrown for at least 300 since he entered the league in 2020.
It was another reminder of why, no matter who Herbert has protecting him, the Chargers will always be a threat with him under centre.
“He's amazing, his accuracy, his escapability, his ability to throw on the run,” said Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs of Herbert after the game. “He's got it all.”
AFC's No. 1 seed up for grabs
It's crowded at the top in the AFC.
At 12-3, the Broncos and Patriots are the front-runners for the conference's No. 1 seed and the coveted first-round bye that comes along with it.
But the Jaguars, Chargers and Buffalo Bills are all sitting just one game back at 11-4.
With just two games left in the regular season, the jockeying for the top seeds should be a fascinating watch in the AFC.
2:06