Marc Sessler already described the five runs that explain Week 16. Now it's time for the five defining throws.
I was debating whether to spin positive from the Cincinnati Bengals' 13-10 win Sunday and roll with Andy Dalton's game-winning toss to A.J. Green. Or to go negative and pick a more typical play from the defensive battle: Ben Roethlisberger's interception that ended the Pittsburgh Steelers' playoff chances.
And then I realized our glorious video department had cut them together in one nifty package. Watch the Bengals get a monkey off their collective back.
Seattle Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson was nearly flawless in the red zone Sunday night in his team's 42-13 romp over the San Francisco 49ers. But we loved this deep strike to Doug Baldwin even better. When Wilson sees single coverage, he doesn't hesitate.
When this season started, we expected the Baltimore Ravens to have one of the NFL's most explosive offenses. Good Joe Flacco was back Sunday against the New York Giants. This team has more than enough talent to make noise in the playoffs. This throw and catch to Torrey Smith was outstanding.
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III had a relatively quiet return to the field Sunday. Relatively. We had to include this teardrop pass for a touchdown because it was so darn pretty.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is playing his best football at the end of the season. He has struggled to deal with pressure at times in his career, but the third-down throw below shows the progress he has made. This is a championship-level play. At a moment when the Detroit Lions were rallying, this throw kept a drive alive and eventually led to a touchdown in the Falcons' 31-18 win.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
