20 Biggest Winners and Losers from the NFL's Week 16

What could have been better than football on Christmas Eve? Maybe football on Christmas Day.

We got football on Christmas Night and the world was in proper order.

Santa was very nice to some NFL teams, while others felt the cold sting of coal in their stockings.

Now, many teams that are still in the playoff hunt will be praying for a New Year's Day miracle or help from other teams to make it to the postseason.

We had some great performances this week (Minnesota) and some major disappointments (Tim Tebow). But in all, anytime there is football on the holidays, it is a great thing.

Here are the winners and losers after Week 16.

Loser: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

The shot he took to his knee in the third quarter against Washington reminded me of the hit Joe Theisman took from Lawrence Taylor.

It may not have been that devastating, but it was nasty, nonetheless.

Peterson has suffered injuries this season and having the best runner in the NFL on the shelf is never a good thing.

Winner: Wes Welker, New England Patriots

Welker caught 12 passes from Tom Brady for 138 yards on Saturday in the Patriots' 27-24 come-from-behind win over the Dolphins.

The win gave New England a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.

New England trailed by as many as 17 points in the game before making a comeback.

Loser: Matt Roth, Jacksonville Jaguars

He is on this list because it has been five weeks since Roth has been on the field after suffering a concussion against the Colts.

Roth is one of the main reasons the Jaguars' defense was one of the best in the NFL this season. It also shows that when he is off the field, this team loses something in run defense and putting pressure on the quarterback.

The Jaguars have been decimated by injuries on defense this season.

Winner: Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans

The Jacksonville Jaguars' secondary made Cook look like Kellen Winslow (senior) on Saturday.

In the first half of the 23-17 win by the Titans, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck kept finding the tight end over the middle of the field.

The Jaguars' secondary has been depleted by injuries for most of the second half of the year.

He had eight catches for 169 yards and a score for the afternoon.

Loser: San Diego Chargers' Defense

Just when it looked like Norv Turner was going to possibly get back into the playoff hunt with his team, they meet a Juggernaut in the Detroit Lions.

The secondary allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for 373 yards and surrender 38 points in a 38-10 loss at home.

The Chargers' offense also had issues moving the ball, remaining scoreless until midway through the third period of the game.

Winner: Carolina Panthers' Management

The Panthers knew what they were doing when they selected quarterback Cam Newton first overall in the 2011 NFL draft.

Newton proved to be every bit as good as advertised and broke Peyton Manning's rookie passing mark against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Newton, who had three passing touchdowns and one on the ground, threw for 171 in the 48-16 win, but he also threw a 91-yard pass for a score to Brandon LaFell, which also set a franchise record.

Loser: Early Doucet, Arizona Cardinals

It may go down as the signature play of the Arizona Cardinals' season.

Doucet and the Cardinals rallied from a 23-0 deficit and could have taken the lead. Doucet, by himself in he end zone, tripped and allowed a fourth-quarter pass to sail incomplete.

Arizona is now 7-8 on the season.

Winner: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

Stafford passed Detroit to their first playoff birth since 1999, as the Lions beat the Chargers 38-10.

The win was the third in a row for Detroit, who is now 10-5 on the season.

He finished with 373 yards through the air and now has 4,518 yards on the season to establish the team's single-season team record set by Scott Mitchell in 1995.

Loser: Cleveland Browns

The Browns wasted an 84-yard punt return by Josh Cribbs.

The 20-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was one where penalties hurt the team, and the offense could not generate any true momentum.

Cleveland is now 4-11 on the season.

Winner: David Akers, San Francisco 49ers

Akers kicked a 39-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the contest to help the 49ers beat Seattle 19-17.

Akers set an NFL record this season by connecting on 42 field goals. The win gave the 49ers a 12-3 record this year. They are currently the second seed in the NFC for playoff position.

Loser: Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams

Jackson plays on a team that cannot help him reach the postseason.

The running back rushed for 103 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing him to reach 1,000 yards for the seventh consecutive year.

But the 27-0 loss to Pittsburgh dropped the Rams to 2-13 on the season and in the hunt for the top pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

Winner: New York Giants

The Giants did two things on Sunday that helped their playoff push.

First, they best the crosstown rival Jets 29-14.

And in doing so, they knocked the Philadelphia Eagles out of the playoff hunt, regardless of the fact they had beaten the Cowboys 20-7.

The Giants now face Dallas later this week and control their own destiny. Win and they are in the playoffs.

Loser: Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Things are getting a lot hotter for Morris. His Buccaneers are now 4-11 on the season and have lost their last three games by giving up 41, 31 and 48 points.

On Saturday, the Bucs' defense allowed rookie Cam Newton to score four times and control the game for most of the contest in a 48-16 loss.

Morris could be a casualty of the coaching ranks at the end of the season.

Winner: Charlie Batch, Pittsburgh Steelers

The backup quarterback proved he is still a good game manager in the Steelers' 27-0 win over the hapless Rams.

The win, which brought the Steelers' record to 11-4, still gave them an outside shot to claim the AFC North Division.

The Steelers, playing without the injured Ben Roethlisberger, are tied with Baltimore for the top spot in the division, but they cannot win the division title unless Baltimore loses next week.

The Ravens have beaten the Steelers twice this season.

Loser: Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Romo injured his throwing hand in the first series of the 20-7 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.

Stephen McGee came in and played admirably, throwing for 182 yards and a score, but it was not enough to gain a win.

The Cowboys are now 8-7 and face the New York Giants with the NFC East title on the line.

Winner: Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders

Oakland did the best thing they could to help its playoff cause on Saturday. In beating Kansas City 16-13 in overtime, it still gave them life in claiming the AFC West title, and it eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention.

Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal with 2:13 into the overtime period for the win.

The win left Oakland with an 8-7 record and into a tie at the top of the division.

Loser: Anyone Who Thought Green Bay May Slip After Losing Last Week

Aaron Rodgers proved last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was just a small speed bump. In fact, it may have energized the Green Bay Packers even more.

In a Christmas evening tilt, Rodgers threw for a record five touchdown passes in a 35-21 win over their division rivals, the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay looked like a team that just put its foot on the gas again and is now the top seed in the NFC throughout the playoffs. That means the road to the Super Bowl goes through Wisconsin.

The loss eliminated the Bears from the playoffs and put the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs with at least a wild-card spot.

After last week's loss, the Packers were faced with injuries at receiver and tackle, and their defense is one of the worst in total defense in the NFL.

Winner: Spencer Johnson, Buffalo Bills

The linebacker intercepted Tim Tebow's pass and ran back for a score 18 seconds after Jairus Byrd had scored on an interception off the Broncos quarterback.

The Bills' 40-14 win was a testament to the defense containing the Denver star and the special teams providing great coverage and return yardage.

Leodis McKelvin scored on an 80-yard punt return during the contest as well.

Loser: Philadelphia Eagles

It's a case of winning and losing at the same time.

The Eagles, led by Michael Vick's two touchdowns, beat Dallas 20-7 in Dallas.

While the win continued the team's improbable run toward a playoff spot, the victory by New York earlier in the day killed any chance the team had to reach the postseason.

Winner: Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

Dalton led the Bengals to a 23-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The win gave Cincinnati a 9-6 record and the first winning record in the franchise's last 21 years.

It also kept the Bengals in the playoff hunt in the AFC.

Dalton threw two touchdowns in the game.