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When we get this late into the NFL season, the games obviously start to mean more and more to certain teams.  As a result, Week 16 brought us even closer to a clear playoff picture, with several teams clinching spots and several teams finding themselves eliminated from the 2005 postseason.  In addition, a couple of teams found themselves back at the top of their divisions and in a great position to win divisional championships in the final week of the regular season.  Let's take a quick look back at some of the best action from Saturday's and Sunday's games.

Chicago Bears over Green Bay Packers
The Chicago Bears made several statements in Sunday's 24-17 win over the Green Bay Packers.  First, they showed that they still take the Green Bay rivalry seriously.  All Bears fans will tell you that Packers' quarterback Brett Favre has been Chicago's number one nemesis since he took over the starting job in Green Bay way back in 1992.  In fact, in all that time, the Bears have only won a couple of games against the Packers and have never swept the season series.  Until this year.  

The Bears had Rex Grossman at the helm for this game, and he helped the offense make another statement on the very first play from scrimmage when he threw the ball downfield to wide receiver Bernard Berrian.  Though the pass was incomplete, the play helped the Bears serve notice that with Grossman, they have another dimension to their offense:  a passing game.  Grossman completed 11 of 23 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.  While those are hardly numbers that will land him into the Hall of Fame, they are significantly better than anything rookie Kyle Orton was able to produce on a consistent basis in his 15 starts this year.

Running back Thomas Jones carried the ball 25 times for 105 yards and a score, providing the Chicago offense with the balanced attack that has been lacking all season long.  Wide receiver Mushin Muhammad caught 5 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bears in that category.

The Chicago defense made a statement of their own on Sunday.  They intercepted Favre four times, including once on a desperation pass with time running out to preserve the victory.  The defense has played strong all season, and now with the offense coming around, the Bears are definitely a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.  

With the win, Chicago clinched a playoff berth, a first round bye, and the NFC North championship all in one fell swoop.  It was definitely a great Christmas present for all Bears fans!

The Bears will wind up their regular season against the Minnesota Vikings next week in what has now become a meaningless game.  But you can expect Grossman and a lot of the other starters to continue seeing action in order to get as much playing time as possible with each other before the playoffs start.

Baltimore Ravens over Minnesota Vikings
After a horrible 2-5 start through the first seven games of the season, the Vikings reeled off six consecutive victories.  Those six wins brought them right back into the thick of the playoff hunt in the weak NFC North division.  But with a loss last week in Pittsburgh, and a devastating 30-23 setback against the Ravens, the Vikings have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.  

Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller delivered a solid performance for the second week in a row, and showed flashes of the promising style of play that made him a number one draft pick back in 2003.  Boller was 24 out of 34 for 289 yards and three touchdowns.  In doing so, he spread the offense around by hitting six different receivers on the day.  Boller's favorite target was wide receiver Derrick Mason.  Those two hooked up a total of nine times for 103 yards and one touchdown.  The Ravens also got good game out of running back Jamal Lewis, who has had his problems at other times this season. Against the Vikings, Lewis carried the ball 24 times for 74 yards, including a long of 19.  

The Vikings' offense was able to come up with 23 points on the day, but a costly error in the 4th Quarter removed any hope for a victory.  Quarterback Brad Johnson, who is one of the players largely responsible for the Vikings' stunning turnaround this season, fumbled the ball after he was sacked by Adalius Thomas with just under two minutes left to play in regulation.  The Ravens converted that turnover into a field goal to increase their lead to 30-20.  Minnesota was able to get a field goal on their next possession, making it a 30-23 game with less than 20 seconds left to play.  The Vikings attempted an onside kick, but that was recovered by Baltimore to seal Minnesota's fate.

Johnson finished the game with 248 yards on 25 completions.  He also had two touchdowns, bringing his season total to ten.  Running back Mewelde Moore gained 49 yards on 10 carries, and tight end Jermaine Wiggins caught seven passes for 43 yards to lead the Vikings in those categories.

Kansas City Chiefs over San Diego Chargers
There's no question that the Chargers have had their ups and downs this season.  Most people expected a lot more consistency from the team, especially as stars LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, and Antonio Gates all returned for another year together.  And while a 9-6 record would be enough to keep the Chargers alive in some other playoff races, the AFC West is just too tough this year for that to be the case.  So, with their 20-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, San Diego will not be making a repeat appearance in the playoffs.

This loss was especially tough to take considering the Chargers had just defeated the previously unbeaten Indianapolis Colts one week before.  But this week, the high-powered offense led by the above-mentioned stars simply couldn't get anything going.  Quarterback Drew Brees completed just 18 of 33 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.  Running back LaDainian Tomlinson was effectively shut down by the Kansas City defense.  Tomlinson managed to gain just 49 yards on 15 carries and was held out of the end zone for fourth straight game.  The Chargers simply don't have the same chance at success without Tomlinson's contributions.  Meanwhile, Gates caught four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown, but didn't generate the kind of production that San Diego fans are used to.  

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs are still (barely) in the running for a postseason berth.  They need a combination of things to happen, which includes winning their next game against the Cincinnati Bengals.  In addition, the Chargers must lose again next week versus the Denver Broncos, and, in the most unlikely scenario of all, the Detroit Lions must beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.  If those three things happen, the Chiefs are in.  

They are in the position to make the playoffs because Larry Johnson once again came up big on offense.  The third year running back out of Penn State has been virtually unstoppable since taking over the starting job after Priest Holmes was sidelined with an injury.  Johnson carried the ball 32 times against the Chargers and gained 131 yards.  It was Johnson's eighth consecutive 100-yard effort.  He also scored a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, bringing his season total to 18.  

Quarterback Trent Green also had a good game for the Chiefs.  Green completed 19 out of 35 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns on the day.  More importantly, he limited his mistakes and was not intercepted.  Tight end Tony Gonzalez had 5 catches for 58 yards, and wide receiver Samie Parker had four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown to round out the Kansas City offensive production.

Seattle Seahawks over Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts organization was dealt a blow late in the week as the news of the tragic death of head coach Tony Dungy's son reached media outlets across the country.  Coach Dungy left the team in order to be with his family in Florida, and assistant Jim Caldwell will assume head coaching duties until Dungy returns.  This tragedy, coupled with the fact that the Colts have already sealed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and the fact that the Colts' bid for an undefeated season ended with last week's loss to the Chargers, meant that Indianapolis most likely wouldn't be bringing their "A" game to Seattle.

And as it turned out, that's what happened.  As expected, Indianapolis rested most of their starters.  Quarterback Peyton Manning played in just one quarter and completed 9 out of 12 passes for 116 yards before giving way to backup Jim Sorgi.  Sorgi actually didn't look too bad, but he clearly doesn't bring the firepower to the game that Manning does.  Sorgi was 22 of 31 for 237 yards and one touchdown on the day.

Running back Edgerrin James carried the ball just 13 times for 41 yards in limited action.  Wide receiver Brandon Stokely had a good game for the Colts.  He caught five passes for 122 yards on the day.

The Seahawks still had something to play for.  They also wanted home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and that's just what they got with Saturday's victory over the Colts.  Running back Shaun Alexander came up big for the home team, as he has done throughout the entire season.  Alexander carried the ball 21 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 26.  That ties an NFL record set by Priest Holmes, and the early word is that Alexander will play in next week's meaningless matchup against the Green Bay Packers in an attempt to break the single-season touchdown record.  He certainly deserves it!

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck also turned in another good performance for the Seahawks.  He completed 17 out of 21 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions, which translated into an excellent 131.7 passer rating.  Tight end Jerramy Stevens hauled in five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Darrell Jackson chipped in 3 catches for 34 yards in the game.

The Colts will wrap up their regular season against the Arizona Cardinals next week.  You can expect the backups to see plenty of playing time in that game as well.