Week 16 By Design: Breaking down Sunday's best plays

Here is a look at the well-designed and well-executed plays from Week 16:

Passing Design of the Week: Eagles 'Sail' to comeback win over Texans

The Eagles' playoff hopes looked to be fading Sunday afternoon.

Holding a 13-point lead with just over five minutes remaining, a fumble by Josh Adams set the stage for 14 unanswered points from the visiting Houston Texans. To make matters worse, Nick Foles took a huge hit from Jadeveon Clowney and was in some pain as he and Philadelphia tried to recapture the lead.

Facing a critical third down on the cusp of field-goal range with under 90 seconds remaining, the Eagles turned to a "Sail" concept, flooding the right side of the field with three receivers, leaving tight end Zach Ertz on an out pattern along the sideline:

NFL/CBS

Philadelphia catches the Texans in man coverage here, and as linebacker Zach Cunningham tries to blanket running back Darren Sproles on his swing route, he runs into safety Tyrann Mathieu, who is covering Ertz. The two defenders collide, freeing up the tight end for the game's critical play:

Your browser does not support the video tag. NFL/CBS

The pattern and formation create traffic for the defense, and the result is a collision between the two defenders. Ertz is easily able to find some space in the secondary to keep the Eagles' playoff hopes alive.

Rushing Design of the Week: 'Gus the Bus' steamrolls Chargers' run D

In Week 15, the Los Angeles Chargers knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium thanks to a final-second, two-point conversion. The win kept the Chargers in contention for the AFC West title, provided they took care of business this week against Baltimore.

The Ravens weren't having any of it, though.

Baltimore went out west and provided a statement win of its own, toppling the Chargers, 22-10. As has been their recipe these past few weeks, the Ravens relied on defense, some timely play from rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, and the ground attack to pull off the road win. The Ravens' rushing game provided a spark on the first offensive play with this 43-yard run from Gus Edwards:

Your browser does not support the video tag. NFL Network

Here, the Ravens run a zone-read play out of the pistol formation. Jackson's first read is Melvin Ingram, and after seeing the defensive end stay home, he hands the ball to Edwards, who gets a huge hole due to the blocking design.

Your browser does not support the video tag. NFL Network

In this play, center Matt Skura (No. 68) blocks down on the nose tackle, which allows left guard James Hurst (No. 74) to pull to the right, as well as tight end Maxx Williams (No. 87). On the right side, right guard Marshal Yanda (No. 73) and right tackle Orlando Brown (No. 78) work a combination block, double-teaming the defensive tackle before Brown climbs to the second level. This creates a crease for Edwards, who bursts through for 43 yards.

When the Ravens switched to Jackson, it was Edwards who benefited the most, as his north-south running style is a perfect match for the zone-read rushing game. As this play indicates, the Ravens could ride this to the playoffs - and beyond.

Pressure Design of the Week: Rams' Donald breaks sack record against Cardinals

It should be a rules violation to give Aaron Donald help.

The Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman continued his assault on opposing quarterbacks Sunday, dropping Arizona Cardinals' Josh Rosen three times while setting a league record for sacks by a defensive tackle in a single season. The record-breaker came early in the fourth quarter and arrived courtesy of a well-executed inside stunt.

Below, Rosen stands in shotgun formation while the Rams show just four pass-rushers. If you look at the defensive front, you will see how the Rams widen their alignments in the interior, including Donald, who is on the outside shoulder of the left guard.

NFL/FOX

The twist inside is executed by Donald and Ndamukong Suh. Suh begins the play on the outside shoulder of the right guard, and he attacks into the A-gap between the right guard and center. As Suh occupies those two blockers, Donald loops around behind him and has a free shot at Rosen:

Your browser does not support the video tag. NFL/FOX

Donald is untouched as he angles behind his teammate, and Rosen has no choice but to cover up the football.

Coverage Design of the Week: Jackson picks off Allen as Patriots upend Bills

Despite the inconsistent season put together by the New England Patriots, their victory over the Buffalo Bills earned them a 10th straight divisional title. It was their defense and ground game that stole the show Sunday, harkening back to the start of the Patriots' run of dominance in the AFC East.

While the New England defense has gone through some ups and downs, the emergence of rookie cornerback J.C. Jackson has been a bright spot. The undrafted free agent out of Maryland has grown into a starter opposite Stephon Gilmore and added to his impressive campaign with his third interception of the season.

Early in the second quarter, the Bills trailed by 14 points with the ball near midfield. Below, the offense tries to run a "Smash" concept, putting two receivers in the flat and crossing a third into the corner, working from right to left:

NFL/CBS

The Patriots run a combination coverage (Cover 3 Mable) on this play:

NFL/CBS

Gilmore is left alone on the backside and is in "MEG," or "Man Everywhere he Goes" coverage on his receiver. To the rest of the formation, the Patriots run a pattern matching Cover 3. Jackson - highlighted by the red box - is responsible for the deep outside, but as the play begins, he sees the two receivers on the outside running shorter routes, and reads the corner route from the intended target, Deonte Thompson. Cornerback Jonathan Jones is trailing Thompson in a pattern-match scheme, essentially covering him in man coverage. Jackson studies the eyes of the quarterback and drops under the pass:

Your browser does not support the video tag. NFL/CBS

This is a savvy play from the rookie UDFA.

Game Plan of the Week - John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens kept themselves in contention for the AFC North title with their impressive road victory against the Chargers. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale deserves the bulk of the credit, as the Ravens' defense held Philip Rivers under 200 yards passing and forced two interceptions from the veteran quarterback. The Ravens' defense is reminding fans of the old Baltimore defenses that propelled the purple and black to two different Super Bowl titles. Their performance on Saturday night has fans dreaming of a third.

Mark Schofield writes NFL feature content for theScore. After nearly a decade of practicing law in the Washington, D.C., area Mark changed careers and started writing about football. Drawing upon more than a decade of playing quarterback, including at the collegiate level, Mark focuses his work on quarterback evaluation and offensive scheme analysis. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children. Find him on Twitter @MarkSchofield.

Copyright (C) 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.