NFL Player News
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Caleb Williams QB | CHI
Bears' Caleb Williams: Comes on late in Week 18 loss
Williams completed 20 of 33 passes for 212 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while rushing once for one yard in the Bears' 19-16 loss to the Lions on Sunday. He also threw a two-point conversion pass.
Williams couldn't lead the Bears to any points in the first three quarters, but he helped Chicago's offense come alive in the fourth to make things interesting. Williams particularly had his connection with rookie tight end Colston Loveland clicking, as the latter was on the receiving end of 10 of Williams' completions, 91 receiving yards and one of his two touchdowns, from one yard out. Williams also connected with Jahdae Walker from 25 yards out early in the fourth quarter, finishing with a pair of TD tosses for the fifth straight game to close out the campaign. Williams undeniably took a step forward in his first season under the tutelage of head coach Ben Johnson while throwing for 3,942 yards and posting a 27:7 TD:INT, but he'll need to achieve more quarter-to-quarter consistency for the Bears to succeed in the postseason beginning with next weekend's home wild-card matchup against the Packers.
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Jared Goff QB | DET
Lions' Jared Goff: Carves up Bears in finale
Goff completed 27 of 42 passes for 331 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Lions' 19-16 win over the Bears on Sunday.
Goff effectively led a relatively pass-heavy attack throughout the afternoon, focusing the majority of his attention -- with great efficacy -- on Amon-Ra St. Brown, who ended up on the receiving end of 11 of his completions for 139 yards. Goff also hit Jahmyr Gibbs for his one touchdown pass from 15 yards out with under five minutes remaining in the first half, and he managed to lead the Lions to a winning record in an otherwise disappointing, non-playoff season. Goff put together another highly fantasy-friendly regular season, completing 68.0 percent of his passes for 4,564 yards and a 34:8 TD:INT while adding 19 rush attempts for 45 yards and playing all 17 games for the fourth consecutive campaign.
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Brady Cook QB | NYJ
Jets' Brady Cook: Throws for 60 yards in Week 18
Cook completed 11 of 22 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown while rushing three times for seven yards in Sunday's 35-8 loss to the Bills. He also threw a two-point conversion.
The Jets couldn't get anything going in the regular-season finale, even against a Bills team that played its key starters sparingly, if at all. Cook avoided the embarrassment of being shut out to end the season by throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Beck with 7:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the undrafted rookie quarterback added a two-point conversion to Quentin Skinner. The Jets are expected to select a quarterback with the second overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but even if they don't, Cook has shown he may not be the answer under center with just 739 passing yards and a 2:7 TD:INT across five regular-season appearances (four starts).
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Josh Allen QB | BUF
Bills' Josh Allen: Plays one snap in Week 18
Allen didn't attempt a pass in Sunday's 35-8 win over the Jets. He finished the regular season with 3,668 passing yards and a 25:10 TD:INT along with 579 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
Allen extended his streak of consecutive starts to 127 regular-season games when he handed the ball off on the first play before letting backup Mitchell Trubisky handle the rest of the game. Buffalo entered the contest locked into a wild-card spot in the AFC and ultimately landed the No. 6 seed, which entails a trip to Jacksonville to face the third-seeded Jaguars in the wild-card round.
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Brandon Allen QB | TEN
Titans' Brandon Allen: First appearance of 2025 season
Allen completed 17 of 30 passes for 72 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 41-7 loss to the Jaguars.
Allen was forced into the game at the start of Tennessee's second offensive possession to make his first appearance of the season. He went on to have a dismal performance, averaging only 2.4 yards per attempt, even with a long completion of 21 yards. Allen will hit free agency this offseason and will likely be competing for a backup job in 2026.
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Quinn Ewers QB | MIA
Dolphins' Quinn Ewers: Hurt in season finale
Ewers (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Patriots.
Ewers got injured in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing by a significant margin. Prior to getting hurt, he completed 16 of 23 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing once for nine yards. The rookie seventh-round pick started the final three games of Miami's season, posting a 3:3 TD:INT prior to picking up the injury.
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C.J. Stroud QB | HOU
Texans' C.J. Stroud: Delivers two TDs in Week 18 win
Stroud completed 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-30 win over the Colts. He added five rushing yards and a TD on two carries.
With the Texans coming into Sunday with a chance to win the AFC South, Stroud got the start and connected with Jayden Higgins on an 11-yard score before running in a two-yard TD himself, both in the second quarter. With the out-of-town scoreboard not cooperating and the Jaguars winning big, however, Stroud gave way to Davis Mills in the second half. Stroud wraps up the regular season with a career-high 64.5 percent completion rate, along with 3,041 passing yards and a 19:8 TD:INT in 14 games, and he'll be under center in the wild-card round when Houston hits the road to take on the winner of Sunday night's Baltimore-Pittsburgh clash to decide the AFC North.
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Cooper Rush QB | BAL
Ravens' Cooper Rush: Emergency QB for Week 18
Rush (coach's decision) is inactive but will serve as the Ravens' emergency quarterback for Sunday night's game against the Steelers.
Rush served as the backup to Tyler Huntley in Week 17 against the Packers, but the former will revert to his emergency role after Lamar Jackson was cleared to play Week 18. As such, Rush will not be allowed to play Sunday unless both Jackson and Huntley leave the game due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Riley Leonard QB | IND
Colts' Riley Leonard: Produces three TDs in first start
Leonard completed 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in Sunday's 38-30 loss to the Texans. He added 21 rushing yards and a TD on three carries but lost two fumbles.
Despite the turnovers, it was a surprisingly productive performance from the sixth-round rookie in his first career NFL start against an elite Houston defense that still had something to play for when the game began. Both of Leonard's passing TDs went to Alec Pierce, and the QB's one-yard rushing score in the third quarter briefly gave Indy a 24-23 lead. The Colts' quarterback situation heading into 2026 remains murky with Daniel Jones (Achilles) a free agent and Anthony Richardson (eye) barely playing this season and getting little chance to further his development, but Leonard is unlikely to find himself at the top of the depth chart in Week 1.