NFL Player News
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Bryce Young QB | CAR
Panthers' Bryce Young: Serviceable numbers in loss
Young completed 15 of 28 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed twice for eight yards in the Panthers' 48-14 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday. He also fumbled twice, but Carolina retained possession both times.
Young wasn't very efficient during the lopsided loss, but he was able to salvage his fantasy day with touchdown passes of 17 and 40 yards to Adam Thielen in the first half. The second-year signal-caller otherwise found success hard to come by against what had been a vulnerable Buccaneers pass defense, and he extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown pass to nine. Young, who has undeniably improved since returning to the starting role in Week 8, will look to close out the campaign on a positive note on the road against the Falcons in Week 18.
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Mac Jones QB | SF
Jaguars' Mac Jones: Keeps offense on schedule
Jones completed 15 of his 22 passes for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Sunday's 20-13 win over the Titans.
The Jaguars never trailed in the game and had a 13-0 lead by halftime. That allowed the ground game to be the focus of the offense, though Jones delivered when called upon. He completed a pair of passes when given a short field early in the second quarter, which concluded with a two-yard touchdown toss to Parker Washington. He later orchestrated a 16-play, 74 yard drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown to Brian Thomas that sealed the win for the Jaguars early in the fourth quarter, a possession that also included a deep 24-yard completion to Washington. Jones had a rocky beginning to his time as the starter in Jacksonville, though he's led a relatively competent offense in recent weeks and has multiple touchdowns in three of his last five games.
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Tyrod Taylor QB | NYJ
Jets' Tyrod Taylor: Mops up in lopsided loss
Taylor completed 11 of 14 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 40-14 loss to the Bills. He also threw a two-point conversion while playing the fourth quarter.
Taylor entered the game with the Jets trailing 40-0 in the fourth quarter and at least managed to deliver a modicum of respectability to the final stat line with two touchdown passes in as many drives. He connected with Garrett Wilson for a nine-yard score, then found Tyler Conklin for the two-point conversion before adding a 20-yard touchdown pass to Conklin. Rodgers is expected to start as usual against the Dolphins in Week 18, relegating Taylor back to the bench.
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Mason Rudolph QB | PIT
Titans' Mason Rudolph: Struggles against Jags
Rudolph completed 19 of 31 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 20-13 loss to the Jaguars. He added five rushes for 23 yards.
Rudolph drew his second consecutive start and had a mixed performance relative to his opportunities in 2024. Positively, he only turned the ball over once, though he was also sacked three times. While Rudolph completed a decent percentage of his passes, he was unable to push the ball down the field until the game was out of reach -- both of his completions of more than 20 yards coming with under five minutes of game time remaining. He'll likely remain the starter for Tennessee's season finale against Houston, though his status will be worth monitoring during the week.
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Aaron Rodgers QB | PIT
Jets' Aaron Rodgers: Fails to throw 500th TD
Rodgers completed 12 of 18 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions in Sunday's 40-14 loss to the Bills.
The Jets' first two drives both got inside Buffalo's 25-yard line, but the first ended in a turnover on downs and the second ended in a Rodgers interception. Rodgers was then sacked for a safety on the following drive as the Jets took a 12-0 deficit into the locker room. Things got even worse in the second half, as Rodgers was picked off again in the third quarter, and the Jets turned to Tyrod Taylor after taking a 33-0 deficit into the fourth quarter. Rodgers remains stuck on 499 career regular-season touchdown passes, and he'll have one last chance to throw No. 500 this season against the Dolphins in Week 18.
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Baker Mayfield QB | TB
Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield: Five-touchdown day in win
Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 359 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed once for two yards in the Buccaneers' 48-14 win over the Panthers on Sunday.
The Buccaneers were in must-win mode as a whole, and Mayfield was the personification of that mindset right from the start of the lopsided victory. The veteran signal-caller capped off a crisp opening drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans, and he connected with his No. 1 target again from one yard out in the second quarter. Mayfield would also facilitate end-zone trips for Jalen McMillan (10, 16 yards) and Payne Durham (five yards) before the afternoon was over, tying a career high and establishing a new season-best tally in scoring tosses. Mayfield also pushed his career-high season touchdown total to 39 with his fourth straight multi-TD effort, and he'll have a chance to build on all of his stellar numbers during a Week 18 home battle versus the Saints.
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Drew Lock QB | SEA
Giants' Drew Lock: Five total TDs in upset win
Lock completed 17 of 23 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's 45-33 win over the Colts. He also rushed five times for no gain and scored a rushing touchdown.
Lock threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers in the first quarter, then added touchdowns of 32 yards to Darius Slayton and five yards to Wan'Dale Robinson in the second. After a quiet third quarter, Lock came alive with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Nabers in the fourth quarter, then ran in a game-sealing five-yard touchdown with 2:57 remaining. This productive outing came out of nowhere considering Lock came in with a 1:4 TD:INT in three previous starts this season. After posting his best passing yardage total since a 339-yard performance in Week 18 of the 2021 season with the Broncos, Lock will look to put on an encore in Week 18 against an Eagles team that has already wrapped up the NFC East.
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Josh Allen QB | BUF
Bills' Josh Allen: Three total TDs add to MVP case
Allen completed 16 of 27 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns while rushing five times for 17 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 40-14 win over the Jets.
Allen capitalized on a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone on Buffalo's opening drive, powering in a one-yard rushing score on the next play. Neither team scored another touchdown until Allen connected with Amari Cooper for a 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That touchdown pass brought Allen up to 40 total touchdowns for the fifth consecutive season (27 passing, 12 rushing and one receiving), and he tacked on his 28th passing score with a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman to put the Bills up 33-0 in the final seconds of the third quarter before letting Mitchell Trubisky mop up for the entire fourth quarter. Allen has started 104 consecutive regular-season games for the Bills, so it wouldn't be surprising if he made a brief cameo against the Patriots in Week 18 to extend that streak before the Bills rest him and the rest of the starters in preparation for the playoffs, as Buffalo's locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
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Kenny Pickett QB | CAR
Eagles' Kenny Pickett: Departs early Sunday
Pickett exited Sunday's contest against the Cowboys due to a rib injury, EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Pickett came in for Jalen Hurts last Sunday at Washington after the latter suffered a concussion, but the former emerged from that game with a rib issue. While Pickett had some practice limitations this week, he was named the Eagles' Week 17 starting quarterback in place of Hurts, who was ruled out Friday. Pickett was wearing extra protection around his midsection due to the aforementioned injury Sunday, but he took two big hits from Dallas defenders on the first possession of the second half and was unable to finish the drive. Pickett then went to the locker room, yielding QB duties to Tanner McKee.
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Brett Rypien QB | MIN
Vikings' Brett Rypien: Emergency QB again
Rypien (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Packers, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The QB cannot enter unless Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens exit due to injury, illness or ejection. Rypien has played this role all season for the Vikings, and he has yet to appear in a regular-season game.