NFL Player News
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Mason Rudolph QB | PIT
Titans' Mason Rudolph: Replaces Levis in Week 15 loss
Rudolph completed 21 of 26 passes for 209 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in Sunday's 37-27 loss to the Bengals. He added two rushes for 14 yards.
Rudolph took over under center after Will Levis was benched early in the third quarter. He was more effective than Levis, though his two touchdown passes came in garbage with the latter coming on the final play of the game. Levis has been the starter for Tennessee when healthy, though Rudolph may get his chance to lead the team to close out the campaign.
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Sam Howell QB | PHI
Seahawks' Sam Howell: Struggles in relief Sunday
Howell took over for Geno Smith (knee) in the second half of Sunday's 30-13 loss to Green Bay, completing just five of 14 pass attempts for 24 yards and an interception. He added one carry for two yards.
Howell did not fare well in his first extended look since joining the Seahawks this past offseason. The former Commander took over for an injured Smith early in the second half and finished with an abysmal 14.6 passer rating on 14 attempts. Smith's knee injury didn't appear to be season-ending, but the team will run tests on the veteran starter Monday. In the event Howell is asked to start in Week 16, he would make for a poor fantasy choice in almost any format given his track record for inaccuracy combined with a tough opponent (the Vikings).
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Will Levis QB | TEN
Titans' Will Levis: Benched after four turnovers
Levis completed eight of 12 passes for 89 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 37-27 loss to the Bengals. He also lost a fumble.
Levis had shown an improved ability to take care of the ball since returning from a shoulder injury in Week 10, having thrown only two picks and losing one fumble in five games. Things unraveled for him quickly in Sunday's loss, however, as he lost a fumble to begin the second quarter and then threw an interception on back-to-back possessions. After throwing a pick-six on Tennessee's second drive of the second half, he was ultimately benched in favor of Mason Rudolph. Levis' status is uncertain for the rest of the season after his most recent benching.
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Geno Smith QB | LV
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Set for tests on knee Monday
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said after Sunday's 30-13 loss to the Packers that Smith will undergo additional testing on his right knee injury Monday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports. Smith completed 15 of 19 pass attempts for 149 yards and an interception while adding five yards on one carry before exiting the game.
Smith didn't return after suffering the injury in the third quarter, as Sam Howell played out the remainder of the game. Macdonald added that Smith's knee looks fine structurally, but the results of additional tests will determine whether Smith will need to miss additional time. Seattle's next game falls on Sunday in Week 16 against the Vikings.
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Jordan Love QB | GB
Packers' Jordan Love: Efficient early in Week 15 win
Love completed 20 of 27 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 30-13 win over the Seahawks. He added one rushing attempt for four yards.
After Josh Jacobs ran in a touchdown on the opening drive, Love doubled Green Bay's lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs. Love had only one incompletion as the Packers produced points on all four of their first-half drives to take a 20-3 lead into the locker room. Green Bay's offense slowed down in the second half, but the defense did its job, and Love added some breathing room with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter. This clean performance improved Love's TD:INT to 23:11 heading into a Week 16 home game against the Saints.
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Russell Wilson QB | NYG
Steelers' Russell Wilson: Struggles in Philly
Wilson completed 14 of 22 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Eagles. He added four rushes for 13 yards while losing a fumble.
The Eagles dominated time of possession, and the Steelers ran only offensive 41 plays. That was due in part to Wilson's inability to move the Pittsburgh offense, as the unit totaled -19 yards through their five possessions while picking up only 163 net yards for the game. The end result was Wilson's lowest yardage total as the team's starter and his second consecutive performance with less than 160 passing yards with George Pickens (hamstring) sidelined. Though Baltimore's passing defense, which Pittsburgh's offense will face next Saturday, has been leaky at times, it will be difficult to trust Wilson moving forward -- particularly as long as Pickens is out.
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Geno Smith QB | LV
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Injures knee on low hit
Smith (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Packers.
Smith limped off the field in the third quarter, and Sam Howell entered in relief. The starting quarterback had his lower leg examined by trainers after taking a low hit, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, then went to the locker room shortly thereafter, per Michael-Sean Dugar of The Athletic. Prior to the injury, Smith completed 15 of 19 passes for 149 yards, no touchdowns and one interception while rushing once for five yards.
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Jalen Hurts QB | PHI
Eagles' Jalen Hurts: Picks apart Steelers
Hurts completed 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in Sunday's 27-13 win over the Steelers. He added 15 rushes for 45 yards and an additional score.
The effectiveness of the Eagles' passing attack was in question throughout the week, as Hurts had failed to top 200 passing yards in three straight games. He silenced those questions in an excellent Week 15 showing by averaging 9.1 yards per attempt while completing six passes of at least 20 yards. Hurts also threw for multiple touchdowns for only the sixth time this season, while supplementing it with his 14th rushing score of the campaign. All of that production came despite playing through a broken finger, an injury that Hurts confirmed after the game, per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Drake Maye QB | NE
Patriots' Drake Maye: Mixed results in loss
Maye completed 19 of 23 pass attempts for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing four times for 14 yards and another score in Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Cardinals.
Maye scored a pair of garbage-time touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help pad his fantasy line, but the rookie couldn't avoid throwing an interception for the sixth week in a row. The North Carolina product now owns a poor 1.3 TD/INT ratio through nine starts as a rookie. Maye could see a bump in projections in a road tilt against the Bills, assuming the Patriots fall behind big early and the weather is tolerable in Buffalo. That said, his value is limited to two-QB formats in Week 16.
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Jared Goff QB | DET
Lions' Jared Goff: Huge performance in loss
Goff completed 38 of 59 passes for 494 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions in Sunday's 48-42 loss to the Bills. He added two rushes for 13 yards.
The Lions went down 14-0 in the first quarter and played from behind the entire contest, which led to a season-high 59 pass attempts for Goff. He converted that into an excellent stat line, including his second-most yards in any game of his career while matching a career-high with five touchdowns. He also completed five passes of at least 20 yards, highlighted by a 66-yard touchdown connection with Amon-Ra St. Brown late in the third quarter. While this was an outlier performance, Goff has at least three passing scores in half of Detroit's 10 games since their Week 5 bye and should remain an excellent starting option heading into a Week 16 matchup against the Bears.