NFL Player News

Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the 49ers' 24-21 divisional-round win over the Packers on Saturday night. He also rushed six times for 14 yards.

Purdy and the 49ers certainly had more trouble than anticipated with the upstart Packers, which once again were undeterred by a hostile environment and elite defense. The second-year signal-caller was off with his accuracy at times, and the loss of Deebo Samuel in the first half due to a shoulder injury certainly didn't help Purdy's cause. However, Purdy gathered himself when it mattered most, leading a 12-play, 69-yard game-winning scoring march in the latter portion of the fourth quarter on which he recorded six completions and also contributed a nine-yard run. Those exploits were preceded by a 32-yard touchdown toss to George Kittle in the second quarter that gave the 49ers their first lead of the night. Purdy and his teammates now await the winner of Sunday's Buccaneers-Lions divisional-round clash in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 28.

Love completed 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Saturday's 24-21 loss to the 49ers.

Love came into the contest on an excellent run, having thrown for multiple touchdowns in each of his last five games while also topping 250 yards four times in that span. He continued his multi-touchdown streak with tosses of 19 and two yards into the end zone, and he also delivered three completions of greater than 20 yards. However, he was held to only 5.7 yards per attempt and missed several throws, in part due to rainy conditions and in part caused by a tough matchup. Love also forced an ill-advised throw deep down the field on the Packers' final drive that was picked off, clinching the win for the 49ers. Though his season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion, Love established himself as Green Bay's franchise quarterback in his first campaign as a starter and has a multitude of talented young receivers that should form the core of a productive offense in 2024 and beyond.

Stroud completed 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday's 34-10 loss to the Ravens. He added three rushes for nine yards.

In contrast to his performance in his playoff debut, Stroud looked overwhelmed for much of the loss and could not consistently move the ball. He started reasonably well by racking up 82 passing yards in the first quarter but ultimately averaged just 5.3 yards per attempt, with the team's only touchdown coming on a punt return. Despite the disappointing close to his rookie campaign, Stroud was impressive overall by throwing for 4,108 yards with a 23:5 TD:INT across 15 regular-season games. That leaves little doubt that he's the franchise quarterback, and he also has several young pass catchers who combine to have the trajectory of the offense headed in a positive direction.

Jackson completed 16 of 22 passes for 152 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday's 34-10 win over the Texans. He rushed the ball 11 times for 100 yards and an additional two scores.

Jackson and the rest of Baltimore's offense got off to a relatively slow start, as they didn't find the end zone until midway through the second quarter. However, he took over from there, throwing for touchdowns of three and 15 yards while also finding the end zone on the ground with rushes of 15 and eight yards. Jackson had thrown at least one interception in each his four postseason games entering Saturday's matchup, though he had no turnovers in the blowout win. He also now has at least 100 rushing yards in three of five career playoff games. Jackson became the first player in NFL history (regular or postseason) to have a game with multiple TD passes and multiple rushing scores while throwing and rushing for over 100 yards to go with a 100-plus rating. He and the Ravens will host either the Bills or Chiefs next Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Allen (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's NFC divisional-round game against the Packers, but he will serve as the 49ers' emergency quarterback, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

As the emergency quarterback, Allen will only see the field if both Brock Purdy and backup Sam Darnold are forced out of Saturday's game due to injuries.

Johnson (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's tilt against the Texans.

With Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley healthy, Johnson will serve as the team's emergency quarterback if both of the former two players get hurt. The veteran quarterback has yet to appear in a game this season.

Keenum (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's game against the Ravens, Drew Dougherty of the Texans' official website reports.

No surprise here, as C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills are both healthy. Keenum would be called upon to serve as the emergency quarterback if both the aforementioned quarterbacks happen to get hurt.

Wolford (illness) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions.

Wolford popped up on the injury report as DNP on Friday due to the illness. He's not going to be anything more than the emergency third quarterback even if he is deemed healthy enough to be active Sunday.

Mariota appeared in just three regular-season games as the Eagles' backup quarterback this season, completing 15 of 23 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

All but three of Mariota's passes came in Week 18. Mariota also added a brief appearance in the Eagles' 32-9 playoff loss to the Bucs, handing off twice at the end of the game to run out the clock with the result already decided. Given that Mariota was stuck looking for a backup job prior to this season, and given that he didn't get the chance to add anything meaningful to his resume this year, he'll presumably be stuck as a backup again next fall.

Rodgers (Achilles) led the Jets' first-team offense in the final three practices of the 2023 season, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

Rodgers didn't return to game action after tearing his Achilles just four snaps into his Jets tenure in Week 1, but he was designated for return from injured reserve down the stretch and eventually activated, which enable him to practice with the team. After running the scout team and working at less than full speed in his first few weeks back, Rodgers quarterbacked the first-team offense for each of the Jets' Week 18 practices, which were closed to the media. His teammates raved about Rodgers' performances in the final three practices, suggesting the veteran quarterback's surgically repaired Achilles is at or close to full health heading into the offseason.