NFL Player News
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Geno Smith QB | SEA
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Does just enough in Sunday's win
Smith completed 22 of 31 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown with an interception in Sunday's 16-6 win over the Cardinals. He added two rushing yards on three carries.
A three-yard toss to Jaxon Smith-Njigba late in the second quarter accounted for the only offensive TD of the day by either team on a rainy afternoon in Seattle. Smith continues to have trouble with ball security -- he's thrown at least one pick in four straight games and has a 12:12 TD:INT in 11 contests -- but that's been good enough to get the Seahawks to the top of the NFC West with a 6-5 record. Smith will try to boost his numbers in Week 13 against the Jets.
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Cam Akers RB | MIN
Vikings' Cam Akers: Falls back to four touches Sunday
Akers totaled three carries for 19 yards and one catch (on one target) for six yards during Sunday's 30-27 win at Chicago.
Akers has been a part of the Vikings offense in four consecutive contests, but his touch count Sunday was the fewest during that stretch after earning 14 in Week 10 at Jacksonville and 12 last Sunday in Tennessee. The elevated usage for Akers in the previous two games may have been spurred by the rib injury that Aaron Jones suffered in the first of those outings, but the latter racked up 25 touches for 129 yards from scrimmage and a rushing TD in Week 12, indicating he's more or less back to his status as Minnesota's unquestioned top RB. As a result, Akers could be relegated to a distant No. 2 option behind Jones moving forward.
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Will Levis QB | TEN
Titans' Will Levis: Gets deep ball going
Levis completed 18 of 24 pass attempts for 278 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 32-27 win over the Texans. He added eight rushes for 10 yards and also lost a fumble.
As usual, Levis had plenty of both positives and negatives during the Titans' upset win. He led the team to points on each of the first three drives, highlighted by a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and a 63-yard connection with Calvin Ridley to set up a Tony Pollard score. Levis later chipped in his second touchdown with a 70-yard toss to Chigoziem Okonkwo, though the majority of that gain came after the catch. While those were all significant bright spots, Levis also turned the ball over twice, including a pick-six late in the third quarter, while also taking eight sacks. Despite the ongoing inconsistency, he's combined to throw for 573 yards with eight completions of at least 20 yards across his last two games.
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Noah Brown WR | WAS
Commanders' Noah Brown: Team-high target total in loss
Brown brought in six of 10 targets for 71 yards in the Commanders' 34-26 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.
Facing his original NFL squad, Brown finished as the Commanders' pace-setter in targets while co-leading the team in receptions as well. Brown's catch total was also a season high, making it quite the bounce-back effort after Brown had recorded only one catch for four yards in a Week 11 loss to the Eagles. Brown has at least six targets in four of his last five contests, giving him a solid floor heading into a Week 13 home matchup against the Titans.
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Luke Schoonmaker TE | DAL
Cowboys' Luke Schoonmaker: Solid in expanded role
Schoonmaker secured three of four targets for 55 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' 34-26 win over the Commanders on Sunday.
Schoonmaker finished second in receiving yards on the Cowboys for the afternoon while stepping into the top tight end role for Jake Ferguson (concussion). The second-year Michigan product had already proven worthy of an expanded role in the Week 11 loss to the Texans after Ferguson went down, recording a 6-56 line on 10 targets. While he managed only half that catch total Sunday, he nearly matched the receiving yards and added his first touchdown of the campaign on a 22-yard scoring grab just past the midway point of the fourth quarter. Schoonmaker could remain in the same role for the Cowboys' next game, which is a Thanksgiving Day home battle against the Giants on Thursday that Ferguson could be hard-pressed to be ready for.
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Brock Bowers TE | LV
Raiders' Brock Bowers: Quiet in Sunday's loss
Bowers caught four of 10 targets for 38 yards in Sunday's 29-19 loss to the Broncos.
While the rookie tight end saw double-digit targets for the second straight game and the fifth time this season, Bowers wasn't able to do much with the volume, posting his lowest yardage total since Week 4. Bowers' role in the Raiders' passing game is secure, but it's not clear who will be throwing him the ball in Week 13 against Kansas City -- Gardner Minshew (collarbone) was lost for the season Sunday, and Aidan O'Connell (thumb) may not be ready to come off IR.
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Tre Tucker WR | LV
Raiders' Tre Tucker: Big day against Denver
Tucker caught seven of eight targets for 82 yards in Sunday's 29-19 loss to the Broncos.
The 2023 third-round pick posted his best numbers since Week 3, and Tucker nearly capped his performance with a touchdown -- he appeared to get into the end zone on his final catch of the day on Las Vegas' final drive, but he was ruled down short of the goal line. Tucker has caught multiple passes in 10 of 11 games this season, but he's hauled in more than three only three times.
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Adam Thielen WR | CAR
Panthers' Adam Thielen: Makes immediate impact upon return
Thielen recorded three receptions on four targets for 57 yards in Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Chiefs.
Thielen was active for the first time since Week 3 after recovering from a hamstring injury. He finished fourth on the team in targets but made an immediate impact on the Carolina offense by accounting for the unit's longest play from scrimmage on a 36-yard catch late in the first quarter. Thielen also chipped in with a 13-yard reception on fourth down late in the fourth quarter to set up a game-tying touchdown. While the Panthers will be invested in getting targets to Xavier Legette and other younger skill position players down the stretch, Thielen should have a steady role among the receiver corps.
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Brandon Allen QB | SF
49ers' Brandon Allen: Middling results in spot-start
Allen completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing twice for five yards and losing a fumble in Sunday's blowout loss to Green Bay.
Allen was asked to step in for injured starter Brock Purdy (shoulder) on Sunday, and the results were on par for a backup quarterback playing in a hostile environment against a contending franchise. The 32-year-old Allen led the offense to just one touchdown while being responsible for two turnovers on the day. It sounds like Purdy's injury may cost the star quarterback only this one game, which would push Allen back to the No. 2 role when San Francisco visits Buffalo next Sunday.
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Emanuel Wilson RB | GB
Packers' Emanuel Wilson: Gets extra work Sunday
Wilson rushed nine times for 41 yards in Sunday's 38-10 rout of the 49ers.
Starter Josh Jacobs was the star of Sunday's win by eclipsing 100 rushing yards while scoring three touchdowns. He did leave the game briefly in the second half due to cramping, opening the door for Wilson to get a handful of extra touches he might not have otherwise. Even with a short week approaching, Jacobs figures to be fine for Thursday's tilt against the Dolphins, which would leave Wilson in another low-usage situation on Thanksgiving.