NFL Week 14 was the last of the 2024 season to include byes. More than a fifth of the league was off last week, watering down the competition for Pro Football Network’s weekly awards.
Expect the bar to rise substantially the rest of the way.
But one advantage of the light schedule is that it allows us to shine a light on some under-the-radar talents who have quietly had excellent years, and again recognize some players and teams that have been consistently excellent in 2024.
NFL Offensive Player of the Week
Sam Darnold | Minnesota Vikings
Sam Darnold’s dream season continues. He was the NFC Player of the Month in October and well on his way to winning it again in December.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Plan B at QB had an A- performance in the team’s 42-21 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14. That grade is according to his QB+ rating — 92.4, which was the ninth-highest of any quarterback in 2024 and 29th-best in the league since 2019.
Darnold set career highs in passing touchdowns (5) and passing yards (347) and went 8 of 9 for 153 yards and three touchdowns on third downs alone. On pass attempts that traveled at least 20 air yards past the line of scrimmage, he was a remarkable 4 of 5 for 163 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions (158.3 rating).
Honorable mentions: Josh Allen, Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua
NFL Defensive Player of the Week
Yetur Gross-Matos | San Francisco 49ers
It was a weird week for defensive players. There were just 18 total interceptions in Week 14’s 13 games, and none returned for a touchdown or even 25 yards.
Only one defensive player (Micah McFadden) had more than three tackles for loss. The week’s leader in pressures (Chase Young, 12) didn’t have a sack and had just one tackle.
So we landed on Yetur Gross-Matos as PFN’s Defensive Player of the Week because he was the most productive player on the best-performing defense of the week.
Gross-Matos’ three sacks (on just 18 pass-rush snaps) in Week 14 led the NFL. He finished the game with four pressures and added three TFLs to a San Francisco 49ers defense that allowed a mere 3.1 yards per play in a blowout win over the Chicago Bears.
Honorable mentions: Chase Young, Tershawn Wharton, Cameron Heyward
NFL Special Teams Player of the Week
Jason Sanders | Miami Dolphins
The NFL’s reigning AFC Special Teams Player of the Month started December inauspiciously. Jason Sanders hooked his first extra-point attempt of December wide left, snapping a streak of 75 consecutive makes.
But Sanders more than made up for that with four successful field-goal attempts in Week 14, including a 57-yarder at the end of the first half and a 52-yarder on the last play of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Sanders has been nails from deep and in pressure situations this year. He’s 9 of 11 from 50+ yards and a league-best 8 of 8 (including three from 50+) in the final two minutes of halves.
Honorable mentions: Matthew Wright, Matt Araiza, Maema Njongmeta
NFL Rookie of the Week
Isaac Guerendo | San Francisco 49ers
Full disclosure: This was not an impressive week for 2024 NFL rookies.
OROY front-runners Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix both were on byes. And top DROY contenders, Los Angeles Rams EDGE Jared Verse and Philadelphia Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell, had quiet days.
That’s how we landed on third-string 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo — who might not even play in Week 15 due to a foot injury. But Guerendo, selected out of Louisville in the fourth round of April’s draft, was effective this past week when he was on the field.
He rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries; 3.9 of his 5.2 yards per attempt came after contact. On the year, Guerendo’s 5.7 ypc average ranks first among rookie running backs.
Honorable mentions: Jalen McMillan, Marist Liufau, Tory Taylor
NFL Play of the Week
Bryan Bresee’s Big Block
The New Orleans Saints still have a playoff pulse (albeit a faint one) because Bryan Bresee made a play late that was as impactful as it was impressive.
Bresee — a second-year defensive tackle who weighs over 300 pounds — vaulted over the New York Giants’ line and blocked Graham Gano’s 35-yard late field-goal attempt to preserve New Orleans’ 14-11 victory.
Field-Level View of the Bryan Bresee blocked FG 👀
📺: Next Sunday vs Commanders (Noon CT – FOX) pic.twitter.com/vpOPlbNUHO
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 8, 2024
Replay showed that Bresee’s right thumb was all that made contact with the ball — but that was enough to doom Gano’s effort. The block not only prevented overtime, it resulted in a 37.2% swing in win probability toward the Saints, per ESPN Analytics — making it one of the most impactful plays of NFL Week 14.
Honorable mentions: Tua Tagovailoa’s OT TD, Ja’Marr Chase’s Game Winner, Khalil Shakir Out-Runs Rams
NFL Coach of the Week
Sean McVay | Los Angeles Rams
The Rams pulled off the upset of the week because Sean McVay called one of the best games of the year.
McVay’s offense rang up Sean McDermott’s defense to the tune of 44 points, 28 first downs (including 11 third-down conversions), and 10.7 yards per pass attempt in Los Angeles’ shootout win over Buffalo.
Matthew Stafford became just the ninth quarterback in NFL history to have 47 games with 300+ passing yards and two or more touchdowns.
The Rams scored five offensive touchdowns for the 12th time under McVay and converted third downs at their highest rate (73.3%) since 2001.
Honorable mentions: Dan Campbell, Darren Rizzi, Mike Macdonald
NFL Goat of the Week
Amani Oruwariye | Dallas Cowboys
Leon Lett, you now have company. Thirty-one years and two weeks after one of the most infamous plays in Dallas Cowboys history, history repeated itself.
Amani Oruwariye, like Lett decades before him, tried to make a play on a live special-teams ball that had been deflected by a Cowboys teammate — with disastrous consequences. He muffed the return, allowing the Cincinnati Bengals to recover at their own 43 with 1:53 left in a tie game.
BLOCKED!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Cu3ypfNScb
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) December 10, 2024
Three plays later, the game was tied no longer. Ja’Marr Chase put Cincinnati ahead for good with a 40-yard touchdown catch and run, guaranteeing Oruwariye’s place in Cowboys infamy.
Just how impactful was his mistake? The Cowboys were 61.7% to win after Marist Liufau sacked Joe Burrow at the Cincinnati 29 the play before. Following Oruwariye’s muff, the odds flipped to Bengals 69.8% to win.
Honorable mentions: Cameron Dicker, Jeff Ulbrich, Kyler Murray
NFL Unsung Hero of the Week
Keeanu Benton | Pittsburgh Steelers
Hard Knocks viewers got to know Keeanu Benton a little last week. The NFL’s reality TV show included Benton’s poignant speech to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense the night before the Bengals game.
The Cleveland Browns on Sunday got to know Benton a lot more. The second-year defensive tackle out of Wisconsin had an unforgettable game in Week 14, thanks to his remarkable interception of Jameis Winston early in the second quarter.
Benton lined up at the 2i technique across from right guard Wyatt Teller when the ball was snapped, stunted to the A gap between center Ethan Pocic and left guard Joel Bitonio, then read the screen pass back to his left and stepped in front of Nick Chubb for his first career interception.
While Benton’s stats were otherwise uninspiring (one tackle, no pressures, no sacks), he was a handful for Teller for much of the day. When Benton was on the field, Winston averaged just 4.9 yards per pass and had a rating of 55.4
Honorable mentions: Kevin Zeitler, Ugo Amadi, Jarran Reed