Who says NFL quarterback play is in the toilet this year? Well, we have on more than one occasion.
But there was some much-deserved crow-eating on our end this week, particularly with more-than-adequate performances by a number of backups, including NFL Week 17 Game Ball winners Mac Jones, Aidan O’Connell, Drew Lock, and Snoop Huntley.
DL Michael Danna
Kansas City Chiefs
An early-season pec injury largely explains Michael Danna’s statistical drop in 2024, but Christmas Day proved that he’s now healthy and as dangerous as ever.
Danna had a dominant game in K.C.’s Week 17 win over the Steelers, forcing a fumble and totaling two sacks and three tackles for loss on a Chiefs defense that got stops on three of Pittsburgh’s four red-zone trips.
QB Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens
Whether or not voters mistakenly pick Josh Allen for MVP, Lamar Jackson has been the NFL’s best player in 2024. And he’s had the best season of a career that’s already included two MVP awards.
Jackson accounted for three of the Ravens’ four touchdowns and produced 252 yards of offense (rushing and passing combined) on 20 touches in Baltimore’s 31-2 shellacking of the Houston Texans.
Jackson has taken his passing game to the next level this year. His 100 QB+ rating, 121.6 passer rating, 8.9 yards per attempt average, and 77.6 QBR all lead the league.
DL Leonard Williams
Seattle Seahawks
Leonard Williams is 100-to-1 to win Defensive Player of the Year. That’s both disrespectful and probably accurate.
Williams has next to no chance to win the award, but not due to any personal shortcoming. He simply needs a better publicist.
After Williams’ two-sack, three-tackle-for-loss, six-pressure game in Thursday night’s Seahawks win over the Bears, he leads his team in all three statistical categories (nine sacks, 15 TFLs, 52 pressures).
QB Justin Herbert
Los Angeles Chargers
Records or significant benchmarks set or tied by Justin Herbert in the Chargers’ Week 17 win over the New England Patriots:
- Most career passing yards through five seasons (20,747)
- Third player to have 3,000+ passing yards and 20+ passing touchdowns in each of first five seasons
- 43rd career multi-touchdown game (tied with Peyton Manning for sixth-most through five years)
Herbert went 26 of 38 for 281 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions against New England.
WR Tee Higgins
Cincinnati Bengals
If this was Tee Higgins’ final home game as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, he did indeed go out with a bang.
The soon-to-be-free agent had 131 yards on 11 catches, with the last of his three touchdown receptions coming in overtime to beat the Denver Broncos and keep Cincinnati’s playoff hopes alive.
Higgins already has set a career high in touchdown catches (10) and needs 142 yards in Cincinnati’s regular-season finale to go over 1,000 for the third time in four years.
CB Ahkello Witherspoon
Los Angeles Rams
Ahkello Witherspoon’s diving end-zone interception off Kyler Murray Saturday preserved more than the Rams’ 13-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. It set the Rams up to clinch the NFC West with some help on Sunday.
But simply getting there isn’t enough for a Rams team that surely wants to avoid playing the No. 5 seed, considering how challenging a first-round showdown with the Lions or Vikings would be.
DT Ed Oliver
Buffalo Bills
Offense isn’t the concern for the Bills as they gear up for yet another potential playoff run with Josh Allen. Buffalo scored 40+ on Sunday for the third time in four weeks.
But for the Bills to finally win that elusive championship, they’ll need the kind of defensive performance they got in Sunday’s blowout win over the Jets: Three turnovers, 4.9 yards per play allowed, and just two red-zone trips allowed.
Ed Oliver was the driving force — a forced fumble, a sack, two pressures, and three tackles for loss.
QB Mac Jones
Jacksonville Jaguars
Mac Jones might never get another chance as a QB1 in this league. But he proved during his one year in Jacksonville that he is, at the very least, an NFL-caliber backup.
Jones had his most efficient game in 14 months Sunday, completing 15 of 22 passes for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
On the year, Jones has completed 65.7% of his passes and averaged 6.3 yards per attempt, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. His QB+ (69.1) isn’t good, but it’s his best since his rookie season.
QB Aidan O’Connell
Las Vegas Raiders
It’s been a painful season for Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell in many ways. So he should savor the flavor of his Week 17 performance:
O’Connell threw 2+ touchdowns with no interceptions for just the fifth time in his short career to lift the Raiders to a 25-10 victory over the Saints.
The win was costly for a Raiders team expected to target a quarterback in the draft. The No. 1 pick is probably out of reach for Las Vegas (4-12), but O’Connell has played well enough to garner QB2 consideration next training camp.
QB Drew Lock
New York Giants
Drew Lock also messed up his team’s tank in Week 17 — and like O’Connell, surely couldn’t care less.
Lock in a shocking victory over the Colts knocked the Giants out of the No. 1 slot for April’s draft with the best game of his six-year career:
- 73.9% completions
- 13.4 yards per attempt
- 4 TDs, 0 INTs
- 155.3 rating
- 95 QB+ (12th-best in NFL since 2019)
WR DeVonta Smith
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles had to play their QB2 and QB3 in a division-clinching game — and DeVonta Smith still went nuts.
Smith went for 120 yards and two touchdowns with six catches on seven targets, even though Jalen Hurts missed the game with a concussion.
Smith went over 100 for the second time in three weeks after going 15 straight games without eclipsing the century mark.
QB Baker Mayfield
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After another monster game from Baker Mayfield — 27 of 32 passing, 359 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions in Tampa Bay’s 48-14 thrashing of the Carolina Panthers — it’s long past time to call this the best season of his career.
Barring a total meltdown in Week 18, Mayfield will set career highs in completion percentage (71.7%), passing yards (4,279), yards per attempt (8), touchdown passes (39), and passer rating (107.6).
He’s been nearly flawless (74.1%, 8.3 yards per attempt, 35 TDs) this year when given a clean pocket.
QB Snoop Huntley
Miami Dolphins
When Miami needed him the most, Snoop Huntley had by far the best game of his time with the Dolphins — and probably the best performance of his NFL career.
Huntley set career highs in completion percentage (84.6%), passer rating (115.5%), and yards per attempt (8.7%) in the Dolphins’ season-extending victory over the Browns.
In his previous three appearances with the Dolphins, he completed 59.1% of his attempts with a 73.9 rating and a 5.7 yards-per-attempt average.
WR Jalen Nailor
Minnesota Vikings
It’s a challenge getting touches in an offense that features Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, and Cam Akers.
So third-year Vikings wideout Jalen Nailor knows he must maximize his opportunities. He certainly did that in Week 17, catching all five of his targets for 81 yards (16.2 per) on just 29 routes.
It was Nailor’s highest yardage total in a Vikings win since entering the league as a sixth-round pick in 2022.
TE Zach Ertz
Washington Commanders
Remember when people thought Zach Ertz was washed? Seems like a long time ago, particularly after his two-touchdown night in the Commanders’ playoff-clinching win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Beyond going 6-72-2 on national TV and catching the game-winner in overtime (a two-yard pass from Jayden Daniels), Ertz secured three-quarters of a million dollars in incentives — which will make his retirement that much cushier (whenever it is).
CB Kerby Joseph
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions don’t need a dominant defense to reach the Super Bowl — not with an offense that has scored 150 points in the last four weeks.
But they will need to get some stops, which is why Kerby Joseph’s two-interception game was so encouraging in Detroit’s 40-34 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.
We can’t wait to see what Joseph and the Lions’ secondary does against Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and the Minnesota Vikings in next week’s NFC North title game.