
Seventeenth week of NFL Almost in the books, only one game left to play. Many players performed brilliantly with surprising results from many teams.
Arguably the best performance came from Drew Lock and the Giants. New York entered the game on a 10-game losing streak, the longest in franchise history. They were 0-8 at MetLife Stadium, and recorded just three passing touchdowns in those eight contests. But on Sunday? Lock managed to throw three touchdowns against the Colts in the first half alone.
He finished the game 17-of-23 for 309 yards with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score, becoming the first Giants quarterback with 300 passing yards, four passing scores and a rushing touchdown since Eli Manning in 2014. Locke and Manning. In the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
It was also the first time all season that New York led at home after the first quarter. Lock got plenty of help from Malik Nabars, who had seven catches for 171 yards and two scores. He and Tyrone Tracy Jr. became the third pair of rookie teammates with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards in the same season, joining Reggie Bush and Marcus Colston of New Orleans (2006) and Abner Haynes and Johnny Robinson of the Dallas Texans (1960). joined .
The Giants weren’t the only team to excel this weekend. FOX Sports Research breaks down ten more eye-opening nuggets for you. Let’s take a look:
1. Chiefs keep traveling
With their 15th win of the season, Kansas City set a franchise record for wins in a season. Andy Reid has now coached a team that won the No. 1 seed in its conference seven times in his career — tying Bill Belichick for the most No. 1 seeds by a head coach. After doing so on Christmas Day, it was just the fifth time in NFL history that a team earned the No. 1 seed on Dec. 25—and the first since the 2017 Eagles.
It was the fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes era that the Chiefs have earned the top seed. Prior to his arrival, Casey had earned the No. 1 seed just twice in franchise history (1995, 1997). Including the playoffs, they have won 10 straight home games and will play in their next AFC divisional round.
If they win this game, Mahomes will hit his 11th career playoff home run – which would tie him with Peyton Manning and Joe Montana for second most (Tom Brady – 21).
Takeaway: With the bye locked in, Kansas City is still the favorite to get out of the AFC. But don’t tell that to Baltimore or Buffalo.
2. Here come the Vikings
Minnesota has had a truly magical season. With a win over Green Bay this week, they improve to 14-2 on the season and will clinch the division and the No. 1 seed with a win against Detroit next week. Below are several nuggets that contextualize how impressive their 2024 campaign has been:
- Kevin O’Connell is the first head coach to win 14+ games in a season with a quarterback who is in his first year with the team; This made Sam Darnold the first quarterback to win 14+ games in his first season with the team.
- The Vikings have won their ninth straight game, their longest in-season winning streak since 1975.
- Sam Darnold now has 35 passing touchdowns this season, surpassing Brett Favre (2009) for the most by a quarterback in his first season as a Viking.
- The Vikings have now recorded a takeaway in each of their first 16 games to start a season for the first time since 1992; That is tied for the longest streak to start a season in franchise history.
Takeaway: Next Sunday’s matchup between the Lions and Vikings will be electric. But can Minnesota pull it off?
3. Sacon makes history
For the entire second half of the season, everyone has been discussing whether or not Saquon Barkley can reach the 2,000-yard mark. Well, he finally did in Week 17 against the Cowboys. Barkley is now the ninth player in NFL history to reach that milestone, and needs just 101 yards to break the single-season record held by Eric Dickerson:
- Eric Dickerson (1984): 2,105
- Adrian Peterson (2012): 2,097
- Jamal Lewis (2003): 2,066
- Barry Sanders (1997): 2,053
- Derrick Henry (2020): 2,027
- Terrell Davis (1998): 2,008
- Chris Johnson (2009): 2,006
- Saquon Barkley (2024): 2,005
- OJ Simpson (1973): 2,003
He also passed Jamal Anderson for the most rushing yards in the second half of games in a season since at least 1991. The Penn State product has now reached 1,245 rushing yards in the second half of this season, compared to Anderson’s 1,133 in 1998. Whether or not Barkley plays next week, what he’s done this year has been remarkable. Philadelphia also won the NFC East title for the fourth time in the last eight seasons.
Takeaway: Saccone’s 2024 season is a reminder of two things: The running back position is still super-important, and a change of scenery can lead to career-altering success for any player.
4. Joe Brrrrr!
Last week we said that Joe Burrow is playing like the best quarterback in the NFL. It’s time to remove the “argument” from that sentence. The former Heisman winner has thrown three touchdowns in eight consecutive games, becoming just the fourth player in NFL history to accomplish the feat — Tom Brady (10 in 2007), Andrew Luck (eight in 2018) and Peyton Manning (eight in 2004). join in
Against the Broncos, he recorded his seventh career game with 400+ passing yards and three passing scores. The only players with that many games before turning 30 are Dan Marino and Mahomes (each had nine). His play during the month of December is exceptional, as he is the first quarterback to throw for over 1,500 yards in a calendar month with 15 touchdowns and a 75% completion rate.
Finally, Burrow has 10 games with 250+ passing yards and three passing touchdowns this season—the fourth player in NFL history to have 10+ such games in a season. The other three? Mahomes in 2018 (10), Peyton Manning in 2013 (11) and Tom Brady in 2007 (10). All three of them won MVP that season.
Takeaway: Joe Burrow is doing everything he can to sneak Cincinnati into the playoffs. And hopefully it does, because he’s been absolutely fantastic this year.
5. Rookie pass-catchers are on the rise
Four rookies have reached 1,000 receiving yards this season—Malik Neighbors, Brian Thomas Jr., Ladd McConkie, and Brock Bowers—tied the most 1,000-yard rookie pass-catchers in a season in NFL history (2021 and 2014 seasons). has set a record of each had three) Nabers and Thomas Jr. (LSU) became the second and third rookie duo from the same college to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the same season, along with McConkie and Bowers (Georgia). They join Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson (Ohio State) as the first rookie duo to achieve the mark back in 2022. Below are some nuggets that show just how outstanding these rookies have been this year:
- Brian Thomas Jr. now has 10 games with at least 75 receiving yards, breaking a tie for the most such games by a rookie in the Super Bowl era; He was tied with Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr., Anquan Boldin, and Terry Glenn.
- Brian Thomas Jr. is one of four rookies in the Super Bowl era to post 1,100 receiving yards (1,179) and 10 receiving touchdowns (10) in a season; Odell Beckham Jr., Jammer Chase and Randy Moss were the only others.
- Malik Nabers is the fifth rookie in NFL history with 100 catches and 1,000 yards, joining Anquan Boldin (2003), Jalen Waddle (2021), Pukka Nacua (2023), Brock Bowers (2024), and Malik Nabers (2024). .
- Malik Nabars is the first rookie in Giants history to record 100+ receptions in a season.
- Ladd McConkie holds Chargers rookie single-season records for catches (77) and receiving yards (1,054).
- Ladd McConkie and Malik Neighbors scored 50+ in each of their last nine games played to tie Odell Beckham Jr. for the longest such streak since the 1970 merger. Gaining yards.
Takeaway: The above list doesn’t even include Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze. Expect to see more and more receivers taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
6. Brock Bowers broke the record
Not much of a surprise here since he’s getting closer and closer to the record each week, but Brock Bowers breaking the rookie tight end single-season record for receiving yards still deserves recognition. With his seven catches for 77 yards against the Saints, he is now up to 108 receptions for 1,144 receiving yards on the season. He broke Mike Ditka’s record of 1,076 receiving yards, while his 108 receptions are the most by a rookie — regardless of position.
Takeaway: Bowers might be the best pass-catching tight end in the league. It will be amazing to see what he does in 2025.
7. Amazing Miles
With his two sacks against the Dolphins, Myles Garrett is now up to 14 sacks on the year—tied with Trey Hendrickson for the most in the league this season. But the 14-point haul put him in a class of his own. Garrett now has 14+ sacks in four consecutive seasons, the first player to do so since sacks became an official stat in 1982. The Texas A&M product had 10+ sacks in seven of his first eight seasons, tied only with Hall. Femur has more than Reggie White (eight). He is the only player with 500+ quarterback pressures in the Next Gen Stats era.
Takeaway: Garrett is a generational talent that doesn’t get talked about enough because of Cleveland’s lack of success. Maybe he’ll break the all-time sack record at this rate.
8. Can’t stop Jayden
Jaden Daniels has been phenomenal this season, and led the Commanders to their 11th win of the season in overtime against the Falcons on Sunday night. This is Washington’s first 11-win season since 1991 (14 wins that season). Daniels now has 3,530 passing yards, 864 rushing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and six rushing scores on the year. Those 864 are the most by a rookie quarterback in a single-season in NFL history. He is now the first rookie quarterback in NFL history with 10+ wins, 30+ total touchdowns and 4,000+ total yards.
And with back-to-back comeback wins of 10+ points, he’s only the fifth rookie quarterback since 1950 and only the fifth rookie quarterback since Andrew Luck in 2012 to accomplish the feat. His 12 touchdown passes are the most in the fourth quarter/OT. Rookie in a single season since 1991, and is one of only four players with 10+ passing scores in the fourth quarter/OT in that span (Peyton Manning, Derek Carr, Gardner Minshew).
Takeaway: This guy is the future of the NFL, and Washington looks like they have a possible MVP in the coming years.
9. Colts see spark on offense
Despite being upset by the Giants, the Colts’ offense has shown signs of positivity over the last few weeks – scoring over 30 points and over 440+ total net yards in back-to-back games. Much of that has to do with Jonathan Taylor, who recorded his third straight game with 100+ rushing yards. He finished the day with 125 rushing yards and two rushing scores, while Alec Pierce had 125 receiving yards and Michael Pittman had 109 of his own.
Both receivers also caught a touchdown, making them the first trio in franchise history to have one player rush for 125+ yards, while the other two had 100+ receiving yards—and all three players had scores. When you remove touchdowns from that equation, the last trio to do so for the Colts was Edgar James, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.
Takeaway: Indianapolis has several offensive pieces that could fuel long-term success. But Chris Ballard and company will need to shape the defense for a better 2025 through the draft and free agency.
10. McKee is the beginning of fun
It’s always fun to watch a backup quarterback flourish, but it’s rare to see a third-stringer have significant success. With Jalen Hurts out this week and Kenny Pickett playing well enough to sit in the third quarter, Tanner McKee gets his shot against Dallas this Sunday. The Stanford product completed four of three passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, that’s right—he threw four passes, two of which were going for seven. He became the first player in the NFL Draft era (since 1936) to throw multiple touchdown passes in his NFL debut while attempting five or fewer passes. You like to see it.
Takeaway: Despite last week’s loss to the Commanders, the Eagles are so good that McKee was able to accomplish such a feat. No one wants to see them in the playoffs.

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