Drew Lock’s heater costs Giants; Is Patriots coach Jerod Mayo on hot seat?

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

A handful of rookie pass-catchers are finishing on a high note with just a week left in the regular season, challenging the impressive campaign Puka Nacua put together for the Los Angeles Rams a year ago.

Las Vegas Raiders explosive tight end Brock Bowers already has 108 receptions — the most by a rookie all time — and his 1,444 receiving yards are the most by a rookie tight end in NFL history, passing a mark set by Mike Ditka in 1961. Bowers needs just 43 more yards to eclipse Nacua’s record for the most receiving yards by a rookie.

New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers went off in a win over the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with seven receptions for 171 yards and two scores. Nabers now has 104 catches for 1,140 receiving yards, becoming just the fifth rookie in league history with at least 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards, according to FOX Sports Research.

Georgia product Ladd McConkey led the Los Angeles Chargers with eight receptions for 94 receiving yards and two scores in a playoff-clinching win over the New England Patriots. With that effort, McConkey passed Keenan Allen as the franchise leader in rookie receptions (77) and receiving yards (1,054).

And Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is one of four rookies in the Super Bowl era to post more than 1,100 receiving yards (1,179) and 10 receiving touchdowns (10) in a single season, per FOX Sports Research. Thomas finished with seven receptions for 91 receiving yards and a score in Jacksonville’s 20-13 win over the Tennessee Titans.

While those four pass-catchers have cooked, the top receiver selected in the 2024 draft has had a solid if unspectacular season. Marvin Harrison Jr. has 57 receptions for 822 yards and seven touchdowns. While Harrison has not set any rookie records, he does have more receiving yards than Larry Fitzgerald Jr. posted in his rookie year (780) for the Cardinals. And Harrison is close to passing his father, Marvin Harrison Sr., who had 836 receiving yards for the 1996 Colts in his rookie season, so there is reason for hope that the Ohio State product can make a jump in production in Year 2.

That said, let’s take a closer look at who’s hot and who’s cold for Week 17.

WHO’S HOT

Drew Lock, QB, Giants

The Missouri product showed the tantalizing arm talent that continues to make quarterback gurus around the league believe they can develop the 28-year-old gunslinger into a legitimate franchise quarterback.

In a 45-33 victory over the Colts, which knocked Indianapolis out of the playoff race, Lock finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions, posting a 155.3 passer rating.

The win snapped New York’s 10-game losing streak, but also dropped the quarterback-needy Giants out of the top spot in the NFL Draft to No. 4 heading into the final week. While a victory helps head coach Brian Daboll’s effort to keep his job, it hurts New York’s ability to secure a long-term answer at quarterback in the upcoming draft.

Sam Darnold, QB, Vikings

The USC product had one of his best games of the season when the Vikings needed it, throwing for 377 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

The win keeps the Vikings alive in the chase for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Minnesota faces the Detroit Lions on the road in the final week of the regular season, with the NFC North division title and No. 1 seed going to the winner.

Darnold now has 35 touchdown passes this season, passing Brett Favre (2009) for the most by a QB in his first season as a Viking.

Braden Fiske, DT, Rams

The Rams got another outstanding performance from the rookie defensive tackle out of Florida State. Fiske finished with two sacks and three quarterback hits in L.A.’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.

With help from other teams around the league, including Washington’s overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams clinched a postseason berth for a second straight year.

Fiske’s eight sacks are the most among all rookies this season and tied for the third-most in a season by a Rams rookie, trailing only Aaron Donald (9.0) and Kobie Turner (9.0).

Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers

The rookie rushing leader this season with 1,033 yards, Irving finished with 190 scrimmage yards in Tampa Bay’s runaway win over the visiting Carolina Panthers.

Irving rushed for 113 yards on 20 carries and added another 77 receiving yards. And he became the first Tampa Bay running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards since Doug Martin, a.k.a. the “Muscle Hamster,” in 2015 (1,402).

Ameer Abdullah, RB, Raiders

Don’t look now, but the Raiders are riding a two-game winning streak. And with the playoff-bound Chargers likely resting players in Week 18, the Raiders have a chance to end the season on a three-game winning streak.

Because of injuries and poor play from frontline backs Zamir White, Alexander Mattison and Sincere McCormick, veteran third-down back Abdullah has emerged as the starter in Las Vegas. He had a career-high 115 rushing yards in Sunday’s win over the Saints, the first Las Vegas running back to eclipse 100 rushing yards this season.

It’s also the first time Abdullah, 31, has rushed for 100 yards in his 10 NFL seasons.

WHO’S COLD

Shane Steichen, head coach, Colts

Another year, another late-season collapse for Indianapolis. The Colts needed a win over the Giants to stay in the playoff hunt for the last wild-card spot in the AFC. But instead, Steichen got one of the worst performances of the season from his team, giving up 45 points on the road to one of the worst teams in the league.

Yes, the Colts played without starting quarterback Anthony Richardson due to a back injury. However, they had an experienced veteran guiding the offense in Joe Flacco and scored 33 points. It was the defense, with all the missed tackles, that cost Indianapolis.

As a result, the Colts will miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season and have lost three of their past five games.

Jerod Mayo, head coach, Patriots

After moving on from the most successful head coach in NFL history, this Patriots season was supposed to be a year of evaluation and development of rookie QB Drake Maye.

However, the way the Patriots have played down the stretch has some NFL observers questioning if Mayo is the right man for the job beyond this season. The Patriots have lost five straight and were not competitive in a lopsided loss to the Chargers.

New England currently holds the No. 1 pick in the draft. While Maye has shown signs of becoming a franchise QB, the team around him has regressed, particularly the defense led by a defensive head coach.

Mayo could use a good showing against the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the regular season to convince ownership that the team is headed in the right direction.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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