The 2023 NFL season begins in Week 16 with Los Angeles Rams rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua crushing the New Orleans Saints with nine catches for 164 yards and one touchdown, matching the Cincinnati Bengals’ Pro Bowl wide receiver. I’ve already seen that. The most games with 150 or more receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) was held by Ja’Marr Chase and Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss with three.
You never know what’s going to happen when it comes to the NFL, so what’s next? Well, here’s a look at the schedule for this weekend’s Week 16, with two games on Saturday and three games on Christmas Monday. Introducing some bold predictions.
Bryce Young led the Packers with over 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns.
What do Week 15’s NFC Offensive Player of the Week – Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield – and Week 14’s NFC Offensive Player of the Week – Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito have in common? His career performance against Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s defense earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
Mayfield had 381 passing yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in Week 15 against the Packers, becoming the third player to have at least 375 passing yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating in a road game. Ta. NFL history. DeVito had 229 yards, 116 passing and 71 rushing, and one passing touchdown on 17-of-21 passing in the home win against Green Bay. This made DeVito the first starting quarterback in NFL history to achieve at least 70 rushing yards without a sack or turnover, achieving a success rate of over 80%.
In Week 16, the Packers will face a struggling Bryce Young and the NFL’s worst team, the 2-12 Panthers. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has been on the bus this season with a below-average supporting cast.
His 5.3 yards per pass attempt ranks as the fewest yards/attempt in a season of eligibility since fellow Panthers rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen in 2010, and the 250th by a No. 1 overall draft pick. Recorded as the fewest yards/attempt on a pass attempt of more than 100 yards per attempt. That time was the fourth-fewest in NFL history for 400 or pass attempts.
Bryce Young QB ranking for 2023 season
Comp rate |
59% |
second worst |
passing yards/at |
5.3 |
worst |
TD-INT |
9-9 |
second worst |
Evaluation of successful candidates |
72.2 |
worst |
*4th fewest yards/attempt over 400 attempts in NFL history
The Packers’ talented but poorly coached defense routinely suffers from communication issues in the secondary, resulting in linebackers getting caught by wide receivers in coverage on a regular basis. With that in mind, Young has the best chance to shine in his rookie season. If there’s ever a week for him to break out, this is it.
The Cowboys’ 31-10 win over the Bills in Buffalo in Week 15 is part of a season-long trend for Dallas. At home, they lead the NFL in scoring offense (39.9 points per game), turnover margin (+10), third-down conversion rate (53.6%), goal differential (+171) and time of possession (35:11). . On the road, all numbers in the same category are significantly worse. The disparity in play from location to location this season is historic given the overall success thus far.
Dallas’ +167 point differential this season is the third-highest on the road (-4) for a team in NFL history. The only team that was better than the 2023 Cowboys and also won on the road is the one they both faced exactly about 100 years ago: the 1924 Frankford Yellow Jackets (+217 overall point differential, – on the road) 13) and the 1921 Buffalo All-Americans (+182 overall point differential, -2 on the road).
Cowboys by location this season
House | road | |
---|---|---|
WL |
7-0* |
3-4 |
PPG |
39.9* |
21.7 |
Allow PPG |
15.4* |
22.3 |
point difference |
+171* |
-Four |
Total YPG |
431.7* |
304.6 |
Total YPG allowed |
289.4 |
299.1 |
sales margin |
+10* |
-1 |
third down rate |
53.6%* |
43.3% |
Possession period |
35:11* |
28:32 |
*NFL Top 5
The Cowboys still don’t understand why their performance will be so different depending on where they play in 2023.
“No, I don’t know yet,” Dak Prescott said Thursday when asked if he understood why the team plays so differently on the road and at home. “Honestly, I don’t know if there is anything concrete. A lot of different aspects go hand in hand and go together. You can say different things, but at the end of the day this It could be, it could be. The type of guy.” I was like, the conversations we have, all of those are going to be excuses, we’re just going to put out energy, no matter the score, no matter if we’re down. You just have to maintain it throughout the game, regardless of your beliefs, emotional discipline, maturity and competitiveness to enjoy without blinking when playing against the world. So, no. ”
But despite that, they upset the Dolphins with just their fourth road win of the season. This game is a battle between the NFL’s top scoring offense (the Dolphins’ offense, which averages 31.5 points per game) and the league’s second-best scoring offense (the Cowboys’ unit, which averages 30.8 points per game). You will win. When someone makes a defensive stop.
The Dolphins’ entire starting offensive line is listed on this week’s injury report, with the entire right side (right tackle Austin Jackson (oblique) and right guard Robert Hunt (hamstring)) still practicing through Wednesday and Thursday. have not done so. Since Tua Tagovailoa is a left-handed quarterback, these two will act as his blindside protectors. If they come out at less than 100% or have a backup, that’s a huge advantage for the Cowboys.
Dallas All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons leads the NFL in quarterback pressures (89) and quarterback pressure rate (20.9%). Parsons, Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, and the rest of the Cowboys’ pass rush unit combine to produce a league-best quarterback pressure rate of 47.1%. The Cowboys defense will take advantage of Miami’s weakened offensive line and provide enough key stops to satisfy Dallas and send it home to Texas.
Joe Flacco becomes the first Browns QB to throw for over 300 yards in three straight wins.
38-year-old Joe Flacco missed training camp and took his kids to school, as no team in the league wanted him on their opening roster for the 2023 season, NFL football returned to. Fast forward to today, and the former Ravens’ Super Bowl MVP is now the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns after suffering an injury. It’s a truly unpleasant sight.
Flacco has the most passing touchdowns (seven) and passing yards (939) by a quarterback over the age of 38 in his first three games with the team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He became the first Browns quarterback to throw for over 300 passing yards in Cleveland’s three-game winning streak and will look to continue that success.
Week 16’s opponent, the Houston Texans, is allowing 239.1 passing yards per game, the eighth-most in the NFL. Against a Texans team without C.J. Stroud, the NFL’s total defense can regularly get the ball back in Flacco’s hands and gain yards while marching the Browns offense down the field.
Seahawks end road losing streak at 5 with victory over Titans…It doesn’t matter who the QB is
The Seahawks have lost five straight road games, the longest streak since 2010-11, Pete Carroll’s first two seasons as Seattle’s head coach. The Seahawks have never lost six straight on the road against Carroll, and that won’t change no matter who the Seahawks’ starting quarterback is Saturday against the 5-9 Titans in Tennessee.
In a 20-17 win over the Eagles on Monday Night Football, backup Drew Lock completed a 92-yard winning touchdown drive with 1:52 remaining. Seattle will win if starter Geno Smith returns from his groin injury, which is likely since he had a full practice earlier this week. In his final game, a 41-35 road loss to the Cowboys in Week 13, he threw for 334 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown.
Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis suffered a career-high seven sacks in last week’s 19-16 overtime loss to the Texans, injuring his ankle in the overtime sack. Tennessee running back Derrick Henry has historically struggled, accumulating 10 total scrimmage yards on 20 touches, the most of every player since 1950 with 20 or more touches. They gained the fewest scrimmage yards.
What if Smith can’t go and Rock starts again? It won’t matter. Seattle’s road struggles will end in Week 16 no matter who starts at quarterback.
Giants disallow Eagles sack on Christmas Day in Philadelphia
The 2023 Giants (5-9) have 76 sacks this season, tying them with the 2002 Houston Texans for third-most sacks in a season. He is three sacks away from ranking second all-time since the Cardinals in 1997. The defense has collapsed during the Eagles’ three-game losing streak (10-4). Since Week 13, they have allowed 31.7 points per game (second-worst in the NFL), 382.3 total yards per game (fifth-worst in the NFL), and 254.3 passing yards per game (seventh-worst in the NFL). is allowed.
Despite a porous offensive line, New York kept Tommy DeVito upright for the entire game in the second game of a Christmas Day tripleheader on Monday, allowing Philadelphia’s stumbling defense not to have one sack. I didn’t let it be recorded.