Five NFL players who will push teams into playoffs in final weekend
While the intensity of the spotlight in Week 18 can’t compare to the pressure of the postseason, the final week of the NFL regular season still has a way of prompting some signature performances. And with the NFL playoff picture still far from settled, there will be ample opportunity for players to make season-defining star turns this weekend. Five spots still remain – three in the AFC and two in the NFC – with 11 teams jockeying for the openings.
With that in mind, we asked USA TODAY Sports’ NFL reporters and columnists: Which player who will step up this weekend to help push their team into the playoffs?
Their answers:
Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen has played against the Miami Dolphins 12 times, including last year’s wild-card win. He’s accounted for 39 touchdowns (34 passing, 5 rushing) and has never had fewer than two TD passes in any of those matchups – the longest streak by a quarterback against another team in league history. Allen passed for 320 yards, four TDs and a perfect 158.3 QB rating in 48-20 Week 4 blowout over the Fins in Western New York. Now, Allen’s been uneven through the air since OC Ken Dorsey was fired two months ago, but the offense has been more balanced and he’s been especially effective as a runner while the Bills have won five of six to get back into the AFC East race. Hard to believe Buffalo and its quarterback don’t finish the job Sunday night in South Florida.
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– Nate Davis
Jayden Reed
The second-round rookie receiver from Michigan State has exhibited some serious grit for the Green Bay Packers (8-8) in recent weeks. There’s no reason to think that the man who broke Sterling Sharpe’s franchise record for receptions by a rookie won’t gut it out again for a win-and-they’re-in showcase on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Reed was knocked out of the Week 17 victory against the Minnesota Vikings with a chest injury but apparently has progressed well this week with his recovery.
That’s been quite the pattern for Reed, who leads the Pack with 60 catches and 681 receiving yards, and is tied for the team lead with 8 TD receptions. He initially suffered a setback with his chest/ribs in Week 11 against the L.A. Chargers. Then it was an ankle injury sustained in Week 15. He sat out in Week 16 because of a toe injury. And here’s how tough he was in returning last weekend: Reed was injured late in the second quarter after being blasted while handling another of his roles as a punt returner, but stayed in the game and hauled in a 25-yard TD pass from Jordan Love just before halftime before being sidelined for the second half. He finished his half of work with 6 catches, 89 yards and 2 TDs. It’s no wonder Packers coach Matt LaFleur calls the versatile Reed a ‘War Daddy.’
Despite the assortment of injuries, Reed is fifth among NFL rookies in receptions, seventh for receiving yards and second for touchdown catches. And no rookie has scored as many points (62), with Reed’s tally including 2 rushing TDs and a 2-point conversion. Love clearly needs his go-to target to help nail down a playoff spot – and especially if he can keep finding him in the middle of the field. Reed is tied with Cee Dee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL lead with 7 TD catches while lining up in the slot. Yeah, it figures the rookie will show up in the slot. Again.
– Jarrett Bell
C.J. Stroud
I believe Week 18 will be C.J. Stroud’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year moment. The Texans need a big game from Stroud on the road in Indianapolis, and he will deliver in front of a primetime Saturday audience. Stroud’s already been the best rookie quarterback since Justin Herbert, but he will elevate himself in rookie QB lore with a superb performance. Stroud passed for 384 yards and two touchdowns the last time these two teams met in Week 2. He enters Week 18 as a more experience quarterback, he reads defenses better and the game isn’t as fast for him. Furthermore, the Colts allow the most points in the AFC and have the worst total defense in the AFC South. With a playoff berth on the line and this year’s rookie of the award in the balance, expect Stroud to have a big game.
– Tyler Dragon
Baker Mayfield
No team with nothing to play for is an easy “W” in Week 18, but the Buccaneers have to be feeling good that the Panthers are their final regular-season foe. And what better way could Mayfield cap a career resurrection than a big game against the league’s most downtrodden team than putting up big numbers and leaving little doubt as to who the Kings of the South – not saying much, exactly, in 2023 – are.
In five of Tampa’s seven losses, Mayfield has thrown an interception. One of those? A month ago against Carolina.
Mayfield has already set a career best in touchdowns (28) and is on pace to complete the highest percentage of pass attempts since being taken first overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. Leading a second team to the postseason is well within his grasp and he’ll get it done Sunday.
– Chris Bumbaca
Travis Etienne Jr.
Entering December at 8-3, the Jaguars looked like a potential contender for the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a virtual lock to repeat as AFC South champions. But the ensuing four-game skid, which was only ended by last week’s walkover against the league-worst Carolina Panthers, has left Jacksonville needing to beat the rival Tennessee Titans on Sunday to secure the division crown and the franchise’s first consecutive playoff berths since 1998-99.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence sat out last week’s game with a shoulder injury, and he has been limited in practice this week. A necessary offensive recalibration, then, could mean a substantial workload for Etienne. The third-year running back had a rough stretch from mid-October on, cracking 60 yards in just one of 10 games before he notched 102 yards and two touchdowns in Week 17. But with another heavy workload likely in the cards given the uncertainty surrounding Lawrence, Etienne could play a critical role in helping the Jaguars avoid a calamitous tumble out of the playoff picture.
– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz