Michael McQuaid of Pro Football Ireland looks at some of the key storylines ahead of the 14th week of the 2024 NFL season, which gets under way tonight (1.15am Irish time) with the visit of the Green Bay Packers to the Detroit Lions.
Battle for the North
The visit of the Packers to the Lions is one of the best primetime games of the year, with the game really impacting on the NFC North overall. Both teams have had a full week of rest after playing on Thanksgiving.
The Packers are making their late season march. Over the last three weeks, quarterback Jordan Love has been leading the NFL in various stats, which include expected points added (EPA) per dropback, yards per dropback, and touchdown percentage.
Love goes up against a Lions defence ranked in the top 10 in the league, with an average of 320 yards allowed per game through 13 weeks. The Lions have had a significant amount of injuries this season (with Aidan Hutchinson the standout loss), but they have found a way each week to recover from any setback, sitting on 11-1 as we enter the final stretch.
As the leader of the Lions, Jared Goff is having a season to remember. Last week, he joined Peyton Manning as the only quarterback since 1950 to have 10-game win streaks with multiple teams. Goff seems to have found another level for a Lions team looking to reach the summit for the first time. Over the previous three weeks, Goff has completed 37.5% of his passes while under pressure.
On the defensive side of the ball last week, the Lions impressed. Za'Darius Smith, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and DJ Reader all set or tied their season highs in pressures, marking only the second time this season a team has had three players achieve seven or more pressures in a single game.
Something has to give here and the Minnesota VIkings will be sitting at home watching with their 10 wins.
Vikings plan a raid
One of the standout games of the Sunday slate is the match-up between the Vikings and Atlanta Falcons, with Falcons QB Kirk Cousins returning to his old stomping ground at US Bank Stadium.
It's been a hard slog recently for the veteran quarterback as the Falcons have lost their last three games and Cousins has a total of 724 passing yards with no touchdowns, six interceptions and four fumbles. The NFL is an unforgiving league and Cousins had a game to forget last week, with mumblings of discontent in Georgia starting to emerge and requests from fans to start rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr getting louder.
Another @Chargers INT!
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The Vikings have really performed well with Sam Darnold at the helm in recent times. Over the last three weeks, Minnesota have won three games, with Darnold on 811 passing yards, seven total touchdowns, no interceptions, and all while playing behind a makeshift offensive line. It remains to be seen how the NFC North battle will play out on Thursday, but this is a huge opportunity for Minnesota on Sunday, as they face the Packers and Lions in the final two weeks of the season.
You ain’t seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn
Cregg’s Andy Quinn signed with Boston College earlier this week, making his move official on Wednesday. Quinn is a five-star rated recruit (considered good enough to start his first game as a true freshman) and the former Leader Kicking and NFL Academy product has landed in a good place, as the Eagles have really struggled with kicking in 2024.
From Galway to Boston College - Happy National Signing Day to Andy Quinn!
— Michael McQuaid (@Michael_NFL) December 4, 2024
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Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Quinn is hopeful about the move, and said: "I'm doing all sorts of pre-Boston training and different sessions every day. The opportunity that I'm going to have is massive, and I'm so lucky to have that opportunity to do that and to play Division 1 football and go around to some of the biggest stadiums in the country."
The Galway man could find himself playing as both a kicker and punter under former NFL coach Bill O'Brien.
"I'm really open to this in terms of position," Quinn said. "Whatever I need to do to help the team win, I'll do it. At the moment, I'm sort of focusing on kick-off and punts, but if the situation comes... I'm happy to adapt".
Quinn will have a number of big match-ups in 2025, including a game against Notre Dame.
Shootout in the Wild West
It’s not all about the North this week - the AFC West comes into play with a big Sunday night primetime match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs sit at 11-1 and punched their ticket to the postseason last week. That being said, they have not been overly impressive this season. The Chiefs' offence is currently ranked ninth in offensive DVOA (defence-adjusted value over average) through 13 weeks of the season. This is the lowest they've been at this point since 2017, and it's the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era they've fallen below fifth. While the defending champs have 11 wins, they are 24th in the league in Red Zone offence, with a 52% success rate. That is low - it was at 59% in 2023.
For the Chargers, this is a real opportunity in the final few weeks of the regular season. They sit on 8-4 in the AFC West and with JK Dobbins sidelined for the season, the spotlight turns to Chargers running back Gus Edwards, who has averaged only 3.4 yards per carry this year, a drop of 1.4 yards from when Dobbins was in the line-up. Against a tough Chiefs defence, Edwards' performance will be massive for the Chargers. If they aim to solidify their status as AFC contenders, they'll need Edwards to significantly boost his output.
NFC West also a close-run thing
Finally, the NFC West has an interesting game this Sunday as the Arizona Cardinals welcome the Seattle Seahawks. Arizona have had some standout performers this season, with Budda Baker excelling. The safety is tied for second in the league when it comes to tackles for loss, while the Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 13.
The Cardinals are one game down on the Seahawks and this promises to be a pivotal battle, especially as the 49ers look to be done for the season, with Christian McCaffrey confirmed to be out. The next few weeks will be vital to see where the Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams finish as the fight for the play-offs intensifies - and this game between Arizona and Seattle will go a long way to deciding who will be in the play-offs when January comes.
