Green Bay Packers wideout Christian Watson is heating up. One week after a 51-yard touchdown reception against the Detroit Lions, Watson struck from distance again Sunday in a huge NFC North matchup with the Chicago Bears.
Watson caught a slant on third-and-3 from the Bears' 41-yard line in the third quarter and went into the end zone untouched. In the process, he reached the top speed of the week at 21.6 mph and helped the Packers reclaim the division lead with a 28-21 victory.
After missing the first seven weeks recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in 2024, Watson has been producing lately. He has 452 receiving yards (17th in the NFL) and five touchdowns (tied for sixth) since Week 8.
The second-fastest time in Week 14 belonged to Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum breaking off a 48-yard touchdown run in a blowout win against the Arizona Cardinals. Corum reached 21.29 mph en route to the score, the fastest mark of the season for him.
Each week, we will highlight top performances as defined by NFL Next Gen Stats, which tracks players' speed through sensors in their uniforms and on the field.
We'll also feature some of the top games of the week. Here is a look at four games from Week 14 through the Next Gen lens, as well as key intel on leaders for several individual awards.
Detroit Lions 44, Dallas Cowboys 30
Lions cornerback D.J. Reed had a rough day covering Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb, even though Reed sealed the win with an interception. Reed covered Lamb on 13 snaps, allowing five receptions for 105 yards. It was the most yards Reed has allowed to a single receiver in a game in his career, and it was the most yards Lamb has gained in a single coverage matchup in his career.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff went 24-of-33 for 272 yards with one touchdown, with most of his production coming on quick passes (2.5 seconds or less). Goff went 17-of-21 on quick pass attempts for 167 yards and a touchdown. His quick pass rate (61.8%) was his highest mark in a game since joining the Lions in 2021.
Green Bay Packers 28, Chicago Bears 21
Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for 234 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the win. Love now leads the NFL in EPA per dropback on the season (+0.22).
He was excellent against the blitz, completing 8-of-11 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, producing a season-high success rate (63.6% ).
Houston Texans 20, Kansas City Chiefs 10
One reason Houston won was quarterback C.J. Stroud's playmaking under pressure. Three out of the Texans' four scoring drives had a pivotal play when Stroud used his legs to extend the play before finding a target.
Overall, he was pressured on 54.3% of his dropbacks but finished with a touchdown and 114 yards passing. Arguably his biggest play was on the Texans' go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth when Stroud faced a third-and-3. Within two seconds, his vision in the pocket was blurred by a barreling Chris Jones, but he was able to escape the Chiefs defensive tackle. But exiting the pocket took Stroud into defensive end George Karlaftis' sight and Stroud eventually completed a contested throw to wideout Jayden Higgins for a first down.
Jones generated a season-high seven pressures on 28 pass rushes against the Texans, including six quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds). Jones tied for the quickest pressures by any defensive tackle this season, as well as his most in a game since the start of 2019. He generated his pressures in an average of 2.2 seconds, his fastest time to pressure since Week 2 of that season (with a minimum of five pressures).
Playing his first career snaps, Chiefs reserve left tackle Esa Pole matched up with Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter 21 times and allowed just one pressure, which was not generated until 4.2 seconds after the snap. Pole was the first player to match up with Hunter more than 20 times in a game and allow only one pressure or fewer during Hunter's two seasons with the Texans.
MVP race
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, QB
According to Draft Kings, Stafford is the MVP favorite (-180). His money play has been against the blitz. He has 25 touchdowns and zero turnovers against the blitz this season. No other signal caller has more than 13 touchdowns against the blitz.
Stafford threw two deep touchdowns in the Rams' 45-17 win over the Cardinals. His +1.09 EPA/DB on deep throws is third highest in the NFL.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots, QB
Maye (+200) leads the NFL with 1,865 passing yards and a .73 EPA per dropback on downfield throws of 10+ air yards.
Maye also leads the league in yards (1,085), touchdown passes (9) and passer rating (104.4) when under pressure.
Offensive Player of the Year race
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks, WR
In the Seahawks' 37-9 win over the Falcons, Smith-Njigba (-320) caught two touchdowns, and one was on a downfield throw of 10 or more air yards. That marked his seventh, a league high.
Smith-Njigba is the only player with more than 700 receiving yards on downfield throws this season and he's sitting at 1,019.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions, RB
Gibbs (+500) recorded 43 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 12 carries against the Cowboys, with all three touchdowns coming out of jumbo formations (6 or more offensive lineman).
Gibbs has also made the most of his carries, ranking second in the NFL for qualified rushers at 5.7 yards per carry.
Defensive Player of the Year race
Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns, DL
Garrett (-2000) got a sack even though he had only a 4.2% pressure rate, the lowest of the season. Garrett has 20 sacks and is still on pace to break the single-season sack record shared by Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan of 22.5.
Garrett's racked up the sacks while receiving the second-highest chip blocked in the NFL this season (25.9%, with a minimum of 200 pass rushes).
Garrett also leads the league in pressure to sack rate (34.5% min. 200 pass rushes).
Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers, DE
Parsons (+1000) recorded 8 pressures on 30 pass rushes against the Bears, generating a 26.7% pressure rate, his seventh game this season generating a pressure rate over 20%.
Comeback Player of the Year race
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RB
McCaffrey (-145) had a bye in Week 14, but since Week 8, McCaffrey's missed tackles forced rate (38.1%) and total missed tackles forced (40) lead the NFL. He and Taylor (36) are the only players with 30+ in that span
On the season, his 31.2% missed tackle forced rate is the fourth highest among running backs with 75 or more carries
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, QB
Against the Lions, Prescott (+125) went 9-of-13 for 166 yards with a touchdown when under pressure. That production netted him a 137.5 passer rating, the fifth highest of any quarterback in a game this season (with a minimum of 12 attempts).
When Prescott targeted the seams against the Lions, he completed 20 of 24 attempts for 209 yards. He has the second-most downfield passing yards (1,857) this season. Since coming off their bye in Week 11, Prescott's 670 downfield passing yards lead the league by more than 150.
Offensive Rookie of the Year race
Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers, WR
The Panthers were on a bye this week, but McMillan (-160) has three receiving touchdowns on downfield throws (10 or more air yards) since Week 11, the most in the NFL.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR
After a hot start, Egbuka (+650) has cooled down, but his 605 receiving yards on downfield passes are tied for seventh most in the NFL, and his five touchdowns are tied for third most.
Defensive Rookie of the Year race
Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns LB
Schwesinger (-550) had a team-high 10 tackles against the run, a run stuff and a team-high four pressures on just seven pass rushes in Week 14 loss against the Titans.
Schwesinger leads all rookies in run tackles, run stuffs and run stops for an unsuccessful offensive play.
Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks, S
Emmanwori (+500) generated two pressures and a sack on eight pass rushes against the Falcons. He also had six total tackles and one run stuff.
For the season, when he rushes, he has a 26% pressure rate.
