NFL Analysis
11/24/24
10 min read
Biggest Winners, Losers From 2024 NFL Week 12
The early afternoon slate of NFL Week 12 games could not have been wilder.
We saw one game go into overtime and another with 41 points scored (DAL-WAS) in the fourth quarter. It was one of the better weeks of football, especially as we inch closer to the playoffs. What players were the biggest winners coming out of Week 12? And which teams and coaches left a lot to be desired?
Here are the biggest winners and losers from another fantastic week of NFL action:
NFL Week 12 Winners, Losers
Honorable Mentions
Winner: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins
Loser: Kyle Shanahan, HC, San Francisco 49ers
Winner: KaVontae Turpin, KR, Dallas Cowboys
Loser: Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
⬆️Winner: Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers
The Packers made a pretty controversial move this offseason, releasing Aaron Jones and signing Josh Jacobs to replace him. Jacobs was coming off a really poor season in Las Vegas, and Jones has been a staple of Green Bay’s offense for several years. But through 12 weeks, that move is looking like a brilliant one.
Jacobs was fantastic for Green Bay in Week 12, and it started right from the first possession. His first carry of the game went for 18 yards, and two plays later, he hit another explosive run for the Packers to set them up for a first-drive touchdown.
While Jacobs didn’t get into the end zone on that drive, he scored three touchdowns on Sunday as the Packers destroyed the 49ers. Jacobs ran for more than 100 yards, and it was his physical presence in the run game that made the difference on Sunday.
Jacobs isn’t the receiver that Aaron Jones is, but his ability to create explosive plays between the tackles and grind out the hard yards is exactly what this offense missed last year. Jacobs gives Green Bay the toughness it needs on the ground, and that’s why it targeted him in the offseason.
Jacobs isn’t the most important player on Green Bay’s offense, but he is the heart and soul of that unit. As long as he can stay healthy, the Packers will be tough to deal with on that side of the ball.
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⬆️Winner: Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
It’s certainly been a rough start for Bryce Young during his first two years in the NFL.
He’s been on arguably the worst team in the league and was benched coming out of Week 2 in favor of Andy Dalton. It felt like we were trending toward Young being one of the NFL’s biggest busts ever, but his play in the last few weeks has been encouraging.
He saved his best performance of his career for Week 12 when the Panthers hosted the 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs. Against one of the league’s top defenses, Young shredded them through the air and scored 27 points.
He led the Panthers on a touchdown drive at the end of regulation, and Carolina converted the 2-point conversion to tie the game up and take the Chiefs to overtime. Take a look at his passing chart against the Chiefs in Week 12 via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats:
The overall box score numbers don’t show it, but Young has played well since returning to Carolina's lineup.
They’ve been highly competitive in all four games, and it seems like he is getting more confident each week. We’ll see if that can continue, but it’s great to see Young playing better and for the Panthers to be involved in some competitive games this season.
⬆️Winner: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
You can make an argument that no team in the NFL has invested more into a single wide receiver than the Dolphins have with Jaylen Waddle.
Miami traded up from No. 12 to No. 6 in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Waddle, giving up a 2022 first-round pick. Three years later, Miami gave him a three-year extension worth nearly $85 million to be its No. 2 receiver. The Dolphins have not gotten much production from him this season, racking up only 404 yards and one touchdown in the first 11 games.
But Waddle finally had his breakout performance of the season, torching the Patriots' secondary. Waddle caught a season-high eight passes for 144 yards and a touchdown as Miami cruised past New England. This was a reminder of just how talented Waddle is and the impact that he can have in any matchup.
The Dolphins are 5-6 on the season and suddenly back in the playoff hunt in the AFC. With a favorable schedule coming up, Miami could easily get to nine wins this season, which might be enough to make the postseason as a wild-card team.
For that to happen, the Dolphins will need more of these games for Waddle. We know that he is capable of it, but he just needs to do it on a more consistent basis.
⬇️Loser: Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders had everything going in their favor before their Week 12 matchup against the Cowboys. Washington was a double-digit favorite and came off 10 days rest, while the Cowboys just played on Monday Night Football against the Texans.
Dallas was without its top-five players in terms of 2024 cap hit (Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, Trevon Diggs, Demarcus Lawrence) and was without Tyler Smith. Dallas was decimated on both sides of the ball and had lost five straight games going into Week 12.
However, the Commanders threw away a game they had no business losing. A big reason why is their special teams unit, which was a disaster in Week 12. Not only did they miss two extra points, including one that would have tied the game with less than 30 seconds, but they also allowed two kick returns for a touchdown to help spark one of the league’s worst offenses.
This is not the first time Washington’s special teams unit has cost it a game. It happened just a few weeks ago when they muffed two punts against the Steelers. It has struggled to get any consistency in the kicking game, and it’s costing them time and time again.
Sitting at 7-5, the Commanders are falling way back in the NFC East and have now invited other teams into the NFC Wild Card picture. This was a game that good teams should win, and the Commanders were lucky this game was close in the fourth quarter. That should be a big concern for Washington going forward.
⬇️Loser: Brian Daboll, HC, New York Giants
There are plenty of bad teams in the NFL. However, we saw teams like the Cowboys, Panthers, and Bears play hard for their respective head coaches in Week 12.
The same can’t be said for Brian Daboll and the New York Giants. The Giants made a controversial decision to bench and cut Daniel Jones this week in favor of Tommy DeVito. Several leaders spoke out about that move, including Dexter Lawrence. Now, it appears that their frustration with that decision is playing out on the field.
The Giants were down 23-0 in the first half against Tampa Bay and offered zero resistance on defense. But the offense was even worse, managing just two first downs. They never crossed Tampa Bay’s 35-yard line, and this game was completely over by the third quarter.
After the game, rookie WR Malik Nabers voiced his frustration about his lack of involvement in the first half and the team’s performance overall. It doesn’t take a football savant to see that the Giants have quit on their coach and their front office. With a record of 2-9, things have gone just about as poorly as possible this year.
Daboll was the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading the Giants to playoffs and a road win against the Vikings. But it seems like we are trending toward the Giants moving on from him after the 2024 season.
Things are bad in New York and could get even worse with a Thanksgiving loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This once-historic franchise is in a really dark place, and the players quitting on their coach is a sign of just how bad things have gotten for the Giants.
⬇️Loser: C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
There is no doubt that C.J. Stroud is officially in a sophomore slump. The rookie sensation from the 2023 season has regressed this year. His offensive line has not played well, and he’s had to battle through several of his receivers missing time with injuries.
But there is no excuse for how poorly he played in Week 12. Both Nico Collins and Tank Dell were healthy, and he had Joe Mixon in the backfield. His offensive line had four of their five Week 1 starters, and they hosted one of the league’s worst teams, the Tennessee Titans. Yet, they couldn’t find a way to win despite Houston’s defense forcing eight sacks and recording a pick-six.
Stoud had just 220 net passing yards and two key interceptions, including one right before halftime that directly led to the Titans stealing three points. Houston scored just three points in the second half as it failed to make any adjustments against Tennessee’s defense.
After throwing just five interceptions as a rookie, Stroud is already up to nine this season. He already has three games this season with at least two interceptions, and the Texans are 0-3 in those contests.
His numbers are down across the board, including completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating. Houston’s offense looks broken, and Stroud appears to be losing confidence each week. That’s not to say that he can’t get back on track, but this has been a discouraging season for a quarterback who looked like he was on the verge of stardom as a rookie.
The Texans are still up three games in the AFC South, but their record of 7-5 suggests they aren’t much of a contender in the AFC. With Stroud playing this poorly, Houston looks like a team that will be one-and-done in the playoffs. That would be a disappointing outcome, considering all of the progress it made last season.
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