Tag: Studs and Duds

Studs and duds from Vikings 30-20 loss vs. Lions

Danielle Hunter and Justin Jefferson highlight the final 2023 season of studs and duds

The Minnesota Vikings season ends on a low note with a 30-20 loss to NFC North division rival Detroit Lions.

The game went about as you could have predicted. The Lions offense was able to have their way against a Vikings defense that couldn’t tackle and continuously busted coverages and made mistakes throughout the game.

On offense, the Vikings were able to move the football consistently through the air and even outgained the Lions by 67 yards. Quarterback Nick Mullens kept the Vikings in the game with 396 passing yards but two late interceptions kept the Vikings from finishing the comeback.

In our final rendition of studs and duds for the 2023 season, these stood out like a sore thumb.

Studs and duds in Patriots’ season finale loss to Jets

Who were the studs and duds in the Patriots’ season finale?

The New England Patriots rumbled with the New York Jets in a snowstorm on Sunday and came out on the losing end.

When the last whistle sounded, it signaled an end to a disappointing 2023 season for a Patriots team that only won four games. It’s a long drop-off from the perennial Super Bowl contender that was once viewed as the NFL’s gold standard.

Now, they’re a broken team that could be looking to fire their legendary head coach, Bill Belichick, in the offseason.

The offense couldn’t get anything going against the Jets on Sunday, but honestly, no one expected them to light up the scoreboard considering the weather conditions. It was an ugly back-and-forth, defensive battle before the Jets broke the game wide open in the fourth quarter.

Here are the Patriots’ studs and duds for the game:

Studs and duds in the Jaguars’ 28-20 loss vs. Titans

Duds were everywhere in the Jaguars’ season-ending loss.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ season ended Sunday with a 28-20 loss in a win-or-go-home Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans.

For the offense, things started strong in Nashville. In Trevor Lawrence’s return from a shoulder sprain that caused him to sit out   a game for the first time in his career, he led the team into field goal range on the first possession and connected with Calvin Ridley on a 59-yard deep ball early in the second quarter.

While Jacksonville’s offense lagged at times, the issue for most of the day was the defense. Despite focusing on stopping the wholly unsurprising run-heavy approach from the Titans, the Jaguars allowed 8.1 yards per carry to the duo of Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears.

With the season on the line, the Jaguars turned in a dud and lost for the fifth time in six weeks. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s not many Jaguars performances to celebrate in Week 18:

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 17 loss to Colts

Raiders went out swinging, but went out just the same.

After a big win at Arrowhead over the defending champion Chiefs in Week 16, a trip to Indianapolis to face Gardner Minshew and the Colts seemed like a very winnable game for the Raiders.

It isn’t really that simple, though. The Raiders beat the Chiefs thanks to a couple of defensive TD’s. They can’t rely on that every week.

By half time, the Colts had scored off two big catches and the Raiders offense managed just a field goal. The Colts didn’t need to score a touchdown in the second half and still pulled out the win.[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]

Studs and duds from Cowboys’ thrilling 20-19 Week 17 victory

Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb were among the studs in the Dallas Cowboys’ thrilling 20-19 Week 17 win over the Detroit Lions. | From @BenGrimaldi

There’s never a dull moment with the Dallas Cowboys, and they made sure NFL fans got their money’s worth in an exhilarating, 20-19,  Week 17 win over the Detroit Lions. The memory of the wild finish will remain long after the season ends, but the Cowboys walked away victorious in a game they needed to win.

It wasn’t the prettiest game Dallas has played at home this year, and in beating the Lions, the team finished the regular season undefeated at home for the first time since 1981. Mike McCarthy and the officials made things more interesting than it had to be late, but the Cowboys hung on.

The night was full of entertainment as the franchise inducted a Hall of Fame coach into the Ring of Honor, and then watched a record breaking-performance. Here are the studs and duds in the Week 17 win for the Cowboys.

Studs and duds from Vikings 33-10 loss vs. Packers

The Minnesota Vikings fell 33-10 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night and the duds massively outnumbered the studs.

The Minnesota Vikings struggled mightily on Sunday night by losing to their NFC North rival Green Bay Packers by a score of 33-10.

It wasn’t just the score that was bad for the Vikings, the performances across the team were brutal.

The coaching was bad.

The offense was bad.

The defense was bad.

Special teams was relatively fine, especially the punt coverage.

When you have to go to the punt coverage unit to find a unit that played relative well, that’s not a good sign. With the loss, the Vikings no longer control their own destiny with the playoffs.

The studs and duds are not very positive on Sunday night and it’s stark at how poor things were.

Studs and duds from Broncos’ 16-9 win over Chargers

Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham won his first career start with Denver. Here are the studs and duds from the victory.

The Denver Broncos came into Week 17 with a lot of controversy — specifically at the quarterback position — but ended on Sunday with a win, a 16-9 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

We take a look at the studs and duds from the win on New Year’s Eve.

Studs and duds from Commanders’ loss to 49ers

Who shined in Washington’s loss to the 49ers? Who struggled? Studs and duds from Week 17.

For about 45 minutes on Sunday, the Washington Commanders went toe-to-toe with the San Francisco 49ers. However, on the second play of the fourth quarter, Washington quarterback Sam Howell was intercepted at the San Francisco five-yard line, and any chance of the Commanders pulling off an improbable upset was gone.

The 49ers drove 95 yards for another touchdown, giving them a 27-10 lead, meaning the Commanders went from making it a one-score game to being down three scores.

Unfortunately for Washington, the offense failed to deliver again, and the Commanders dropped their seventh straight game.

So, who shined for the Commanders? Who struggled?

Let’s review the studs and duds from Week 17.

Studs and Duds from Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers

Our Studs and Duds from the Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers highlight Juwan Johnson, Demario Davis and other standouts from Sunday:

It took a team effort to put away the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the New Orleans Saints are left feeling pretty satisfied. This was a complete win with the offense, defense, and special teams units each pulling their weight.

But who were the standouts? Who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:

Studs and duds from Colts’ 23-20 win over Raiders

Taking a look at the studs and duds from the Week 17 win.

The Indianapolis Colts (9-7) defeated the Las Vegas Raiders (7-9) to continue their playoff push.

The Colts jumped out to a 7-0 lead early and never relinquished that lead throughout the entire game. The Raiders pulled within three points, but they ultimately failed to recover a last-second onside kick.

Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Week 17 win: