Young Guns Still Out Front and Center: 10 Things to Know, Bama in the NFL Week 14

Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts have big-time matchups this week, one against another outstanding young QB, the other against his former Alabama offensive coordinator.

The National Football League is big-time promoting its young quarterbacks this week, especially the four who were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

They include two former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterbacks in Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5 overall) and Jalen Hurts (No. 53), along with Joe Burrow (No. 1) and Justin Hebert (No. 6). 

Each is in the top 10 in NFL touchdown passes. Only two draft classes over the last four decades have finished a season with four-or-more quarterbacks ranked among the top 10 in that statistic category: 

• Class of 1983: John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien, who were all top 10 in 1986).

• Class of 2004: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Schaub (in 2009).

Two of the quarterbacks square off on Sunday, making it our matchup of the week: Tagovailoa and Hebert when the Dolphins visit the Chargers on Sunday night. 

Tagovailoa, 24, is bidding to become the second-youngest qualified player ever to lead the league in passer rating, behind Marino (who was 23 years old in 1984).

Herbert, with 12,689 career passing yards, can break the NFL record held by Andrew Luck for the most passing yards by a player during his first three seasons (12,957).  

Here are nine other things you need to know for Week 14:  

1) Rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams, the No. 12 selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, was activated last week and played in his first NFL game after suffering a knee injury in the National Championship Game. 

Just getting back on the field was step one. Remember, Williams didn't have training camp or a preseason to get acclimated. He took eight snaps and was targeted just once during his debut. 

The plan is for him to play more this week against the Minnesota Vikings, which is suddenly a big game. The Lions have won four of their last five and at 5-7 are very much alive in the playoff chase. They're hoping to become the first team since the NFL expanded the playoffs in 1990 to make the postseason after a 1-6 start. 

"We just wanted to get him out there," Dan Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday morning during his weekly appearance. "We wanted him to go through a pregame warm-up, be on the sideline, go line up, go fight with somebody a little bit, go run a route, see if you can connect, go block somebody and just be in it.

"Be part of it, pads on, all of that," Campbell continued per All Lions. "Moving forward, it’ll be, 'OK, we’ll get him a little more involved now,' so we’ll have some things for him. He’ll play more than he did last week, but there again, it's just, let’s slowly start to implement him into what we’re doing and see how he handles everything."

2) The Lions aren't confirming or denying a report that Williams was going to be used as a gunner on special teams against the Jaguars. No one knows because Detroit didn't punt during the game. Prior to the start of the season, general manager Brad Holmes told reporters that his playing special teams was a possibility. 

"Just because of his skillset, he’ll have a lot of versatility for us. So, if he’s not a full-time wide receiver, does he play special teams? Well, he’s got some damn good gunner tape out there in the SEC," Holmes expressed. "He’s got some good return tape out there in the SEC, so we’ll have some options." 

3) Remember that whole thing about Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick undergoing an appendectomy in mid-November was expected to be out for multiple weeks? While play at Atlanta last weekend he had seven tackles and made his fourth interception of the season. 

4) Game of the Week: The matchup that features the teams with the most wins so far this season is one that will be happening twice down the stretch, the Eagles (11-1) at Giants (7-4-1). Two of their five remaining games are against each other, with the rematch in Philadelphia set for Jan. 8. Sunday marks the first time the Eagles and Giants have faced off with each team having at least seven wins since Dec. 19, 2010. More exciting for Crimson Tide fans is it'll be the first time Hurts will be on the opposite sideline from his former offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll in 2017, as head coach of the Giants. 

5) Staying in the NFC East for a moment, anyone who thought Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs could be a one-year flash last season should look at his passed defended. He has 13, which ranks third in the league.

6) This is the week we could get a good read on Rashaan Evans' chances to lead the NFL in tackles this season? Why? Because he's not playing, the Falcons have a bye. He tops the league with 134 combined tackles, three ahead of Jordyn Brooks and Zaire Franklin, and six ahead of Foye Oluokun. C.J Mosley is in sixth with 116. 

7) See if this sounds familiar: The Eagles are telling anyone who will listen that wide receiver Devonta Smith is underrated. 

"DeVonta has been going the whole year," head coach Nick Sirianni said after Smith had five catches for 102 against the Titans last week. "I know there have been things that have been brought to my attention because of the questions you guys ask about, 'Well, does DeVonta need to get going?'

"He's been going. He's been a steady - besides the first game (against Detroit) where he got shut out. DeVonta has been going the whole year. ... He is just very steady.

"This guy is a phenomenal route runner."

The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner has 61 receptions for 711 yards and four touchdowns this season. He's on pace for his first 1,000-yard season. 

"DeVonta's grown from everything. He's grown from stuff in college, from being a rookie last year, practice, all these things," Hurts said per Eagles Today. "His game's been definitely taken to another level."

8) Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has 453 scrimmage yards (226.5 per game) and three rushing touchdowns over his last two games, and is the only player this season with 150-plus scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games. Jacobs leads NFL with career-high 1,634 scrimmage yards.

9) Each team nominates a player for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honor, what the league calls its highest honor, and the Titans chose running back Derrick Henry. All 32 nominees will receive up to a $40,000 donation in their name to their charity of choice. The winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award will receive up to a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. 

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