Sooners in the NFL 2023: Week 16
Baker Mayfield’s comeback story is turning into one for the ages. He’s playing the best football he’s played since his days at Oklahoma, and it looks like the former No. 1 overall pick has finally found a home in the NFL. With a good supporting cast of skill players and a solid offensive line, Mayfield has proved to be capable.
Tampa Bay pulled off another upset win against the Jaguars over the Holiday break, destroying Jacksonville 30-12 at home and inching one step closer to the playoffs. The Buccaneers have a firm grip on the division and can clinch it next week. At 8-7, Mayfield has been at the center of one of the NFL’s biggest surprises of the season.
Against the Jaguars, Mayfield finished with 283 yards and two touchdowns on 26-of-35 passing. For the third game in a row, he didn’t register an interception and led his team to a massive win. It seemed like Tampa Bay was on life support, but Mayfield has led them to four straight wins.
On the season, the former Oklahoma signal caller now has 3,598 yards passing for 26 yards and eight interceptions. He has a 96.2% QB Rating and has capitalized on his rental season in Tampa Bay, turning into the best season in his career.
In addition to Mayfield’s performance, several other Sooners racked up strong stat lines.
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals fell short, but the former Heisman Trophy winner posted 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air with no turnovers. He added five carries for 32 yards on the ground.
The team around him hasn’t been up to standards, but Murray has done his best to prove himself worthy of the quarterback No. 1 spot in the future. Arizona will have options near the top of the draft, but Murray should clearly be the choice moving forward.
Ceedee Lamb was an absolute star once again, continuing his impressive season. There’s plenty of talent at the wide receiver position in the NFL, and Lamb has a strong case at the top of his position.
On Saturday, the Cowboys fell short but Lamb put on an absolute show. He hauled in six receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown. The Oklahoma product now has 1,424 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. He's second in the NFL in receiving yards and fourth in the NFL in receiving touchdowns.
Jalen Hurts helped the Eagles get back into the win column with 301 passing yards, 34 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. He's patrolling one of the best teams in the NFL with an 11-4 record and his short yardage rushing has been unstoppable.
Here's how the rest of the Sooners in the NFL performed:
Arizona Cardinals
(L 27-16 at Chicago)
- WR Marquise Brown: DNP
- OL Marquis Hayes: Practice squad
- QB Kyler Murray: 24-of-38 for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 rushes for 32 yards
Baltimore Ravens
(W 33-19 at San Francisco)
- TE Mark Andrews: IR
Buffalo Bills
(W 24-22 at San Diego)
- DL Jordan Phillips: DNP, IR
Cincinnati Bengals
(L 34-11 at Pittsburgh)
- RB Joe Mixon: 11 rushes for 43 yards, 2 receptions for 7 yards
- OT Orlando Brown Jr: Started at tackle
- OT Cody Ford: Played
Cleveland Browns
(W 36-22 at Houston)
- DE Isaiah Thomas: (Practice Squad)
- WR Mike Woods: (PUP)
- LB Ogbo Okoronkwo: DNP, torn pectoral
Dallas Cowboys
(L 22-20 at Miami)
- DT Neville Gallimore: Played, 1 tackle
- WR CeeDee Lamb: 6 catches for 118 yards and 1 touchdown, 2 rushes for 14 yards
Denver Broncos
(L 26-23 vs New England)
- OLB Nik Bonitto: DNP, injury
- S Delarrin Turner-Yell: Played, no stats recorded
- RB Samaje Perine: 1 rush for 2 yards, 4 catches for 27 yards
- WR Marvin Mims Jr: 3 catches for 63 yards, 2 kick returns for 28 yards and a fumble, three punt returns for 59 yards
- OG Ben Powers: started at guard
- OLB Ronnie Perkins: 2 tackles
Jacksonville Jaguars
(L 30-12 at Tampa Bay)
- OT Anton Harrison: Started at tackle, injured during game
Kansas City Chiefs
(L 20-14 vs Las Vegas)
- TE Blake Bell: 1 catch for 4 yards
- C Creed Humphrey: started at center
- LS James Winchester: started
- OL Wanya Morris: active, played
Las Vegas Raiders
(W 20-14 at Kansas City)
- LB Curtis Bolton: No stats recorded
Los Angeles Chargers
(L 24-22 vs Buffalo)
- LB Kenneth Murray: 4 tackles
Minnesota Vikings
(L 30-24 vs Detroit)
- LB Brian Asamoah: No stats recorded
- Tyrese Robinson: Practice squad
New England Patriots
(W 26-23 at Denver)
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson: DNP, injured
New York Giants
(L 33-25 at Philadelphia)
- WR Sterling Shepard: No stats recorded
- RB Eric Gray: No stats recorded
New York Jets
(W 30-28 vs Washington)
- DL Perrion Winfrey: IR
Philadelphia Eagles
(W 33-25 vs New York Giants)
- QB Jalen Hurts: 24-of-38 for 301 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 8 rushes for 34 yards and 1 touchdown
- OL Lane Johnson: Started at tackle
San Francisco 49ers
(L 33-19 vs Baltimore)
- OL Trent Williams: Started at LT
- TE Brayden Willis: No stats recorded
Seattle Seahawks
(W 20-17 at Tennessee)
- CB Tre Brown: 1 tackle
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(W 30-12 vs Jacksonville)
- QB Baker Mayfield: 26-of-35 for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns, 5 rushes for 5 yards
Washington Commanders
(L 30-28 at New York Jets)
- P Tress Way: 7 punts, 42.0 average yards per punt, longest punt 49 yards, 3 punts inside the 20
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