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While the Las Vegas Raiders haven't had much to celebrate this season, Jarrett Stidham is relishing his opportunity as the starting quarterback for the final two games.

Ahead of his first career NFL start, Stidham called this "a dream come true" while speaking to reporters.

"But at the same time, I've been preparing since my rookie year, and I've tried to prepare every single week whether I was the backup or the starter," he added. "Obviously, I've gotten to learn under a bunch of really good guys...players, coaches. I've always tried to treat the weeks the same, and this is no different."

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels announced Wednesday that Stidham would be replacing Derek Carr for the final two games this season.

"None of us is happy with where we're at, but we think it's an opportunity to evaluate a younger player who hasn't had much time to play," McDaniels said of the quarterback change. "Talking to Derek, who was great, he understands the scenario that we're in and the situation, and very supportive of the two young guys."

After making the playoffs last year and acquiring Davante Adams in the offseason, expectations were high for the Raiders coming into 2022. They immediately dug themselves a hole with three consecutive losses and a 1-4 overall start before their bye in Week 6.

A three-game winning streak from Weeks 11-14 did get the Raiders within shouting distance of the playoff race, but they lost two of their next three games to enter Week 17 with a 6-9 record.

The Raiders are one of four teams in NFL history to lose at least four games in a season that they were leading by 13 or more points.

Per Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Las Vegas is also the first team since at least 1930 to lose at least four games that it was leading by double-digits at halftime.

Even though Stidham is understandably excited to start games in the NFL, McDaniels isn't doing him any favors with the Raiders' final two opponents.

Stidham's first career start on Sunday will be against the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners defense ranks first in yards allowed (290.3 per game), points allowed (15.3), fourth in opponent passer rating (82.1) and are tied for seventh in sacks (41).

The Raiders will wrap up the season on Jan. 8 against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes leads the league in passing yards (4,720) and passing touchdowns (37). Vegas mathematically still has a chance of making the playoffs.

Stidham is in his fourth NFL season. He was a fourth-round pick by the New England Patriots in 2019 and appeared in eight games in the previous three seasons.

The Patriots traded the Auburn product to Las Vegas in May, reuniting him with McDaniels. The 26-year-old is 32-of-61 for 342 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 career games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert was among the bystanders to help rescue a man and his family from a helicopter that had to make an emergency landing in the water near Davis Islands in Tampa on Thursday, according to Matt Cohen of the Tampa Bay Times.

Gabbert was on a personal watercraft at the time of the incident, per Cohen.

Tampa Police interim chief Lee Bercaw has made Bucs quarterback Blaine Gabbert an honorary member of their Tampa Police Marine Patrol after he and his two brothers saved four people from the water of a helicopter crash Thursday. pic.twitter.com/RLQTqa52oe

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) December 30, 2022

Hunter Hupp and his parents were taking a helicopter tour over Tampa and the city's beaches as a Christmas gift before he heard a "popping sound" from above his head. The helicopter's engine had failed and it wasn't going to make it back to the airport.

The helicopter made an emergency landing in the water around 200 yards from Davis Islands. As the aircraft began to sink, Hupp found himself entangled in seatbelts and other cords that made it difficult for him to escape.

Hupp's parents and the pilot made it out safely, but Hupp said he struggled under the water for between 45 seconds and a minute before he finally freed himself. Hupp, his parents and the pilot escaped with no injuries.

Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports Gabbert "was one of the first to respond on his jet ski" when the helicopter went down. The veteran signal-caller lives on Davis Islands, according to Auman.

As Hupp, his parents and the pilot treaded water, Gabbert and someone on another jet ski came along to help. Hupp said his father was helped up onto one jet ski and he and his mother onto the other.

Hupp, who had no idea an NFL quarterback was one of the rescuers, detailed the matter, via Auman:

"They slowly brought us back to the shore, a sandy beach near the yacht club, and hung out for a while, were really nice. We exchanged pleasantries upon reaching flat ground. They were really an asset to helping us out, because we were the only ones out there for a while. It was a handshake and a huge and 'Thank you so much.' They went out for a nice afternoon ride and just happened to come upon a stranded helicopter family."

The Tampa Police Department is now "coordinating with local and federal agencies regarding the investigation and eventual recovery of the helicopter."

Gabbert, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 10th overall in 2011, has been with the Buccaneers since 2019 and serves as a backup to seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

Dak Prescott doesn't care about style points after the Dallas Cowboys got a 27-13 win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Prescott said "a win is a win" to justify the team's lackluster performance against a depleted Titans team.

"A win's a win, and we're going to take it and we're going to get better from the mistakes and make sure that we're improving," the Cowboys quarterback said. "But a road win, short week, you've got to take them all. And style points and all that, that's for y'all who think games are won on paper."

Knowing their result this week had no impact on their ability to win the AFC South, the Titans essentially punted the game to rest their key players for a Week 18 showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Derrick Henry and Kristian Fulton were ruled out shortly before kickoff, bringing the list of Tennessee starters not playing up to 10.

Ruled OUT for the #Titans vs Cowboys:

QB Ryan Tannehill
DL Jeffery Simmons
T Nicholas Petit-Frere
S Amani Hooker
OLB Bud Dupree
LB Zach Cunningham
LB Dylan Cole
DB Josh Thompson

DOUBTFUL:
RB Derrick Henry
CB Kristian Fulton
OLB Denico Autry

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 28, 2022

The Cowboys were without Tony Pollard because of a thigh injury, but otherwise, they were playing at relatively full strength.

Playing with Joshua Dobbs as their starting quarterback, the Titans were within four points at 17-13 after three quarters. The Cowboys did pull away with 10 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't pretty.

This marks the third time in the past four games that Dallas has looked underwhelming. Ezekiel Elliott's touchdown run in the final minute gave the Cowboys a 27-23 win over the Houston Texans on Dec. 11. They blew a 17-point third-quarter lead in a 40-34 overtime loss to the Jaguars on Dec. 18.

Even the Cowboys' Christmas Eve win over the Philadelphia Eagles required a late defensive stop against Gardner Minshew II filling in for the injured Jalen Hurts.

One of the big issues for Dallas during this recent stretch of games has been Prescott. The two-time Pro Bowler has thrown at least one interception in six consecutive games. His two picks against the Titans gave him 14 for the season, tied with Derek Carr for most in the NFL.

Those mistakes don't look as bad when playing teams with inferior talent like the Texans and Titans. But if the Cowboys want to make a deep playoff run, Prescott will have to do a better job of protecting the ball.

The Bijan Robinson-less Texas Longhorns fell to the Washington Huskies 27-20 in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday night, but quarterback Quinn Ewers still put together one of his best performances of the season.

The freshman completed 31-of-47 passes for a career-high 369 yards, in addition to one touchdown in the loss.

Typically, the Longhorns would have relied heavily on Robinson, their junior running back, but he opted to not suit up for the game and declare for the 2023 NFL draft as he's expected to be a first-round pick.

In 2023 and beyond, Texas is going to have to rely more heavily on Ewers to lead the offense, and he gave fans plenty of hope that he can be the guy moving forward, even with the upcoming addition of Arch Manning.

#Texas falls to Washington 27-20 in the Alamo Bowl.

Quinn Ewers throws for 369 yards and a TD in the loss. #HookEm

Some highlights from San Antonio: pic.twitter.com/2slHgV0jcC

— Adam Rossow (@AdamJRossow) December 30, 2022

Quinn Ewers outplayed Michael Penix Jr. pic.twitter.com/t16dP1WosM

— Kevin Ortiz 🅰️ (@kevinortiz) December 30, 2022

#QuinnEwers is trending! He made school records, showed leadership abilities, and has had bad days and good days. He's been a star QB for Texas this season and everyone is talking about it! #Longhorns #Quarterback #Football

— Why is it trending? (@ExplainMeTheTT) December 30, 2022

Quinn Ewers played well tonight. If actual #texaslonghorns fans can't see that then you're absolute morons. Yup.#alamo #texasvswashington

— Crispy Bacon Crypto (@baconmafia) December 30, 2022

Walking out of the Alamodome tonight with one thought — Quinn Ewers was pretty damn good tonight. He had few misfires in the first half, but he was pretty much flawless in the second half. Obvious he grew up a lot during bowl preparation.

— Todd Wills (@wtwills09) December 30, 2022

Quinn Ewers deserves better smh https://t.co/mPhAO5ROkl

— Jorge (@azteka2020x) December 30, 2022

https://twitter.com/JacobMajors2/status/1608713504730787840

https://twitter.com/rpedotti/status/1608706277475254273

https://twitter.com/DavisDenton50/status/1608704543050846209

Quinn Ewers played very well tonight. Should probably stop giving any attention to anyone who says otherwise.

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) December 30, 2022

Sark is an incredible schemer and i still believe Quinn is the real deal. If you get receivers who can simply catch the football, Texas should win the Big 12 next year. #Texas #Longhorns #HookEm

— Quinn Ewers’ Heisman Trophy (@Wandering_USA) December 30, 2022

Quinn Ewers was 31-of-47 passing for a career-high 369 yards and a touchdown despite Texas only averaging 2.8 yards per rush. Ewers played winning football and looked improved over the last month. Important gains heading into the offseason.

— Wescott Eberts (@SBN_Wescott) December 30, 2022

Career-high 368 passing yards for Quinn Ewers on a night where the run game was nonexistent. He’ll be ready for 2023.

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) December 30, 2022

Ewers, who reclassified from the 2022 recruiting class to the 2021 class, initially committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes out of high school. After riding the bench last season, he opted to enter the transfer portal, deciding Texas would be the best fit.

The 19-year-old had an up-and-down first season in Austin. Entering the Alamo Bowl, he had completed just 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,808 yards and 14 touchdowns against six interceptions.

Longhorns fans had questions about how Ewers would perform in the absence of Robinson, but Thursday's performance gave them confidence that he can lead the team to another winning season in 2023 without the star running back.

The New York Giants could clinch their first postseason berth since 2016 with a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, and they understand the urgency of the situation.

"Yeah, you don't want to leave it to chance," running back Saquon Barkley said Thursday, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "The way you do that is by doing what you've got to do this week. That is really it."

Entering this season, the Giants were pegged as one of the teams projected to finish near the bottom of the league. New York has shocked the masses with an impressive 2022 campaign under first-year head coach Brian Daboll, as the team enters Week 17 with a record of 8-6-1.

However, the Giants have struggled down the stretch, going 1-4-1 over their last six games. They're coming off a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week on a last-second field goal.

Per Raanan, New York is a 5.5-point favorite against the Colts, who have been eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-10-1 record. Much of the Giants roster has never experienced the postseason, including Barkley.

"Obviously, the first four years it didn't happen. Now there is a chance; it's a possibility," Barkley said. "It's a beautiful thing when looking at all the ups and downs, whether it's in my personal career or as an organization what we've been through the last couple years. It will be special. We have a chance to do it."

If the Giants fail to punch their ticket to the postseason this week, they will face the daunting task of defeating the NFL-leading Philadelphia Eagles (13-2) in the regular-season finale. New York would obviously prefer to secure its spot in the playoffs by taking down Indianapolis.

"I think everybody knows what [is at stake]," Daboll said. "But what we can control is, again, the same stuff we try to control each week—making sure we're prepared, ready to go, and go out there and put our best foot forward."

The Green Bay Packers will play the Minnesota Vikings Sunday in a rematch of their Week 1 game when Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-7 win.

On Thursday, Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander offered his perspective on that game to reporters, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky, calling the performance a "fluke."

"You've just got to be real: He don't jump in no super suit and get dressed and jump outside, you hear me? I don't either, sometimes. But he [is] human, is what I'm saying. We ain't putting too much on nobody.

"He's a really good receiver. But at the end of the day, I'm a really good corner. We've got really good corners. We've got really good linebackers, D-line, whatever it is. You don't want to put too much focus on that one person because it's like, the first game, that was a fluke."

Jaire Alexander's thoughts on #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson. Said he's a top-3 receiver in the NFL, but JJ's 9 receptions for 184 yards and 2 TDs in Week 1 against the #Packers was a "fluke." pic.twitter.com/yqZIoP6ktM

— John Miller (@JohnMillerNBC26) December 29, 2022

On one hand, using "fluke" to describe another great single-game performance from the unquestioned top wide receiver in football this year could be seen as unconvincing.

In 15 games, the former LSU star has caught 123 passes for 1,756 yards and eight touchdowns, and he's a near lock for the Associated Press' Offensive Player of the Year award.

However, the "fluke" comment didn't necessarily come off as disrespectful to Jefferson's talents based on the context of Alexander's other remarks.

Of note, Alexander said that he feels Jefferson is a top-three NFL wideout, with Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver (and ex-Packer) Davante Adams No. 1 and Miami Dolphins wideout Jaylen Waddle in the top three as well.

He also stressed the quality of the Packers defense, which got off to a rough beginning but has improved lately.

For starters, the pass defense is now eighth in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. Green Bay has also registered six interceptions over the past three weeks and seven sacks in the last two.

The Packers won all three games, including an impressive 26-20 road win over a Miami Dolphins team that was held scoreless in the second half.

Ultimately, Green Bay's defense is playing better now than it was when Minnesota's passing attack sliced through the Packers over three months ago, and fellow cornerback Rasul Douglas has moved forward.

"I don't really remember that game," Douglas said. "I kind of knocked all the first-half-season games away."

It's unlikely that Jefferson authors a repeat performance with a stat line akin to 9/184/2, but days like that haven't been outliers for him either.

Remarkably, Jefferson eclipsed his 184-yard total against the Packers in two other games this year (223 yards against the Detroit Lions and 193 yards versus the Buffalo Bills). He's also caught 10 or more passes six times this year.

Kickoff Sunday will go down at 4:25 p.m. ET from Green Bay's Lambeau Field. It's a big game for both teams: The 7-8 Packers are looking to win out to make the playoffs, while the 12-3 Vikings still have an outside shot at the NFC's No. 1 seed. They can do that with a pair of wins and two Philadelphia Eagles losses.

Helping keep Joe Burrow upright in the pocket has its perks.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback gifted the team's offensive linemen with a cruise trip as a Christmas present even though he won't be joining them, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.

"I don't like boats," he said. "What if you get stuck out there?"

Burrow has reason to be thankful for his offensive line.

While his season got off to a rough start when he was sacked a combined 13 times in the first two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, he hasn't been sacked more than twice since an Oct. 31 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Cincinnati's offensive line unit has shown notable improvement as the season progresses. That's one reason why the Bengals are riding a seven-game winning streak and challenging for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the AFC.

The three games this year that Burrow was sacked more than three times came against defenses featuring star pass-rushers Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, so some struggles up front are understandable.

Cincinnati's offensive linemen will now get to go on a trip as a result of their hard work.

The Tennessee Titans will reportedly start Josh Dobbs for Thursday night's matchup with the Dallas Cowboys over rookie Malik Willis, according to Justin Melo of TheDraftNetwork.com. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed the news.

It will be Dobbs' first NFL start.

The Titans selected Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, and he has served as Ryan Tannehill's backup this season. He has started three games in Tannehill's absence.

Willis was one of the more promising quarterbacks in a relatively weak 2022 draft class at that position. He spent two seasons at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, where he spent his junior and senior seasons.

The 22-year-old had a solid 2021 season, completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,857 yards and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 878 yards and 13 scores.

The Titans have gone just 1-2 in his three starts this season. He's thrown for only 276 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions while completing just 50.8 percent of his passes and taking 10 sacks. He has also rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Dobbs has appeared in six games throughout his NFL career. He's completed 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 45 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

With Tannehill still injured, the Titans had to decide between the inexperienced and struggling Willis or the journeyman Dobbs. They reportedly have chosen the latter.

Las Vegas Raiders star Darren Waller offered a vote of confidence in the team's new starting quarterback, Jarrett Stidham.

Waller told reporters Wednesday that he and his teammates "took note that he knew what he was doing" in training camp, which helped build belief in his abilities. The roster is now looking to maintain a unified front around Stidham with him taking over for Derek Carr.

"The only thing that's productive is to support Jarrett going forward," he said. "We're rallying around him and letting him know we believe in him and doing what we can to prepare for San Francisco."

This will be Stidham's first start since entering the NFL, and he hasn't done much in his limited time on the field. The 2019 fourth-round pick has gone 32-of-61 for 342 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 appearances.

Benching Carr seems to be less an endorsement of Stidham and more a sign of the Raiders' plans for the three-time Pro Bowler. If Las Vegas cuts or trades Carr shortly after the Super Bowl, then it's only on the hook for a fraction of his $34.9 million salary cap hit in 2023.

But saying the quiet part—Stidham is a placeholder and a clear downgrade from his predecessor—doesn't achieve much. Las Vegas hasn't even been mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet.

You can't blame Waller for remaining outwardly optimistic about the Raiders' chances with Stidham under center.

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is listed as doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys because of a hip injury, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Sitting Henry at this point is risk mitigation by Tennessee. The Titans are in a must-win game in Week 18 against the Jacksonville Jaguars if they want to secure the AFC South title, and the outcome of Thursday's clash with the Cowboys won't have any bearing on their pursuit of a postseason berth.

Henry has amassed 319 carries for 1,429 yards and 13 touchdowns through 15 games. The ex-Alabama star is a two-time Pro Bowler who won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award in 2020.

He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards in 2019 and 2020, notably running for 2,027 yards in the latter year. Henry's 2,141 yards from scrimmage also paced the NFL in 2020.