Inactives, news and more from NFL Week 17

On December 29, 2024By Littum

Get caught up on Week 17 NFL playoff run – 12:30 p.m

By Ben Volin

Saturday afternoon will be a strange experience for some NFL fans.

At 1 p.m., fans of the Colts, Dolphins and Bengals will hold their noses and do something that probably violates their moral code: Root for the Patriots.

And at 4:30 p.m., the biggest Joe Burrow fans in the country will not only live in Cincinnati, but up the road in Indianapolis and down the road in Miami.

Week 17 is here, which means the playoff races are reaching their final stages. In the AFC, the 9-6 Chargers and Broncos have a two-game lead over the 7-8 Colts, Dolphins and Bengals for the final two wild cards.

But if the Patriots can somehow knock off the Chargers on Saturday at Gillette Stadium and/or the Bengals beat the Broncos, the Colts, Dolphins and potentially the Bengals would maintain a playoff pulse.

Globe staff players to watch — 12:15 p.m

Here’s who the Globe’s Patriots reporters are keeping an eye on.

Patriots

Cole Strange. With center Ben Brown out, Strange could make his season debut at center. David Andrews is under contract through 2025, so a strange conversion to center could be an exciting move for the future. — Nicole Yang

Keion White put quite a spotlight on himself this week, starting with a detailed look at his own shortcomings when it came to run defense, as well as some speculation about his future. It will be interesting to see how the young defensive tackle reacts. — Christopher Price

Antonio Gibson. Don’t be surprised if Gibson has a more prominent role today after Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled last week for the seventh time this season. Gibson is averaging 4.5 yards per carry. carry this year and has the Patriots’ longest rush (45 yards) and reception (50). — Ben Volin

Chargers

Derwin James. The safety was the name of every offensive player this week in Foxborough (including Drake Maye, who said he couldn’t wait to face a guy he used to play with in Madden). He is the veteran centerpiece of an excellent Chargers defense. Finding a way to neutralize him will go a long way toward New England pulling up this afternoon. — Christopher Price

JK Dobbins. Dobbins returns after missing four games with a knee injury. The Patriots defense has struggled to contain opposing running backs, which means Dobbins could have a big day — especially if this foggy weather continues. — Nicole Yang

Derwin James. He’s a rocket in the secondary and the Chargers’ do-it-all defender, with 88 tackles, an interception and 3½ sacks this season. Drake Maye has thrown an interception in seven straight starts and will have to make sure James doesn’t spoil Saturday’s game.— Ben Volin

Patriots know they’ll have their hands full with Justin Herbert — at 12.00

By Nicole Yang

A week after facing MVP candidate Josh Allen, the Patriots will have their hands full on Saturday against another talented quarterback in Justin Herbert of the Chargers.

“I think he does a good job protecting the ball,” Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday. “What does he have, three interceptions? That’s kind of low. But that’s what he does a great job with — and it gives the team a chance to win.”

Mayo was right: Herbert has thrown just three interceptions this season and had an 11-game stretch without any. Only 0.7 percent of Herbert’s pass attempts have been picked off, the best rate in the NFL.

The rest of Herbert’s tracks are not necessarily eye-catching. He ranks 17th in the league in passing yards (3,243) and 12th in quarterback rating (98.4). He ranks 16th in passing yards (16) and 20th in completion percentage (64.7).

But the play of Herbert, who was drafted sixth overall in 2020, lifts the Chargers, who are in second place in the AFC West at 9-6. Herbert’s arm strength, toughness and smart decision-making have all been on full display this season under new coach Jim Harbaugh.

What to know about the Patriots’ inactives — 11:30 a.m

By Christopher Price

The Patriots just announced their inactives for this afternoon. Here’s a look at the moves and what they mean for New England this afternoon.

Safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring) has been on and off the injury report the last two weeks and was inactive last week against the Bills, so that’s not a huge surprise. Expect a bigger workload for Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins and the rest of New England’s safety corps.

Center Ben Brown (concussion) suffered a head injury last week, so he will be out. His injury, as well as the fact that offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson and offensive lineman Sidy Sow are all healthy scratches, likely sets the stage for Cole Strange to see his first action of the season.

In addition, running back Terrell Jennings is a healthy scratch, while Joe Milton is, as usual, an emergency quarterback.

Players, stats and storylines to know when Patriots host Chargers – 11:15 a.m

By Christopher Price

On Tuesday, Drake Maye made his usual midweek appearance on the podium in the media workroom. Normally he flies solo, but this afternoon he was accompanied by tight end Hunter Henry.

The duo looked like some kind of mismatched buddy comedy. Maye the new guy and Henry the veteran deftly played off each other, talking Christmas presents, the end of the regular season and what to expect from this week’s opponent.

The 30-year-old Henry, who broke into the Chargers when they were still in San Diego and the 22-year-old Maye was a high school senior, reacted predictably when Maye started talking about playing some of Henry’s former teammates… in Madden.

“We have a tough challenge with (safety) Derwin (James),” Maye said. “I’m looking forward to playing a player like the one I used to grow up playing Madden with.”

“Grow up playing Madden with,” Henry said with a near sigh.

Chargers’ McConkey is one that got away – at 11 a.m

By Christopher Price

For the Patriots, Saturday’s game against the Chargers will serve not only as a test against a playoff-ready roster, but as a painful reminder of a draft weekend blunder from last spring.

After taking Drake Maye no. 3 overall, New England entered the second round of the draft with the 34th pick. The Patriots ended up trading out of that spot with the Chargers, a trade that included a pick swap that saw Los Angeles also land a fifth-round pick while the Patriots added an extra fourth-round pick.

With those picks, the Patriots took wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk at No. 37 and wide receiver Javon Baker as no. 110. With their pick, the Chargers drafted wide receiver Ladd McConkey (34th overall) and cornerback Tarheeb Still (137th).

In hindsight, the deal backfired on the Patriots. McConkey had 87 yards last week against the Broncos. Polk has 87 on the season. A Georgia product, McConkey leads the Chargers with 69 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns, and will undoubtedly receive Offensive Rookie of the Year votes.?

Drake Maye can prove himself against another star QB – 10:45am

By Chad Finn

So what constitutes a good day for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye against the Chargers on Saturday?

I’m sure he would say winning since that’s the right thing to say and Kid QB has a knack for authentically saying the right thing. It’s one of the many likable things about him.

But winning isn’t the best thing for the Patriots, who are one of five 3-12 teams pushing for draft position behind the 2-13 Giants.

So it’s something like this:

Maye plays aggressively but doesn’t throw an interception for the first time in eight games.

He’s showing resilience against a tough defense that will try to bait him into the kind of mistakes he made in the second half against the Bills.

And regardless of the outcome, he’s playing well enough that NFL fans who haven’t seen much of him yet recognize his similarities to Chargers superstar quarterback Justin Herbert, just as they saw last week that Maye has some skills that looks like Bills force -by nature Josh Allen.

In other words, continue to be the bright light in a Patriots season that otherwise dimmed weeks ago.

Mailbag: Will the Patriots make any significant upgrades this offseason? – 10:30 a.m

By Christopher Price

This Christmas week edition of the Patriots’ postbag looks ahead to the offseason with plenty of free-agent talk, the coaching staff and more. Let’s get to it.

Why would a player agent recommend their top free agent prospects sign with the Patriots next year? The Patriots offer lingering ownership, terrible coaching and terrible talent evaluation, not exactly great selling points. They can’t even outbid other teams for average not great players. Any thoughts?

— Steve Beatty, via email

The simple truth is that they have reached a stage where they have to overpay if they want to compete in free agency. The good, at least in the off-season? They have the means to do so if necessary. The wide receivers that could be available — Tee Higgins and others are options — are going to command something north of $25 million a year. It’s an expensive market for elite talent in key positions, but they have the money to spend. Don’t be afraid to be the team that sets the market at the start of free agency.

Make other teams shake their heads and wonder if New England has lost its mind. Make a splash and the ripples will be felt throughout 2025 and beyond.

Amin Touri can be contacted at [email protected]. Christopher Price can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @cpriceglobe. Nicole Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @nicolecyang. Ben Volin can be contacted at [email protected].