Brock Purdy
In his first Thanksgiving game in the pros, Purdy turned in a solid outing which was enough to beat the Seahawks 31-12. Outside of a pick six at the beginning of the second quarter, he played a safe and efficient game against the Seahawks and finished with 209 passing yards and a passing touchdown to Brandon Aiyuk.
Despite his subpar passer rating of 86.7 against Seattle, Purdy still leads the league with a 112.3 through 11 starts and also leads the league in quarterback rating (QBR) with a 75.6.
While the 49ers improve to 8-3 and remain atop the NFC West, Purdy remains undefeated against division opponents with five wins in his first 16 starts.
Breece Hall
Even with new quarterback Tim Boyle at the helm for the benched Zach Wilson, Hall continues to see limited carries and had his fewest since the Chiefs in week four. He gained 25 yards on his seven carries in the Jets’ 34-13 loss to the Dolphins on the NFL’s first Black Friday game.
Hall also caught seven balls, a season-high, for 24 yards, which brought him to 320 receiving yards, the third most on the Jets. Outside of a handful of games where he has had a run go for 40 or more yards, Hall hasn’t found consistency behind the Jets offensive line, which has halted the run game from being developed early on in games.
David Montgomery
Although it was in a losing effort on Thanksgiving at home, Montgomery put together a solid performance against the Packers, which included his third straight game with a rushing touchdown.
Detroit fell behind early on against Green Bay, the score being 23-6 by the end of the first half, so they shied away from the run game for the remainder of the game outside Montgomery’s six-yard score early in the third quarter. He finished the game with 71 yards on 15 carries and the touchdown.
Montgomery now has nine rushing touchdowns on the year, a career-high, and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry through eight games.
Will McDonald IV
For the second straight game in a row in his rookie career, McDonald recorded a pair of tackles against a division opponent. The Jets’ first-round pick has had more tackles in the past two games than he had in his four prior games this season, and he had the second-most defensive snaps of his young career against the Dolphins.
McDonald has shown flashes of his highly sought-after talents throughout his rookie season, and with six games left in the season, he will need to continue to make the most of his snaps to avoid taking steps back in terms of time on the field.
Anthony Johnson Jr.
After a pair of quiet games since getting more time on the field, Johnson had a career-best against Detroit, his second consecutive start of the season. He recorded eight total tackles, with seven of them being solo wrap-ups and a pass breakup.
The seventh-round safety has made an impact on the Packers’ defense, which has been riddled with injuries in recent weeks. Green Bay has won three of the four games that Johnson has played in and has held their opponents to an average of 17 points in the last four games.
Xavier Hutchinson
The sixth-round pick of the Texans had his first big reception of his rookie season with a 34-yard snag against the Jaguars in Houstons’ 24-21 loss Sunday. The catch, which led to a touchdown drive in the middle of the fourth quarter, came on one of Hutchinsons’ seven snaps on offense against Jacksonville.
This is Hutchinsons’ first catch since the Texans’ week one matchup against the Ravens. While Houston has found unique ways to use him in the run game, Hutchinson made his first big play as a wideout in his 11th game during his rookie season.
