Commanders star Jayden Daniels rewrites the NFL record book in Week 17, plus 12 other wild stats from the week

Here's every key stat you need to know from Week 16

By John Breech

Dec 30, 2024 at 11:21 am ET • 5 min read

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At this point, it's probably safe to say that Jayden Daniels is a lock to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Commanders quarterback led his team to another dramatic win on Sunday night, throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass in overtime to give Washington a 30-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

With the win, the Commanders clinched a playoff berth for just the second time in nine seasons. The reason they're headed to the playoffs is because of Daniels, who's having a magical rookie season. Daniels has rewritten the NFL record book with his play this year, so let's check out some of his biggest feats from the season so far:

With his overtime touchdown pass against the Falcons, Daniels has now thrown five touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or in overtime, which is not only an NFL record, it's two more than ANY other QB in a single season since at least the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
The Commanders QB rushed for 127 yards against the Falcons and now has 864 on the season, which is a new record for rushing yards by a rookie QB. The old mark was held by Robert Griffin III, who rushed for 815 yards in 2012 while playing for Washington.
In the win over the Falcons, Daniels became the first rookie ever to have three passing touchdowns combined with 125 rushing yards or more in a single game.
If you combine Daniels' win over the Falcons with last week's win over the Eagles, that makes Daniels just the second rookie QB ever with back-to-back double-dight comebacks in the second half of a game, joining Andrew Luck, who did it in 2012.
Daniels also became the first rookie QB ever to win at least 10 games with 30 or more total touchdowns and at least 4,000 total yards in a single season.

What you should take away from this is that Daniels is a star.

With that in mind, let's check out 12 more of the wildest stats from Week 17 (via CBS Sports Research, unless noted):

Saquon Barkley hits 2,000 yards. The Eagles running back rushed for 167 yards against the Cowboys, which puts him at 2,005 yards for the season. Barkley is now just the ninth player in NFL history to reach the mark and he's also just 101 yards away from topping Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 that has stood since 1984. You can read more about Barkley's performance here.
Brock Bowers makes history. Brock Bowers had seven catches for 77 yards and now has 1,144 on the season. That moves him past Mike Ditka for the all-time rookie record for receiving yards by a tight end. Ditka had 1,076 yards in 1961 and that record has stood for 63 years before Bowers came along. Bowers also set the NFL record for most receptions by a rookie at any position. He now has 108, which broke Puka Nacua's record of 105 that was set last season. With nine receptions in Week 18, Bowers could set the record for most receptions by a tight end in NFL history.
Joe Burrow on historical streak. With 412 passing yards and three touchdown passes against the Broncos, Burrow now has eight straight games with at least 250 yards and three touchdowns. Not only is it an NFL record, but no other QB has even done that in seven straight games. It was also Burrow's third career game with at least 400 passing yards, three TD passes and one rushing touchdown, which is the most in NFL history (Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Kyler Murray had all done it twice).
Giants rookies are rolling. Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy just became the third teammates in NFL history to top 1,000 yards from scrimmage as rookies. (Bush/Colston in 2006, Abner Haynes and Johnny Robinson for Dallas Texans in 1960).
Giants rookies are rolling, part II. Malik Nabers caught seven passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, marking the 13th time this year that he's caught at least five passes in a game. That moves him past Anquan Bolden and Terry Glenn for the most games with five receptions or more by a rookie in NFL history.
Drew Lock joins exclusive club. With 309 passing yards, four TD passes and one rushing TD, Drew Lock became just the fifth player in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards, four touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and a passer rating of at least 155 in a game. The only other players to pull that off are Drew Brees (2013), Ryan Fitzpatrick (2018) Aaron Rodgers (2019) and Josh Allen (2023).
Baker Mayfield sets obscure NFL record. The Buccaneers QB threw five touchdowns against the Panthers, which means he now has 39 TD passes on the season. That's the most in NFL history by any player who's with his fourth team (or more). Mayfield broke a record that had been held by Steve Beuerlein, who threw 36 touchdowns in 1999 with the Panthers.
Jim Harbaugh makes history. The Chargers clinched a playoff spot with a 40-7 win over the Patriots on Saturday, which makes Harbaugh the first head coach in the Super Bowl era to lead multiple teams to the playoffs in his first season after taking over a team that was coming off a losing season (He led the 49ers to the playoffs in 2011 with SF coming off a 6-10 season in 2010).
Sam Darnold needed a change of scenery. With the Vikings at 14-2, that means Darnold has now set the NFL record for most wins by a quarterback in his first year with a new team. With 35 touchdown passes, Darnold also has the fourth-most TD passes by any QB in his first season with a new team (Matthew Stafford holds the record when he threw 41 with the Rams in 2021).
Ameer Abdullah finally hits the century mark. The raiders running back rushed for 115 yards against the Saints, marking the first time in his career that he's hit the 100-yard mark. It took him 141 games, which was the second-longest drought to begin a career for someone who eventually rushed for 100 yards. The longest drought was 142 games, a record that was set by Zach Crockett, who also had his first 100-yard game with the Raiders.
Don't bet on the Titans. Not only did the Titans lose to the Jaguars on Sunday, but they also failed to cover. That means the Titans are now 2-14 against the spread on the season, which is the worst ATS mark by any team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Aaron Rodgers has been sacked more than anyone. Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times by the Bills and now has been sacked 568 times in his career, which is the most in NFL history. The previous record was held by Tom Brady, who was sacked 565 times during his 23-year career. Russell Wilson could eventually break Rodgers' record and you can read more about that here.