Wild Card Weekend
Austin Hooper • TE • Atlanta Falcons • Second season • @AustinHooper18
Hooper helped Atlanta upset the Los Angeles Rams, 26-13, in the NFC wild card round on Saturday. He caught three of five targets for 15 yards while appearing on 79 percent of offensive snaps, the most of any Falcons offensive skill position player. Hooper was also a factor in the run game, helping Atlanta rush for 124 yards while possessing the ball for over 37 minutes – in pass protection, Hooper was flawless and did not allow a single pressure. Atlanta heads to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, which will play without franchise quarterback Carson Wentz.
Top 5 graded #Falcons from their Wild Card win:
— PFF ATL Falcons (@PFF_Atlanta) January 7, 2018
Deion Jones, 87.4
Robert Alford, 85.8
Julio Jones, 83.8
Mohamed Sanu, 80.8
Austin Hooper, 80.6
Christian McCaffrey • RB • Carolina Panthers • First season • @run_cmc
Despite Carolina exiting the playoffs after a 31-26 loss at New Orleans, McCaffrey made his mark on the postseason and justified his selection in the draft. McCaffrey carried the ball six times for 16 yards but was nearly unstoppable in the receiving game. He caught six of eight targets for 101 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown in the final quarter reminiscent of his 75-yard score in the 2016 Rose Bowl on the first play from scrimmage. Moving forward, McCaffrey figures to be one of the most versatile and dynamic tailbacks in the league – he finished the season with a strong 84.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, including an exceptional 90.5 receiving grade.
Here's a mirror image of @run__cmc scoring a TD today for the @Panthers and the TD he scored on the first play of the @rosebowlgame in Jan 2016 for @StanfordFball. Same play, different direction. pic.twitter.com/x1gO8U1q4m
— Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) January 8, 2018
Andrus Peat • T/G • New Orleans Saints • Third season • @AndrusPeat
Peat started at left guard and appeared on 12 offensive snaps before exiting the game with a knee injury. News later surfaced that Peat suffered a broken fibula, ruling him out for the rest of the playoffs. The Saints will sorely miss Peat when they travel to Minnesota this week to face Minnesota, which boasts a fierce defensive line led by Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen.
If reports are accurate & Andrus Peat (fibula) is indeed out for the season, he will be the 10th projected Saints' starter lost to injury/health this year:
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) January 8, 2018
Alex Anzalone
Delvin Breaux
Nick Fairley
Coby Fleener
AJ Klein
John Kuhn
Alex Okafor
Andrus Peat
Zach Streif
Kenny Vaccaro
Levine Toilolo • TE • Atlanta Falcons • Fourth season • @LevineToilolo
Toilolo recovered from a knee injury in time for Atlanta's 26-13 win at the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. Appearing on 63 percent of offensive snaps and 43 percent of special teams snaps, Toilolo helped Atlanta rush for 124 yards while out-possessing the Rams, 37:35 to 22:25. Like Hooper, Toilolo did not allow a single pressure in pass protection, and he also earned a +1.9 run-blocking rating from Pro Football Focus.