NFL Insider: Who’s hot, who’s not and more
Who’s hot
In the past four games, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has 22 tackles, two forced fumbles and seven sacks. He has at least 1.5 sacks in each of those games. He has 10.5 sacks for the season, his second career double-digit sack season.
Who’s not
Eagles cornerback Bradley Fletcher has been torched lately. Fletcher drew man coverage a lot against DeSean Jackson, Dez Bryant and Jordy Nelson. Jackson had nine catches for 243 yards and a touchdown in two games. Bryant had 10 catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns in two games. Nelson had four catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in one game. Quarterbacks have targeted Fletcher 115 times this season, second in the league, and he has allowed 56 catches for a league-worst 1,024 yards and a league-worst nine touchdowns.
Numbers game
1 Team that reached the playoffs after having a six-game losing streak: the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals. The Carolina Panthers could be the second.
2015 NFL Draft
Dane Brugler of CBS Sports and NFLDraftScout.com gives his top-10 draft-eligible prospects in the Sugar Bowl semifinal game between Alabama and Ohio State:
1. WR Amari Cooper, Alabama
2. FS Landon Collins, Alabama
3. DL Jarran Reed, Alabama
4. DT Michael Bennett, Ohio State
5. RB T.J. Yeldon, Alabama
6. TE Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State
7. LG Arie Kouandjio, Alabama
8. CB Doran Grant, Ohio State
9. DT Brandon Ivory, Alabama
10. WR Devin Smith, Ohio State
Blitz
Saints quarterback Drew Brees needs 329 passing yards to reach the 5,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive season and for the fifth time in his 14-year career. Brees is the only quarterback in NFL history with more than one 5,000-yard passing season.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers needs two touchdown passes to tie Dan Fouts for the franchise’s all-time record at 254.
Buccaneers quarterback Josh McCown is 1-10 and is the lowest-rated starter in the NFL with 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans has 11 receiving touchdowns, tied for the third-most total touchdowns in a single season in team history.
Texans defensive end J.J. Watt needs 2.5 sacks to become the first player to have at least 20 sacks in two seasons. He had 20.5 sacks in 2012.
Eagles running back LeSean McCoy averaged 5.68 yards on second down last season. He is averaging 3.54 on second down this year.
The New York Giants have allowed only 47 points during their current three-game winning streak.
The Indianapolis Colts lead the league with 40 dropped passes.
The Detroit Lions have not won a division title since 1993.
The Green Bay Packers have a 23-game winning streak over the Lions in Wisconsin.
Falcons receiver Julio Jones has 28 catches for 555 yards and two touchdowns in his past three games. He missed the Pittsburgh game on Dec. 14 with a hip/oblique injury.
The Miami Dolphins’ 377 net yards passing last week were the most allowed by a Mike Zimmer defense since his Cincinnati Bengals defense gave up 385 to the Texans in 2009. Zimmer, now the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach, was in his second season as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator.
The New England Patriots have clinched a playoff bye in five consecutive seasons.
The Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 in December, giving them an 11-2 record in the month since Russell Wilson took over as quarterback in 2012.
Bengals receiver A.J. Green needs 41 yards for his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
The San Francisco 49ers have won their past seven regular-season finales.
Information from The Sports Xchange was used in this report.
This story was originally published December 27, 2014 at 5:11 PM with the headline "NFL Insider: Who’s hot, who’s not and more."