Patriots Daily: Daniels Wins Heisman; Top NFL Games of Week 14

Potential future New England Patriots were vying for the 2023 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels wound up walking away with the hardware. The award was given out at the Downtown Athletic Club. The Tigers star beat out fellow quarterbacks Michael Penix, Jr. (Washington), Bo Nix (Oregon), and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr.

In last week’s initial 2024 NFL Mock Draft on Patriots Football Now, Daniels was slated to go eleventh overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Daniels moving up the draft board is very possible. He has not declared whether he will play in LSU’s game against Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It is believed Daniels is going to play in the Senior Bowl. He would also have the NFL Combine and LSU Pro Day to improve his draft stock.

The New England Patriots selecting a quarterback in the first round is certainly in play. Jayden Daniels should be a part of those conversations. New England has only drafted one Heisman winner in their franchise history: Stanford’s Jim Plunkett with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. Two other Heisman winners eventually made their way to New England. Boston College’s Doug Flutie (1984 winner), Miami, Fla.’s Vinnie Testaverde (1987), and Auburn’s Cam Newton (2010) each had stints with the Patriots. Last year’s winner, USC QB Caleb Williams, is also expected to be chosen near the top of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, with the New England Patriots having already played this week, there are still games to get excited about on Sunday. These can be broken into two categories:

Games Affecting New England’s Draft Position

Carolina Panthers (1-11) at New Orleans Saints (5-7)

Detroit Lions (9-3) at Chicago Bears (4-8)

Houston Texans (7-5) at New York Jets (4-8)

Tennessee Titans (4-8) at Miami Dolphins (9-3) – Monday Night Football

Green Bay Packers (6-6) at New York Giants (4-8) – Monday Night Football

Best Games of the Week (with NFL Power Ranking)

#16 Los Angeles Rams (6-6) at #5 Baltimore Ravens (9-3)

#9 Indianapolis Colts (7-5) at #13 Cincinnati Bengals (6-6)

#8 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) at #12 Cleveland Browns (7-5)

#19 Buffalo Bills (6-6) at #7 Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)

#20 Seattle Seahawks (6-6) at #2 San Francisco 49ers (9-3)

#1 Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) at #3 Dallas Cowboys (9-3)

Also in today’s Patriots Daily: Breece Hall fumes over fine; Steelers handling of T.J. Watt’s concussion; LSU-Patriots Fun Fact; and more…

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – New England Patriots happy about winning, even if fans are not

Patriots Football Now – Pat McAfee puts Robert Kraft in an awkward spot

NFL.com – What we learned from the Patriots victory over the Steelers

Patriots Football Now – Patriots assistant leaving to join Syracuse staff

AFC East News

ESPN – Will Bills-Chiefs rivalry decide Buffalo’s playoff fate?

Pro Football Talk – Dolphins place LB Jerome Baker on IR; sign Calvin Munson from Patriots

New York Post – Jets Breece Hall fumes at $43,000 fine for hit that wasn’t called a penalty

NFL News

NFL.com – Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro banned from sideline vs. Cowboys

Yardbarker – Steelers should face tough questions about handling of T.J. Watt concussion

PFN+ – 2024 NFL Draft Previews

Boston Bruins

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Fun Fact of the Day

In honor of LSU Heisman Trophy winning QB Jayden Daniels: The New England Patriots have had 24 players former LSU players on the team. Of those, Kevin Faulk (161) and Jarvis Green (121) played the most games on offense and defense respectively. Current LSU players on the Patriots include Davon Godchaux, Jalen Mills, and Kayshon Boutte.

Half of the Patriots players from LSU have won at least one Super Bowl with New England:

Kevin Faulk (2001, 2003, 2004)
Jarvis Green (2003, 2004)
Stevan Ridley (2014)
Eric Alexander (2004)
Randall Gay (2004)
Brandon LaFell (2014)
Barkevious Mingo (2016)
Marquise Hill (2004)
Rohan Davey (2003, 2004)
Anthony Johnson (2016)
Brian Kinchen (2003)
Jeremy Hill (2018)

Tweet of the Day

Today’s Tweet of the Day comes from Footballism with another look at the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner…

LSU QB Jayden Daniels has won the Heisman🏆
pic.twitter.com/dalQv3BveI

— Footballism (@FootbaIIism) December 10, 2023