Predicting The Leading AFC, NFC Leading Passer, Rusher, and Receiver For Wild Card Weekend

The first games of the 2024-2025 NFL season's postseason will start in very short order. On Saturday, January 11, the Los Angeles Chargers will face the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers will head to Maryland to take on the Baltimore Ravens. On Sunday, January 12, we'll see the Denver Broncos square off against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium -- that will conclude the AFC slate of games.

Then, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers. On Sunday, the Washington Commanders will head to Tampa Bay for their game against the Buccaneers, and finally, the Minnesota Vikings will clash with the Los Angeles Rams to close out Wild Card Weekend.

All these contests have the potential to produce explosive performances from star players. We'll take a gander at who will lead each major conference in passing yards, rushing yards, and receiving yards for the first round of the postseason below.

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AFC Leading Passer: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

The Broncos boast a very strong pass defense, but playoff Allen laughs in the face of the strength of opposing defenses and throws for approximately one quadrillion yards anyway. He's been one of the best QBs ever in playoff games. According to StatMuse, Allen has thrown for 2,723 yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions in his 10 playoff appearances so far.

Bills have 70 million in dead cap space, this was a rebuild year for them. The fact that they are this good is insane really.. But all that being said, Josh Allen is the best player in football and every year that his defense has fallen off a cliff in the playoffs in, it feels… pic.twitter.com/E0k6r1S4xK

— NFLDFSPICKS (@nfldfspicks) January 6, 2025

Allen's numbers are hilarious, video game-level stats, and he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, either. It's not a great matchup facing a tough defense, but that hasn't deterred the superstar in the past. He averages 7.3 yards per pass attempt in the postseason, rarely turns the ball over, throws picks on just over 1% of his passes, and challenges defenses with the threat of his runs.

And the presence of cornerback Patrick Surtain II for Denver doesn't move the needle a ton here. Allen is proficient at spreading the ball around and will continue to do so moving forward. He doesn't hyper-target any of his WRs and has many capable pass-catchers, such as wide receivers Amari Cooper (back), Khalil Shakir, and Keon Coleman ready to go.

The #Bills have tied the #NFL record with 13 different players catching a touchdown this season. #GoBills

Here are all 13 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/NsMsPZdPhc

— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) January 2, 2025

Even if he doesn't get a ring, we should see him head to Canton one day. Each game he plays in the playoffs has the potential to be special.

NFC Leading Passer: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

The Buccaneers have been terrible against the pass for most of the season. Daniels has shown that he's already one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and Tampa Bay will likely struggle against his team's passing attack. It's been pretty ugly for them to stop opposing air attacks.

Bucs rush defense gave up more than 1,600 yards on the season, 4th best in the NFL. Bucs pass defense gave up 4100+ yards, 29th in NFL.

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 7, 2025

Add to this the absolute dominance of the Buccaneers offense, and it's hard to imagine this game not being a shootout. While Washington has some hope of slowing down the Bucs passing game, as cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) is now off the injury report, it will be extremely difficult for Tampa Bay to slow down Daniels.

#2
Jayden Daniels Magic pic.twitter.com/yIyg3D9MW1

— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) January 3, 2025

His ability to buy time with his mobility and willingness to remain behind the line of scrimmage and keep his eyes downfield, looking for one of his pass-catchers to get open, helps boost his passing stats significantly. And we should see this game become a shootout quickly -- this should force the Commanders to stray away from a run-heavy game plan.

AFC Leading Rusher: Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens

The last time Henry had the pleasure of facing the Steelers, he repeatedly ran the ball directly down their throats and faced little resistance along the way. He racked up 147 yards on 27 rushes, good for over 5.4 yards per carry, and scored a rushing touchdown. He didn't play as well in their first matchup, but this time, Baltimore will be at home yet again.

87-YARD TOUCHDOWN FROM DERRICK HENRY ON THE RAVENS' OPENING DRIVE 😱

THE LONGEST RUN IN RAVENS HISTORY 🔥

(via @Ravens)pic.twitter.com/ZPGEdpjrT0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 30, 2024

He's only rushed for 1,921 yards this season. That's nothing crazy, right? He's averaging over 5.9 yards per carry this year, which is ridiculous. Defenses haven't had much in the way of answers so far, and the omnipresent threat of his quarterback Lamar Jackson's running plays keeps defenses honest and doesn't allow them to sell out to stop Henry.

Need another long Derrick Henry run asap pic.twitter.com/Fv5TYiACSH

— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) December 5, 2024

He still has elite speed at the age of 31, and he could gain 50 or more rushing yards on just one of his plays this upcoming weekend. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he ends up being the AFC's leading rusher from Wild Card Weekend, so there's not much more need for justification here.

NFC Leading Rusher: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Wow, what a shocker. Barkley is one of the best running backs in the NFL, so it would be no surprise if he led the NFC in rushing in wild-card weekend. His major competition here consists of Washington Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving, and Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren Williams. And none of those guys are on Barkley's level.

SAQUON BARKLEY IS ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING THE NEW YORK GIANTS

AND PEOPLE WONDERED WHY HE LEFT THAT LOSER FRANCHISE pic.twitter.com/blBctecub0

— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) October 20, 2024

The only player to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing this season did it in just 17 games and is the absolute focal point of his offense. He'll be facing a tough run defense in the Packers, who have allowed just 4.0 yards per carry to opposing rushers this season, but it might not matter. The Eagles have one of the league's best offensive lines, and Barkley has an absurd 1,328 yards before contact.

.@steelers @Eagles this offensive line is so good and the offense has so many ways to beat you...Its hard to be right. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/UXl8i1oxil

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 16, 2024

It's surprising that the chasmic voids the OL has been able to open up haven't created massive vacuums and caused a rupture in the space-time continuum.

AFC Leading Receiver: Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

With his fellow WR Tank Dell (knee) out for the season, Collins should continue to receive a huge amount of targets per game. And he's been absolutely dominant this season. He's an absurdly talented athlete with incredible size and fluidity.

Nico Collins with filthy release off the LOS 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/gy0UWeLReH

— Ray G (@RayGQue) December 21, 2024

For most teams, it simply hasn't been possible for them to cover Collins, and he's quickly ascended to being considered as one of the NFL's best wideouts. He caughed 68 of his 99 targets for 1006 yards and seven touchdowns despite only playing in 12 games this year.

NICO COLLINS pic.twitter.com/eIraewB20c

— James Roy (@JamesRoyNFL) December 15, 2024

He's a threat to score from anywhere on the field as he has the speed to burn defenses for long plays and is fantastic in the red zone, surely aided by all 6-foot-4 inches of his height. And he has great route-running, especially considering his size. The Chargers have a solid defense, but it's probably not relevant here.

NFC Leading Receiver: Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Nacua finished the season just 10 yards short of 1,000 receiving yards, but only played in 11 games and logged four efforts of over 100 receiving yards. Nacua has somehow improved on his efficiency stats from last season, averaging an insane figure of over 2.9 yards per route run.

Puka Nacua has played 28 regular season games.

During the time that I have yard per route run data available (2013-24), Puka's rate through an initial 28 career games blows any other WR out of the water 👇 https://t.co/dslYOVhWxb pic.twitter.com/UkXCPtFYD9

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) January 8, 2025

And great efficiency typically signifies that a player could get even more volume and still produce well. With WR Cooper Kupp seemingly over the hill in terms of athleticism and the Rams lacking any other great pass-catchers, we could see Nacua targeted upwards of 13 times during Wild Card Weekend.

It’s physically impossible for Puka Nacua to not do something cool pic.twitter.com/FdbLvsaoqJ

— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) December 13, 2024

And it makes perfect sense for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to do so. The second-year pro's suite of skills makes him an ideal player to force the ball too early and often. Our pick would normally be Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, but the Vikings have more threats to spread the ball around to.

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