NFL Heat Index: J.J. McCarthy Has Looked the Part; What's Going on With Joe Burrow?

Philip Rivers, the 44-year-old grandpa who returned to the field after a five-year absence from football, was must-see TV over the weekend.

Rivers’ return to the field against the Seattle Seahawks was the Indianapolis Colts' most-watched game in their home market in the last five years — the last time Rivers was in uniform for the team, according to The Athletic. 

Rivers threw for only 120 yards and a score, but he controlled the offense and gave the Colts a chance to defeat one of the best teams in the league on the road in his first game back from retirement. By playing on Sunday, Rivers officially reset the clock on his Hall of Fame candidacy and will now be eligible again in 2031.

For an encore, Rivers will try and lead the Colts to a victory at home against another strong NFC West opponent in the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football." A national television audience will get another up-close look to see if Rivers can guide the Colts to a win that helps keep them in the playoff hunt.

Now, let’s take a closer look at who’s hot and who’s cold heading into Week 16.

WHO’S HOT

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

After struggling with injuries and poor play most of the season, McCarthy has put together back-to-back weeks of competent play. McCarthy had a career-high 250 pass yards in a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. 

And over the last two weeks, McCarthy has five passing touchdowns and just one interception. Through his first six games in which he posted a 2-4 record, McCarthy had six touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Give Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell credit for figuring out a way to get McCarthy to play winning football. We’ll see if he can keep it going on the road against the New York Giants, playing spoiler down the stretch in the NFC North.

Philip Rivers, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Rivers should be pleased to see San Francisco on Monday. He’s 4-0 against the 49ers in his career, averaging 303 passing yards and three touchdowns a game in those four contests. The last time Rivers faced San Francisco in 2018, he finished with 250 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 29-27 victory over the C.J. Beathard-led 49ers. 

However, Rivers is 5-12 in primetime games since 2014, with 28 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Another guy playing quarterback in his 40s, Rodgers has helped the Steelers get back-to-back wins to put them back on top in the AFC North. Rodgers is expertly executing Pittsburgh’s offense and has been at the forefront of that team’s success.

Rodgers completed 23 of 27 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in a big home win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday. The difference for Rodgers has been his ability to create chunk plays. Rodgers had two deep passes for touchdowns last week. He had no such passes from Week 9 to Week 14. 

DeMeco Ryans, HC, Houston Texans

Houston is on a six-game winning streak, led by one of the most dominant defenses in the league. The Texans lead the NFL in both scoring defense (16.3 PPG allowed) and total defense (269.2 total YPG allowed) this season. Danielle Hunter (12.0 sacks) and Will Anderson Jr. (10.5) each rank in the top 10 in the NFL in sacks. Houston is the only team with multiple players with at least 10 sacks.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryan once again has Houston peaking at the right time — heading into the postseason. Ryans can become the sixth head coach since 2000 to make the playoffs in each of their first three seasons as an NFL head coach, joining Chuck Pagano, Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Matt LaFleur, and Nick Sirianni.

Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

A second-round pick by Seattle in the 2025 draft, the versatile rookie safety out of South Carolina has developed into a key playmaker for the team’s back end defensively. Emmanwori finished with seven combined tackles and a sack in Seattle’s late-game victory over the Colts, in which kicker Jason Myers made six field goals, including the game-winner from 56 yards.

Over the last two games, Emmanwori has 13 combined tackles — including three tackles for loss — two sacks, three pass deflections, an interception and a blocked field goal. Seattle will need the rookie defensive back’s playmaking ability to slow down one of the best offenses in the league with the Rams coming to town on Thursday.

WHO’S COLD 

Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Coming off his curious comments, which seemed to question his long-term commitment to playing football in Cincinnati, Burrow had one of his worst performances as a pro. Burrow finished with 225 passing yards, zero touchdown passes and two interceptions, posting a 58.2 passer rating in a 24-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

It’s the first time Burrow has been shut out in his NFL career. Burrow has started just five games this season due to a turf toe injury, throwing eight touchdown passes and four interceptions. The Bengals have posted a 3-2 record in games Burrow started. This season, Burrow has completed a career-low 60.5% of his passes for an average of 191.8 yards per game and an 84.3 passer rating — very un-Burrow-like numbers. 

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Cleveland Browns

The Colorado product had the worst start as a pro in an embarrassing 31-3 loss on the road to the Chicago Bears. Sanders completed 18 of 35 passes for 177 yards, with no touchdown passes and three interceptions. Sanders was sacked five times, posting a 30.3 passer rating.

Sanders scuffled when facing four or fewer pass rushers, completing just 13 of 28 passes for 59 yards with three interceptions, posting a 12.4 passer rating when not blitzed, according to Next Gen Stats. Sanders will get a chance to rebound from a poor performance at home against the Buffalo Bills. 

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel benched Tagovailoa for rookie Quinn Ewers this week after another nose-pinching performance by the Alabama product in which he completed just 6 of 10 passes for 65 yards and an interception through three quarters. Tagovailoa has thrown a league-high 15 interceptions this season, with all 15 of those miscues coming against zone coverage, according to Next Gen Stats. 

Officially eliminated from the playoffs, Miami has started the process of moving on from the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft. But if Tagovailoa is no longer on the Dolphins roster this offseason, there should be a market for him with so many QB-needy teams around the league.