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5 players to watch in final road game of 2025

PLAYERS-TO-WATCH-WEEK-17

The Giants will hit the road one final time before the 2025 campaign comes to a close when they travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders in Week 17.

The two teams head into this matchup with identical nine-game losing streaks and 2-13 records. This will be the third game in NFL history between two teams at least 11 games under .500, and the first such matchup since 1991.

The Giants currently hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, while the Raiders are right behind them at No. 2 (Giants have a worse strength of schedule as of now).

Following the trip to Las Vegas, the Giants will wrap up their season with a home matchup against the Cowboys, while the Raiders will welcome the Chiefs to Allegiant Stadium.

Here are five players to watch in the Week 17 matchup.

QB Jaxson Dart

Dart endured his first rough performance in a while against the Vikings in Week 16. Going up against a difficult Brian Flores-led defense, the rookie quarterback finished with only 13 pass attempts, of which he completed seven for 33 yards and an interception. He added just seven yards on the ground while taking five sacks, due in part to 60 percent of the starting offensive line not being on the field by the time the second half came around.

Despite last week's struggles, Dart is still putting together a solid rookie campaign. Some of his success this season has come from his ability to scramble. Dart has scrambled on 18.2 percent of his dropbacks, the sixth-highest mark in the NFL, while his 10.3 scramble run rate is the highest. He's averaged 7.7 yards per scramble run, which is the eight-most among QBs with 20 or more scramble runs this season, while his 71.4 percent success rate is the second-highest mark among the same group of quarterbacks.

In terms of scrambles, the Raiders defense has done a great job at containing opposing quarterbacks. Their 4.9 yards per scramble rush is the lowest in the NFL, while they are allowing the second-lowest first down conversion rate (26.7 percent) and explosive run rate (10.0 percent) this season. Their numbers against the pass are not quite as strong but instead fall in the middle of the pack. Las Vegas ranks 17th in passing yards allowed and 20th in net yards allowed per attempt.

See the top photos from practice as the Giants prepare for their Week 17 matchup against the Raiders.

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

While Tracy's numbers in last week's loss to the Vikings may not jump off the page, he once again put together a strong performance. Tracy carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards, good for an average of 4.4 yards per carry, while adding two receptions for seven yards. This marked his second consecutive game with 70+ rushing yards and an average of 4.4 yards per carry or more. He has now totaled 75 or more yards of offense in four of his last five games, with the one exception being the Week 13 matchup against the Patriots that he departed in the first half due to a hip injury.

Tracy has quietly been enjoying yet another solid season. He is averaging 4.0 yards per carry with 575 total yards on the ground along with two touchdowns while adding 27 receptions for 237 yards and an additional touchdown. While these numbers are a bit down from his stats from last year, he's reached these marks in fewer games. If he can gain 188 yards from scrimmage over the final two games of the season, he will reach the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive time to start his NFL career.

The Raiders defense has had mixed success in slowing down the run game this season. They have allowed 19 rushing touchdowns in the first 15 games, which is tied for the third-highest in the NFL. However, the unit has allowed a mere 3.8 yards per carry, which ranks as the fourth-best mark. While they held the Texans to just 83 yards on the ground last week, they surrendered 150+ rushing yards in each of their previous three contests.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson

With Dart only passing for 33 yards against the Vikings, no pass-catcher came out of the game with a positive stat line. However, it should be noted that of Dart's 13 targets, six went to Robinson, giving him a 46.2 percent target share, while the fourth-year wideout brought in three of the QB's seven completions, of which he totaled 19 yards. Again, these are hardly numbers to write home about, but it does further highlight Robinson's large role in the passing game.

Even with the down game last week, Robinson is still putting up career numbers this season. He is by far and away the team leader in targets (126), receptions (81) and receiving yards (901), while his four receiving touchdowns are one shy of Theo Johnson for the team-lead. The soon-to-be 25-year-old has already set new career highs in receiving yards and touchdowns, while he needs 13 receptions over the last two games to set a new high-mark in that category. Additionally, Robinson is 99 yards shy of reaching the first 1,000-yard season of his career, an accomplishment the young receiver hopes to reach over the next two games.

"I think it'd mean a lot, being able to hit that mark," Robinson told the media Monday. "I think every receiver wants to hit that 1,000-yard mark. I'm just going to continue to try to do what I can do and hopefully get to that number."

The Raiders defense finds themselves in the bottom 10 in the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns allowed to wide receivers this season, meaning Robinson has a good opportunity to get himself closer to that 1,000-yard mark this weekend in Vegas.

OLB Brian Burns

After going three games without registering a sack, his longest stretch without one this season, Burns got back on the board against the Vikings. The veteran outside linebacker recorded two sacks, his fifth multi-sack game of the season, one of which forced a fumble that Tyler Nubin recovered and returned for the team's only touchdown of the game.

The two sacks brought Burns' season total up to 15, which has him by himself for the second-most in the NFL behind Myles Garrett (22.0). Burns leads the NFC with his 15 sacks and stands 3.5 sacks ahead of the next highest active player (Aidan Hutchinson with 11.5). Meanwhile, his 20 tackles for loss on the season ranks as the third-most, behind Garrett and Maxx Crosby, while his 27 quarterback hits are the fourth-most. Burns was voted as a Pro Bowl starter earlier this week, the third time he's been selected to the Pro Bowl. Since being drafted in 2019, Burns is tied for the fifth-most sacks in the NFL with 69.5 (tied with Crosby).

"He's been on a mission this whole season," interim head coach Mike Kafka said in his 1-on-1 interview with Giants.com. "He has prepared that way. He has practiced that way. He has led that way. There's no surprise of what you're seeing on the field. You're watching him execute at a really high level, and he gets the honor to be in the Pro Bowl, which is very special. It's very cool to watch a player like that who puts so much into it to get the reward that is well-deserved."

Heading into Week 17, only the Jets (58) have allowed more sacks than the Raiders (57) this season. Due to the carousel of quarterbacks the Jets have trotted out there this year, Las Vegas' Geno Smith has been the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL this season with his 52 sacks. Smith has been sacked no fewer than three times in each of his last six starts, including a 10-sack game against the Browns back in Week 12.

OLB Abdul Carter

After a slow start to his rookie campaign, it certainly appears as if Carter has turned the corner in recent weeks. Carter recorded a sack in last week's loss, marking his third consecutive game with a sack. The 22-year-old rookie finished with four quarterback hits in addition to six quick pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, which was tied for the third-most by any edge defender in a game this season.

Since his first quarter benching against the Patriots back in Week 13, Carter has a sack in every game while finishing with no fewer than four total pressures in each contest. According to NGS, the No. 3 overall pick has 37 quick pressures on the season, which is the most by any rookie in a season since at least 2018, and there are still two games to go. Over the last month, Carter has been PFF's second-highest ranked pass rusher overall and by far the best rookie pass rusher.

View rare photos of the history between the Giants and Raiders.

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