What's the expression, man plans god laughs. Something like that. It was a weekend with some crazy upsets, particularly in the later games. I remember not really thinking the Chargers could stop the Packers or the Ravens could cool off the Patriots. But here we are.
Texans versus Jaguars: Multiple times watching this game my reaction to a Gardner Minshew play was "Wait, what is he doing?" Not what you want out of your quarterback. Brutal game, and what seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he'd remain in the starting lineup no longer is. Deshaun Watson was good enough that you're glad if you didn't bench him, DeAndre Hopkins great, and the running backs better than expected. Jacksonville's D can be run on.
Colts at Steelers: Fortunate win for Pittsburgh, with Indianapolis dominating even after losing Jacoby Brissett to injury. But then Brian Hoyer forced a thrown when the Colts could have gone up 14l, it was run back 100 yards for an interception return touchdown the other way, and the Steelers are back in business; Adam Vinatieri misses a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Big receiving day for Jaylen Samuels, but doesn't look like a guy you want running between the tackles. Good game for Zach Pascal. Steelers win ugly again.
Bears at Eagles: Speaking of ugly. The strategy for teams against the Bears going forward will simply be to not beat themselves with turnovers or mistakes and let the Bears simply not do much on offense. Thought Jordan Howard might be decent and so he was, I love payback games. Bears not so good and sadly Tarik Cohen had a touchdown taken away (ultimately David Montgomery scored it, nice for him I guess). Nice game for Zach Ertz, tired of hearing about being the 2nd-best TE on his own team perhaps.
Jets at Dolphins: You could kind of see this one coming. Ryan Fitzpatrick can play, and he's not tanking. The Dolphins have some talent, most notably rookie find Preston Williams. Run into a team that can't stop the pass like the Jets and here you go. Bad goal line pick before the half for Sam Darnold, just a lame-brained throw you can't make. Affected the game. Dolphins fans say, Yay? Those who questioned the Jets hiring of Adam Gase nodding their heads.
Vikings at Kansas City: There really is some luck involved in fantasy football. The only reason I started Damien Williams in two leagues was, well, I didn't have another option. I'd picked up Tra Carson, that didn't work out, other possibilities were also hurt or on byes. One 91-yard touchdown run by Williams later, I had a 20-point game out of the guy. Not too late for Williams to reward all of us, with LeSean McCoy perhaps in the doghouse. Adam Thielen tries to come back too soon from hamstring injury, burning those of us who believed. And Stefon Diggs did nothing either. Kirk Cousins OK, but a disappointing game from Minnesota's offense. Big win for KC, which gets Mahomes back next week.
Titans at Panthers: So this Ryan Tannehill guy is a thing now. Titans lose, but another productive game in a not so easy matchup. A.J. Brown has also looked like he's for real. Loved him pre-draft, didn't like his landing spot, but I think it's clear he's this team's best receiver. Carolina offense puts up very good numbers, again. Cam Newton probably going on IR soon and it doesn't look like a death blow to the team. People who didn't take Christian McCaffrey at No. 1 regretting it...impressive.
Washington at Bills: Not a trainwreck for Dwayne Haskins, with Adrian Peterson having a good day on the ground. Buffalo will need to shore that area up or it's going to be how they make a quick playoff exit, should they make it. Josh Allen had an efficient game and with the 2 TDs didn't hurt lineups. Predictably lesser game for Terry McLaurin given the matchup and quarterback. But Washington may as well let Haskins learn on the job, at this point. Devin Singletary primed for a big second half of the season. Missed him by one pick in the second round of my rookie draft last May, disappointing.
Bucs at Seahawks: At some point the Bucs might figure out that their particular style of defense (stuff the run, give up 400 passing yards per game) isn't good for winning football games. Until that happens, start passing games against them and enjoy. Huge numbers for Wilson, Lockett and Metcalf, good numbers for Chris Carson even against that tough run defense. Bucs seemingly give Ronald Jones lead back treatment, finally. Might be startable at last. More huge stats out of Mike Evans. Next week should be Chris Godwin's turn.
Browns at Broncos: That should officially stick a fork in whatever remains of the Browns hype train. They look like the 3rd-best team in the AFC North, and that's only because the Bengals look like a bad high school team. Not much to say about Brandon Allen aside from, that's how bad Joe Flacco has been: that a guy who's never thrown an NFL pass can come onto the field and be an upgrade. (Bad angles and tackling on a long Noah Fant touchdown didn't hurt.) Nice games and touchdowns from Phillip Lindsay and Courtland Sutton, and some serviceable numbers from Browns pass catchers, at least, but an all-around poor game in a poor season.
Lions at Raiders: Quiet type game from Darren Waller, Tyrell Williams and Danny Amendola, but otherwise this game delivered the goods, lots of production from Stafford and his top 2, Carr and Jacobs. Lions seem to be short a running back, but no Jay Ajayi (or anyone) signing yet. A shame that talked about trade for Devonta Freeman didn't happen. Raiders are quietly playing really well on offense and putting themselves in the discussion for a playoff spot. Lions were there, but they can't stop anyone on defense, so high-scoring losses is what we get.
Packers at Chargers: This was a shocker. Aaron Rodgers had looked pretty much perfect the last couple of weeks, but he was well off his game here, and Aaron Jones got shut down. Chargers came into the year with some defensive talent, but it didn't look like that team was still there -- until this game. And the ground game returned, a negative for those of us starting Rivers and Allen, although Mike Williams and Hunter Henry paid off. I guess it's nice when games can surprise you; this one did.
Patriots at Ravens: I'll take the blame for the bad call on this game. I thought the Ravens would be competitive, and that Mark Ingram and the ground game could have some success. But never did I imagine Lamar Jackson would be that tough for New England to handle, or that New England would turn into a bunch of error-prone stumble bums. Everyone knew the Patriots had enjoyed a ridiculously favorable schedule to this point. But they could easily have been blown out in this game -- it wasn't as close as the final score. A reminder that no one's perfect (San Francisco won't be either).
Monday, Monday: So if the Chargers at home could stomp the Packers and the Ravens at home could stomp the Patriots, could we get a third home upset over a favored opponent? I don't have the faith in the Giants defense, but I do think this could be a good game. I'm facing Dak Prescott and Saquon Barkley with a 35-point lead and Darius Slayton, my last-minute sub in for Sterling Shepard. I ...am not optimistic. I'll go Cowboys 27, Giants 24.