Sometimes it's almost like these NFL coaches don't care about the innocent fantasy football coaches. Somewhere out there a team lost by 1 point with Robert Woods in his lineup, with no indication he'd be inactive and no one available to plug in late in the day on Sunday. And since we don't know what the personal situation is (granted maybe it's none of our business) we don't know whether to be upset or feel bad for the guy.
Bottom line, we're playing a game, these guys are living their lives and their careers. I try to put it in perspective; me losing a big fantasy matchup might hurt, but not as much as blowing a kick or dropping a ball or losing your cool on national television. We'll probably forget about a fantasy loss. Myles Garrett's going to deal with his misstep forever.
Jets at Washington: At times the Jets look like they know what they're doing and you don't laugh at the team for giving Adam Gase a vote of confidence last week. Less impressive when one of those times is against the sad-sack Washington team, but whatever. Dwayne Haskins is so lost out there that I honestly don't know why the team is putting him on the field. Is this development? Terry McLaurin is absolutely the best player on the roster and cannot be used. Nice day for Derrius Guice at least, looks like it's his backfield.
Saints at Bucs: Saints win easily and big game for all the right players. Typical Bucs game with no defense, good passing numbers, and of course 4 interceptions by Jameis Winston, most of which were his fault. Slap in the face to anyone who decided to start O.J. Howard: Cameron Brate had a big game, after Howard factored into an INT and wasn't heard from again. Touchdown for Chris Godwin, not as good for Mike Evans. Saints right the ship after last week's debacle (although Atlanta handed out another one to Carolina, so I guess they've got some stuff figured out). Lousy game for Ronald Jones, that was fun while it lasted.
Broncos at Vikings: Brutal collapse by the Broncos, squandering a 20-0 lead. Even after falling behind 27-23, they had a chance to win with Brandon Allen driving nearly the length of the field, converting multiple fourth downs, and getting a couple of end-zone shots that were broken up/interfered with. A play that stood out was Noah Fant not finishing his block on an Allen scramble that would have gone for the game-winning touchdown if only Fant had...finished his block. Ah well. Good comeback by Kirk Cousins including touchdowns to both of his tight ends. And of course a Dalvin Cook score.
Bills at Dolphins: Big game for Josh Allen, rewarding those of us who keep starting him over better passers. Though he also had a nice day throwing it (in addition to another rushing score) with 3 TDs, a pair to Josh Allen and another to Dawson Knox. For Miami, nice game for DeVante Parker, another horrific statline for Kalen Ballage (but he scored). Hard to get great numbers out of a Buffalo running back with Allen running everything in, he really is like a young Cam Newton.
Jaguars at Colts: Colts win, they're a pretty good team. But the big stories seem to be side ones: one, Marlon Mack was having a big game before leaving with a broken hand. And two, the preseason Nick Foles to Dede Westbrook connection has become a regular season Foles to DJ Chark connection. Chark caught 2 TDs, the second one a pretty amazing grab where he was well-covered, while Westbrook was quiet. Game otherwise about as expected, more running and less passing for the Colts (so the receivers all disappointed).
Cowboys at Lions: Had this idea the Cowboys might work the run in this one. Instead they fell behind and since passing was so easy, well, they kept doing it. Huge games for Prescott, Gallup, Cobb, but hey the Lions didn't let Amari Cooper beat them. Elliott didn't have a big game running it but scored twice. Marvin Jones also scored twice and I guess you're annoyed if you benched him with his low ranking. But Detroit's passing game didn't have a good day and Kenny Golladay caught only 1 pass (Jones 4), so could just as easily have been a nothing outing. I don't know. I'd feel worse if he'd caught 10 for 125 or something. Bo Scarbrough comes off the practice squad to give the team its best rushing game since (including?) Kerryon Johnson got hurt. He's one of the key running back adds this week, too bad I wasted money/waiver positioning on Brian Hill.
Falcons at Panthers: Another huge win over a playoff contending NFC South team by Atlanta. In the recent talk about Carolina dealing Cam Newton next offseason I've wondered what people have seen out of Kyle Allen that makes anyone think they can do that. Allen's been ordinary all along and in this one he was just bad. Big game for Calvin Ridley, also good for Julio Jones.
Texans at Ravens: I'm guessing people saw DeAndre Hopkins being tackled in the end zone before he could catch what would have been a long touchdown in a game that was scoreless at the time. No flag. Texans challenged. Call on the field upheld. It's comically blatant how the NFL is refusing to uphold any challenges to pass interference/non-interference. The rule needs to go away because it's only resulting in worse optics for every such call or non-call. In other news, the Ravens are an unstoppable kind of roll on both offense and defense right now. Deshaun Watson at fault for some of his own sacks; got to throw it away sometimes. Another big game for Mark Andrews. Marquise Brown may have been limited by that ankle injury, quiet game.
Cardinals at 49ers:This was a great game to watch, with big plays being made on offense and defense on both sides of the ball. Some strange flops (Tevin Coleman?), nobodies stepping up (Ross Dwelley) and star performances by a couple of young quarterbacks, granted with some flaws. One of the catches of the year by Deebo Samuel, a touchdown for Larry Fitzgerald, and just some good old fashioned back and forth drama. Emmanuel Sanders aggravated a rib injury and left early, a point for the side that avoids starting injured players.
Patriots at Eagles: Eagles scored only 10 points in this game but I still came away kind of impressed. Defense played well, got a lot of pressure on Tom Brady. Wentz made some great plays, including a pretty amazing near game-tying touchdown throw while falling backward, but Nelson Agholor couldn't corral it (really tough catch, would have been awesome). Good games for both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, making their lofty rankings look good. Not much happening for either running game, as expected. Patriots looking mortal, their game with Dallas next week should be fascinating.
Bengals at Raiders: Was reading a story yesterday morning about this guy living on the roof of a bar until the Bengals win a game. Unless Cincinnati puts Andy Dalton back in the lineup, he's going to be there for quite a while longer. Good game for Derek Carr, 100-plus yards from Josh Jacobs, touchdown from Joe Mixon. Workmanlike Raiders win, who are definitely flying under the radar as they move toward a possible playoff spot.
Bears at Rams: I swear I'd only just texted a friend "Is Cooper Kupp gonna go for back-to-back donuts?" right before he caught a 50-yard pass. Quiet game otherwise for the Rams passing game, but an impressive one for Todd Gurley. Bears run defense isn't as good this year and their offense is pretty much useless, so their season should be filled with this kind of game the rest of the way: teams run all over them and try not to make mistakes on offense. Mitchell Trubisky benched/injured, whatever.
Monday, Monday: So we're thinking defensive struggle, right? Maybe 13-10. No, no. Lots of big stars and big points coming in this one, unless of course Kansas City's pass rush overruns the Chargers line and they win like 27-7. Probably not, but sometimes things surprise you. Should be a fun one to watch and a small part of me thinks maybe the Chargers bounce back from the Oakland game, Melvin Gordon run wild, and they win. But the safer bet appear to be Kansas City 31, Chargers 24.