One more game for Week 16, and I know some fantasy matchup are hinging on it. But a lot were decided over the weekend, with euphoria (Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey owners) and disappointment (Dallas and Chicago offenses, yikes). Sometimes even when you're cool on certain players, you're not frosty enough.
Texans at Bucs: So if you started Breshad Perriman or Justin Watson, I think you have to be reasonably happy. Perriman didn't have a huge game, but it was a good PPR one, and the guy really looks legit -- will be a factor somewhere in the future, if not the league's best No. 3 in Tampa. And Watson got you into the teens in PPR, which is all you can ask for. Disappointing obviously from Deshaun Watson; stuff happens. Jameis Winston gets deservedly criticized for all the picks, but I think he was going to lead the Bucs down the field for a game-winning touchdown had Cameron Brate not had about the worst drop you'll ever see on 4th and 4 -- wide open, ball in his hand, clunk. Houston foolishly gave the Bucs a last chance by running a play when they could have taken a knee, too.
Bills at Patriots: You're welcome for scaring you off James White. Apologies for scaring you off Josh Allen. Key to his good game (and John Brown's, all of one catch) was a throw he made that I couldn't believe as it happened, running backwards/sideways under pressure but still uncorking a perfect bomb downfield for a long score. Arm strength. But it wasn't enough. I think the Bills can win their first playoff game (perhaps in Houston), but probably aren't quite there to winning in New England or Kansas City.
Rams at 49ers: Gotta be happy with pretty much everyone you could/should have started here -- Gurley, Woods, Higbee, Kupp to a lesser extent, and Kittle-Deebo-Mostert. Sanders not as much. A higher scoring game in which some cracks in San Francisco's defense continued to spread. Rams are out of it and I think it's clear they have to go back to the drawing board on the offensive line. Jared Goff rightly gets some criticism but he's also under heavy pressure back there. The Pick Six was inexcusable.
Giants at Washington: Wild shootout between teams with nothing to play for and not much defense. Not a big surprise, except my streaming of the Washington defense didn't work out so well. I had both Darius Slayton and Kaden Smith in an FFPC Championship competition the last three weeks and started the wrong one in a flex spot each week. Nice numbers for a lot of Giants, though, including Saquon Barkley showing up for fantasy Super Bowls, in the unlikely event he got any of his teams there. Just like Alvin Kamara. Washington, down 7, scored a touchdown in the final minute and kicked the extra point. Go for 2, guys.
Saints at Titans: Titans controlled this one early, Saints came back late. I don't know whether the lack of meaning from Tennessee's standpoint had an impact. At least their offense put up big numbers. Alvin Kamara scores 2 TDs, after I mockingly predicted it, figures. Saints wound up with big numbers across the board with all the key guys scoring. I think we'd all rather see Tennessee in the playoffs than Pittsburgh, which will happen if Tennessee beats a Houston team likely resting starters.
Steelers at Jets: Pretty cool Darnold to Robby Anderson touchdown early on, then no other highlights of any kind. One final gut-punch for those of us who started James Conner, as he left early with a brand new injury, killing lineups across the fantasy landscape. Devlin Hodges struggled and was benched, then had to come back in when Mason Rudolph got hurt. Awkward. To Hodges' credit, he made a great throw late in the end zone to James Washington that would have won it, but safety Marcus Maye broke it up. Then another fourth down pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that went through its hands. Pittsburgh needs a win (Baltimore resting players, no doubt) and a Titans loss for a playoff spot, but hard to root for that. Titans look like a team that can win a couple of playoff games maybe.
Bengals at Dolphins: Joe Mixon was supposed to have a huge game, but apparently dealing with a stomach bug or something, in a story that broke about 90 minutes before kickoff. He was active, I'm not really sure how you could bench the guy. Some did I suppose. I didn't, Mixon played throughout and had plenty of touches, but did very little. Dolphins passing offense had a big game, Fitzpatrick especially, a reminder that even journeymen can win fantasy Super Bowls. Full disclosure: I thought this game was over and was stunned to see that the Bengals roared (no pun intended) back to force overtime. Crazy.
Panthers at Colts: Christian McCaffrey and the Colts defense were the stars here, about as expected. Will Grier not ready to play but at least he got the ball to McCaffrey an awful lot. Lost DJ Moore early to a concussion, taking the drama out of how lousy he'd likely have done. Marlon Mack fell into the end zone for a touchdown, and Nyheim Hines returned 2 punts for touchdowns, a boon to best-ball owners everywhere. Moving on.
Ravens at Browns: Mark Ingram limped off late in this one. Ravens fans hold their breath but they won't play a meaningful game for 3 weeks now anyway, so with any luck things will be OK for them. Lamar Jackson started slow but finished with his usual huge numbers. Browns have talked about bringing back most of the coaches and key pieces of this year's team. I don't really know why.
Jaguars at Falcons: Big Devonta Freeman game, and good for Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Austin Hooper. Bigger would have been nice (more touchdowns), but they did fine. Jaguars were predictably awful as they play out the string. "Good chance" Doug Marrone returns as coach. Again: why. Leonard Fournette's all-around production was fine, no touchdowns of course.
Raiders at Chargers: I suppose the Chargers being booed by their "home" fans as they took the field maybe cast kind of a gloom over the proceedings. Monty Python reference. Anyway their offense underperformed and the game was a dud. Started Darren Waller over Austin Hooper and regretted it.
Lions at Broncos: Phillip Lindsay was great and Kenny Golladay was decent and Courtland Sutton had a serviceable PPR game. And that's really everyone you should have been starting in this meaningless contest.
Cardinals at Seahawks: Lot of injuries in this one. Kyler Murray (hamstring) and Chris Carson (hip) left early, taking some fantasy fortunes along with them. Seattle can still win the division by beating San Francisco, but it looks like they won't be at full strength. And just the latest disappointment by Russell Wilson and the passing game, who had some bad timing for some who counted on them in fantasy.
Cowboys at Eagles: Friends of mine drove to Philadelphia for this game; Cowboys fans happy to see their team. Seeing them score a touchdown would have been better. We talked about Dallas' offense not traveling well but this eyesore went even lower than expectations. Maybe Dak Prescott's shoulder issue was more significant than let on. Left Dallas Goedert on a bench for Darren Waller...really could have used those points. Yes, seemed OK at the time. Philadelphia losing at the Giants isn't impossible, but a certain percentage of Cowboys fans is probably content to miss the playoffs if sweeping changes come. "Unfortunately Jerry won't fire himself," said my friend.
Kansas City at Chicago: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Damien Williams led the way in a game that was over early. Chicago offense is a weekly frustration and it's irritating to see Matt Nagy poring over a giant sheet of plays, none of which seem to work against an even functional NFL defense. And that is one of the big stories over the past month: how well the Kansas City defense has been playing. Nothing would be surprising about a Baltimore-Kansas City AFC Championship; it's the game most of us would like to see.
Monday, Monday: So it's Packers at Vikings, which is always compelling. Except when both teams are already in the playoffs and the main drama is figuring out which team will get a home game. (And Minnesota needs Green Bay to lose at Detroit next week even if they win here, which probably won't happen.) Mildly interesting for Packers and Vikings fans, not so much for the rest of us. I'm using Mike Boone, even though it probably doesn't matter; other choices have left me needing too much out of him for even a big day to swing the result. Vikings at home seem like a good bet, but if Aaron Rodgers is on and Kirk Cousins isn't, things will go the other way. If I were betting I'd go with Minnesota 24, Green Bay 17, but I don't say it with any confidence. Keeping guys healthy will be as important to both teams as winning, I think.