It's getting so you can't count on anything anymore. Tom Brady losing to the Steelers? Aaron Rodgers losing to the Jets? At Lambeau? Kind of nuts, and humbling to the idea that we ever really know what's going to happen. Still one unbeaten team though, and I guarantee they'll stay that way for at least one more week (they're on bye).
49ers at Falcons: In a day of upsets, this was one of the bigger ones. But San Francisco was awfully short-handed defensively due to injuries, and Marcus Mariota was in a running mood. Just when you thought it was safe to bench Kyle Pitts, he caught a touchdown. Game script being what it was, San Francisco running backs disappointed, all elements of the passing game hit.
Patriots at Browns: Quarterback controversy in New England? Bailey Zappe and his receivers looking solid, and of course the expected big game from Rhamondre, with Harris out. That Cleveland defense is not good, and teams are exploiting it. (Zappe had a lot of open receivers.) Nick Chubb's worst game, not a total shock but not a guy you can really bench either. Amari Cooper touchdown, probably a little fortunate to hold up under review. But Patriots seeming to find their way all of a sudden, making a Zappe Era less unlikely than it seemed not too long ago.
Jets at Packers: What's wrong with the Packers? I guess the easy answer is what they've left themselves with at wide receiver, but those guys aren't responsible for Green Bay allowing 2 punts to be blocked. The weird thing in these back to back losses to New York teams is an inability to run the ball, or maybe unwillingness -- have they really worked it enough in either game? Green Bay needs to go back to the drawing board in several areas, because something isn't working right now. Nice game for Lazard, at least, and Robert Tonyan, who was probably starting somewhere. Big game for Breece Hall, again. Quiet day for NY passing game. New York's defense needs to move up the rankings some this week, they're playing pretty well these days.
Jaguars at Colts: Colts got shutout in Jacksonville just a few weeks ago, so this one was a little surprising. Good game for Matt Ryan. Huge game for Michael Pittman, and also for spot-start Deon Jackson. Recommended him and used him, but in retrospect should have been even higher, he was heavily involved as a receiver. Game-winning touchdown for Alec Pierce continuing his fine rookie season. For the Jaguars, Travis Etienne gradually outperforming James Robinson, which was supposed to happen all along I guess. No. 3 JaMycal Hasty shows up with a long TD, plus Trevor Lawrence ran way more than usual and scored twice. Late Kirk TD salvages an otherwise lousy day.
Vikings at Dolphins: Teddy Bridgewater took over for an apparently injured Skylar Thompson early on, but Miami's offense didn't do a ton anyway, and their defense continued to break down late. Kirk Cousins was a little light on yards, but his main wideouts and Dalvin Cook were all solid. For Miami, Bridgewater heated up and produced huge days for Tyreek, Waddle, and rather surprisingly Mike Gesicki. Maybe they'll start using him going forward? Nice game for the forgotten TE. Ground game did little, Miami was behind for a lot of this one.
Bengals at Saints: Bengals offense was in top form for much of this one, a back-and-forth affair with lots of big plays. Friend of mine hit a four-bet parlay with all four wins (point spread, anytime TD, passing and receiving yards) coming on the late, long touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to JaMarr Chase, something I don't imagine happens very often. Hope you bought low on Chase. Tee Higgins was healthy enough and OK, I don't think you're too happy or sad if you benched or started him, and Tyler Boyd was a little better, so that worked out too. Joe Mixon receiving score. For the Saints, a lesser game from Taysom, excellent from Kamara. TreQuan Smith scored, but none of the receivers really hit (and Andy Dalton obviously missed his top 3).
Ravens at Giants: Ravens were up 20-10 late, with the expected big game from Mark Andrews and the surprising one from Kenyan Drake. And then they just kind of went to sleep, with Daniel Jones hitting Daniel Bellinger for a touchdown, Lamar Jackson turning it over twice, and Saquon Barkley scoring and then choosing not to score so the Giants could run out the clock. One the Ravens let get away, but the Giants Defense / coaching staff deserves some credit for doing this week after week. Can't be terribly surprising anymore. Touchdown on a well-designed little play to Wan'Dale Robinson, finally healthy and contributing.
Bucs at Steelers: Will be kicking myself for a while for picking up Zach Gentry (one catch) instead of Daniel Bellinger (5 and a TD). Especially considering we knew Gentry was a short-term option and Bellinger is the Giants' guy right now. No excuse beyond sometimes you have too many teams and don't think things through properly I guess. I won't be getting Bellinger for cheap when I drop Gentry next week. Shockingly, the Steelers won this one with defense and Chase Claypool having a big game, much of which came from Mitchell Trubisky, after Kenny Pickett left with a concussion. Bucs good games were from Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin, while Cameron Brate also left with injury (after nearly catching a touchdown early, just tipped away). Frustrating day for most Bucs.
Panthers at Rams: Panthers used a Pick Six to lead this one early, but it wasn't really going to happen. They were down to 5th-string quarterback Jacob Eason eventually, with P.J. Walker leaving due to injury, and Eason wasn't going to beat this defense. Both Carolina quarterbacks did a good job of getting the ball into the hands of Christian McCaffrey, at least, but he's about all the Panthers have going for them (assuming they don't trade him in the next week or two). By the time you read this Robbie Anderson may have been kicked off the team, probably not for confusing us all by changing the spelling of his name, more likely for a sideline altercation with a coach that got him sent to the locker room. Matt Rhule was done a favor by being fired, it seems. Darrell Henderson had a decent game, as expected, Malcolm Brown averaged 2.2 yards per attempt with his 7 carries, also as expected. Cooper Kupp had a modest (for him) game, with Allen Robinson surfacing after being dropped in many leagues last week.
Cardinals at Seahawks: This one was a disappointing dud for many players, a presumably higher-scoring game which instead was a lower-scoring yawner. Nice game for Ken Walker, with Seattle playing from ahead, and for Zach Ertz and (to a lesser extent) Rondale Moore and Marquise Brown (who picked up an injury late), with Arizona playing from behind. But very little from the Seattle passing game, and Eno Benjamin a disappointment. Kyler Murray rushed for 100 yards, which was nice, but not great passing numbers and a couple of turnovers, which hurt in some leagues. Including the one I had Murray in. Anyway, not the numbers you really wanted, especially if this was the week you bought in to starting Geno.
Bills at Kansas City: Buffalo's defense is for real, so it wasn't a complete shock that this game was a little lower-scoring than say the playoff meeting. But key Bills put up great numbers, as did Mahomes, Kelce and Smith-Schuster. Pretty bad interception by Mahomes late to kill any comeback chance, while Josh Allen was mostly great, with clutch throw after clutch throw to Diggs, another TD for Gabe Davis, and then the really great winning touchdown to Dawson Knox. Kansas City has shifted to something of a three-back committee it appears; not great, especially in a week the team scores only 20. Marquez Valdes-Scantling shutout, although there was a touchdown called back by a penalty (not that that helps anyone).
Cowboys at Eagles: Previewing this game I thought the Eagles were the kind of defense that could make Cooper Rush look bad. And so they did, with 3 interceptions. Eagles didn't put up huge numbers against Dallas, but they were pretty good. Philly is on its bye, and then its next three are against Pittsburgh, Houston and Washington, with two of those at home. So 9-0 looks pretty likely.
Monday, Monday: Everyone has written off the Broncos at this point, which probably means this will be the week they play well. There's nothing special about the Chargers defense, certainly. Denver's defense is very good, but with the talent the Chargers are putting on the field, a higher-scoring game is certainly possible. I'll go Chargers 27, Broncos 24.
