It seems like one week each year is particularly bad for injuries. Sometimes Week 2, I think, but maybe Week 7 this year. Breece Hall and DK Metcalf gone with potentially major injuries, and several others (Allen Lazard, Mike Williams, David Njoku) gone with uncertain ones. Rough sport, and a reminder you're never far (as a team or fantasy coach) from needing to use a player you thought had little value.
Browns at Ravens: It's possible I said something derisive regarding Gus Edwards having much of an impact on this game. Apologies. Gus was lead back and scored 2 TDs. Kenyan Drake (11 carries, 5 yards) was horrific and will never be started again in some fantasy leagues. Justice Hill was the No. 3 and lost a fumble. Lamar Jackson and the passing game did virtually nothing, lowlighted by Mark Andrews not catching a pass. Bad all the way around. Nick Chubb scored early and had the lone nice game. Amari Cooper had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty. The Browns are slipping out of things.
Bucs at Panthers: Shocker of the day, with the tanking Panthers holding Tom Brady and company out of the end zone all day in an upset win. The D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard tandem produced two quality fantasy backs rather than the anticipated one or none, and even DJ Moore scored. Nice final numbers for Mike Evans and serviceable for Chris Godwin and Cade Otton, but the Bucs offense largely frustrated all day, and it started with Evans shockingly dropping what should have been a long touchdown. (Pittsburgh's upset last week makes more sense now; the Bucs offense seems broken.) Kudos to Carolina, surprisingly competitive after their decision-makers forfeited the season. They're a game out of first place.
Falcons at Bengals: Cincinnati has hit its stride of late, and was all over Atlanta early and often. Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards and 3 TDs, JaMarr Chase and Tyler Boyd had huge games, Joe Mixon scored, Tee Higgins and Hayden Hurst were also viable...pass for 500 yards, good things happen. Atlanta itself has been better than expected, but that defense is giving up a lot of nice fantasy performances. Atlanta's passing game did nothing, because they only attempted 13 passes even while getting blown out. Lump Kyle Pitts and Drake London with the Cole Kmets and Darnell Mooneys of the world right now. Teams that don't pass don't have great receivers.
Lions at Cowboys: As I think I mentioned on Saturday, talk that this might be a shootout seemed to overlook that Detroit got shut out in its last game. The clock has struck midnight on the Lions' run of offensive excellence, or maybe it's just that injuries have caught up. No D'Andre Swift, no DJ Chark, Amon-Ra St. Brown left with a concussion, and maybe Josh Reynolds not fully healthy either. Jared Goff under siege by one of the league's best defenses. Negative is you didn't get as much as you'd have liked from the Dallas offense -- worst was Michael Gallup getting totally shut out on two targets. The running backs, at least, were great.
Giants at Jaguars: Game decided in the final seconds with Christian Kirk catching a pass at the goal line, down six, but being gang tackled just short. Giants keep finding ways to win, now 6-1. Daniel Jones having a huge game running it, Darius Slayton standing out on a game-opening touchdown drive, Travis Etienne having a nice game for Jacksonville (with James Robinson apparently phased out of the offense). Another big game for Saquon Barkley.
Colts at Titans: Picked up the Titans Defense as a fill-in even though Matt Ryan didn't get sacked or turn it over last week. Larger body of Ryan's 2022 season work wins out, Titans win with defensive plays, Colts running backs (as receivers) and wideouts put up good numbers, most notably Parris Campbell stepping up. Derrick Henry the only usable Titan besides that defense.
Packers at Commanders: Another week, another frustrating loss for Aaron Rodgers and company. The Sunday night crew made the point that while the receivers get a lot of the blame, Rodgers' lack of confidence in his offensive line these days is a factor in him throwing short when there are bigger opportunities downfield, and not getting comfortable in the pocket. Big game for Aaron Jones, at least, as a receiver, but Green Bay can't run it at all these days. Allen Lazard left with an injury, that will need to be checked out.
Jets at Broncos: At least it wasn't in primetime. The move from Russell Wilson to Brett Rypien wasn't a plus for the 1-TD-per-game Broncos. Denver goes to England next week and then has a bye. I don't like getting caught up in talk of coaching watches, but you have to think Nathaniel Hackett's future is being discussed. The team is just painful to watch, week after week. Breece Hall, in the midst of another great game, left with a knee injury and initial reports aren't good. Nice numbers for Jerry Jeudy and Greg Dulcich. Broncos need some of these youngsters to hit considering the picks they don't have next year.
Texans at Raiders: A couple of good defenses to put offenses up against in this one. Josh Jacobs on top of his game (contract push perhaps), Dameon Pierce another fine outing, Davante Adams generally open every time the ball was thrown in his vicinity, and Davis Mills threw for 300 yards without any of his wide receivers reaching 50. Houston running backs caught 14 passes, highlighting the kind of passes Mills was having success with and the kind of low impact they were making. Raiders suddenly looking like maybe the 2nd-best team in the AFC West because....
Seahawks at Chargers: Can we vote for absent Joey Bosa for Defensive MVP? Chargers defense is just plain bad right now. Seattle lit them up, though it was somewhat overshadowed by DK Metcalf being carted off with a knee injury -- bad week. Keenan Allen played, but you're glad you didn't start him. Tyler Lockett also played, and caught 7 passes, but for just 45 yards, so I'm not kicking myself too much for avoiding him there. Huge game for Ken Walker and also Austin Ekeler. Both these teams are going to be involved in some high-scoring affairs the rest of the way.
Kansas City at 49ers: The big storylines here were Isiah Pacheco starting for Kansas City and Christian McCaffrey joining the Niners. McCaffrey had a modest outing but didn't kill you if you started him. With Pacheco, starting didn't necessarily mean featured. I saw someone saying that they thought it meant Jerick McKinnon would be phased out of the offense -- well, no. He's the best or at least most trusted pass catcher of the three, so he's still going to play plenty. And when Kansas City fell behind early, McKinnon played plenty. Naturally, Edwards-Helaire scored a late touchdown. All three had 4-8 touches and played 30-40 percent of the time. And Kansas City let Mecole Hardman run it a couple of times near the end zone, resulting in a pair of scores. That won't happen every week, but neither it appears, will the committee be ending, no matter who the starter is. Niners defense isn't the same as when it was healthy (but Kansas City better than most offenses, things should get better). Another nice game for JuJu, that call worked out. Even MVS went over 100 yards. Aiyuk and Kittle (and Ray-Ray McCloud, but no one is starting him) best for San Fran.
Steelers at Dolphins: This was an entertaining one, competitive to the very end with some fun highlights. Best was the twisting George Pickens touchdown catch, making me glad I started him and convinced I'll be doing so a lot the rest of the way, even if the now 2-5 Steelers don't ship off Chase Claypool. An impressive game by Raheem Mostert, who I trashed all preseason as a nonfactor and now apologize too. Nearly had a 2nd TD on a pass near the goal line, he's not just a runner in this offense (Chase Edmonds turned in his latest bad drop along the way). Dolphins tried to give this one away (passing up a field goal that would have put them up 9 late), but Kenny Pickett served up a pair of bad interceptions late on rookie-type throws. Made some good plays too, but the picks stand out.
Monday, Monday: Every league has a couple of key players in this game going, but most of my matchups are done, given the relatively few good options. I can't see any way the Patriots defense doesn't make things awful for Justin Fields all day, nor that the Bears defense is able to stop the Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson combo. I'm expecting lots of running from both teams and a comfortable Patriots win, lets say 24-16.
