This morning I'm thinking about fumbles, and their high cost in today's NFL and fantasy leagues. We all know running backs have been devalued due to offensive changes, rule changes, and the fact that these guys get injured, but when you add in the fact that teams think nothing about benching these guys immediately for fumbles and just plugging in somebody else, it's an even shakier situation. These guys are spare parts who teams don't care about.

So if you lost a matchup yesterday because of Stevan Ridley being benched for a fumble, or will lose one next week because Knowshon Moreno is apparently on crutches after carrying the ball 37 times last night following Montee Ball's fumble, well, try to think of it in relative terms. It's your fantasy team, it's their livelihood and careers, that can be taken away just like that.

Jets at Ravens: As expected. It was always kind of a strange fit when the Jets hired a pass-happy offensive coordinator in Marty Morningwheg. They've got a coach who wants to run the ball and a quarterback who really needs the team to not put the offense in his hands right now. It's not a big surprise that it isn't working. ... Ravens hit on some big pass plays to Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones. Didn't run the ball particularly well. That's the way it goes against the Jets -- not what we'll see from the Ravens the rest of the way.

Steelers at Browns: A little bit of snow in this game, always cool. Ben Roethlisberger with a late pooch punt that Emmanuel Sanders downs at the 1-yard-line, also cool. Antonio Brown rewarding those of us who ignored the matchup with Joe Haden and started him anyway with a 21-point PPR day, outstanding. ... Jason Campbell was knocked out of this game with injuries twice. Brandon Weeden came in and fumbled on a scramble. He seems very youthful in the pocket, not in a good way. Later, a pick 6. Gee, wonder why the Browns weren't sold on him. Some ridiculously huge late production from Josh Gordon, rewarding the few who dared start him against Pittsburgh's generally strong pass defense. That's fantasy football. ... Nothing special from LeVeon Bell. Saw Jonathan Dwyer get a short-yardage carry, but Bell in backfield on a 4-yard TD pass.

Bucs at Lions: Kind of a hard-luck loss for Matthew Stafford and the Lions. He did fine for his fantasy owners, of course, with a couple of really sweet touchdowns to Nate Burleson and Brandon Pettigrew. His 4 picks cost Detroit the game, but the game-ending one bounced out of Calvin Johnson's hands near the goal line, and on another one Pettigrew appeared to duck from a pass sent his way. Nice game for Burleson, mortal one for Calvin Johnson. Neither player hurt you. ... Much lesser numbers for Bobby Rainey, but it was n0t surprising. Lions play really good run defense. ... Matthew Stafford touchdown to Joseph Fauria. Reviewed. It stands. Very surprising, didn't look like he got either foot down. ... Bucs win three in a row, seemingly looking to save Greg Schiano's job. Are they happy about this?

Vikings at Packers: Not sure which team should feel less happy about the tie, but definitely left with a feeling of disappointment for both. Vikings blew a late lead, but the Packers really could have/should have won. Then Cordarrelle Patterson dropped a touchdown in the back of the end zone that would have won the game in overtime. A shame, because he otherwise had a good game, catching 8 passes and looking dangerous with the ball in his hands. ... Some great running by Eddie Lacy throughout. A sweet yet awkward-looking TD scramble by Scott Tolzien, who was ineffective as a passer and got benched. Matt Flynn led the comeback, but let's not get too excited -- he didn't look good either. Green Bay 0-3-1 since Rodgers went down and will probably make it 0-4-1 in Detroit on Thanksgiving. ... Adrian Peterson awesome. Supposedly hurt and limited all week, then goes and has a big day. Can't be benched.

Jaguars at Texans: Clearly the Jaguars got some things sorted out with their run defense during their bye week. We'd seen signs and discussed it, but tough to imagine Ben Tate struggling so much he'd actually get benched for Dennis Johnson (who looked pretty good, and had he not fallen down on a long run with open field in front of him, his game would have been any better). So Tate was a disaster, Case Keenum and Andre Johnson did nothing, and you wonder if maybe Gary Kubiak yanking Keenum last week killed his confidence, or was the right move (because Keenum isn't any good). Anyway, clearly the Texans can't be trusted in any regard against any opponent. To not score a touchdown at home against Jacksonville -- terrible. ... Nice game for Maurice Jones-Drew, OK for Cecil Shorts. Clearly the Texans, not the Jaguars, are currently the AFC South's worst team.

Chargers at Kansas City: What a game. You knew the Chargers couldn't play defense, but for Kansas City to struggle like that was pretty surprising. They lost Tamba Hali and Justin Houston during the game, and pretty much couldn't stop anything after that. Rough for those of us who benched Philip Rivers, of course, but otherwise an awfully entertaining game to get sucked into. ... Donnie Avery long TD, sets up another score with a catch. Two Jamaal Charles TDs, nearly a third. Charles in particular had several awesome runs, with the kind of cuts that only he is making right now. Dropped a touchdown, then ran it in. ... Also a big game for Keenan Allen, who seemed to be open every play. Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green were productive. Ryan Mathews even scored! Before leaving with a hamstring injury. Pretty much looked like both offenses could do whatever they wanted. An old school Chargers-Kansas City game.

Panthers at Dolphins: Something special about these Panthers right now. Looked bad for much of the game, but made every big play late and pulled out the win. Big catch by Steve Smith, tough run by Mike Tolbert, Cam Newton making the plays he had to make on the final drive. I'm not going to be surprised if they beat the Saints at least once in their upcoming two games. ... Big game for Mike Wallace. A long touchdown bomb, another long reception, both contested, good plays by Wallace. You wonder where it's been all year, and why they're finally hitting them now when it's too late. Near touchdown to Rishard Matthews, broken up on a big end zone hit. Still some fantasy value with the slot guy in Miami.

Bears at Rams: I give up trying to predict what the Rams defense is going to do. Today, their run defense came to play, and the Bears just played from behind throughout. To me a key moment came when the Bears, down 10 in the 3rd quarter, have a 4th and goal from the 2. They go for it. With Michael Bush carrying and getting stuffed 4 yards behind the line -- gee, Bush is in the game, I wonder what the play call will be. Dumb. ... Big games for Brandon Marshall, Josh McCown, and serviceable PPR numbers for Matt Forte (though he had 2 TDs erased by replay or penalty, sorry if you lost with him. Big game for Zac Stacy, too, or it was headed for it before he left with a concussion, helping Benny Cunningham score and go over 100 yards and even Isaiah Pead catch a 2-pointer. Bears, really bad against running backs. Adrian Peterson next week. ... The way things are going, the Rams Defense will probably finish the year as a top-10 group. Sadly, most of their good weeks will come for the teams that picked them up after they were dropped by those of us who drafted them. Similar story with Tavon Austin, who had a nifty long touchdown run.

Colts at Cardinals: Started Andrew Luck over Philip Rivers in a playoff matchup. Seemed like the right choice at the time and I'd do it again, but it looked pretty awful when Luck had all of 1 point at halftime and the Colts were getting waxed. Fortunately they left him in long enough to eke out some serviceable yardage and an otherwise meaningless touchdown. He might have had another but for Trent Richardson predictably killing Luck's final drive of the day by getting stuffed in the backfield on 4th and 1. Awful day for the Colts offense, and not their first. Offensive line is a huge part, but there's plenty of blame to go around. Poor defense right now, too. ... Arizona is for real. Two great wideout; an incredible Larry Fitzgerald touchdown against man coverage, just took the ball away from him. Beautiful. And a second one later, great throws by Carson Palmer. I think they're going to be an NFC wildcard, and with their defense, they will be competitive. Pretty good No. 2 running back, too, wish they'd play him more.

Titans at Raiders: Thrilling game. Big performances from both Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter. Dramatic win. Both teams actually in the playoff hunt -- apparently the Titans would be in "if the season ended today." It doesn't, right? Sebastian Janikowski misses a couple of field goals, funny how with the team actually competitive most weeks he's been a little erratic. Big story though is the young talent in the Titans receiving corps. Loved Wright coming out, like what I've seen out of Hunter so far. Oh sure, they've got questions at quarterback and their running back can't be trusted, and I'm not sure about the head coach...OK. Couple of nice wide receivers here.

Cowboys at Giants: Tough and obviously killer loss for Big Blue. They came all the way back from a deficit to force a 21-21 tie, only to see Tony Romo lead a clutch -- yes! -- drive for the game-winning field goal. Pretty good game with a couple of debatable officiating calls that I guess Giants fans will lament for a while, but when you start out 0-6 you have no margin for error, and they made a couple yesterday. ... Good game for Romo, and both running backs; Dez Bryant was a lot better this time around. Maybe this is the year the Cowboys actually win the NFC East. Can't see them stumbling against Oakland on Thanksgiving. Of course, you never know.

Broncos at Patriots: Before this game, I saw Ray Lewis say, "Wes Welker isn't going to let a concussion keep him out of this game." That's not how the league's concussion protocols work, right? I said, it isn't up to Welker if he plays or not! My wife responded, Oh sure. Broncos ask him, what's your name? He says, Peyton Manning. They say, OK, you got the right team, good enough. Get out there! I don't know, maybe not. Anyway, great games with peaks and valleys and those aforementioned fumbles. Another cold-weather loss for Peyton Manning. Funny to think you might believe homefield advantage is crucial for the Broncos in the playoffs, but I'm not so sure. Wouldn't Denver maybe be better off if they had a warmer spot to play in the playoffs than Mile High? I hear the Super Bowl is at an outdoor stadium in New Jersey, too....

Monday, Monday: So I need 8 points out of Alfred Morris tonight to win in my dynasty league. Doable, but the guy doesn't catch passes and it's a tough run defense, so it may come down to whether or not he scores. Should be entertaining. I think it will be a good game and I'm not going to be surprised if San Francisco loses and actually misses the playoffs this year. But I'll go with San Francisco 24, Washington 17. And 9 points from Morris.