Blowing leads was the theme of the day -- the Bears did it, Lions did it, Titans did it, and the Eagles almost did it. And that was just the early games. It reminds me of the game earlier in the year where I wasn't even checking live scoring during Colts-Eagles, and Darren Sproles came out of nowhere to beat me down. Stuff happens, all you can do is hope you're on the right side of more of them. OK, on to the games.
Bears at Panthers: Huge game, finally, for Matt Forte, but Bears blow a 21-7 lead and lose. A key late interception by Jay Cutler factored in heavily. You have to wonder what Marc Trestman thinks about Cutler messing up his otherwise awesome offense with turnovers. For Carolina, the main fantasy weapon was Greg Olsen, while Chris Ogbonnaya was the only successful running back. I did see Kelvin Benjamin get stripped of the ball after one catch and get hit hard on a couple of other chances. Clear that Chicago gave him the attention his first month of the season deserved.
Texans at Cowboys: Cowboys win in overtime. Great catch by Dez Bryant to help set up the winning field goal. Houston couldn't stop DeMarco Murray, though they kept him out of the end zone. Big takeaway: Arian Foster looking not just fine but really, really good. Had a long run, followed by a TD, then another TD, in a 157-yard rushing performance. Last week was the week to buy low, I guess, although next week he'll probably hurt that hamstring again. ... Sweet TD bomb from Romo to Terrance Williams, who keeps it up. Romo barely eluded Watt to make the play.
Bills at Lions: Detroit was thin at running back entering the game and lost Calvin Johnson during the game; he hadn't even caught a pass prior to the reception that ended his day with an aggravation of his ankle injury. There are evidently times you bench even Calvin Johnson. Every once in a while you get burned, like Brandon Marshall's 3-TD game earlier while playing through an ankle injury, but I just don't like to mess with injured players unless I really have no viable alternative. Huge game for Golden Tate for the second week in a row in Johnson's absence. ... Really ugly pick 6 for Kyle Orton, but Bills somehow win anyway. Nice game for Sammy Watkins, and Fred Jackson still the most productive Bills running back. ... Eric Ebron had a TD reversed on replay. Couldn't hang on, should have caught it. ... Ankle injury for Reggie Bush, no word on the severity. Keep an eye on George Winn, although Joique Bell probably back next week anyway. ... Alex Henery probably cut by the time you read this.
Ravens at Colts: The Andrew Luck MVP season continues. Imagine if his offensive coordinator hadn't cost him a win against the Eagles. Saw one play where he was running in the red zone and got really clobbered by two defenders. Got up kind of shakily. Threw an impressive backside touchdown to Dwayne Allen two play later. Wish I had Luck on a team or two. ... Ravens running backs did little. Forsett the best. Taliferro seemed to be ahead of Bernard Pierce, but was stuffed on a goal-line chance. Probably best avoided with roles and depth chart hazy. Forsett the only one who seems secure.
Steelers at Jaguars: Tough to know what to make of the Steelers. That's a bad Jaguars defense they just scored only 10 points against. A conservative game plan, the Jaguars do have some pass rushing ability; low-scoring win. ... Blake Bortles taking his lumps as a starter. Throwing some careless picks. Still, based on what I've seen, I like him. How much learning is he really going to do watching Chad Henne. ... Saw Allen Hurns drop a catchable ball downfield. Allen Robinson the guy to own. Storm Johnson led the team in rushing. At this point, why not, he can't be worse than Gerhart, and Denard Robinson has done nothing, either.
Bucs at Saints: Saints stole one here, helping all of us who picked them in our suicide pools. Ugly but we'll take it. New Orleans defense just looks bad. How it went from being as good as it was for much of last year, at least in terms of sacks, to this, is a mystery. ... Khiry Robinson, Pierre Thomas and Travaris Cadet accounted for all of the Saints' touchdowns, though 2 were receptions. Pierre not done, but I still think Khiry is the only guy you can safely start. Until Ingram returns. Brandin Cooks (9 catches) PPR gold, though for just 56 yards. Jimmy Graham shoulder injury the big story here, we'll see if he's OK. ... Unimpressive day for Doug Martin. Bobby Rainey touchdown. Martin still got two-thirds of the carries, but don't drop Rainey; it could change back. Yesterday, Rainey looked better.
Falcons at Giants: New York keeps things going. They're in the soft part of their schedule and continue to score points and get wins. Rashad Jennings hurt, so Andre Williams might be the week's big pickup. ... Huge game for Julio Jones, though he didn't score. Nearly caught a long pass down the sideline that might have gone for one. Just a lot for defenses to handle. Not as impressive was Rueben Randle, though he did catch a touchdown. But he got a lot of targets, including another end-zone chance where he seemed to turn the wrong way, and one where he couldn't get both feet down. Just looks like he's benefiting mostly from volume, not talent. ... Another long Antone Smith touchdown. It's unreal, really. Whenever he gets a chance, long touchdown. It's like teams don't know how to account for him. ... Leaping TD for Odell Beckham Jr. Nice all-around debut.
Rams at Eagles: This game was over, and I turned it off, and then suddenly the Rams were down 6 and had the ball near midfield. Eagles hung on, but maybe their fast pace tires their own defense out at the end of the game? Anyway, nice offensive showing for both sides. ... Zac Stacy left with an injury, Benny Cunningham scored a touchdown after he came in. Something to monitor this week.
Browns at Titans: Crazy game. Titans race out to 28-3 lead, at home, against the Browns. And lose. Saw a pretty touchdown throw by Charlie Whitehurst, and 2 TD catches for Kendall Wright. So if you think you've seen it all, this game disputed that. ... Nice return to the lineup by Ben Tate, thwarting those of us holding on to Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell. For now, anyway. ... Great long TD by Justin Hunter, warning us not to give up on possible breakout guys too soon. We'll see if Jake Locker, who left with injury, is OK, because tough to see Whitehurst keeping things going. Although Locker actually looked pretty bad when he was in there, fortunate not to throw multiple interceptions.
Cardinals at Broncos: So for some strange reason I let my 9-year-old son, in his first ever fantasy league, not draft Peyton Manning, his favorite NFL player. I don't know what happened there, but his team would be much, much better. Hope you bought low on Demaryius Thomas. ... Nice game from Andre Ellington, good to see. ... Montee Ball left with a groin injury, has disappointed anyway. Ronnie Hilllman is the guy to add, though let's see how things end up shaking out.
Jets at Chargers: Chargers good, Jets bad. Questions? We've had our eye on Branden Oliver since the exhibitions, and he certainly broke out nicely this week. Hope you already had him on your roster, even if not in your lineup. Anyway, nice game, and he'll be the guy until Ryan Mathews is back. After which, I guess he'll be Danny Woodhead. ... Jets say they'll go back to Geno Smith after Michael Vick was no better. Whatever. Not a passing offense.
Bengals at Patriots: Tell me you didn't see this one coming. After a week of talk about how such and such a team is dead and buried, and they're home in primetime against a presumptive AFC favorite, that's what happens. I don't know if the Pats are legit Super Bowl contenders, but they have far fewer problems than the rest of the AFC East. ... Their wideouts have disappointed, so New England dusted off the 2-TE offense with Tim Wright. Gotta think that's here to stay. ... Bengals will be fine. Things just kind of snowballed on them last night. Couple of calls didn't go their way, dropped touchdown (the droppable Jermaine Gresham, if you actually have him anywhere), and Darrelle Revis did better than most can do against A.J. Green. ... Not a good week to be facing Stephen Gostkowski.
Monday, Monday: Who all is playing tonight? Right, Seattle at Washington. Seahawks are on the road, but I still wouldn't want to be using any Washington players. Maybe they'll be all amped up to face the Super Bowl champs and Alfred Morris or Pierre Garcon will have a big game, but I'd still rather have Percy Harvin, Marshawn Lynch, and the Seattle Defense. 27-13, Seattle.