I suspect what's weighing on most people's minds today is the players who either let them down in a loss, or let down against them, enabling them to win. Keenan Allen getting a zero in standard scoring was at least somewhat foreseeable with Darrelle Revis stuck to him, but Peyton Manning? Demaryius Thomas? Mark Ingram and Jimmy Graham? It's why I like the leagues where playoff matchups are two weeks, giving you a chance to minimize the bad luck of one shockingly poor week. Pretty much impossible in eight-team playoffs, but doable with four teams (although then you need to include Week 17, which no one really wants to do).
Basically there's no great solution, or I don't have one in mind. Luck sometimes rules the day, and you just hope it's with you, not against you. And move on.
Steelers at Bengals: Not a good month to be facing LeVeon Bell. Or the Steelers offense in general I guess. But Bell is pretty much unstoppable and he's carrying everyone along with him. Bell was actually inches short from yet another touchdown, which turned into a little flip to Miller. So Bell could have reached 50 fantasy points in standard. Oh, Roethlisberger's doing OK too. Quiet game for Martavis Bryant until catching a long bomb late. But hey, that counts too. Bengals ground game let everyone down. Committees are a drag, and Cincimnati's defense was bad, and the awesome A.J. Green hogged all the numbers for himself. Gonna be a wild finish in the AFC North.
Colts at Browns: If that game wasn't the end of the Brian Hoyer era, I'm not sure what will be. Browns played so well on defense and really should have won, but their offense didn't do enough to put the game away. Josh Gordon burned some folks, Isaiah Crowell at least scored for you (though he and Terrance West split the work), and the Browns blew it at the end. Much of the game was ugly, but typical huge numbers at the end for Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton. And the whole Trent Richardson returns thing didn't matter because the Colts were barely able to run the ball at all. Hope you didn't use either back.
Buccaneers at Lions: Easy win for the Lions and should have been even easier. Saw the Lions stop the Bucs in the red zone with an interception, which they then fumbled away, and then stop them again but get flagged for a hit out of bounds, giving the Bucs yet another first and goal. And a touchdown to Evans. It was all Lions, and it's looking like Detroit and Green Bay are in, the Eagles and Cowboys will be in, and the NFC West will send only one team to the playoffs. ... Huge game for Joique Bell. While the Bills have committed to Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, several of their running backs (Lynch, Bell, and somebody I've probably forgotten) have turned out fairly well in other places. ... Tampa Bay's passing game, at least, worked out well for you.
Texans at Jaguars: Pretty nifty rollout touchdown pass from Blake Bortles to Allen Hurns early on. And... that was it for their offense. Big game from Arian Foster, as always. A nice, tackle-breaking touchdown run from Alfred Blue, looks like he's going to be a good fantasy player in this offense down the road. And no doubt a sad Texans locker room after the Browns blew it against Andrew Luck, as Houston could have actually made things interesting in the AFC South.
Ravens at Dolphins: We talk sometimes about the throws Ryan Tannehill doesn't make that end up costing his team. Early on he had Mike Wallace wide open for a touchdown and missed him, and that might have changed the momentum of the game. Then later, he had a dart through two defenders to Hartline for a touchdown, just a great throw. Imagine if he could do that all the time. ... Another big game for Justin Forsett, the main reason the Ravens are winning these days. That said, Steve Smith had a busy day, both catching a touchdown, dropping a touchdown, and getting another end-zone target. Benefiting from Torrey Smith having his knee swell up in pregame warmups; not the kind of thing you can see coming. If Smith is back next week, Smith Sr. won't be quite as good, but yesterday he sure looked like he will be part of that playoff push.
Jets at Vikings: So when we do see a player have a big game against his former team, like Percy Harvin did, I find myself thinking (if that player has otherwise done very little), where has that been? Like, good for you, but why have you been so lousy all season? And now it sounds like he might be done for the season. Anyway, typical ridiculous loss for the Jets. Nice game for Charles Johnson, and it could have been much bigger. He fumbled at the goalline or he'd have s ores 2 TDs. Good player though, sad I just missed him on waivers in dynasty. Not far fetched that he is the No. 1 in Minnesota next year.
Panthers at Saints: I give up with the Saints. They lose the games they are supposed to win and win the games they are supposed to lose. They keep losing, badly even, at home, where they have long been invincible. It's frustrating. And those of us who started Mark Ingram will think twice before using him again. Lost a fumble early, just like he did in the Ravens game two weeks ago. But really it's the Saints passing game that has been perplexing in these losses. Maybe Jimmy Graham really is playing hurt. ... Every once in a while (usually if you don't use him) a Panthers running back will have a great game, and that was Jonathan Stewart. Disappointingly quiet game from Kelvin Benjamin -- touchdown, early, then nothing after that. Unless you count a drop that would have gone for a big play. Olsen touchdown, part of a 10-catch game.
Giants at Titans: The Titans can't stop the run, and when you can't do that, you can't win. Hope you started Andre Williams even though Rashad Jennings was active, because he ran through huge holes all day. Kind of flopped when starting but has sure played well the past few weeks. Another huge day for Odell Beckham Jr., too; even on a day the team won with the ground game. Gotta be frustrating for the Giants to see how they can play when they play well, because they haven't done it very often. Nothing much to say about the Titans; they're terrible, and with their top two wide receivers out, they had little going on on offense. Think they regret the Sankey pick?
Rams at Washington: I think a while back I told someone I didn't think the Rams defense would be that great in fantasy down the stretch. I am sorry about that. Washington is now in full-on train wreck mode, and the Rams are finishing about as strong as a team can finish. Especially on defense. Jared Cook was pretty much the only notable offensive player for either team.
Kansas City at Cardinals: This game seemed to be all Kansas City, and then turned on a couple of plays. Alex Smith threw a touchdown over the middle to Anthony Fasano, but it was erased by a penalty. One or two plays later, Smith was pressured and threw a bad interception, setting up a Cardinals touchdown. The difference between Kansas City being up 21-9 (insurmountable in this game) and down 17-14 was that small. Kansas City now appears to be in freefall, while Arizona saved its season there. ... Scary moment early when Jamaal Charles got rolled up in a pile and seemed to have suffered a leg or ankle injury. But it was just a scare and he came back to score again. ... Kerwynn Williams. The Cardinals signed him off the practice squad on Friday but there was little reason to think he'd dominate the ground game, if he played at all. So naturally he rushed for 100 yards and will maybe start next week. Grab him if you can.
Bills at Broncos: Suspect nobody wants to talk about anything in this game aside from Peyton Manning's 173-yard touchdown-less day. Terribly unlucky for Manning owners, lucky for all of us who faced him. Not sure I can recall a bigger Week 14 flop by a bigger name in a game the Broncos pretty much dominated and moved the ball well in; just, everything came on the ground. ... Sammy Watkins turned in a big game, which included on really impressive 37-yard catch. Guy didn't even seem to be looking at the ball until he turned at the last second to reel it in. Sweet play. No concerns about Watkins long-term; well, it would be nice if Buffalo finds a long-term quarterback I guess.
49ers at Raiders: Let's go ahead and call this one rock bottom for the 49ers and start saying our goodbyes to Jim Harbaugh. New coach is going to have a mess to clean up here. Wonder if the Raiders will go hard after Harbaugh? Al Davis would have.
Seahawks at Eagles: So the Seahawks have found their defensive mojo, and Russell Wilson is playing great. I think that about covers it. Philadelphia has a fine offense but Mark Sanchez isn't going to break down this defense; Nick Foles wouldn't have either. Be happy for whatever points you get out of any players you have to start against Seattle the rest of the way, and hope you can avoid using them at all. Not betting against Seattle being a very tough out in the playoffs.
Patriots at Chargers: Another late-season dominant performance by the Patriots. San Diego took an early 14-3 lead and then that was it for them. New England's defense is great, and they can seemingly run it or pass it effectively with any of their backs and any one of their receivers stepping up. Somebody's going to have to win in Foxborough in January, and we've seen Luck and Manning try in the past and come up empty. Lots of football left to be played, but it sure looks like there's only one result coming.
Monday, Monday: The game's in Lambeau, so Green Bay's offense should be huge. I know, not going out on a limb here. Eddie Lacy, the Green Bay passing game; it will be interesting to see what the Falcons try to do to slow them down. Playing keepaway is about all they can do, so lots of Steven Jackson and short passes maybe? Strange stuff happens all the time in the NFL, but this should be a double-digit win for the Packers. Keeping the Panthers alive for the NFC South, which is of course ridiculous.