A lot more offense than defense yesterday. Lots of big fantasy performances, big NFL numbers, big scores. Consider: in 10 of 13 Week 6 games, both teams scored at least 20 points. It's the second week I recall this happening this season; the second time I've scored in the 100s in a standard league and lost. This is the NFL we have nowadays.
Bengals at Bills: So this great Bills defense is turning out to be kind of a letdown. And by the way the Jets are playing better defense this year, with Rex Ryan in Buffalo, than they were the last couple of seasons. Hmm. Andy Dalton is playing really well right now. Can't sit him down the way he's operating this offense. Disappointingly quiet game from A.J. Green. Tyler Eifert saved his day with a touchdown, but was relatively quiet, too. When you've got a lot of weapons, it happens sometime. Cool touchdown from Marvin Jones, a clear starter in fantasy leagues at this point. ... Sammy Watkins left with an ankle injury after a solid first half. Not helping himself get more targets.
Broncos at Browns: Cleveland loses a lot of brutal games. At San Diego, and this one in overtime. Probably fortunate to be in this one, though, with Josh McCown predictably struggling against Denver's defense. ... Probably should have taken the C.J. Anderson trade I turned down this week. I kind of knew I needed to move him before he flopped in Cleveland, which he did. Ronnie Hillman's your No. 1 back here now. Thanks, Captain Obvious. It's still a committee, but you can't use Anderson anymore. ... Browns gave some work to Robert Turbin in this game; three different running backs had 9, 10, and 11 carries. Awesome, them and the Titans. ... Another 100 yards from Travis Benjamin and 2 TDs from Gary Barnidge. Tell me who saw that coming back in August.
Bears at Lions: Great game, with lots of big numbers on both sides. Over 750 yards of passing. Stafford, Cutler, Megatron, Jeffery, Tate (the non-touchdown touchdown, another controversial score involving the Lions), Forte, Bennett, all good. Except if you started Ameer Abdullah, against advice, since Theo Riddick was unexpectedly active and took over when Abdullah fumbled and was benched. Returned late in the game, at least, but can't really count on him right now. ... Nice job by Matthew Stafford, bouncing back from last week. If only Detroit weren't 1-5.
Texans at Jaguars: DeAndre Hopkins is an absolute joy to watch, week after week. A one-man wrecking crew. ... A sloppy game from Blake Bortles. Just some poor decisions out there. Most of his numbers were OK, but the turnovers have to go away. ... Toby Gerhart showed up to run poorly and ineffectively. Hanging onto Denard Robinson in a couple of leagues, just waiting for him to get a chance at significant carries.
Kansas City at Vikings: Okay, Charcandrick West didn't do much and had a costly fumble late in the game. Many of you remember that Jamaal Charles' career also began with some fumble issues, I'm sure. So maybe West really IS like Jamaal Charles. Don't give up yet. ... Nice game for Travis Kelce, terrible game for anyone else you actually may have started, like Adrian Peterson, and Jeremy Maclin left with a concussion. Fifth-rounder Stefon Diggs had a huge game for the Vikings with Charles Johnson inactive.
Washington at Jets: It's a little crazy how competent and deep the Jets look on both sides of the ball right now. They went to back-to-back AFC Championship games in recent memory under Mark Sanchez, but look better now. Should have had faith in them in my Survivor Pool, but my faith was misplaced in thinking Washington was better than they are. Jets are playing dominant defense and pretty crisp offense. Ivory, Marshall, Decker -- all good choices right now.
Cardinals at Steelers: That's the John Brown we've been looking for. Huge game. And the Martavis Bryant we've been waiting for. Huge touchdown catch. Weird how the Steelers have kept Landry Jones buried all this time considering how much better the offense worked with him running it than with Michael Vick. ... Not a great game for Carson Palmer, and a poor week to start any Arizona running back. Home against the Ravens next Monday night, which has strangely become a fine matchup for quarterbacks.
Dolphins at Titans: I hope everyone is all just about done starting any Titans running backs. Pick up David Cobb if you've got the roster room, because he'll get his chance once he's eligible to return in a couple of weeks. ... Nice bounce back from the Dolphins, as expected. Don't know that I want to invest in a lot of Miami players, but it was a solid outing from Lamar Miller and a decent all-around game from Jarvis Landry. Sure are a lot of targets in the passing game, though.
Panthers at Seahawks: Don't look now, but Seattle's defense is no longer that scary -- not at home, not at all. Still talented and tough, but if you can't keep a team with no wide receivers coming into your home stadium and hanging 27 points on you, and beating you decisively in the fourth quarter, you're not living up to your rep. Yes, this knocked me out of my Survivor Pool, guess I should have gone with the Jets or Broncos. ... Huge game for Greg Olsen (hi, might want to cover him late in the game!) and Jonathan Stewart, who actually scored a pair of short touchdowns. Normally he doesn't get those carries, but he did today, for the tiny fraction of people who actually started him.
Chargers at Packers: Philip Rivers threw for 500 yards in this game so you can't really rip him, but watch this game and you'll see a lot of missed throws that could have won it, or tied it, and at least forced the Packers to do more. Final series of the game he had Danny Woodhead wide open on 3rd down and overthrew Antonio Gates in the end zone instead. Could have walked in on that play, too. ... Melvin Gordon, another rookie running back benched for fumbling. ... Packers are heading into their bye, after which I'd expect Eddie Lacy (underused and dramatically outperformed by James Starks this week) to come out with a vengeance. But Ian has been noting for a couple of weeks that Lacy looks a little overweight, and maybe he's right. In any case, so far he's my son's second straight disappointing first-round fantasy pick. (Last year, Adrian Peterson.) ... Hopefully Randall Cobb and Aaron Rodgers will get on the same page after their bye, too.
Ravens at 49ers: The Steve Smith legend grows. If I've got broken bones in my back I'm not getting out of bed for a month. He's out there going over 100 yards and making a ridiculous touchdown catch (and getting away with a pushoff). Big story though, I guess, is that the Ravens defense is poor and that San Francisco's offense has some ability to score points after all. That's two solid weeks in a row for Colin Kaepernick and company. Time to dust off those San Francisco wide receivers. ... Unexpected how rough things are going for the Ravens. With the season all but over, I wonder if Javorius Allen starts to get more work in the backfield.
Patriots at Colts: I had a feeling the Colts might make a game of this. All the talk about Brady's Dad wanting the Patriots to score 60. (Aside: How did he get on the interview list? Should somebody have gone to Andrew Luck's parents to see what THEY were hoping would happen in this game? Good grief.) And the Colts did make a game of it, blowing it with botched trick play. Nice thought, but only if you don't foul it up that badly. A shame, because the Colts had a real shot to shock everyone. Chuck Pagano took the blame. He will at the end of the season, too. ... Nice games for both passing offenses and LeGarrette Blount. Patriots play the Jets this week, the beginning on a three-game homestand. Looks like 8-0.
Monday, Monday: Not sure if Odell Beckham Jr. will be out there. If he is, wouldn't bet against him having a good game; if he isn't, another Giants receiver or two will. The Eagles are home and the Giants have struggled against the pass, so it looks good for Philly's passing offense, if you need points from Matthews. I think the Giants are the tougher team. New York 27, Philadelphia 23.