Word is that NFL ratings are down. I'll agree that officiating is poor, there's not enough defense, and there are too many penalties. But for all the problems the game has, yesterday was one heckuva day to sit and watch football all day. Not sure there's been that much drama in one day of football, from start to finish, in quite some time.
Kansas City at Panthers: Pretty remarkable win for Kansas City, which was dominated by Cam Newton and Carolina early on. But then the offense stopped making plays, and a costly late turnover by Kelvin Benjamin -- Marcus Peters took it away from him after a reception near midfield in the final minute -- set up the winning field goal. ... Alex Smith brought Kansas City back. Did miss a wide-open Travis Kelce on what might have been a game-winning touchdown, but it worked out. Except for those who wanted points out of Kelce. Quiet game for the running backs, big one for Tyreek Hill in PPR.
Texans at Jaguars: Early Pick Six for the Texans, making it three straight games they've had a Pick Six against Blake Bortles, which is kind of remarkable. Lamar Miller didn't have a huge game, but had a long run down to the goal line, setting up a TD pass. Bad luck he didn't score, and his final yardage numbers were good. Nice game for Allen Robinson and some late production by Blake Bortles to save his fantasy day; call it the Bortles Special. Better than Osweiler, who threw 2 TDs but for just 99 yards. Uh, that's not gonna work most weeks.
Broncos at Saints: So there's a first: a game decided by a defensive 2-point conversion. Talk about momentum swing. Saints drive for tying touchdown, score it (ridiculous grab in middle of double-coverage by Brandin Cooks), but a line breakdown on the extra point leads to a defensive play where the guy may or may not have stepped out of bounds (probably did but there wasn't a conclusive angle). Crazy. ... Broncos offensive line made the Saints pass rush look good. So do we now think the Saints have an improved defense. Maybe not, but defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins looks pretty good disrupting things in the middle. ... Terrible red zone drop by Virgil Green in this game right before a missed field goal at 17-10. If I had to own a Broncos tight end in dynasty it'd be A.J. Derby. ... Big game for Demaryius Thomas and a nice late late drive by Siemian (whose line isn't helping him any). Couple of costly turnovers for Michael Thomas, rookie mistakes against a great defense. I'll take him if you're trading him.
Rams at Jets: Yeah, I just can't.
Falcons at Eagles: We had a feeling that Atlanta's offense might struggle a little here, and so it did. A sweet long touchdown to Taylor Gabriel and a pretty good day by Julio Jones, but that was about it. Notably quiet games for Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper. Just a so-so game for Devonta Freeman, who was pretty much kept in check by an Eagles defense that played well. On offense, a nice couple of drives by Carson Wentz, and a really impressive 109-yard, 2 TD game by Ryan Mathews, when probably no one was starting him. Because Darren Sproles had emerged as the lead back, and he did at least have a nice PPR day. Some nice work by Wendell Smallwod (13 for 70), too, including an impressive tackle-breaking run. On the downside, no way the Eagles ground game will be that productive every week.
Bears at Buccaneers: Just when you start to get optimistic about the Bears. Two early picks and a lost fumble for Jay Cutler, and the Bears got behind early and never made it back. Still a nice game for feature back Jordan Howard, but the passing game was a disappointment, and it was pretty much Cutler showing why the Bears wouldn't be starting him had Brian Hoyer not got hurt. Howard also apparently got hurt, so we'll see if he misses time. ... Ridiculous play by Jameis Winston, scrambling backward about 20-30 yards -- into his own end zone -- before connecting on a bomb to Mike Evans. Bears focused on taking away Evans and were pretty successful, but the result was a big game for Cameron Brate (and those of us who started Evans in daily leagues being disappointed).
Packers at Titans: Watching this game, you think Marcus Mariota's going to have a future in this league. Everything was clicking for the Titans, from a DeMarco Murray 75-yard touchdown run early on to Murray throwing a touchdown to Delanie Walker. And then Mariota making throw after throw, never letting the Packers get close. Is it over for the Dom Capers defense? Has kind of looked that way the last few weeks. Nice game for the Packers passing game, anyway.
Vikings at Washington: Game about as expected. The Vikings defense is still great but teams are able to do some things against it, and Minnesota's offense isn't getting them enough leads. And Minnesota can't run the ball, with another comically awful stat line for the various backs. ... Robert Kelley (22 for 97) did well enough that I think Matt Jones is staring at another healthy scratch next week. ... Big game for Stefon Diggs, again. Sam Bradford's lack of mobility seemed an issue late; couple that with a poor offensive line and no ability to run the ball, and you've got a team that's going to have a hard time staying in contention in the NFC North. Nice week of TV watching for Detroit.
Dolphins at Chargers: It was the best of Philip Rivers, it was the worst of Philip Rivers. I swear I was watching the first half of the game marveling at the laser throws he was making. As I watched the second half dumbfounded at the gaffes. Not just the 4 interceptions, but plays where he didn't react quickly enough near the goal line, missing potential short touchdowns to Melvin Gordon. Uh yes I was playing Gordon in a couple of Daily leagues, why do you ask. Anyway, this will probably be the back-breaker for the Chargers -- a game they couldn't afford to lose. Dolphins would have lost this one a month ago, but they're playing a little better now.
49ers at Cardinals: Yeah so seems pretty clear that Carson Palmer isn't going to take this team to a Super Bowl. He'll make some nice throws at times, and a couple of the turnovers weren't his fault (at least one was all on J.J. Nelson, while Michael Floyd made a couple of huge grabs, including one to help set up the winning points, hmm). But he looks kind of done. Colin Kapernick did some good things in making this one close, making those of us who took AZ in Survivor Pools sweat. But the Cardinals survive another week, too.
Cowboys at Steelers: Not often a game lives up to the hype. Friend of mine in dynasty has LeVeon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott on his team. They got 75 points for him. Not to undersell Elliott, who was certainly great, but Bell is the guy who really impresses me every time I see him play. Just a really natural runner; making something out of very little and a lot of out of any crease. Whatever, they're both awesome backs, and they played great. As did the quarterbacks. Most probably saw the game and if they didn't it will be replayed this week, without question. Three days after I posted an item saying how teams were converting 61 percent of their 2-point tries this season, these guys went a combined 0 for 5 in this game.
Seahawks at Patriots: Perhaps you thought Cowboys-Steelers was the best game you'd see all weekend, then this one came along. I hate to start out the work week staying up past midnight, but this thing was kind of riveting. Drama, big throws, big catches, big calls. Some debate, I saw, over the wisdom of Seattle -- after scoring a touchdown with 4 minutes left to go up by 7 -- going for 2 and a game-ending 9-point lead. I think going up by 8 with the relatively sure extra point is game-clinching enough. Bizarre choice by Pete Carroll that worked out. ... Great game for Russell Wilson, who looks fully healthy now. C.J. Prosise looks like he'll have a role going forward (not, obviously, a goal line one after being stuffed on back-to-back carries where the blocking looked decent).
Monday, Monday: I like the Giants in the second half of the season; last week it looked like they were figuring things out on offense. But I also like the Bengals, who have put the toughest part of their schedule behind them. I'm thinking this is a 27-23 type of Giants win, with a lot of decent fantasy options on both side. Plus A.J. Green versus Odell Beckham Jr., which we'll only get to see once every four years. Like Cowboys-Steelers and Patriots-Seahawks, sadly, unless ...Super Bowl? Four pretty good teams.