Yesterday was a nice instructional manual about the risks of using injured players. Rob Gronkowski was inactive, after little indication until Sunday morning that that might be the case. Chris Carson was a gametime decision, started and was effective early on -- and then got hurt. Losing a matchup because you had one of those players in your lineup is a tough way to watch the week go down.
Steelers at Ravens: Another year, another ugly Steelers-Ravens game. Roethlisberger exceeded expectations by accounting for all 3 TDs with a couple of short throws and a sneak. Ravens didn't do much of anything on offense (Alex Collins TD), which is starting to look like a trend. You didn't get terribly burned if you started Steelers, and I guess those of us who hoped John Brown would overcome his struggling quarterback got what they deserved. Ravens have a bye coming up and it's going to be an interesting one -- there may be some changes.
Bears at Bills: How did the Bills let themselves get to this point? I understand their top pick quarterback is hurt. But that's not why they've got the likes of Jason Croom catching passes out there, while their former wideouts Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods are playing for the league's best offenses. Thanks to defensive touchdowns the Bears didn't have quite as much offense as you'd like, unless you had Jordan Howard. But Trey Burton after doing nothing all game saved his day with a late, meaningless touchdown. A lot more ugly games coming for Buffalo.
Bucs at Panthers: Final score makes it look like a wild shootout, but really it was a Carolina blowout where Ryan Fitzpatrick piled up some production late. Nice if you had O.J. Howard or Adam Humphries, but not a great situation for an offense or some of the other skill position players. Nice week to have Christian McCaffrey, but DJ Moore outproduced by Curtis Samuel (with a very cool zig-zag touchdown run along the way). Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson got none of Fitzpatrick's 4 TDs -- none of pretty much anything, really. Evans caught only 1 pass while being sort-of targeted 10 times. I guess fantasy teams who started Fitzpatrick don't have to care, but it was not a pretty outing.
Kansas City at Browns: Ho hum, Kansas City wins a high-scoring game, Browns lose. Big numbers for Kareem Hunt, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, most of the guys you should have started. Nick Chubb fine in defeat and Duke Johnson, freed of his underutilization by Hue Jackson ("We've got to get him more touches"), had a huge game. Not much to say except generally start players for and against Kansas City.
Jets at Dolphins: Predictably, this was an eyesore on the NFL landscape, with the teams meandering along at 6-3 for much of the day. The Jets couldn't handle rudimentary concepts like a shotgun snap, which directly factored into the Dolphins' Pick Six that put the game out of reach. Great week to stream the Miami defense. Not a great week to be Sam Darnold, who was air-mailing interceptions in an ugly second half. Miami offense didn't do much, because they're terrible. Frank Gore got 20 carries for all of 53 yards, while Kenyan Drake got 7 touches. Why? It makes no sense. But they've somehow won five games, and get to play the Bills twice the rest of the way.
Lions at Vikings: Big day for the Vikings defense. You wonder a little if trading away Golden Tate was something that didn't go over well with some Detroit players. Whatever the case, Minnesota dominated the game and beat up Matthew Stafford (10 sacks). The fill-in for Tate was...Theo Riddick, who caught a bunch of harmless passes in the loss, it's what he does. Vikings offense didn't put up great numbers, and Adam Thielen's impressive 100-yard streak was snapped.
Falcons at Washington: Julio Jones caught a touchdown! Tevin Coleman had a big game! Washington's offense had a poor game against the Atlanta defense. I don't know which of these developments was the biggest surprise, maybe all of them. Washington offensive line very banged up in this one -- down three starters by game end -- a big part of Adrian Peterson's struggles. But strange that a Washington defense that had played so well looked completely unprepared to deal with Atlanta's passing game. Big outing for Calvin Ridley, who ran the wrong route on one play leading to a red-zone interception for Matt Ryan, then caught every other ball thrown his way, including touchdown. Somebody does have to win the NFC East, right?
Texans at Broncos: Fine line between winning and losing in the NFL, as shown when Brandon McManus missed a 51-yard field goal at the end of the game. Broncos really played pretty well, with Phillip Lindsay running hard against a good run defense and Jeff Heuerman blowing up with a 10-catch game -- I swear I considered him in one of those afternoon-only daily games, before going with someone who wasn't nearly as good. Broncos defense nearly had a game-tying safety late, but Deshaun Watson got out of it. Houston winning the close ones.
Chargers at Seahawks: So Chris Carson was doing fine in this game, before being knocked out with an injury (and then Mike Davis had a good game). But not as good as Philip Rivers, who made his few throws count for another 2 TD game and an 8-point win, helped by his defense getting a pick six on a head scratcher of a throw by Russell Wilson. Nice game for Melvin Gordon, too. Seattle had a chance late but a possible tying touchdown was tipped and David Moore couldn't haul it in. Couple of really good teams here, though.
Rams at Saints: I hope people were able to sit and watch this game. Not forget fantasy football or anything, because I was surely thinking about it when Michael Thomas caught the 72-yard game clinching touchdown (and then did the Joe Horn stashed cellphone thing that wasn't that funny the first time). But nice to see a great football game, with a couple of great offenses, great players, and smart coaching staffs matching wits all game long. Hopefully you had more players in this game with you than against you. Some cool touchdowns and throws and catches and another big Alvin Kamara game (not so much for Mark Ingram, that's the offense right now). Some big plays by tight ends on both sides, hasn't been the case in most of their games. Anyway, watch the replay this week if you didn't get to see it.
Packers at Patriots: So I won a matchup by 2 points this week over a guy who had Rob Gronkowski is in lineup. That doesn't feel terrible. To me. It's not overly surprising that it was New England's defense, at home and run by Bill Belichick, that put things together and had a respectable outing. You look at Green Bay and see not much good beyond Aaron Rodgers and a few of the offensive skill guys. Bad defense, dubious coaching. Patriots getting better each week, doesn't seem to be a lot of doubt where these guys are likely headed again. Another game at running back for Cordarrelle Patterson, and a good one this time. But everybody puts up good games against the Packers.
Monday, Monday: So if you're like me, all of my fantasy matchups are already over. Because few of us are starting any Titans, ever, and there aren't a ton of compelling Cowboys, either, just Elliott and maybe Amari Cooper on the idea that Dallas will want to make its trade look good by sending a dozen passes his way. Maybe he'll catch a couple of them. Cowboys 19, Titans 16.