Some fantastic finishes yesterday, with big games delivering seesaw battles, clutch plays at the end, and promising some pretty exciting playoff games. I think we kind of know which 6-8 teams will be standing at the end, there's no clear No. 1 right now. The NFL has the league it wants.
Packers at Bears: This back and forth classic called to mind Packers-Bears games of old, with some big offensive and defensive games for both teams. Christian Watson was notably involved, probably on benches -- hard to see those games coming. Josh Jacobs had a big game, as anticipated, but Tucker Kraft shutout (will need to check snap count to see if he was even on the field throughout). Game ended with the Packers blocking a winning field goal, the second week in a row we've seen one of those. Despite the loss, Bears have to be pleased with the bounce-back game by Caleb after his OC got fired. Couple of clutch throws late on the should have been game-winning drive, and with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze putting up nice numbers for a change. A positive despite the final score.
Jaguars at Lions: There was a report Sunday morning that Doug Pederson might get fired this week. I don't know if it had an impact on Jacksonville's horrific no-show, or if the game just illustrated why he's going to be/has been fired, but certainly the performance didn't help. Pretty much any Lion you could have considered using put up great numbers, even LaPorta fill-in Brock Wright got you a touchdown if you used him. Brian Thomas the lone Jaguar to do anything, much like a lot of the season for them.
Raiders at Dolphins: Hope you started Jonnu Smith. Huge outing for the Dolphins tight end and his quarterback, Tyreek Hill and DeVon Achane also doing their usual types of things. Smith's game seemingly at the expense of Jaylen Waddle, perhaps, since he was quiet. Raiders put up some decent production, but Brock Bowers the only performer anyone actually started. The shuffling of the offensive coaching staff did not result in a commitment to the ground game. Zamir and Mattison each carried the ball 5 times for a combined 28 yards.
Rams at Patriots: Matthew Stafford was on fire in this game, throwing 4 TDs and with huge games for Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Good game running it for Kyren Williams but no touchdowns so kind of a modest fantasy day. Good game in defeat for Drake Maye, Pats fans can't be too unhappy with how the offense is looking these days. Defense needs a lot of work, though.
Browns at Saints: A couple of weeks ago the Saints looked dead in the water. Two wins later, despite having very little at wide receiver and cornerback, time to revise opinions. It will be noted that I've had nothing bad to say about Taysom Hill in a while; he had a monster day with 138 rushing yards and 3 TDs. And he caught 8 passes. And threw an interception. And MVS caught another long touchdown. They're still in it in the NFC South, and clearly there's some fantasy value here. The defense does have problems, as highlighted by the huge, huge Jameis Winston day, with the top play scrambling around and heaving up a pass to Jerry Jeudy who outraced the entire defense for an 89-yard touchdown. Lots of other plays through the air, but a disappointing one for Cedric Tillman (Elijah Moore and David Njoku did more), and the Browns showed little interest or ability in running the ball, again. Considering the upcoming schedule that might be it for Nick Chubb usage.
Ravens at Steelers: I guess all you can say is that however well Lamar Jackson is playing, he's not going to have a big game against the Steelers. Their familiarity with him, the cut of his jib, the color of their uniforms...hard to say, but just playing each other brings numbers down. Nice week to start Chris Boswell, with the Steelers stalling in the red zone throughout. Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers both saved otherwise quiet days with touchdowns, but just not much doing for the Ravens offense. Steelers had a clever little sequence to pick up the clinching first down at the end, surprising the Ravens by bringing in Justin Fields to run it (would have picked it up but slid too early; however, that play made Najee's first-down run possible).
Vikings at Titans: The Titans had essentially one big offensive play, a 98-yard touchdown to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, don't see that very often. But the Vikings defense was too much and the offense did enough. Nice touchdown for Jordan Addison, and then another huge play where he got blasted trying to make a catch in the end zone, incorrectly ruled unnecessary roughness (understandable, but a clean hit). That was the difference between maybe 10-3 and 14-3, so a pretty big call at the time. Viking used Cam Akers a little more than expected, resulting in a quiet game for Aaron Jones (Akers caught a TD). All 3 top NFC North teams win, cruising toward playoff spots.
Colts at Jets: OK, that's definitely it for Aaron Rodgers and the 2024 New York Jets. Lose at home to the Colts to fall to 3-8, there's no coming back from that. The offense didn't do enough, but it was the defense that really let them down for the second straight week, making Anthony Richardson look like he has an NFL future after all. It's all gone wrong for New York, again. Breece Hall and Davante Adams good, that be it. A couple of short rushing touchdowns for Richardson, so we can call his presence kind of a negative for Jonathan Taylor.
Falcons at Broncos: This one was all Broncos, with Bo Nix somehow building on what was a really impressive should have been upset of Kansas City last week. Falcons defense has been playing a little more like we thought the Falcons defense would be like this year. So yeah, Javonte Williams had a really good game and Audric Estime didn't get nearly as many chances and disappointed. What are you gonna do. Last week Estime out-touched Williams 14-3 and he was he guy that had to be started. It's a committee, making both backs iffy choices going forward. Rough game for the Atlanta offense (and defense, obviously).
Seahawks at 49ers: San Francisco mostly controlled this one, but that's been true of other games they've lost this year. They didn't score quite enough points, and couldn't get the big defensive stop at the end. Geno Smith led an impressive touchdown drive in the final two minutes, and the NFC West remains tightly jumbled with everyone in the mix for what will probably be the 3 or 4 seed. Good game for Jauan Jennings, but not good enough for San Francisco. Entertaining though.
Kansas City at Bills: The undefeated season finally comes to an end. Too many Kansas City mistakes, too many big plays on offense and defense by the Bills. Winning the regular season meeting hasn't been a problem for Buffalo, of course, it's the inevitable playoff confrontation. Anyway, the game delivered on the hype, the old Dolphins can crack the champagne, and we can at least move on to just talking about the unprecedented three-peat rather than the potential undefeated season. Couple of really impressive late plays by the Bills: a 10-yard completion to Shakir over the middle to convert a 3rd and 9, with Shakir getting blasted but hanging on, and the bold decision to go for it on 4th and 2 with a 2-point lead rather than attempting an iffy (these days for Bass) 43-yard field goal. Allen with a 26-yard touchdown run to seal the win. Fortune favors the brave.
Bengals at Chargers: This was all Chargers in the first half, but as has often been the case, the Bengals offense roared back (saving me from telling someone yesterday I'd start Joe Burrow over Bo Nix, obviously both guys worked out pretty well). Cincinnati's season hasn't been too confusing as far as what the team needs to do to turn its record from 4-7 to 7-4. Defense that can't stop anyone is going to lead to a lot of high-scoring losses. Big game for Justin Herbert and (ultimately) J.K. Dobbins, though it looked a little hazy early. Cincinnati had a chance on a late Hail Mary attempt, but they aren't winning the close ones this year.
Monday, Monday: Hard to get too enthused about this game, with the Texans looking pretty good to go into their state rival's stadium and bust things up. Dallas defense isn't good, and their offense will probably struggle, too. Pride and getting Micah Parsons back could keep scoring down some, but I'm not betting against Houston doing enough to get a win. Texans 24, Cowboys 17.