It was a pretty good week for making contenders look legit, or badly flawed. Lions, Bucs and Dolphins won easily. Packers too. Commanders, Texans and Cardinals stumbled. Just one week, but it felt like one that clarified some divisional races and showed who the better teams are.
Kansas City at Carolina: Kansas City seemingly controlling this game early, but Carolina hung around. Cynically, part of me said that Bryce Young is playing just well enough that Carolina will have to give him another year at quarterback. But hey, maybe teams give up on guys too soon sometimes, and Young's recent stretch of solid play is evidence of him developing. Anyway, big numbers for Patrick Mahomes and 2 more touchdowns for Noah Gray, shockingly putting up big numbers of late. Chuba Hubbard mostly struggled but got a late 1-yard touchdown after an end-zone pass interference, so congrats if you gambled and won. David Moore the most productive receiver for Carolina, good to see a D Moore producing for them. Not a huge game for Kareem Hunt, no touchdowns, and Pacheco back to at least split the work next week.
Minnesota at Chicago: Bonkers game like many overtime affairs (yet just the 2nd-most bonkers game from the 1 p.m. slate). Minnesota led much of the way, with Chicago blanketing Justin Jefferson but Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson going off. Good game also for Aaron Jones, as expected. But the Bears got things going late, with Caleb Williams again having a good game (let's go, new OC) and DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Cole Kmet all delivering. Vikings Defense, good to start pass catchers against. (Not much from D'Andre Swift, and another short touchdown from Roschon Johnson, poor D'Andre.) Bears recovered an onside kick and hit the clutch last-second field goal this week, but lost in OT, in an oddly soft defensive performance (but at least they contained Jefferson).
Tennessee at Houston: Another wild affair, with the Titans somehow winning despite Will Levis taking 8 sacks and throwing an ugly Pick Six. But they also kept moving the ball, and Houston made some mistakes of its own, including a pair of C.J. Stroud interceptions. Nico Collins with a good game, plus another touchdown late in the game erased by an illegal shift, rough. Joe Mixon his worst game of the year. Kudos to the Titans for playing hard, I really didn't give them much of a chance to do anything, and they did. Good games for Pollard and Ridley and yet another Nick Westbrook-Ikhine TD.
Detroit at Indianapolis: Rather quietly, the Lions are shutting offenses down right now. Gone are the days, it seems, of starting passing games against them and getting a lot of garbage production, and they're still shutting down running backs, too. Not huge numbers from the Lions offense, but both running backs great again. For the Colts, Michael Pittman was the lone performer.
New England at Miami: Patriots pretty much got blasted in this one, fortunately generating some late production to save those who started Drake Maye and DeMario Douglas. Both New England tight ends involved to the tune of 4-5 catches. For the Dolphins, a small part of me was thinking, you know, I bet Miami is tired of all the What's wrong with Jaylen Waddle stuff, he's going to have a good game. But I didn't give it enough credence and didn't bet it or anything, but of course Waddle did in fact have a huge day. Quiet for Tyreek Hill, but Jonnu Smith very good again. DeVon Achane didn't do much on the ground but caught 2 TDs. One way or another, he gets his. Huge game for Tua.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants: Not many surprises in this one. Annoyance early when a Bucky Irving carry was ruled short of the goal line so Tampa Bay of course brought in its No. 3 running back to punch in the easy touchdown. (Did it again next series, and he lost a fumble; that’s what you get smart guy.) But Irving wound up having a huge game, Rachaad White also scored, and the Bucs did what they were supposed to do and Tommy DeVito did what might have been expected, so not much. Serviceable PPR production from Nabers, Wan'Dale, and Tracy (though he lost another fumble...), but no touchdowns. Maybe Drew Lock next week, not that it matters much.
Dallas at Washington: The most bonkers game in the early window, with Washington seemingly going out of its way to lose and the Cowboys going out of their way to keep Washington in it down to the last Hail Mary. Cooper Rush delivered ultimately good numbers but it would be hard to say he played well; just some breakdowns by a Washington team that hasn't really been playing well for a while now. Dallas pulled away with one of the crazier kick return touchdowns by KaVontae Turpin (a 360 to bust it open) you'll ever see, highlighting why teams are generally just kicking the ball into the end zone these days, and why Washington really should have. But the Commanders proceeded to connect on an 86-yard touchdown pass (making it seem like Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin had good games) where Dallas forgot how to tackle. Alas, they butchered the tying extra point, Dallas returned the ensuing onside kick for another touchdown (taking a knee would have ended the game), giving Washington yet another chance for a Hail Mary. Scary Austin Ekeler injury (concussion) late, Brian Robinson seemingly injured early on (returned to game but did nothing, so we'll see). Wild one.
Denver at Las Vegas: Denver won by 10, but it was mostly close throughout. Stepping up late when big plays were needed were Bo Nix and the seemingly really underrated Courtland Sutton. Two great routes, two great throws, two great catches for touchdowns. Denver couldn't run at all, Las Vegas couldn't much either. Big game for Jakobi Meyers, not covered much by Patrick Surtain for whatever reason, plus Denver lost corner Riley Moss during the game. Gardner Minshew suffered a broken collarbone on a late sack, so we'll get to see Desmond Ridder against Kansas City next week. Denver takes care of business with a road divisional win.
San Francisco at Green Bay: San Francisco without Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa was roughly as bad on both sides of the ball as you might have feared. George Kittle the lone success story. Josh Jacobs was huge for the Packers, with San Francisco better defending the pass than the run this year. Packers wideouts didn't do much of anything, most notably with Christian Watson dropping an easy touchdown after getting behind the defense. But Romeo Doubs left with a concussion, so other Packers will look a little better this week (Packers play Thanksgiving night).
Arizona at Seattle: This was Arizona's worst offensive performance of the year, and Seattle's best defensive performance. Guess they figured out some stuff over the bye or Arizona didn't come out of theirs very well. Cardinals couldn't run at all, Trey McBride was their lone offensive performer. They also couldn't protect Kyler Murray, who was knocked around and made a couple of excruciatingly bad decisions/throws, one that went for a Pick Six that essentially ended the game early. Moving on.
Philadelphia at L.A. Rams: Saquon Barkley. What a season this guy is having. If you're one of the few who faced him and won this week, congratulations. For the Rams, well, it was a rough week for NFC West teams, the three most often discussed as playoff threats anyway. The guys fantasy teams started did fine, so there's that, but the Eagles are making defenses look bad these days.
Monday, Monday: Big game in the AFC, with the loser still in solid playoff position but not a given anymore, with Denver and Miami both playing well of late. Both teams have good defenses, but both also seem to have both talented offenses and smart coaching staffs, so there should be some scoring in this one. Can the Chargers defense frustrate Lamar and contain Derrick Henry? That's what will determine this one. I think there's some chance of it, but I still expect it to be Ravens 26, Chargers 24.