A day which will be remembered fondly or poorly, depending on who you were rooting for in NFL terms and who you started (or didn't) in fantasy terms. Injuries and weather cropped up (or not) and some studs played like it (or not). Let's get into it.
Seahawks at Falcons: Weirdly low-scoring at first, just 6-6 at halftime. But by the end of the third quarter, this was one of the few games that went exactly as expected, with Seattle opening up the passing game and Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba hooking up for a pair of touchdowns. Seattle running game didn't do much but Rashid Shaheed scored on a kick return and even Cooper Kupp scored. Atlanta offense did little, as expected; decent yards for Bijan in the loss.
Steelers at Ravens: The long-dormant Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf tandem came to life here, with the Ravens improved defense not looking so good for a lot of this one. Lamar Jackson was better than he's been but still not quite Lamar Jackson, plus the Ravens lost out on an Isaiah Likely touchdown that would have put them ahead late which was controversial. Kind of looked like a touchdown, but apparently didn't complete the catch with enough steps after. Steelers suddenly looking in control of the AFC North, as they were early in the season, while Ravens have a lot of work to do. Keaton Mitchell had a 55-yard run but got hurt, Derrick Henry had good yards but didn't score, and leave it to Baltimore to throw 1 and nearly 2 TDs to Likely right after giving Mark Andrews (1 catch) a new contract. Baltimore's last couple of drives (end-zone incompletion to Andrews, Lamar sack to end the game) kind of emblematic of their season.
Titans at Browns: The wild shootout no one was expecting. I guess Shedeur Sanders maybe deserved a little more of a chance a little earlier. Sanders throwing for 364 yards (4 total TDs, too) was just one of the many unlikely occurrences in this game, another being Tony Pollard rushing for 161 yards and 2 TDs. Make it make sense. Both Browns TEs scored, but the Browns brought out a trick play 2-point conversion to try and force a tie at the end of regulation and instead fooled their own players. Weird game that will help people in best-ball leagues and those who started Harold Fannin and not much else.
Colts at Jaguars: One ranking that did work out nicely this week was Trevor Lawrence, with the Jaguars offense doing basically whatever it wanted in the rain against the Colts. And you also wonder if some life went out of Indy after Daniel Jones left early with a non-contact Achilles injury, which will probably take one of the first half of the season's best teams out of the playoff equation. Riley Leonard made a few plays but also looked like he could have been intercepted a few more times than he was. Jaguars now control the AFC South, though they do still have games against the Colts and Broncos yet to play.
Commanders at Vikings: I'm thinking the Commanders need to examine some things. When you have multiple instances of players returning from injury and leaving the games they return in due to the same injury (McLaurin, Daniels), there might be a problem. Setting aside the disastrous product Washington put on the field on both sides of the ball, you have J.J. McCarthy returning to throw 3 TDs that didn't benefit anyone except those who started T.J. Hockenson (anyone?), who caught 1, and Josh Oliver (not rostered), who caught 2. Aaron Jones a good rushing day, but Jordan Mason the anytime TD, that bet hit. Zach Ertz also suffered what looked like a season-ending injury in this one.
Dolphins at Jets: So Tyrod Taylor left early with a groin injury, much to the dismay of those who started him. Things were looking promising for him being productive with Miami moving the ball easily and taking a big lead. Taylor's departure killed the offense, enabling Miami to literally run away with things. DeVon Achane left with a rib injury, enabling Jaylen Wright to have a big game in relief, should be added this week, guess he's the No. 2 over Ollie Gordon (who scored). Are the Dolphin still alive for a playoff spot? 6-7 somehow.
Saints at Bucs: Bucs getting healthier, yet playing worse. Losing at home to the Saints and suddenly even the NFC South can't be taken for granted. Rough outing for Baker Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka (2 catches on 9 targets, most notably dropping a late touchdown). Bucky Irving scored and Chris Godwin had a Godwin like statline, but Tyler Shough -- surprisingly running for 2 TDs, including a 34-yarder -- made more plays than anyone on the Bucs. Nice game for Devin Neal, which I hadn't dropped him in dynasty a while back when he was the No. 3. This game can be frustrating. Oh yeah: rain ended up being more of a factor in this one than Colts-Jaguars, hurting the passing games.
Bengals at Bills: First things first, I hope people started Joe Burrow despite his conservative ranking facing the league's top-ranked pass defense, in a snowstorm. Burrow had a huge day passing it, something we'll remember the next time there's a snowy forecast, when we start everyone and they end up passing for 180 yards. But I'm sure some benched him (me too, not that anyone cares) and there will be plenty of angst today. Or maybe your opponent somewhere benched him. Anyway, huge offensive game for a lot of different players, albeit not automatic starts like Ja'Marr Chase and James Cook (goal-line fumble). Huge game for Dawson Knox even with Dalton Kincaid (TD) returning, also Mike Gesicki. Kind of a weird and yeah some calls that didn't work out, I am aware. Hope you won anyway.
Broncos at Raiders: Some discussion must be given to the Raiders kicking a field goal as time expired to lose by 7 rather than 10. I suppose the argument was, maybe they could have kicked, still had a second left to recover an onside kick and maybe there'd be a penalty on that play which enabled them to try a Hail Mary with no time on the clock. Hopefully that was the Raiders' thinking, since otherwise it appeared they kicked a field goal in a 10-point game simply to enable bettors to cover a 7.5- or 8-point spread. As for the game, a workmanlike win for the Broncos with RJ Harvey having a nice game, Geno Smith getting hurt, and Denver moving into the top spot in the AFC playoff picture. But tough games the rest of the way (G.B., Jacksonville, at K.C. and the Chargers).
Bears at Packers: A very good game that also had kind of a weird ending. Bears forced a late tie, fell behind, then were driving to maybe tie or win. Some clutch throws by Caleb Williams and so forth. But on 4th and 1 at around the Green Bay 20 they went play-action and Williams rolled out and maybe could/should have picked it up with his legs. Instead he threw a wounded duck into the end zone that was easily intercepted and that was it. Chicago has won a ton of close games this year so I'm not going to give them too much grief, but this seemed like one that got away. Big game for Christian Watson; he's Green Bay's No. 1 (until he's not).
Rams at Cardinals: Same old same old for the Rams, and also for Jacoby Brissett in defeat (at least if you started him over Burrow and others you can't feel too bad, he keeps on doing it). And Michael Wilson. Main story though is the Rams, back from their one-game hiccup against Carolina looking like the league's best all-around team again. Davante Adams disappointed, in part because the Cardinals had no answer for the Stafford-Puka Nacua connection.
Texans at Kansas City: At 6-7, it's getting very late quick for the three-time defending AFC Champs. The division is gone and winning out doesn't even guarantee a wild-card spot, with them losing head-to-head tiebreakers with Buffalo, Jacksonville, Houston and possibly whichever team doesn't win the AFC West. Last night's was a really tough defense and more modest production from the offense, with a failed fourth-down conversion in the fourth-quarter factoring heavily into the 10-point loss. Credit to C.J. Stroud for making some clutch plays and of course Houston's dominant defense.
Eagles at Chargers: Huge game for both playoff pictures, schedule-makers did well with this one. I'm assuming the Eagles come to play and are moving the ball pretty well, and that Omarion Hampton has a good game at something close to full health after practicing fully the last two days of practice. Home field has to count for something, so does the Eagles being defending champs. Seems like a real tossup so I'll Eagles 23, Chargers 20.