Just a few days ago I was waxing rhapsodic about the Thursday night game. I think there was another Sunday of great games a week or two back, too. Yesterday was not filled with great games; lots of poor ones, actually. But also one for the ages in Denver.
Rams versus Jaguars across the pond: Matthew Stafford throws 5 TDs, Jordan Whittington replacing Puka Nacua, not a factor. The uncertainty of fill-ins, but at least the Davante endorsement worked out great. Also snubbed is Kyren Williams, particularly annoying because of one goal-line sequence where he got one try, probably should/could have been ruled in, but they marked it short and Stafford threw a play-action touchdown on the next play. (5th TD also would have been nice to let either Rams RB score, nope.) Painful. Even more painful was watching Brian Thomas either drop or not catch critical passes, and several other Jaguars receivers do the same to kill drives. Not letting Trevor Lawrence off the hook, because he was also terrible, lowlighted by a fourth-down play near the goal line in the first half (when it was still a game) where he scrambled and tried to run for it only to come up about 5 yards short.
Saints at Bears: It was more of rookie year Spencer Rattler in this game, with lots of mistakes. Chicago's offense moved the ball well throughout, mostly on the ground, with D'Andre Swift -- questionable with a groin injury, but he was fine -- having a very good game. Big game also for Kyle Monangai, to the delight of those of us in best-ball or dynasty. Rattler did hook up with Chris Olave for a couple of touchdowns, both defenses good to start players against. Bears win, a few ugly Caleb Williams moments along the way, you'd have like to see a little more from him. Weather didn't look too bad for passing.
Dolphins at Browns: Speaking of bad weather, this one had it, though it's debatable whether the Dolphins offense would have looked much better in a dome. Some bad throws, bad decisions and bad choices by Tua Tagovailoa; one interception not entirely his fault (off Achane's hands) but another near the goal line that basically ended the game, setting up Quinshon Judkins' 3rd TD, definitely was. Cleveland passing game didn't do much, didn't have to, didn't want to. It's over in Miami, maybe for the coaching staff this week. Darren Waller left with an injury.
Raiders at Kansas City: This one was basically over before it even started, and really over shortly after it started. Patrick Mahomes got an early seat in the third quarter, that doesn't happen much. Big game for Rashee Rice, hope people started him. Even Isiah Pacheco got to score, as did Hollywood Brown. There was nothing doing for the Raiders offense throughout, and I'm not sure what the odds are that that will be changing anytime soon. All their matchups won't be as bad as at K.C., but there aren't a lot of matchups where they'll be the better team. If any.
Eagles at Vikings: I'll announce up front that I benched DeVonta Smith, so his career game was basically my fault. Not a bad one for A.J. Brown either, hopefully someone, somewhere, started one or both of these guys and benefited. Saquon Barkley banged-up in this one, that will need to be looked into. Carson Wentz had a couple of Carson Wentz classic turnovers, but the Vikings were in it until the end, just settled for a few too many field goals. And a little too much of Jalen Hurts having his best game since the Super Bowl of course. Oh, huge game for Jordan Addison too, showing a nice rapport with his current starting quarterback.
Panthers at Jets: Both quarterbacks left this game early. Bryce Young suffered an ankle injury, they're not necessarily worse with Andy Dalton. Justin Fields benched, they're not worse (or much better, probably) with Tyrod Taylor. Rico Dowdle better and getting a few more touches than Chuba Hubbard; his slightly more carries went for more than twice as many yards. Neither scored, with Xavier Legette, surprisingly, having a big game. Will Jets or Dolphins win again this year? They could tie in their remaining matchup.
Patriots at Titans: Titans looked competitive in the first half, leading to the thought they might get a win under the new coach. But then they settled in with a reminder that they're bad on both sides of the ball, their interim coach was not a good head coach in his previous spot, and it was all Patriots after halftime, with both Drake Maye and Rhamondre Stevenson having very good games and Tennesse's offense crumbling under a raft of sacks and turnovers. Not many people bounced in survivor pools this week.
Giants at Broncos: This game was almost entirely Giants for three-plus quarters. Not an exaggeration: it was 19-0 with 14 minutes left and 26-8 with 5 minutes left. That included touchdowns for each team in the fourth quarter that required insane deflections to occur. But it seemed as if the clock was running extra slow or something, because Denver kept scoring (and making 2-pointers), the Giants had a costly interception, and suddenly the Broncos were up 30-26 with 2 minutes left. But a couple of iffy penalties and two -- two -- instances of Denver defenders colliding instead of finishing game-ending interceptions, and New York was back on top; Giants win? No, 2 missed extra points and a failed 2-point conversion left Denver down only 2, with just enough time to complete two ridiculous pass plays and kick a winning field goal. Fantasy-wise, big numbers (4 total TDs apiece) for both quarterbacks, good numbers for main receivers (including 2 Giants TEs), and some heartache for Giants players and fans. But an instant classic too.
Colts at Chargers: I take back the negative things I said earlier in the year about the Colts. They're good. Running backs don't win MVPs these days, but maybe Jonathan Taylor should, and that ex-Giants QB is playing well. Chargers got some nice garbage production, which counts the same in fantasy, with a breakout game for Oronde Gadsden and over 400 yards from Justin Herbert. The Colts have some defensive issues (Charvarius Ward on IR from a concussion suffered during warmups last week, that's new), but most of LA's numbers came with the game largely over.
Packers at Cardinals: A more competitive game than I expected. I think the Packers have long had some issues with playing to the level of their competition, good or bad. Not that Arizona is bad, perhaps, but they're pretty banged-up and it seemed Trey McBride was the only thing keeping them in this game. Green Bay had a couple of late gambles pay off (and a couple of TDs from banged-up Josh Jacobs) and got the win. Arizona gets a much needed bye.
Commanders at Cowboys: Jayden Daniels hurt in this one, again, a hamstring injury apparently on an awkward looking pileup. I can't blame Dan Quinn for this one, but seems like Daniels will be missing time. The Dallas offense put up huge numbers, again. Let's talk Luke McCaffrey: didn't catch a pass, didn't start the game, seemingly didn't play too much. Sorry to any I recommended him to, sort of seemed he would get some run over rookie Jaylin Lane and Robbie Chosen (yes he's still in the league) off the practice squad. Nope. Seven for 96 on 10 targets for those guys, a total of 2 catches for last week's reserves McCaffrey and Chris Moore. Dak, CeeDee, Ferguson and Javonte all produced.
Falcons at 49ers: Bijan Robinson is great, but otherwise the Falcons aren't much fun to watch. Especially on the road, where they've scored 2 TDs in three games. San Francisco was also kind of painful to watch unless you happened to be starting Christian McCaffrey, with George Kittle returning in order to block some and help San Francisco to a run-dominated win. Not much to see here beyond fantasy disappointment from most everyone.
Monday Monday, times two: Lions-Bucs should be fun, with the major drama wondering which Tampa Bay receivers will suit up and be involved, and who will get burned by starting/benching someone playing through an injury. Texans-Seahawks, well, I live in New York, and halftime will probably come around midnight, so that's one I'll be mostly enjoying through the power of NFL Plus or whatever it's called -- just $99 a season, pretty good deal. As for the results, I'll go with Lions 27, Bucs 24 and Seahawks 23, Texans 16.