There's not much parity in the league these days. Just over a third of the league's teams (11 of 32) have double-digit wins. Just under a third (9 of 32) have five wins or less. Small wonder that even with 2 games left for most teams, there's really just a single playoff spot left. And 5 teams playing yesterday who won't be in them.
Dallas 30, Washington 23. Two pretty bad defenses in this game, the negative of which is that standout players didn't really stand out. Why force the ball in to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens when you've got KaVontae Turpin streaking wide-open down the middle of the field for an 86-yard touchdown? Dallas was also lousy enough defensively that Josh Johnson threw for about 200 yards, also while not needing to favor one receiver. Running back injuries/ailments figured huge in this one, with Chris Rodriguez being ruled prior to the game due to illness. Too late for some to bench him, probably, and also too late to get excited about Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who went for 105 yards and 2 TDs in best-ball lineups everywhere.
Similarly with Dallas, Javonte Williams left early due to injury. At least he got you a touchdown before that happened, while Malik Davis stepped in with a 100-yard rushing performance. Dallas has said they hope to bring back Williams, but if not I guess people can think about stashing Malik, who maybe isn't dramatically inferior to Rico Dowdle and Javonte, who everyone had written off before his breakout. Although: really bad Commanders defense.
Minnesota 23, Detroit 10. Games like this, I think somewhat selfishly, is what Fantasy Index is for at times. If you didn't pay close attention to the last month or so, you might have figured Jared Goff and the Lions would just rip up a lousy Vikings team. But we ranked Goff and most secondary Lions low (not low enough, particularly on Jahmyr Gibbs) out of respect for what Minnesota's defense has been doing lately, including not allowing a touchdown pass for six weeks. It's crazy, but right now the lowly Vikings, eliminated a month ago, have a better record (based on a head-to-head sweep) than the Lions, eliminated a few hours ago.
Minnesota's passing game, of course, was a disaster (I'm also not a fan of their whiteout uniforms, which had me wondering if I'd messed things up somehow in not registering that the Colts were playing on Christmas). It's possible that Max Brosmer, who got the win yesterday while -- I'm not making this up -- having his passing stats (9 completions for 51 yards) closely resemble his sack numbers (7 for 48 yards) is not going to last long in the NFL. But at least anyone who made the mistake of starting Jordan Addison got a 65-yard touchdown run late. Aaron Jones had a 15-point PPR day, he was the one Viking who should have been in lineups, and he paid off OK.
Denver 20, Kansas City 13. As I've mentioned once or twice, I watch the Broncos fairly closely. Not my team exactly, but a familial connection has me rooting for them. And while their 13-3 record is impressive, and their record in one-score games is impressive, what's not impressive is that they play so damn many one-score games against teams like the Jets, Giants, and the M.A.S.H. unit that Kansas City shoveled onto the field yesterday. No starting cornerbacks, no starting or backup quarterback, no Rashee Rice. I get that their defense still has some talent and Steve Spagnuolo drawing up plays, but that's a pretty bad team, but Denver was losing 10-6 in the third quarter.
I think if you started Bo Nix and certainly RJ Harvey, thanks to a late touchdown hookup that only happened because Kansas City jumped offsides on 4th and 2 (Sean Payton said afterward they were not planning to snap the ball, they would have settled for a field goal), you're OK with how they did. Nix ran a little to convert some plays, fortunate with Courtland Sutton dropping a pair of touchdowns on the same series, and he's their best wideout! No other Broncos worked out. What's crazy is that Denver, barely beating this third-string quarterback led roster, will be the AFC's No. 1 seed if they beat the Chargers next week (and the Chargers, if they lose to Houston tomorrow, will be locked in as a wild-card and probably resting players in Week 18, unless we're to assume they'd play Herbert and Hampton et al to help the Patriots or Jaguars be the No. 1 seed rather than Denver? Unlikely).
So that was Christmas football. Speaking personally, I really don't think we need 3 NFL games on holidays. Especially in Week 17, where odds are good in today's NFL that you get 5 teams who won't be in the playoffs, and only one who will.