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Sorry for the lack of NFL recaps last weeks folks. I have been dealing with some personal medical situations with my family which wiped me out for most of last week. Although I did watch every game last week, it took me until Tuesday to do so which was the first time in 14 years. Instead of putting out some garbage box score laden recaps I chose to instead shut it down last week. I hope that you guys understand why that decision was made. Thank you for all of your support over the past week too. I am really blessed to have such great people who enjoy my work.
17 – Chicago at Detroit – 34
This game went as I had thought. The Bears offense jumped out to start playing in the comforts of the dome. But eventually Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford would be too much for the Chicago defense.
The Bears totaled just 13 yards rushing today which was the lowest total in Thanksgiving Day history.
You can pretty much cut Theo Riddick after this game. Reggie Bush will be back next week and with all 32 NFL teams in action at once the rest of the way, Riddick won’t be needed any more this year.
Eric Ebron has established himself as the only Lions TE that is involved in the passing game. He’s a sneaky fill in down the stretch of this season.
Injuries: S Chris Conte (eye)
33 – Philadelphia at Dallas – 10
The Eagles set the tone early. Mark Sanchez was 9-11, 99 yards and a TD in the first quarter. Then they Eagles put the ball in the hands of LeSean McCoy to close it out.
Although Jordan Matthews is Mark Sanchez’s favorite WR, Jeremy Maclin is still a high-end fantasy WR.
The Eagles offensive line really dominated this game. The Eagles were able to pick up 162 yards before contact on Thursday.
The Cowboys offensive line got stood up this week. The Cowboys ran the ball enough but weren’t as effective because the Eagles defense was playing inspired football.
Tony Romo’s had his streak of 38 consecutive games with a TD pass was snapped.
Injuries: No injuries reported
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19 – Seattle at San Francisco – 3
I am not sure what put me to sleep more tonight. The fact that I hadn’t slept in 28 hours, the turkey I ate, the copious amount of wine or the boredom of this football game.
Richard Sherman rules the 49ers, He played so incredibly well tonight that it makes you wonder why he cannot do this more often. The truth is that Sherman knows the 49ers offensive routes better than the receivers do from his time at Stanford. The fact that Sherman continues to know what the 49ers are doing on just about every play proves the lack of creativity in their scheme.
Marshawn Lynch has had a TD, 100+ yards rushing or both in each of his last five games against the 49ers.
The 49ers had a miserable 71 yards of total offense in the first half of this game. They finished with 164 yards of offense tonight their least of the season.
Not that you need me to say it but it’s more evident than ever that Frank Gore is done.
Michael Crabtree was “injured” early on after a five yard reception. He was in and out of the game the rest of the way.
Injuries: DE Ray McDonald (finger), OG Mike Iupati (arm)
27 – Washington at Indianapolis – 49
The Redskins scoring today was the best thing that could have happened for fantasy owners. It kept the pressure on the Colts offense to keep throwing the ball where they absolutely shredded the Redskins defense.
Despite his phenomenal season thus far, Andrew Luck has been prone to turnovers. He lost his fifth fumble of the season on the first play of the game today and is tied with Blake Bortles (16) for the second most turnovers in the NFL this season.
Dan Herron is the clear RB of choice in the Colts backfield. He did fumble and was replaced by Trent Richardson for a couple of series before normalcy was returned.
As unspectacular as Colt McCoy is, it shows you what just an average everyday QB can do for this Redskins offense. RGIII isn’t average, he isn’t below average, he is absolutely terrible.
Alfred Morris had a TD run called back after DeSean Jackson was called for an illegal blocking penalty.
Injuries: WR DeSean Jackson (leg), LB Ryan Kerrigan (wrist)
21 – Tennessee at Houston – 45
J.J. Watt is the best player in the NFL right now. The guy is absolutely amazing. Watt had two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and caught his third TD of the season today against the Titans.
J.J. Watt is the first player in NFL history to have at lease three offensive and two defensive TD’s in one season.
I am going to credit the shaving of that deplorable beard of Ryan Fitzpatrick for his performance today. An interesting question is whether or not Fitzpatrick will throw for more than six TD’s in the Texans final four games this season?
I am not interested in Jake Locker no matter how long Zach Mettenberger is out. This offense is a mess right now and Locker surely isn’t the answer.
Titans WR Justin Hunter had to be hospitalized after the game due to a lacerated spleen.
Injuries: WR Justin Hunter (spleen), QB Zach Mettenberger (collarbone), CB Jonathan Joseph (Achilles)
10 – Cleveland at Buffalo – 26
Someday Mike Pettine will look back at his career and realize it all began to unravel on him when on November 30th, 2014. Benching Brian Hoyer for absolutely no reason will prove to be one of the worst coaching mistakes this season. The Browns instead have opened Pandora’s Box and have split the locker room up as far as who is their on field leader and best QB for the football team.
Manziel showed the good and bad sides of his game in his brief time today. On the TD run he took a massive his en route to the endzone. That isn’t something that he can do on a regular basis or he will never be healthy.
As I said all week, the Browns would throw the ball more than they run and that would wind up in a loss. Terrible coaching will find them in the basemet of the AFC North despite a very strong start to the 2014 season.
Josh Gordon did more today than I thought (7-75).
I am sick of Sammy Watkins. He showed us earlier this year that he was the skills to be a big playmaker in this league but hasn’t proven that he can be consistent enough for fantasy.
Injuries: WR Miles Austin (stomach), TE Gary Barnidge (rib)
34 – San Diego at Baltimore – 33
The Chargers just refused to lose this one. I’ve got to hand it to Philip Rivers as he willed his team to three TD’s in the 4th quarter to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat here in Baltimore.
Ryan Mathews didn’t look good today but he is the only RB being used by the Chargers which gives him good value for fantasy.
I hope you all listened to me all season as I’ve been telling you that Keenan Allen would be fine. Allen is now on pace for 90 catches, 1088 yards and six touchdowns.
Torrey Smith is another player whose early season struggles have been long forgotten. Smith is one of the most productive receivers in fantasy football over the past six weeks.
Justin Forsett officially broke the 1,000 yard mark today with his 24-106 effort.
Injuries: WR Marlon Brown (concussion), C Chris Watt (calf)
24 – N.Y. Giants at Jacksonville – 25
The Giants will fire Tom Coughlin at the end of the season but that isn’t going to help this team. The roster needs change, not a coaching staff that has won a couple of Super Bowls.
Sure you’re going to start Rashad Jennings next week but if you missed out on his production this week you only have yourself to blame. Make a note to yourself to believe in good players in good situations that have plus matchups.
The Jaguars defense has been better the further we reach in the 2014 season. They have been particularly good and creating turnovers. Over the past two games the Jags have eight forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
Denard Robinson has run out of gas. The Giants are one of the worst rush defenders in the NFL and he really couldn’t get anything going.
Of all the Jaguars receivers, I like Allen Hurns the best. He has the size, speed, solid hands and is a hard working kid. He is raw but there is no question to be that he has the most fantasy potential of them all.
Injuries: RT Geoff Schwartz (ankle), RT James Brewer (concussion), RB Rashad Jennings (ankle), LB Terrell Manning (ankle), DE Robert Ayers (pectoral), DE Andre Branch (groin), RT Austin Pasztor (hamstring)
14 – Cincinnati at Tampa Bay 13
This game would be a candidate in the “worst game of the year” category at the end of the season. I won’t even pretend to know whether or not you are supposed to be allowed to challenge a play to see how many players they had on the field but it wound up right in the end. The fact that coaches, players and on field referees didn’t realize that Tampa had an extra player goes to show just how little interest there was in this slop fest.
Giovani Bernard is healthy and performing far better than Jeremy Hill, yet Hill received three more carries. Well played Bengals coaches!
This was the Bengals first win against the Buccaneers since 1989.
Remember when Chris Sims was a thing? Just wondering…
I was really impressed with Doug Martin today. He ran hard, looked fast and seemed like he was fighting for his career. I have little faith in him still, but it was definitely a good sight to see today.
Injuries: DT Domata Peko (elbow)
0 – Oakland at St. Louis – 52
When the St. Louis Rams beat you down this bad, it is time to fold the franchise. #RealTalk
This was the worst loss in the history of the Raiders during the Super Bowl era.
Keep in mind that Tre Mason had just 13-28 rushing today outside of that 89 yard TD run. Please don’t overrate him going into next week. He is ideally not a starter on a championship fantasy football team.
This Rams defense is downright legit though isn’t it? Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? (This guy!)
Injuries: OG Roger Saffold (shoulder), TE Brian Leonhardt (concussion), OT Menelik Watson (ankle)
35 – New Orleans at Pittsburgh – 32
This game wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates. The Steelers made up a lot of ground late as the Saints were in control the entire afternoon.
I got a couple calls this week asking whether to bench Drew Brees or not because he was playing outside. While there is no doubt his numbers are far better at the Superdome, Brees is too good to bench unless there are multiple matchup, weather and history reasons.
Nick Toon is a guy that I thought would maybe break out this season but he just hasn’t developed in any way. It was a great play on that TD catch but he isn’t waiver worthy.
I have no answers as to why Jimmy Graham wasn’t even targeted in today’s game. He was certainly on the field quite a bit and never left with an injury. Graham was in on the “hands” team for the Steelers late onside kick.
Ben Roethlisberger supposedly injured his right hand at one point in this game. Video replay however doesn’t show direct contact to his hand, yet he reacted as if he had slammed it on a helmet. Either way this may be an impactful injury going forward if indeed it is actually a real injury.
Injuries: DE Brett Keisel (tricep)
13 – Carolina at Minnesota – 31
The Vikings hit the Panthers in the mouth early and as per usual, the Panthers pissed their pants and never recovered. There is no heart on that team whatsoever.
In all of my life, I have never seen a punter take longer to kick a football. To have one kicked blocked while you prance your fancy self up to the kick is embarrassing. To have it happen twice is insanity.
Everybody’s favorite late week waiver RB Joe Banyard barely played and had just two touches in this game.
If you still own Cordarrelle Patterson just know that everybody in your league and possibly your life is laughing at you behind your back.
The last time Jonathan Stewart (12-85) did this well WHAM was still together.
Kelvin Benjamin had a down game but his 12 targets mean he is still a must start every single week.
Injuries: RB DeAngelo Williams (hand), FS Tre Boston (ankle), DT Sharrif Floyd (knee), LB Anthony Barr (knee)
18 – Arizona at Atlanta – 29
The Cardinals are in a lot of trouble. Drew Stanton has been exposed which is what happens after advanced scouting gets enough tape on you to flush out your tendencies. There is not a single playmaker on that offense at this point in time.
This is reason #47 why I didn’t draft Andre Ellington in any of my seasonal leagues. I just can’t believe that he can stay healthy.
Getting Larry Fitzgerald back in a week or two will help this offense, but only if Stanton can limit his turnovers.
Steven Jackson’s 101 rushing yards today was his most as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. His previous high was 84 yards. Talk about a complete waste of money.
Devin Hester had a 70 yard punt return wiped out due to a facemask penalty on himself.
We learned it last year and should pay attention this year that Harry Douglas is a better WR2 than Roddy White. The guy is flat out spectacular when healthy and Roddy White is out.
Injuries: RB Andre Ellington (hip), S Tyrann Mathieu (broken thumb), Paul Fanaika (ankle)
21 – New England at Green Bay – 26
Thank God for this football game today. I watched so much bad football that this one was a downright pleasure. It isn’t often a game of this magnitude lives up to the hype but this one certainly did.
Jonas Gray finally got his first carry since his breakout 200 yard, 4 TD game two weeks ago. At this point even Brandon Bolden is playing more snaps than Gray and thus he has no fantasy appeal.
If you can watch the video of Tom Brady screaming the “F” word over and over after the Packers got their final first down trust me in that you will never stop laughing.
The most impressive part of this win for the Packers is that they out smarted and out coached the Patriots which is rarely done. The Packers designed plays for their other receivers such as Davante Adams, Jarrett Boykin and Andrew Quarless. It was truly a work of majesty by this coaching staff.
Darrelle Revis covered Jordy Nelson for most of the afternoon. But Jordy toasted Revis for a 45 yard TD reception in the second half. I love how the Packers stayed away and stayed away from Revis for awhile then flipped the switch and went right at him. That is the blueprint for making a great corner look pedestrian.
Injuries: CB Sam Shields (concussion), LB Jamari Lattimore (ankle)
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29 – Denver at Kansas City – 16
I was wrong about this one. I had thought that the Chiefs would be able to give the Broncos a real challenge and upset them at home tonight but it wasn’t even close.
In his first game as a Bronco, new placekicker Connor Barth tied a franchise record for field goals with five.
The book on beating the Chiefs is wide open now folks. Run…the…football. C.J. Anderson has been so impressive of late and he tore the Chiefs apart tonight. This guy is going to lead a lot of teams to the promised land this season.
The Chiefs absolutely must find a way to utilize a WR in their offense. Without that threat, there is absolutely no threat other than Jamaal Charles which is always the focus.
Travis Kelce made a couple nice catches down the field but got usurped by Anthony Fasano once again for the TD. Kelce has been a major fantasy bust this season.
Injuries: No injuries reported