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13 – Tennessee at Jacksonville – 21
This was a game between two of the worst teams in the NFL. I wouldn’t claim the Jaguars actually won this game as much as the Titans lost it. Ultimately, the Titans won this contest because they sank lower in the race for a high draft pick in 2015.
Hopefully you listened to us all week as we said that the only player worth anything in this game was Jaguars RB Toby Gerhart who indeed got into the endzone for us. Gerhart also left the game early with a rib injury but did enough to help owners secure a title.
Marqise Lee has a lot of chemistry with Blake Bortles. If Bortles can develop this offseason, Lee could be a pretty solid possession WR for the Jags in 2015.
I am not sure that the Titans had one single player on offense today that is in their future plans. Bishop Sankey just isn’t showing us anything in his first NFL season.
Injuries: RB Toby Gerhart (rib)
24 – Philadelphia at Washington – 27
Chip Kelly’s offense is celebrated in fantasy football and rightfully so. But in order to work at the NFL level and win ballgames, the QB just cannot turn the ball over.
Cody Parkey missed two very makeable field goals (34 & 46) that really destroyed the Eagles chances tonight.
The Eagles could throw to Zach Ertz 100 times and opposing defenses would be very thankful. Ertz is nothing more than a middle of the field possession TE that has little fantasy value other than in games where the Eagles are checking down time and time again.
If only DeSean Jackson played this inspired every week.
As much as I respect Alfred Morris as a player, he is not an ideal fit in this Redskins offense any longer. I fully expect some competition in Washington next season.
Injuries: LB Trent Murphy (hand), LT Trent Williams (ankle)
38 – San Diego at San Francisco – 35
The 49ers are such a good team but are simply lost right now. I am convinced that this has everything to do with Jim Harbaugh and the coaching situation.
This is only the second game the 49ers have lost in the Jim Harbaugh era where Frank Gore got 20+ carries. Don’t forget that the 49ers will be able to run the football no matter who is the head coach.
What a great performance by Philip Rivers tonight. The Chargers threw the ball on 32 of the final 36 plays of the game and Rivers was in obvious pain throughout.
I may not be as high on Antonio Gates next year as I was going into this year but the guy is straight up great player. When he is healthy he is one of the best TE’s of all time and should still be useful next year as well.
Injuries: CB Steve Williams (knee), C Chris Watt (ankle), S Bubba Ventrone (groin), WR Brandon Lloyd (groin)
35 – Minnesota at Miami – 37
This was a really hard fought game but it was tragic for it all to come down to a blocked punt safety such as it did.
This win could cost the Dolphins in many ways. If this winds up saving Joe Philbin’s job then they were far better off losing as the playoffs are not realistic this season.
Ryan Tannehill reminds me a lot of Philip Rivers. Neither will ever be in the elite class of NFL QB’s but each are guys that you absolutely can win with.
Matt Asiata is a tough goal line runner but that is about it. He will be lucky to play two more years at the NFL level.
Teddy Bridgewater hitting nine different receivers today is more of a sign of the lack of impact players in the Vikings passing game rather than his ability to spread it around.
Injuries: LB Chad Greenway (knee)
13 – Baltimore at Houston – 25
The Texans defense was smothering today. Anytime you have J.J. Watt on the field, odds are good things are going to happen. He is my choice for NFL MVP this season.
Andre Johnson became just the 10th player in NFL history to have 1000+ receptions in their career.
Arian Foster left this game temporarily with what appeared to be an ankle injury early on in the first half.
Speaking of Foster he threw for more TD’s than Case Keenum today. Foster threw a 5 yard TD pass to TE C.J. Fiedorowicz.
Torrey Smith caught his 9th & 10th TD’s of the season today. After a very slow start Smith has enjoyed his best fantasy season of his career in 2014.
Injuries: G Brandon Brooks (ankle)
20 – Detroit at Chicago – 14
The one thing we learned from this game is that despite all of the animosity in Chicago, there is still a lot of talent on the Bears. On the flip side, the Lions have plenty of holes as well.
Joique Bell did not start this game and didn’t play until the second quarter. It appears as though this was some sort of disciplinary action taken by the coaching staff.
There is going to be some serious ramifications this week for C Domonic Raiola who was caught on camera stomping on the Bears Ego Ferguson’s leg. This was an over the top dirty play that will likely result in a suspension for Raiola.
Jimmy Clausen did a solid job this afternoon. His performance further justifies that Marc Trestman’s offensive system works even if Jay Cutler cannot stay consistent.
Injuries: DE Willie Young (Achilles)
13 Cleveland at Carolina – 17
I did not expect Cam Newton to be this willing to run after his rollover car accident last week. This Cam Newton is the guy that I had hoped would be present for all of 2014.
The Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons next week in Atlanta for the rights to win the NFC South and host a wild card round playoff game.
Everybody that believed in Johnny Manziel should be forced to issue a public apology. There is simply no excuse to have believed in him from the get go and after these two performances it is safe to say he’ll never be an elite NFL QB.
Jordan Cameron’s season has been a complete failure outside of two plays. His 81 yard TD reception today and his 51 yard reception against the Steelers in week four.
Injuries: QB Johnny Manziel (hamstring)
30 – Atlanta at New Orleans – 14
I know many of the sports pundits are afraid to say it but Drew Brees has completely lost a step or three this season. Every single aspect of his game has been immensely worse this season. There are throws that he makes these days that are as bad as any QB in the league.
Rob Ryan will be fired the day after the season ends next Monday.
Jimmy Graham seemed to have a TD reception at the start of the fourth quarter but the ball was knocked out inched before he was in the endzone. Although the replays seemed to show Graham was across the endzone line, that play was the end of the Saints chances.
Julio Jones was in obvious discomfort today but still produced at an elite level. His 7-107 paced the Falcons and often put the team in position to score.
The best thing to happen for the Falcons was Steven Jackson leaving the game with a quad injury. The Falcons run game was far better with Devonta Freeman and Jacquizz Rogers carrying the rock.
Harry Douglas is not a useful fantasy player when both Roddy White and Julio Jones are healthy.
Injuries: RB Steven Jackson (quad), LB Paul Worrilow (arm), S William Moore (shoulder), RB Pierre Thomas (foot)
20 – Green Bay at Tampa Bay – 3
I’ve heard three different excuses for Aaron Rodgers performance today already and am not really buying any of them. He wasn’t bad at all today really. The Bucs defense just limited the Packers big plays which is the key to stopping Rodgers and this offense.
The simple equation of how well Jimmy Clausen played today and how poorly Josh McCown has been this season further proves Marc Trestman’s offense is legit.
Nearly half of Eddie Lacy’s rushing yards came on his 44 yard first quarter TD run. Lacy finished with 17-99-1 on the day.
Mike Evans has really hit the freshman wall over the past month of the season. He just doesn’t have the same spring in his step or leap in his legs as he did earlier this season.
The Bucs began this game with five consecutive three-and-outs this afternoon.
Injuries: QB Aaron Rodgers (calf)
12 – Kansas City at Pittsburgh – 20
Despite being a below average football team, the Steelers clinched a playoff birth with this win today. At 10-5 this might be the best coaching job in the NFL this season. Sorry Bruce Arians!
Antonio Brown how has 122 receptions this season which is the third most in NFL history. He will easily finish the season with the second most receptions ever in a single season. That is eight receptions per game to go along with 104 yards per game this season for Antonio Brown.
Antonio Brown has more catches, yards and even more catches for first downs than the entire Chiefs WR corps this season.
I am not going to be touching Jamaal Charles in the first round next year. Between his age, injuries and the Chiefs offensive line I am not liking Charles prognosis for 2015.
Injuries: No injuries reported
17 – New England at N.Y. Jets – 16
Although I have hated this rivalry for so long, part of me will miss the Belichick/Rex Ryan battles each season.
The Patriots have secured a first round bye in five consecutive seasons.
Danny Amendola stepped up big today as Julian Edelman’s replacement. Earlier in the week a fellow fantasy analyst criticized me for selecting Amendola in one of our industry league drafts. What this guy didn’t understand is that I had already taken Edelman and was basically handcuffing this position in a PPR league format. I believe today proves that was a very smart strategy.
The Jets are going to completely clean house here in a couple of weeks and thus nothing else they do this season really matters.
Injuries: C Nick Mangold (ankle), WR Percy Harvin (ribs)
37 – N.Y. Giants at St. Louis – 27
These teams went into an all out brawl in the first half after Odell Beckham Jr. was pushed down out of bounds and proceeded to hit the Rams defender in the head with the football. The melee resulted in three players being ejected from the game.
Speaking of Beckham, I was thought for sure that the Rams defense was going to be able to slow him and the Giants offense down but I was wrong. I don’t know if there is a player playing better than Odell Beckham Jr. right now.
This game was so chippy that even Giants kicker Josh Brown got into a shoving match with the Rams Cody Davis during a kickoff.
Andre Williams is not the Giants answer next year at RB but he did have a good game today. Williams racked up 26-110 with 65 of those yards coming after contact.
The Rams need a QB and WR desperately. Expect those to be high priorities in the draft and in free agency this offseason.
Injuries: CB E.J. Gaines
24 – Buffalo at Oakland – 26
With this loss the Bills will miss the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season. Believe it or not kids, the Bills used to rule the AFC back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Now they have the longest current streak at missing the postseason.
I give Tony Sparano a lot of credit in having this rag tag group of Raiders always ready to play. He should not be the Raiders full time head coach next season, but he deserves credit for the work he did in this spot.
Latavius Murray had a very solid day but was taken out both times in which he had an opportunity to get into the endzone.
Buffalo choked this game because they stopped running the football. While it’s great for Fred Jackson and his owners that he got nine catches for 93 yards, it isn’t a good thing for the Bills. There is no excuse to run for just 13-13 against the Oakland Raiders.
The Bills hadn’t allowed a passing TD in four weeks coming into this game today.
Injuries: DT Marcell Dareus (knee), CB Stephon Gilmore (concussion)
7 – Indianapolis at Dallas – 42
The Colts should be ashamed of themselves for this game. This was a terrible performance by a team that didn’t have much to play for but still needed a better effort than this.
The fake punt the Colts ran early in this one set the tone for the game. Dewey McDonald was wide open and the punter Pat McAfee hit him right in the hands yet McDonald dropped it. That gave the ball Cowboys the ball on the Colts 19 yard line and essentially began the snowball rolling downhill.
DeMarco Murray played and though slowed by his hand injury was still able to get into the endzone and help his fantasy owners out. I don’t see this injury as being a problem for Murray or the Cowboys heading into the playoffs.
Andrew Luck was benched in the third quarter in favor of Matt Hasselbeck. The Colts were down 35-0 at the time and pretty much pulled all of their essential personnel.
One of the most disappointing players this weekend has to be Donte Moncrief. Moncrief started in place of T.Y. Hilton but was barely on the field. Hakeem Nicks wound up being the Colts main receiving weapon today.
Injuries: No injuries reported
35 – Seattle at Arizona – 6
These are two teams heading in complete opposite directions. The Seahawks look poised to repeat their Super Bowl run of a year ago. The Cardinals are completely falling apart in every way possible.
Please check out the video highlight of Marshawn Lynch’s 79 yard TD run tonight. In many ways it was even better than his infamous “Beast Mode” run in the NFC Playoff game against the Saints years ago. Lynch didn’t even start this game due to a stomach virus yet finished with 10-113-2.
Steven Hauschka missed all three of his field goal attempts tonight. It was a rare off night for one of the games most consistent kickers.
I’ve been negative on Russell Wilson’s fantasy value for years not but he has really elevated his game in the second half of 2014. In full disclosure, Wilson actually led me to a championship this week with this performance.
So much for Kerwyn Williams and his run over the past few weeks. Williams got the ball just twice in this contest after logging 34-175 over the past two weeks.
Injuries: WR Jermaine Kearse (hamstring)
Player News
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports there are “multiple people in the league who believe the new regime is not so high on Travis Etienne.”
Fowler also noted Tank Bigsby’s fumbling issue but didn’t directly relate that to the feelings of the new brain trust in Jacksonville. The Jags clearly felt they were lacking at running back this offseason and addressed that opening via the draft with Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round and LeQuint Allen in the seventh. The pair of additions complicate an already-messy backfield by committee. Etienne is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is a long-shot to be brought back in 2026. The Jags could opt to move on early by trading him, clearing $6.1 million in cap space in the process. If the team does trade Etienne, Tuten would likely be the team’s top back in the long run, making him a high-upside bet in early fantasy drafts.
Broncos signed third-round pick WR Pat Bryant to a four-year contract.
The deal includes $1.4 million guaranteed and is worth $6.6 million in total. Sean Payton compared aspects of Bryant’s game to those of Michael Thomas in his post-draft press conference and there are at least a few similarities in their profiles. Bryant stands at 6'2/204 and ran a 4.61-second Forty at the combine. Thomas measured in at 6'3/212 and clocked a 4.57-second Forty. Though the two have similar physical characteristics, Thomas was known for his proficiency from the slot while Bryant primarily played on the outside as a field-stretcher at Illinois. Bryant’s transition to slot duties may take some time, but third-round draft capital makes him worth a shot in dynasty leagues.
Colts EDGE Samson Ebukam (Achilles) said he is expected to be cleared for training camp.
Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles in training camp last year and did not play in the 2024 season. He broke out in 2023 with a career-high 9.5 sacks in his first season with the Colts. He now has one year left on his deal and will be looking for a rebound season as he stares down free agency in 2026