It was another lackluster week of picks for me and I hedged a couple of small underdogs against the spread, but my confidence in picking straight dogs just hasn’t been the same as earlier in the season. So, I ultimately went 7-6 but could have posted a 9-4 mark this week. I’m losing ground in both my pools and my week wasn’t good enough to win the household as both Christen and Ridley went 8-5.
Those two small spread covers helped me salvage an otherwise sub-par day against the spread and the over/under. I wound up 6-7 against both so lost some ground again and I am having my worst year in both of those categories. I’ve got 4 weeks to rally, so here’s a look at the numbers.
| Nick W | Nick L | Nick T | ATS W | ATS L | ATS P | O/U W | O/U L | O/U P | Christen W | Christen L | Christen T | Rids W | Rids L | Rids T |
| 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous |
| 123 | 70 | 2 | 97 | 94 | 4 | 84 | 96 | 2 | 119 | 73 | 2 | 104 | 89 | 2 |
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| 130 | 76 | 2 | 103 | 101 | 4 | 90 | 103 | 2 | 127 | 78 | 2 | 112 | 94 | 2 |
A season that was already pretty much lost went from bad to worse for the Cardinals closing out Week 14 on Monday night against the Patriots. Franchise QB Kyler Murray went down, without contact, on the third play of the game and the worst-case fears were confirmed today as it was reported that Murray did, in fact, tear his ACL and is done for the season.
It’s always sad to see stuff like that and the broadcast team and sideline reporter (Lisa Salters I believe) showed poor tact in reporting on Murray in the immediate wake of the injury. I’m paraphrasing, but she said something along the lines of, ‘he held it together on the field but he was sobbing once he got to the locker room.’ There’s nothing wrong with him crying in that situation but she could have preserved the dignity he displayed while being carted off rather than selling him out.
Anyway, it looked like the Cards were going to rally for their fallen QB because they played a solid first half with Colt McCoy at the helm. Even with Murray out, Arizona was leading 13-7 and faced with a 4th & 1 at the Patriots’ 32-yard line just before the half. Cards’ coach Kliff Kingsbury opted to go for it rather than giving Matt Prater a shot to redeem his earlier miss from about the same distance. I know Kingsbury loves to go for it on 4th down (more than any other team in the league actually) but it’s not a coincidence that the Cards are 4-9. Arizona turned the ball over on downs and New England went on to outscore the Cards 20-0 the rest of the way en route to a 27-13 victory. It looks like it’s probably time for the Cards’ front office to move on from Kingbury before he sends the whole franchise off a cliff.
I think we were all hoping for more of a fireworks display in the Sunday Night Football game between the Dolphins and the Chargers. That’s why it got flexed into the primetime game. Well, what happens when you match up two high-octane offenses versus two bottom-middle defenses? A mostly defensive game, naturally.
In fairness to both teams, it was an important game for both and those tend to be pretty tightly contested. However, did the 49ers break Tua last week? He looked absolutely atrocious out there for a large part of the game and didn’t seem to be playing with any confidence. I could have sworn I saw NBC flash a graphic that said he was 3/24 passing at one point, but seeing he finished 10/28 on the night makes that impossible. He was, however, 6/22 overall before the Fins’ final drive and that’s awful.
The gap between Tua and Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert couldn’t have been any more emphatically on display. Even though they both only had 1 TD each, Herbs went 39/51 for 367 yards while under duress and he did that by making all of the high-end throws that separate the elite QBs in the league from everyone else. It sure didn’t hurt to get Mike Williams back who made his usual highlight-reel catches, including the only TD catch.
The Bolts would go on to win 23-17 but I have to point out that this game had one of the most egregious and blatant bad calls of the season. Trailing 17-7 early in the 3rd quarter, the Fins came up with a big sack on a 3rd & 9 deep in Chargers’ territory and the resulting punt would have probably given Miami the ball near midfield. However, the refs threw a flag for roughing the passer…on a sack. Just an everyday, run-of-the-mill sack. It was a joke and completely transparent.
The Chiefs and Broncos game that got moved out of the Sunday night slot wound up being a pretty good one, as the Chiefs barely avoided an embarrassing loss. Russell Wilson finally showed up and looked like the guy the Broncos paid all that money for, using his legs as a weapon and slinging the ball including 3 TDs, all to Jerry Jeudy. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to bring his team back from a 13-point deficit, Wilson made a break for the endzone but was tackled from behind and hit his head very hard. He left the game with what looked like a pretty obvious concussion and didn’t return.
Kansas City would hang on to win it 34-28 after Broncos’ backup Brett Rypien finished that aforementioned effort. Not to be lost is Patrick Mahomes’ mixed bag and the reemergence of Jerrick McKinnon as a real presence in the KC backfield. Mahomes finished 28/42 with 3 TDs and one of those was the kind of nonsense he’s made commonplace in his career, flicking a sidearm dart to McKinnon for a 56-yard TD early in the game. Maybe he was a bit too comfortable because he also threw 3 picks, but a win is a win.
The 49ers beat the absolute brakes off the Buccaneers, 35-7 in San Francisco. In hindsight, it’s wild to think they were only favored by 3.5 points. The bad news is that Deebo Samuel joined Jimmy G on the injury report as got rolled up on and stayed down with what is now being called an ankle and MCL sprain. The Niners hope to get them both back at some point, but the injuries are piling up and even replacement QB Brock Purdy is a bit banged up too. Tampa Bay has been dealing with plenty of their own injuries but they looked lifeless and slow as they have for a lot of the season. Their win over the Saints last week gave them leverage, and they didn’t play with any emphasis. Eventually, the broadcast switched to another game, much to the chagrin of 49ers fans and Brady haters nationwide.
That other game was a good one between the Panthers and the Seahawks. Carolina actually put the divisional pressure on the Bucs with the 30-24 win and maybe even finally decided that Sam Darnold is officially their guy. They ran for 223 yards so maybe it didn’t matter who was playing Qb, but it was tough sledding for the Hawks as Kenneth Walker III didn’t play this week and they had to run the game to drive their offense. Without it, they hung in there but the 2 INTs by Geno Smith dug a big hole to climb out of and it was too much.
Injuries were just the name of the game this week and both the Ravens and the Steelers lost their QBs mid-game. That probably added to the low-scoring nature of the matchup in general, but Tyler Huntley and Kenny Pickett were both forced out of the game with concussions. Huntley was already filling in for Lamar Jackson, whose status was up in the air. Mitch Trubisky came in and tried to lead the comeback, but instead, he threw 3 INTs and reminded everyone why Pickett won the starting job, to begin with. In the end, the Ravens prevailed 16-14 but their QB situation is troublesome.
The Eagles kept rolling right along as they wiped the floor with the Giants 48-22. Jalen Hurts was solid, and Giant killer Boston Scott got his customary TD against the division rivals, but it was Miles Sanders’ 17 carries for 144 yards and 2 TDs that set the tone. Things got so out of hand that Tyrod Taylor eventually stepped in at QB for the Giants, which is always nice to see as a Bills fan.
What is happening to the Titans? It’s tough to say because, in theory, they did exactly what you’d want to do against the Jags on paper. They shut down the Jacksonville run game and Derrick Henry ran for 121 yards and a TD. If you’d told me that I would have expected the Titans to win, which is why I picked them, but Trevor Lawrence picked this week to have a career game. He looked better than ever going 30/42 for 368 yards and 3 TDs but he also added a rushing TD. Any fantasy owners who were relying on that guy got an early Christmas present as the Jags cruised after the 1st quarter, 36-22.
Detroit is looking pretty ferocious as the season draws closer to its end. With their full complement of offensive talent at their disposal, sans T.J. Hockenson who was traded to the Vikings. Hock actually played pretty well in his revenge game but missed a couple of key catches, but everyone was mostly overshadowed by Justin Jefferson’s 11 grabs for 223 yards. As spectacular as it was, Minnesota was basically one-dimensional, and the Lions attacked on all fronts. Detroit’s 34-23 win wasn’t so surprising as they were the favorites, but to do that to a 10-2 is still very impressive and they are firmly in the Wild Card mix now.
The Cowboys avoided the biggest disaster of the NFL season as they rallied, at home, to beat the Texans. That’s right, the 1-11-1 Texans wanted to win that Texas showdown and pushed Dallas to the brink. Dak Prescott led a great drive inside the final minutes of the game and trusty Ezekiel Elliot punched in the go-ahead TD. Dallas came up with an interception off of Davis Mills and narrowly escaped with a 27-23 win.
Joe Burrow finally exorcised his demons with the Browns, picking up a 23-10 win in Cincinnati. It was the first time Burrow had beaten Cleveland in his career and an important W in what could have been a letdown game after a big win over KC last week. The Browns Qb continued to look exceedingly mediocre for big parts of the game, but it was really the Bengals’ defense that made taking Nick Chubb away the focal point. This Cincy team is beginning to round into playoff shape much as they did down the stretch last season.
The Bills picked up an important win to stay on top of the AFC with a 20-12 win over a good Jets squad. It was cold, wet, and eventually snowy, so just an all-around sloppy environment, but Buffalo got the job done with defense. That said, it just came out today that the Bills have brought Cole Beasley back to down after that relationship soured in the off season. Bease couldn’t find a permanent home as a free agent and spent a few games with the Bucs before finding his way back to Orchard Park.
Then of course there was the Raiders’ Thursday night implosion, as they blew a 13-point 4th quarter lead to the Rams. It was great to see baker Mayfield pull off something as crazy as that, with only 2 days on the team, but Vegas really shit the bed in what was mostly a must-win game for them.
Before I get to the Power Rankings, I want to share that I will be collaborating with The Fantasy Football Dudes newsletter to provide an abridged version of this recap for them. We are still ironing out the details, but the first one is live and available by subscription through their social media links.
As you can see, not a whole lot changed at the very top or very bottom, but here come the Bengals and Niners creeping their way up the Top 10 ladder. The 10-18 race is going to be very interesting as 14 total teams make the playoffs.
| 1. Eagles 12-1 (=) |
| 2. Vikings 10-3 (=) |
| 3. Bills 10-3 (=) |
| 4. Chiefs 10-3 (=) |
| 5. Cowboys 10-3 (=) |
| 6. Bengals 9-4 (+1) |
| 7. 49ers 9-4 (+1) |
| 8. Dolphins 8-5 (-2) |
| 9. Ravens 9-4 (=) |
| 10. Giants 7-5-1 (+1) |
| 11. Commanders 7-5-1 (+1) |
| 12. Chargers 7-6 (+4) |
| 13. Titans 7-6 (-3) |
| 14. Jets 7-6 (-1) |
| 15. Patriots 7-6 (+2) |
| 16. Seahawks 7-6 (-2) |
| 17. Buccaneers 6-7 (-2) |
| 18. Lions 6-7 (+1) |
| 19. Packers 5-8 (+3) |
| 20. Browns 5-8 (-1) |
| 21. Raiders 5-8 (=) |
| 22. Steelers 5-8 (-2) |
| 23. Falcons 5-8 (=) |
| 24. Jaguars 5-8 (+2) |
| 25. Panthers 5-8 (+3) |
| 26. Colts 4-8-1 (-1) |
| 27. Saints 4-9 (-3) |
| 28. Cardinals 4-9 (-1) |
| 29. Rams 4-9 (=) |
| 30. Bears 3-10 (=) |
| 31. Broncos 3-10 (=) |
| 32. Texans 1-11-1 (=) |
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