The Jets had some good foundational stats and the argument could have been that things like yards per play differential and yards per pass differential were going to go from good to very good given their additions. But the issue, I think, is that Aaron Rodgers will not let plays develop downfield and is too afraid of throwing picks. Regarding Rodgers, I’ve often said there is an ideal interception rate – and it ain’t zero.
Kyler Murray was fantastic and lost a TD pass on a long play to James Conner when they concluded our eyes deceived us and an ass cheek was down a frame before the ball crossed the plane. Snore. The league just loves taking TDs away for these picayune reasons.
I know the Tyrone Tracy Jr. fumble cost the Giants the game and it was at least on the careless side of the spectrum, but I can’t see him losing playing time going forward.
Chuba Hubbard presumably losing snaps beginning with the next game for the Panthers is a gross injustice for his managers. Not so much for him, though, since he got paid. I have no idea how the Panthers are going to manage the Hubbard/Jonathon Brooks backfield for the balance of the season and in 2025. It’s all really dumb.
I lost count as to how many drives the Bears have gone without a TD. It’s 20-something now (editor’s note: it’s 23). Drake Maye looked better and that has to depress Bears fans. Caleb Williams getting sacked nine times is disgusting. That’s the equivalent of four or five picks. Those kill drives. He only threw 30 passes, too — so that’s officially a 30% sack rate. Wow! I’m not calling anything on Williams though. He probably would be best served sitting a game or two like when baseball teams send a prospect down for a few weeks and no one panics. There should be a football version of that — a few weeks on the practice squad.
Ray Davis doing nothing was a bit of a surprise, as was just one catch by James Cook.
Adonai Mitchell is worth a pickup even though the Colts probably go back to Anthony Richardson. I’d say “definitely”, but it’s absurd that it’s gone on even this long. So logic and reason are not predictive here.
Josh Downs dropped a walk-in TD.
Audric Estime seems to have seized the starting running back job for the Broncos. The good news for people looking for a back on waivers this week is that his counting stats were nothing special. So you may be able to get him at a discount. He’s practically an all-in guy if you’re struggling there. He deserves about a 50% FAAB bid at a minimum, even though he’s unlikely to catch many (any?) passes. The Broncos could/should win three of the next four games.
I thought Bo Nix played a great game even though he did nothing on the ground, which is unusual for him. You can typically rely on that.
Kirk Cousins has so many nothing games. He sprinkles in some monster games. Maybe this is the QB position now. High scoring seems more sporadic than ever, with disappointment the rule.
Bijan Robinson has been earning his ADP.
Alvin Kamara dropped a long would-be TD pass at the end of the game that was perfectly thrown. I have no explanation for Marquez Valdes-Scantling. I would not even bother bidding on him, even though Chris Olave is on IR. But I get it if you are of the opinion that two TDs and 100 yards is an automatic pick-up.
It’s hard to take passing stats against the Bucs seriously. But Brock Purdy’s distribution was great with five receivers having between 57-93 yards receiving.
Baker Mayfield is really working out for Tampa Bay and I give him credit for the effort, but he’s just so short-handed at WR. The passing game can’t really function at the moment.
Mike Williams scoring more TDs than the Jets is hilarious. He only entered the game because of an injury, and Calvin Austin III, who he replaced, can’t make that play. So an injury won the game for the Steelers.
Jayden Daniels had Noah Brown open for the win in the final minute but underthrew him and Brown didn’t have the awareness to just stop and let the DB run through him for the clear pass interference (the defender had no idea where the ball was).
I don’t understand when you struggle on offense all day how a receiver can have 113 yards on six targets. Just throw that guy (Terry McLaurin) the ball more.
Sam Darnold was just miserable with three interceptions in the red zone. That’s unacceptable.
I’ve been saying to forget about T.J. Hockenson, but he had nine targets and caught eight of them. He still doesn’t look dangerous out there and the Vikings have to figure out a way to get Justin Jefferson the ball more. But Hockenson is not the zero I thought he’d be off the terrible injury for the rest of 2024.
I thought Mac Jones couldn’t be worse for Brian Thomas Jr. than Trevor Lawrence, but he was. It’s crazy that Jones looked like a pro as a rookie and now seems totally unprepared and a rank amateur in Year 4.
Kimani Vidal was inactive again. Gus Edwards seemed competent. But Hassan Haskins, a former Titan, got the revenge goal-line TD. So the Chargers backfield was a mess.
No Chargers WR had more than two targets.
Calvin Ridley continues to dominate the Tennessee passing game to such a degree that it doesn’t matter how small it is. It’s big enough for one man to eat.
Saquon Barkley lost another TD on 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line to the “Brotherly Shove.” These situations are costing Barkley a lot of fantasy points, a championship-costing loss of points. The Barkley managers must see themselves losing in the playoffs by five points while Jalen Hurts gets pushed into the end zone twice. That’s tomorrow’s headline for the Barkley managers — it’s so easy to see.
I don’t know if it would matter because the Niners saw Trey Lance every day in practice and turned the page. But he has to give the Cowboys more hope than Cooper Rush. I don’t care how many games Rush has won. The man has no tools in his toolbox. I get that Lance has the tools but no toolbox. I choose the latter!
(Top photo of Chuba Hubbard: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
