Every week I will do a quick drive thru of the all the games and cover the relevant fantasy points.  I will look at things that might be fluky or here to stay and try and point everyone in the right direction for the future.  We never want to overreact to a small-sample size, but sometimes getting in too early is still better than missing the boat entirely.

Lions 23 – Bears 20

This game got the Bears HC fired and for good reason.  The Lions were about to run away with it before Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled at the goal-line despite have a massive day with over 100 all-purpose yards, but no scores.  That makes b2b games with no scoring for Gibbs or David Montgomery which will clearly get rectified ASAP.  Amon-Ra St. Brown also didn’t score but had a nice game and the Lions have scored 23 points in b2b games.  We are so used to 35+, 23 seems like a disaster.  Sam LaPorta did score twice, but it’s too little too late for LaPorta at this point.  Jared Goff was solid and you have to think DET gets back on track at home vs GB this week.  The Bears looked like the worst team in football in the first half, but all of a sudden Caleb Williams woke up and started slinging it.  He had three TDs and DJ Moore and Keenan Allen looked like an elite duo.  Rome Udunze was held in check after being heavily targeted in the previous two games, Odunze is now second in the NFL in air yards since Week 9.  No one runs well vs. DET, so D’Andre Swift was mediocre.  The Bears are playing for pride, but should finish strong with their new HC and OC.

Pickup of the game: None

Giants 20 – Cowboys 27

This game was gross to watch and it should have been Malik Nabers vs. CeeDee Lamb, but Lamb was checked out and had three terrible drops in the first half and then also had a shoulder injury.  He should be fine, but double check.  Cooper Rush is playing better and it helps when Rico Dowdle shred the Giants for 5.1 YPC and over 100 yards on the ground.  This was a perfect matchup, so don’t expect a repeat performance.  Without Lamb, this offense is terrible and with him, they are only simply competent.  KaVontae Turpin is turning it on, but Brandin Cooks returning from injury could keep the lid on him this season.  Cooks scored, but even if Dak Prescott was healthy, he would be on the outside looking in.  This all changes is Lamb has to miss time.  Drew Lock is awful, but he ran for one TD and should have had two.  As bad as Daniel Jones was, he could still get Nabers the ball and Nabers now has to do everything in order to come down with a ball past the line of scrimmage.  The offense is going to be ugly although Tyrone Tracy Jr. scored, he’s also on the downswing.  The schedule isn’t bad, but the Ravens in two weeks is something to fear.

Pickup of the game – WR – KaVontae Turpin – Priority Low

Packers 30 – Dolphins 17

This was the most obvious game of the day as everyone knows Tua Tagovailoa isn’t good in the cold or against elite teams.  Well, we can put to bed one of those narratives as Tua was great again, three games in a row and it wasn’t hit fault this game wasn’t close.  Tyreek Hill finally scored, but it was a fluky TD, I’m still not banking on him bouncing back.  Jaylen Waddle reverted back to the norm, but Jonnu Smith kept up his TE tear and he’s going to swing leagues down the stretch.  The Dolphins are getting thier mojo back and not a second too late.  De’Von Achane only averaged 2.0 YPC, but he’s more of a WR these days than a RB.  The negative game script kept MIA was running much as they only had 14 carries as a team and while this team thrives in the air, it’s the balance that allows them to keeps defenses off-balance.  Jordan Love is getting healthier and ready for his second-half storm like he had last season.  This was a tough matchup and he spread the ball around and will be getting Romeo Doubs back.  The Packers have four legit weapons plus Josh Jacobs just had the best receiving game of his life.  Both these teams are going to finish on a run.

Pickup of the game – None

Chiefs 19 – Raiders 17

Nobody should have thought KC would cover a 13.5 spread, it’s not how they operate.  Instead they won another game on the last play in which something impossible had to transpire.  The ending hid how effective Pat Mahomes was and has been and that should strike fear into the opposition.  He had over 300 yards and no INT and it looks like he’s rounding into playoff form.  Travis Kelce shredded a defense that gets shredded by TEs, but DeAndre Hopkins is getting more comfortable as the WR1 and they are even getting Hollywood Brown back very soon.  Isaiah Pacheco returned and he’s about ready to pop as the Chiefs are getting better and stronger despite the close games.  Kareem Hunt is a stash and we just saw Christian McCaffrey get hurt after missing the whole season, so the same could happen to Pacheco.  The Raiders are fun again and Aidan O’Connell could be a keeper. He threw for more yards than Mahomes and didn’t overcomplicate things.  He hyper-targeted Brock Bowers who is the clear-cut TE1 for now until forever and Jakobi Meyers who did everything but score.  The running game is still gross, but Sincere McCormick came out of nowhere to run for 5.3 YPC against an elite rush defense.  Yes, pick him up now.  It’s silly season and RBs who no one has heard of are about to swing leagues.  Buckle up.

Pickup of the Game – Sincere McCormick – Priority Med

Colts 25 – Patriots 24 

This was another ugly game that ended with one of the longest attempted FGs in NFL history.  The Colts won, but don’t have a direction as Anthony Richardson can’t complete over 50% of his passes and the defense is hanging on by a threat.  Jonathan Taylor looked great, but who doesn’t vs. NE and Michael Pittman is just a guy under Richardson.  With Josh Downs out, Alec Pierce would have the natural guy to step up, but he essentially only had the game-winning TD.  Ricardson is still fantasy viable since he’s running more than ever and was able to score on the ground.  The Colts need something, not sure what that is.  The Pats at least have their franchise QB, but everyone else is up for grabs.  They are feeding on two-TE sets and Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper are both decent options since Hooper scored and Henry led the team in receptions, yards and targets.  The running game was solid as Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson went up and down the field at east, but lets not forget that these are two of the worst defenses in the league.  Once Drake Maye gets an elite WR, he will be a top-10 fantasy QB, but for now he’s still a fringe QB1 in the right matchup.

Pickup of the game – RB Antonio Gibson – Priority Low

Steelers 44 –  Bengals 38

This game was almost universally bet under and ended up with the highest point total of the season.  We constantly forget how bad the CIN defense is because Joe Burrow has been playing lights out for the last 10 weeks.  Russell Wilson looked 10 years younger and had his best game since he was a Seahawk and Najee Harris looked as spry as he did early in the season.  George Pickens was catching bombs, Pat Freiermuth looked like a TE1 and Jaylen Warren continued to look like a stud receiving back, although his rushing yards weren’t non-existent.  The schedule is about to turn dark for PIT and this could be the last offensive explosion for a while.   The Bengals are essentially eliminated from the playoffs and you have to wonder if they will play Burrow and the WRs the rest of the season.  They will certainly play the next few games, but we could be in trouble for the fantasy finals.  Burrow is playing the best football of his life and while he was playing catchup in this one, his bomb to Ja’Marr Chase was empty calories unless they are on your fantasy team.  If Tee Higgins had been this healthy all year, the win/loss record would be different because while he’s not Chase, he’s a WR1 on half the team in the league.  Chase Brown is making waves as the next stud dual-threat WR and the fact he was so effective vs. PIT is a great sign for his future.  If the Bengals had just won one or two of these close games, they would be threats to come out of the AFC.

Pickup of the game –None

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