NFL Game Recaps: Week 11, 2018

Seahawks 27, Packers 24

The winner of this game would have a huge advantage as far as making the playoffs was concerned, and for a while, it appeared as though that would be the Packers. An early Chris Carson lost fumble set up a Green Bay touchdown, and the team would eventually establish a lead that would’ve been 17-3 had Mason Crosby not missed his first field goal since his dreadful performance in Detroit.

The Seahawks trailed for most of the evening, losing after every single quarter, as Russell Wilson saw tons of pressure in the pocket, particularly from young edge rusher Kyler Fackrell. However, three primary factors allowed Seattle to rally to a three-point victory, improving its record to 5-5.

All three factors were related, and Wilson happened to be one of them. Wilson was prolific on some downfield throws. He struggled early, whiffing on a few passes, including a potential touchdown to Doug Baldwin. However, Wilson was on fire in the second half, connecting on all but four of his throws.

One of those deep passes was a 34-yard bomb to Tyler Lockett to move Seattle into the red zone in the fourth quarter. And that gets us to the second factor, which was Mike McCarthy. The long-time Packer head coach had a chance to challenge Lockett’s reception, but didn’t, perhaps because he had just one timeout remaining. All three FOX announcers believed Lockett let the ball hit the ground, and that’s certainly what it looked like. Yet, McCarthy kept the red flag in his pocket, allowing play to continue. Moments later, Wilson threw the game-winning touchdown to Ed Dickson.

Part of the reason why Wilson was so incredible in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, gets me to the third factor, and that would be Green Bay’s injuries. The Packers came into this game very banged up, and things only got worse. They lost two of their best defensive players, Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark, as well as safety Raven Greene. The Packers’ skeleton crew defense had no chance of stopping the Seahawks on the decisive drive, and it couldn’t get Wilson off the field as Seattle was attempting to run out the clock at the end of the game.

Wilson finished 21-of-31 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t run around nearly as much this week – five scrambles, 17 rushing yards – but he was outstanding in the second half. Wilson struggled early – a possible third score should’ve gone to Baldwin – but he was on fire late. His numbers could’ve been better, as David Moore had a deep drop.

Though Wilson missed Baldwin in the end zone, Baldwin was ultimately able to score a touchdown, catching seven of his targets for 52 yards. Baldwin trailed Lockett (5-71) and Moore (4-57) on the receiving chart. Lockett drew a deep interference flag.

Carson fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, yet bounced back to gain 83 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Still, it’s curious as to why Pete Carroll didn’t give more opportunities to Rashaad Penny. The first-round rookie looked great again, gaining 46 yards on just eight attempts. Penny had a spectacular 30-yard burst where he juked multiple defenders in the backfield. It looked like a run you’d see in Pee Wee Football.

As for the Packers, they’re not out of it at 4-5-1, but giving a win to a team they’re fighting with for the final playoff spot could prove to be detrimental. Even worse, all of these injuries won’t allow them to compete in rematches with the Bears and Vikings. Luckily for Green Bay, it has extra time for Daniels, Clark and the other injured members of the team to heal.

That said, the Packers may have won this game if it wasn’t for McCarthy’s gaffe. As mentioned, they were leading the entire time. They also averaged two more yards per play than Seattle.

Rodgers was terrific, showing no ill effects of his knee injury. He was 21-of-30 for 332 yards and two touchdowns. He hit multiple bombs throughout the evening, but a rare, poor throw to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a third-and-2 prevented Rodgers from extending his offense’s final drive of the game.

I mentioned earlier that McCarthy screwed up by not challenging Lockett’s catch. McCarthy also goofed by not running the ball nearly enough. Despite his team winning for most of the evening, McCarthy gave Aaron Jones just 11 carries. It’s not like Jones didn’t do anything with those touches, as Jones gained 40 yards and a touchdown on those tries. Jones was also a big part of the aerial attack, catching five balls for 63 receiving yards and a second score.

Jones trailed only Davante Adams on the receiving chart, as Adams hauled in 10 of his 12 targets for 166 yards. Valdes-Scantling (1-8) was a huge disappointment.

Cowboys 22, Falcons 19

Despite being 4-5 entering Week 11, the Falcons almost appeared to take this game for granted. They seemingly had Deion Jones, one of the top linebackers in the NFL, back from his lengthy injury, but decided to sit him out in preparation of Thursday night’s affair at New Orleans. They apparently believed they could beat the Cowboys without Jones, and they were obviously wrong.

The Falcons had an arrogant attitude heading into this game, and that translated to the field. They made several key mistakes. For instance, Matt Ryan took a horrible sack to knock his team out of field goal range in the opening half, which obviously had an impact, given what the final result was. Later, Ryan threw an interception which was the result of a drop by Calvin Ridley. The Cowboys took over in favorable field position and scored a touchdown to go up 10. The Falcons ultimately came back to tie the game at 19, but their defense, missing Jones, couldn’t hold up on the final drive. Dallas moved the ball into field goal range, and Brett Maher drilled the kick as time expired.

The Falcons are now at 4-6, meaning their season is effectively over. Unless they upset the Saints in New Orleans on Thanksgiving night, the best they can finish is 9-7, which is highly unlikely to be good enough to make the playoffs, especially when considering that they’ve lost possible tie-breakers to the Eagles and Cowboys for the final wild-card spot.

Ryan finished 24-of-34 for 291 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The pick wasn’t his fault, but he should’ve had another one earlier. He didn’t because Julio Jones dislodged the ball from safety Jeff Heath with a crushing tackle. Ryan also was nearly intercepted on his first pass of the afternoon. He otherwise had a decent game, but a couple of mistakes buried him and his team. Ryan also dealt with lots of pressure, especially when he reached Dallas territory.

Jones, who temporarily saved his team with a great hit on Heath, was rewarded later with yet another touchdown. After failing to score in the first eight weeks of the season, Jones has now reached the end zone in three consecutive games. He hauled in six of his nine targets for 118 yards otherwise. Jones’ stat line could’ve been better, but he dropped a deep ball on the opening drive.

Elsewhere in Atlanta’s receiving corps, Mohamed Sanu (4-56) was next in the box score, followed by Ridley (3-32), who was responsible for Ryan’s sole interception. Austin Hooper (4-27) was a disappointment, as he reeled in just half of his targets. Hooper also dropped a pass.

Constantly behind, the Falcons didn’t have an opportunity to establish much of a rushing attack. Tevin Coleman was given just eight carries, which he happened to turn into 58 rushing yards. He also caught three passes for 27 receiving yards.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are now 2-1 since the Amari Cooper trade. Cooper didn’t even catch a pass in the opening half, but he hauled in three passes following intermission. Cooper nearly had a touchdown early on, but Desmond Trufant made a nice pass break-up in the end zone. Still, Cooper’s presence on the field impacted how Atlanta’s defense played, as it couldn’t pay as much attention to Ezekiel Elliott.

Elliott had a monstrous afternoon as a result. With an absent Jones unavailable to check him, Elliott dashed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Elliott also led the Cowboys in receiving with seven catches for 79 receiving yards. His only blemish was a fumble, but a teammate of his recovered. Again, Jones would’ve prevented this from happening, but the Falcons opted to keep him sidelined. They paid the price as a result.

Dak Prescott finished 22-of-32 for 208 yards. He didn’t have a touchdown, but should’ve thrown one. The touchdown never occurred because Cole Beasley dropped a ball in the end zone during the opening quarter. Prescott had a mediocre start to the game as a result, but he caught fire as the afternoon progressed. He was 15-of-18 for 135 yards following intermission, and he put together a game-winning drive after Atlanta tied things up.

Excluding Elliott, Dallas’ leader in receiving yardage was Beasley, who snatched five balls for 51 yards. Of course, Beasley missed out on the touchdown on a rare drop. Cooper (3-36) was next.

Cowboys rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch had a monstrous game. Among the things he did included shedding a block to make a key tackle to stop what looked like a long gain; intercept a pass off a deflection; and break up a pass on third-and-goal to force a field goal. Vander Esch appears to be the front-runner for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, though Indianapolis’ Darius Leonard and Cleveland’s Denzel Ward can make strong cases.

Dallas escaped with a win, but had a scary moment late in the game when Tyron Smith suffered an injury on the final drive. Fortunately, Smith’s injury was just a stinger, so he should be available on Thanksgiving.

Colts 38, Titans 10

First and foremost, Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees was taken to the hospital for a medical condition that occurred in the opening half. It’s unclear what’s wrong with him as of this writing, but we wish him and his family the best and hope that he makes a quick recovery.

With Pees taken to the hospital and Marcus Mariota injured, this game was a complete nightmare for the Titans. Mariota had to leave the field late in the second quarter when he injured his arm on a sack. Mariota, of course, missed a game-and-a-half earlier in the year because he lost feeling in his hand. If he’s sidelined for multiple contests, that would effectively end Tennessee’s playoff aspirations.

Tennessee’s defense, meanwhile, was helpless against the Colts. The Titans were able to take advantage of some liabilities on New England’s offensive line to smother Tom Brady last week. They couldn’t do that to the Colts, who have one of the top blocking units in the NFL. Andrew Luck, as a result, was able to expose Tennessee’s weaknesses.

Luck misfired on just six throws, going 23-of-29 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He threw all over Tennessee’s middling cornerbacks, and he could’ve approached a 400-yard day had the Colts not taken their foot off the gas. Luck had 195 yards by halftime, but didn’t have to throw very much following intermission because the Colts were up 24-3 at that point. Luck, by the way, nearly caught a touchdown on the Philly Special play, but Eric Ebron overthrew him.

The Titans had no answer for T.Y. Hilton. The speedy receiver was prolific as he usually is against Tennessee, hauling in all nine of his targets for 155 yards and two touchdowns. His first score, a 68-yard bomb, saw him torch cornerback Adoree Jackson. Hilton later drew a deep pass interference on Jackson, and he followed that up by impressively tight-roping the sideline to score his second touchdown.

Luck’s third touchdwon was thrown to Dontrelle Inman, who is quietly becoming a dependable weapon in this offense. Inman, who caught four passes for 34 yards, saw six targets. Both Luck and Frank Reich discussed how instrumental Inman has been in Indianapolis’ receiving corps, which was starved for talent beyond Hilton.

As for the tight ends, neither Ebron nor Jack Doyle (4-43) did much. Ebron wasn’t even targeted, though he almost threw a touchdown pass to Luck.

Marlon Mack had another solid outing, picking up 61 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Jordan Wilkins (4-30) also scored. Indianapolis’ offensive line “put on a clinic,” as the CBS announcer declared in the second quarter.

Back to the Titans, Blaine Gabbert had to play the entire second half in the wake of Mariota’s injury. Gabbert’s numbers weren’t bad – 11-of-16, 118 yards, one touchdown, one interception – but he was battling a prevent defense that allowed Gabbert to complete routine, checkdown passes. Gabbert’s pick was horrible, as he threw the ball right to Darius Leonard, who didn’t even have to move to catch the interception.

The Titans are going to be in deep trouble with Gabbert, though there’s no telling if Mariota will be 100 percent even if he plays. Mariota, who went 10-of-13 for 85 yards and an interception on a telegraphed pass, has been better in recent weeks, but we’ve seen him look like a completely different quarterback when he’s dealing with an injury.

Thanks to Mariota’s injury, no Tennessee receiver had more than 44 yards. Tight end Jonnu Smith had that exact total on six catches. Corey Davis (2-30) was stymied because of the quarterbacking situation.

Derrick Henry wasted eight of his nine carries, which he took for 46 yards. One was a 16-yard burst, but Henry didn’t do much else. Henry actually was nearly responsible for a Mariota interception because of a dropped pass. Dion Lewis (10-24) didn’t do much either aside from one nice run on the opening drive that featured a great spin move.

Giants 38, Buccaneers 35

The Giants continue to win meaningless games and ruin their draft positioning. They’ve come up with two straight victories, which will make selecting Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert in the 2019 NFL Draft extremely difficult. All because the Giants refused to bench Eli Manning in favor of Kyle Lauletta during the bye week.

Manning played very well once again, but did so against another horrible defense. The Buccaneers entered this game down a couple of defensive linemen, their entire starting linebacking corps and their best safety. They had absolutely no chance to stop anything the Giants were doing, as New York established a 31-14 lead before garbage time.

Tampa’s defense was so bad that Manning misfired on just ONE pass throughout the entire afternoon. Yes, you read that correctly. He had just a single incompletion. Manning was 17-of-18 for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

Manning was as good as those numbers indicate. He opened with a 41-yard bomb to Odell Beckham Jr. and then found Saquon Barkley for a score in the flat, as no one was covering him. Manning hit his first 11 attempts for 128 yards, torching the Buccaneers mercilessly. Had the Buccaneers kept this game close before garbage time, Manning’s yardage total would’ve been much better.

Barkley was expected to have a huge performance, and he did not disappoint. Facing a completely depleted Tampa linebacking corps, Barkley ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. He also caught two passes for 10 receiving yards and yet another touchdown.

Beckham led the Giants in receiving, snatching all four of his targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. Evan Engram (2-66) caught a 54-yard pass to set up a second-half touchdown, while Sterling Shepard (2-22) had a long catch negated by replay review.

As for the Buccaneers’ offense, the “Fitzmagic” could be finished for good. Ryan Fitzpatrick was utterly atrocious in this game. He was once again extremely sloppy in the red zone. He made three trips to the red zone in the opening half. The first saw him fumble and then get stuffed on a fourth-down sneak. Fitzpatrick scored on a rushing touchdown on the second red-zone trip, but the touchdown shouldn’t have counted because replay showed Fitzpatrick being shy of the goal line on the fourth-down scramble. The third red-zone trip concluded with an interception, as Fitzpatrick made a terrible throw toward O.J. Howard.

The poor play continued after intermission. Fitzpatrick was responsible for a pick-six on a weird play in which Janoris Jenkins dropped the interception, but the ball popped into the arms of Alec Ogletree, who ran back the other way for a touchdown. Fitzpatrick was given one more chance, and he lobbed up a lollipop throw into the end zone that was easily picked off.

Fitzpatrick’s day was over at 13-of-21 for 167 yards and three interceptions. Jameis Winston entered the game and engineered some scoring drives, albeit in garbage time. Winston went 12-of-16 for 199 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Winston also fumbled in the red zone, but Mike Evans was able to fall on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

Winston looked good, but the Giants weren’t exactly trying because they were up 31-14. Besides, we’ve seen Tampa quarterbacks thrive in late, meaningless action off the bench. Winston could just as easily revert to the interception machine we saw at Cincinnati. At this rate, the Buccaneers might as well give Ryan Griffin a shot.

Evans caught six of his seven targets for 120 yards and a touchdown. He also recovered the ball in the end zone for another score. Adam Humphries (3-60) reeled in Winston’s other touchdown.

Elsewhere in the receiving corps, both Chris Godwin (3-50) and DeSean Jackson (4-38) had disappointing afternoons. Howard (5-78) was second on the receiving list.

Despite the Buccaneers trailing by double digits for most of the afternoon, Peyton Barber somehow eclipsed the century mark, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown on just 18 attempts.

Texans 23, Redskins 21

Thirty-three years ago to this very day, legendary Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann saw his career end on the infamous Lawrence Taylor tackle. Theismann, the 1983 MVP, suffered a compound fracture of his leg when Taylor brought him down during a Monday night game. Now, 33 years later, Alex Smith appeared to have broke his leg in a similar manner when he took a sack from multiple Texans in the third quarter. It was a gruesome injury, and the medical staff wasted no time in summoning the cart to remove Smith from the field.

Smith’s season is over, and his future as a starter in the NFL is in doubt. Smith had a failed year in Washington, and the consensus might be that his success in the NFL has been because of the coaching he received from Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid. Teams may doubt Smith coming off this injury, so he may have to settle for a backup role, assuming he can ever play again.

The Redskins’ season isn’t over because they have a solid backup quarterback in Colt McCoy. The long-time Redskin was able to lead the team into the end zone twice, even giving his team the lead at 21-20. The Texans ultimately took the lead, but McCoy once again moved his team into Houston territory. Unfortunately for him, he ran out of time, and the Redskins had to try a 63-yard field goal to get the victory. The kick appeared to hit the crossbar due to an optical illusion on TV, but the attempt was actually well short.

Washington lost, but at least it knows that it’s in capable hands with McCoy. The backup completed just half of his passes – 6-of-12 – for 54 yards and a touchdown. He also scrambled well, gaining 35 yards on the ground on five rushes. The numbers aren’t pretty, but McCoy was dealing with a ferocious Houston front that had a big advantage against his banged-up offensive line. However, when Trent Williams is able to return from injury, the Redskins will be in better shape, and they’ll have a chance to win the division with McCoy.

McCoy’s stats weren’t impressive, but they were better than Smith’s. The veteran didn’t even complete half of his throws, going 12-of-27 for 135 yards and two interceptions. His first pick was taken back for a 101-yard touchdown, as Jordan Reed ran the wrong route in the end zone. Smith then tossed another interception into tight coverage. He also had poor fortune on one play, as Vernon Davis dropped what should’ve been a deep completion to set up Washington in the red zone.

Like McCoy, Smith was dealing with immense pressure throughout the afternoon, and the pair took five sacks in total. Smith also fumbled, but a defensive hold negated it. Neither Redskin quarterback had much of a chance, which makes McCoy’s multiple scoring drives that much more impressive.

Adrian Peterson didn’t post a great statistical performance either – 16 carries, 51 yards – but he scored twice. One of his touchdowns featured a cut that a running back his age shouldn’t make. Peterson, however, didn’t have much running room against Houston’s usually stout run defense, and the blocking wasn’t there because of the injuries on the offensive line.

Reed was responsible for Smith’s pick-six, but he played well otherwise, catching seven of his 11 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. He’s had a disappointing season, but finally came alive in this game. That might be a sign of things to come, but it could also be a byproduct of Houston being terrible against tight ends. Trey Quinn (4-49) and Josh Doctson (3-32) were the only other Redskins with more than 18 receiving yards.

The Texans, meanwhile, improved to 7-3, but they didn’t have a convincing victory. Their offensive line is in horrible shape, and the protection issues were prevalent throughout the afternoon.

Thanks to the poor blocking, the Texans converted just four of their 11 third downs. Deshaun Watson had no time to throw either on many occasions. There was one sequence in the opening half where Watson was strip-sacked (his teammate recovered) and then was picked when he was hit as he released the ball.

Watson finished 16-of-24 for 208 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The second pick was the result of a tipped pass. Watson could’ve been picked on another occasion, but a Redskin defender dropped the ball. Houston settled for a field goal on the drive, which was another instance in which the team failed in the red zone. That’s been a major issue that has plagued the Texans all year, as their problems deep in enemy territory have been the result of a poor offensive line, horrible coaching and a pedestrian running game.

Speaking of Houston’s ground attack, Lamar Miller gained 86 yards on 20 carries, which wasn’t a bad stat line, given that the Redskins had a major advantage in the trenches on this side of the ball. However, a chunk of Miller’s yardage came on a 21-yard burst, as he did very little otherwise.

DeAndre Hopkins scored an early touchdown, but his yardage total was relatively low. He caught five of his six targets for 56 yards and the score. Not shown in the box score was that Hopkins drew a defensive hold on Josh Norman on the final offensive possession to keep the clock ticking. Hopkins was also charged with a lost fumble, which was a horrible call by the officials because replay clearly showed that Hopkins never caught the pass, with the ball clearly hitting the ground.

Hopkins trailed Keke Coutee (5-77) on the receiving list. Demaryius Thomas, meanwhile, did absolutely nothing. He saw one target, yet failed to catch it.

Ravens 24, Bengals 21

The Ravens were going to make sure that Lamar Jackson didn’t lose the game for them in his first start. That was apparent on the opening possession, as Baltimore scored on a 75-yard drive that didn’t feature a single attempted pass. Everything was on the ground, as Jackson handed the ball off or scrambled out of RPOs.

Jackson would eventually attempt some passes, as offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg would make sure that his rookie quarterback would be able to have some simple throws on bootlegs and other play-action opportunities. Given that the Ravens were able to ram the ball down Cincinnati’s throat, the Bengals couldn’t exactly play the pass. Jackson had some success on his throws, and he even had a completion to Willie Snead wiped out by offensive pass interference at one point. However, Jackson didn’t have a completion longer than 23 yards, and he was also responsible for an interception in the second half that set up a Cincinnati touchdown. Jackson tried to make something happen with a late throw to the sideline, and it was easily picked off.

The Jackson interception allowed the Bengals to take the lead, and Cincinnati eventually led by eight. However, the Ravens went back to the ground game, and they were able to put together two scoring drives that had a total of 23 plays that ultimately gave Baltimore the victory.

Jackson finished 13-of-19 for 150 yards and an interception. The passing numbers weren’t pretty, but he was stellar as a rusher, tallying 117 yards on the ground on 27 scrambles. Jackson is a dynamic threat as a runner, but still needs to learn how to play quarterback in the NFL. In addition to his interception, Jackson was nearly picked on the second drive of the game after inexplicably breaking out of a sack. However, there was another occasion where Jackson escaped a sack and connected with John Brown for a 23-yard completion to set up a field goal just before halftime.

A star may have been born in Baltimore in this game, and it wasn’t Jackson. Undrafted rookie running back Gus Edwards took over for an ineffective Alex Collins (7-18, TD) and dominated Cincinnati’s defense. Edwards gained 115 yards and a touchdown on just 17 attempts. Edwards is the real deal, as I thought he looked great in the preseason. Edwards made the team despite being a UDFA, and his hard work has paid off. Edwards could be Baltimore’s lead back going forward, and he must be added in every single format.

With the Ravens running way more often than throwing, neither Michael Crabtree (1-7) nor John Brown (1-23) did much. Willie Snead appears to be Jackson’s favorite target. He caught five of the eight balls thrown to him for 51 yards.

Meanwhile, Andy Dalton went 19-of-36 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t play poorly considering the circumstances. Dalton, of course, was missing A.J. Green and happened to be battling a defense that had gotten healthy during the bye week. The fact that Dalton didn’t turn the ball over and gave his team a chance to pull the upset has to be considered a minor victory.

Dalton’s afternoon was a mixed performance. Things nearly started horribly when two of his passes were dropped interceptions on the second drive. He eventually improved and made some clutch throws with pressure in his face. Baltimore’s pass rush ultimately won out, however, as Dalton’s offensive line couldn’t hold up versus the Ravens’ stalwart front seven.

With Green out of the lineup, the Ravens made sure to double team Dalton’s lone, viable receiver, Tyler Boyd. Baltimore limited Boyd to four catches on 11 targets for 71 yards. C.J. Uzomah (3-41) was next on the receiving list.

Dalton’s touchdowns went to second-year receiver John Ross and someone named Matt Lengel. Ross caught two balls for 27 yards on seven targets and dropped a pass. It’s not a surprise that Ross was so woefully inefficient.

With the Ravens not needing to worry about the pass, they were able to concentrate on stuffing Joe Mixon. The second-year back was limited to just 14 yards on 12 carries, but was able to help his fantasy owners with a touchdown and also three catches for 38 receiving yards.

Lions 20, Panthers 19
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I don’t think Ron Rivera should be criticized for going for the win at the end. The way his defense was playing, Matthew Stafford easily could’ve gotten into field goal range to break a 20-20 tie. Besides, there’s no guarantee that Graham Gano would’ve hit the extra point, given that he had some misses earlier.

With a painful road loss to Detroit, the Panthers all but killed their hopes of winning the NFC South, given that the Saints dropped the Eagles in New Orleans. The Lions’ slim playoff hopes survived in large part because Carolina kicker Graham Gano had a terrible game, missing a short field goal and an extra point. This was a game that Carolina should have won and which could prove very costly later in the season.

On the opening drive, the Panthers moved the ball with Cam Newton throwing some good passes downfield through the Detroit defense. Newton eventually found Greg Olsen (2-9-1) wide open in the end zone for the touchdown. Detroit promptly tied the game with a drive led by Kerryon Johnson, who ripped off good yardage and finished the possession with an 8-yard touchdown.

Stafford led a drive into Carolina territory late in the opening half, but the Lions had to settle for a 54-yard field goal from Matt Prater. Newton then made a mistake in throwing a ball up for grabs, which was picked off by Lions cornerback Tracey Walker. Carolina’s defense came up with a stop, and Detroit took a 10-7 lead into the half.

Early in the third quarter, Newton connected with D.J. Moore about 15 yards downfield, and then Moore exploded down the field for an 82-yard gain to the Detroit 12-yard line. A sack by Jarrad Davis held the Panthers to a field goal attempt, and Gano missed that 34-yard kick. Detroit took advantage with Stafford distributing the ball to his receivers, including chunk gains to Theo Riddick (5-30) and Bruce Ellington (6-52) for about 40 yards to set up a short Prater field goal.

Newton got in rhythm early in the fourth quarter, using five different receivers to move the ball from his 8-yard line. Curtis Samuel (5-55-1) made a superb leaping touchdown grab, but Gano missed the extra point, leaving the game tied at 13.

The Lions got in position to take the lead thanks to a third-down conversion with a shovel pass to Riddick and then finding Kenny Golladay for a 36-yard gain. To finish the drive, Golladay made a great touchdown catch, with Stafford throwing a beautiful pass, for a 19-yard score.

Christian McCaffrey got wide open for a 34-yard gain into Detroit territory late in the fourth quarter. A pass to Samuel moved it inside the 30-yard line, and then a 21-yard pass to Jarius Wright got Carolina inside the Detroit 10-yard line. Newton then found D.J. Moore for the touchdown. At 20-19 with just over a minute remaining, the Panthers decided to go for two, but Newton overthrew a wide open Wright.

Stafford completed 23-of-37 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown. Golladay led the Lions with eight receptions for 113 yards and a score.

Kerryon Johnson ran for 87 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown, but in the third quarter, Johnson went out with a knee injury.

Newton completed 25-of-37 passes for 357 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Moore led Carolina with seven catches for 157 yards with a touchdown. Devin Funchess (2-39) had an awful game with four dropped passes, including a touchdown and two others that were downfield and would have gone for big gains.

McCaffrey ran for 53 yards on 13 carries with six receptions for 57 yards.

Steelers 20, Jaguars 16
By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you want to know how little confidence the Jaguars have in Blake Bortles, they ran on a third-and-10 in Pittsburgh territory at the beginning of the second quarter. I have to imagine that Jacksonville fans will be thrilled when Bortles is finally gone, and I imagine that the coaches feel the same way!

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost two games to the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, and those were two huge games, with one a massive beatdown in the regular season during which Ben Roethlisberger was picked off five times, and the other a high-scoring loss in the playoffs that kept Pittsburgh out of the AFC Championship game. Now in Week 11 of this season, Jacksonville appeared to once again own the Steelers’ soul, intercepting Roethlisberger three times and taking a seemingly insurmountable 16-point lead deep into the third quarter. And as you already know by the score up at the top of this wrap-up though, the Steelers completely turned the tables and scored 20 unanswered points in the last 16 minutes and 17 seconds to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.

Jacksonville’s defense was truly dominant, forcing three interceptions, a turnover on downs and five punts through the first 43 minutes of the game. Roethlisberger couldn’t get anything going, plus Jalen Ramsey made two great interceptions, with one being a great juggling grab in the end zone, while covering Antonio Brown, on the Steelers’ only strong drive out of their first nine.

The sheer dominance wasn’t only defensively either, as the Jaguars had no trouble picking up chunk yardage every time they ran the ball. On the day, they ran it 43 times for 179 yards and a touchdown, which is dominant, but in the first half, it looked like they were on track for 300 yards rushing. And even though the Steelers couldn’t make a first down without a Jacksonville penalty through most of the first half, the Jaguars had trouble finishing off their drives for more than a field goal, which gave them just a 9-0 lead going into halftime.

The Jaguars did finally put together a big-time touchdown drive after Roethlisberger’s third interception, the back-breaker in the end zone by Jalen Ramsey. Jacksonville took that possession midway through the third quarter and marched down the field 80 yards, fueled by two big catch-and-runs by Fournette and plenty of Fournette and Carlos Hyde running the ball. Fittingly, Fournette took it in for a 2-yard dive into the end zone to make it 16-0.

Losing a chance to cut the game to a two-point deficit with the end zone interception and then allowing the Jaguars to go 80 yards in six minutes looked like the end for Pittsburgh, but with their offense, one big play can set things back on course. That came on their very next drive, as Roethlisberger pump faked the safety out of position and hit Antonio Brown for a 78-yard touchdown. The Steelers then missed the two-point play and were still down 16-6 with a quarter left.

After that touchdown, Pittsburgh’s defense stepped up and forced four straight punts, while the Jacksonville offense tallied negative three yards. And that was the Jaguars’ downfall, as their defense couldn’t stop a Steelers team that has averaged 31 points a game this year, from finally getting their offense moving.

It wasn’t easy though. The Steelers had to punt after going backward on the possession after their big touchdown, and then, still down 10, they went for it on fourth down on their possession after that and the Jaguars stopped them. That left Pittsburgh down 10 points with fewer than seven minutes remaining in the game, but the Steelers’ defense continued to dominate and got the ball back to their offense. Finally, Pittsburgh put its own 80-yard drive together with JuJu Smith-Schuster leading the way and Vance McDonald making a terrific 10-yard touchdown grab in the back of the end zone to pull the Steelers within three points with 2:28 left on the clock.

With little time on the clock, the Steelers had to think about an onside kick, but the way their defense had been getting to Blake Bortles and the conservative offense the Jaguars had been running, made it an easy decision to kick away. That turned out to be the correct decision, as the Jagaurs ran Fournette up the middle three times for six yards and punted away, giving Roethlisberger and company 1:37 on the clock at their own 32-yard line.

The inevitable ended up happening, as Roethlisberger hit Smith-Schuster for a 35-yard gain and Brown for a 25-yard gain, setting up Roethlisberger for an old-man 1-yard touchdown dive to put his team on top for the first time, with five seconds left.

That final scoring drive was not without its craziness, as James Conner dropped a sure touchdown pass – prompting Twitter to report that “Le’Veon Bell would have caught have caught that!” – and an interception in the end zone was rightfully overturned after a facemask penalty.

Here is how you lose games: In the Jaguars’ final four possessions, they ran Fournette up the middle 11 times for 18 yards, were sacked twice and had Bortles complete two passes for 18 yards on four attempts. I would understand if the running game had been working like it was earlier in the game, but it hadn’t, and giving it to Fournette up the middle was conceding that they would rest all of their hopes on their defense, a defense that was likely feeling pretty worn down at this point.

Next Gen Stats had Ramsey, who had dominated early in the game, as allowing five completions on six targets in the fourth quarter, and I blame Bortles for being bad at his job.

The Steelers ended up sacking Bortles six times, which was not helped by Jacksonville being forced to play Ereck Flowers at left tackle, who was their fourth left tackle to play this season. T.J. Watt got to him twice to push his sack total up to 10 on the year.

The Jaguars have now lost six in a row and better be planning on finding a quarterback to match their defensive efforts, while the Steelers have won six in a row. With the upset thwarted, the Steelers will stay on the road and head to Denver, while the Jaguars will go to Buffalo, which will likely be the must-not-watch game of the week.

Raiders 23, Cardinals 21
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Maaaannnn, that called-back David Johnson touchdown. That would’ve helped me in so many facets. I had a unit on the Cardinals, who would’ve been covering the spread with that touchdown. I also had Johnson going in one fantasy league and multiple DFS lineups. And yet, that stupid official called a hold! Never mind the fact that it was a legitimate penalty – that ref obviously hates me and wants to destroy me!

Perhaps this was a Pyrrhic victory for the Raiders, because it could end up costing them the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft as now they are tied at two wins with the Cardinals and 49ers. Given all the criticism of Jon Gruden, it is good for the morale of the Raiders organization to get another victory. Arizona ended up improving its draft positioning by losing to Oakland and the Giants getting their third win of the season, so it was not a complete loss on Sunday for Cardinals. Still, the Arizona defense and Josh Rosen had some struggles against one of the worst teams in the league, so that does not portend well for Steve Keim and the Cardinals’ management.

Rosen threw a terrible pass on the first drive of the game that was easily picked off by Gareon Conley, which set up Oakland at the Cardinals’ 33-yard line. Derek Carr found Jared Cook (3-31-1) wide open for a 23-yard touchdown a few plays later. Arizona responded by using David Johnson to move the ball down the field. Poor field vision by Rosen allowed big plays and scores to escape Arizona, with Rosen not seeing either Christian Kirk (3-77-1) or J.J. Nelson open downfield. But the Raiders’ defense kept providing chances, and Rosen finally saw he had an open receiver with Larry Fitzgerald scoring on an 18-yard strike. Arizona took the lead via a wide receiver screen to Kirk, who raced down the field for a 59-yard touchdown.

Rosen threw another interception via an inaccurate pass that was tipped in the air and picked off by Karl Joseph. Good runs by Doug Martin (10-52) and DeAndre Washington (12-39) moved the ball close to the end zone, and Carr threw a bullet to Brandon LaFell (2-29-1) who got open against Patrick Peterson for the touchdown. That tied the game at 14 at halftime.

To open the third quarter, Jalen Richard ripped off a 24-yard run and a 16-yard catch to get Oakland a field goal. A pass to LaFell and Cardinals penalties set up another field goal for the Raiders. Arizona’s offense was pathetic in the second half until David Johnson broke off a 53-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. Rosen was lucky not to have thrown an interception from there, as he got away with a telegraphed pass to Kirk for about 15 yards. On the next play, Rosen threw a short touchdown strike to Fitzgerald. That put Arizona up 21-20 with about five minutes remaining.

The Raiders had a few more possessions because the Cardinals could not run the clock out. Arizona made some terrible mental mistakes and let the win get away. Jermaine Gresham had an unnecessary roughness way after the play, and that stopped the clock with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining when the Raiders were out of timeouts. The yardage also also helped set up manageable field position for the Raiders when they should have been pinned deep in their own territory. On the final drive of the game, Carr hit rookie Marcell Ateman (4-50) for two receptions of over 40 yards, and then a 20-yard pass to Seth Roberts set up Daniel Carlson to make a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the game.

Carr finished completing 19-of-31 for 192 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Richard was Oakland’s leading rusher with 61 yards on 11 carries, while Ateman led the team in receiving with four catches for 50 yards.

Rosen was only 9-of-20 for 136 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Fitzgerald had two catches for 23 yards and two touchdowns.

David Johnson ran for 137 yards on 25 carries and added a 17-yard reception. He had a long touchdown called back for a penalty.

Broncos 23, Chargers 22

The Chargers suffered a major loss in this game, and I’m not talking about the overall outcome. They watched their best interior defensive lineman, Corey Liuget, get carted off the field in the second quarter. When you also factor in that the Chargers also saw their top linebacker, Denzel Perryman, suffer a recent season-ending injuries, it has to create worry that San Angeles will struggle down the stretch.

Despite the Liuget injury, it’s still mildly surprising that the Chargers lost to the Broncos. This was the stereotypical Charger loss, as they constantly made mistakes. Their first two possessions featured trips deep into Denver territory, yet the Chargers came away with just six points because of four combined penalties on those possessions once they crossed midfield. The Chargers, who committed eight penalties in the first 20 minutes, also allowed a fake punt conversion that set up a touchdown. Meanwhile, their kicker missed an extra point.

Philip Rivers was at fault as well, as he made two absolutely crushing mistakes in the second half. The first occurred when his team was up 19-7. Rivers threw an interception when Von Miller made a great read on a screen attempt, which set up a Royce Freeman touchdown to cut the margin to five.

Rivers’ second horrible mistake occurred on his final snap. Rivers was planning to attempt a pass on a third down near midfield while trying to run out the clock. Rivers saw some pressure and threw the ball away to avoid a sack. This was a huge blunder, as Rivers would’ve been better off taking the sack. Had he gone down, the clock would’ve kept moving. Instead, the Broncos were granted an extra stoppage, and the yards Rivers saved were irrelevant because the ball was close to midfield. With these extra 40 seconds, the Broncos had just enough time to engineer a game-winning drive, featuring 38- and 30-yard receptions by Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton, respectively.

Rivers threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-43 passing, but he’ll be kicking himself for blowing this lead and then giving the Broncos a victory on a silver platter. Rivers threw a second interception, but that wasn’t really his fault because the play began with a botched snap.

Despite seeing Chris Harris, Keenan Allen thrived in this game. Allen caught nine of his 12 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. This was a big change from last year, when Allen struggled in two matchups against the Broncos.

Rivers’ second touchdown was thrown to Antonio Gates (5-80), who became the latest tight end to torch Denver’s inept linebackers. Mike Williams also contributed with two grabs for 56 yards.

Melvin Gordon didn’t have a big day on the ground, gaining 69 yards on 18 carries. However, he was a big factor in the passing attack, as he snatched all six of his targets for 87 receiving yards. Gordon had a long reception one occasion in which he impressively dragged several defenders.

The Broncos, meanwhile, were able to get Case Keenum to engineer a great scoring drive to win the game, which was mildly surprising because Keenum struggled for most of the afternoon. For instance, Keenum was just 9-of-17 for 56 yards in the opening half, and he had just 119 passing yards prior to the final possession. However, to his credit, Keenum came up big when it mattered most.

Keenum finished 19-of-32 for 205 yards. His depleted offensive line struggled mightily against the Chargers’ great pressure.

As mentioned earlier, both Sanders and Sutton had long catches on the final drive. Sanders caught four passes for 56 yards. He appeared to fumble on one occasion, but replay review ruled it to be a drop. Sutton, meanwhile, caught three of his six targets for 78 yards. He was flagged for an early offensive pass interference.

Royce Freeman returned from injury and vultured a touchdown from Phillip Lindsay, but Lindsay still had a huge performance. Lindsay tallied 79 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 attempts while also catching four of his five targets for 27 receiving yards. One of Lindsay’s scores was a thing of beauty, as he took a direct snap and waited patiently for his blocks to open up before finding a lane into the end zone.

Saints 48, Eagles 7

If it weren’t for the Redskins’ two losses this week – the actual defeat, plus Alex Smith’s injury – you could say that the Eagles were completely finished at 4-6. They still have two games left against the Colt McCoy-led Redskins, so they can make up ground. However, they’ll have to do so after suffering even more injuries.

The Eagles came into this game down numerous players, and they just kept watching key individuals go down. This week, it was Pro Bowl center Jason Kelce, who suffered a wrist injury in the opening quarter and barely played as a result. Meanwhile, the Eagles lost two more cornerbacks, as Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox both left the field in the opening half. Already down two of their top three cornerbacks, the Eagles are completely decimated at the position.

With a banged-up group of cornerbacks to throw against, Drew Brees didn’t face much of a challenge. He completely annihilated Philadelphia’s skeleton-crew defense. The Saints scored on nearly every possession, and they could’ve posted 60-plus on the scoreboard had they not taken their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter.

Brees misfired on just eight occasions, going 22-of-30 for 363 yards and four touchdowns. One of the top two MVP candidates – along with Patrick Mahomes – Brees did something different this game. Rather than pepper Michael Thomas with countless targets, he spread the ball around to his other weapons, as the Eagles’ injury-ravaged group of cornerbacks had no chance of covering any of Brees’ weapons. Brees dissected the Eagles easily, seeing no pressure despite the absence of left tackle Terron Armstead.

Thomas still caught four passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, but he wasn’t on top of the receiving chart for a change. That was rookie Tre’Quan Smith, who smoked Philadelphia’s secondary. He hauled in 10 of his 13 targets for 157 yards and a score. If Smith continues to play this well, New Orleans will be completely unstoppable, especially inside its dome.

Alvin Kamara didn’t have his usual, dominant game, but still had a strong showing. He rushed for 71 yards on just 13 carries. He also caught only pass, but made it count, scoring on a 37-yard reception. Meanwhile, Mark Ingram saw more work, as the Saints were content to run out the clock in the second half. Ingram gained 103 yards and two touchdowns on 16 tries. Ingram had 11 carries in the second half, compared to just five by Kamara.

Meanwhile, the Eagles didn’t stand much of a chance after their Pro Bowl center left the game. Carson Wentz saw a ton of pressure as a result. He was sacked only three times, but consistent heat in the pocket forced some terrible throws.

Wentz finished 19-of-33 for 156 yards and three interceptions, two of which were underthrown deep balls into double coverage. Wentz was just trying to make something happen in what he figured would be a shootout, but the Eagles couldn’t keep up.

Newly acquired Golden Tate struggled once again. He actually led the Eagles in receiving – five catches, 48 yards – but he and Wentz weren’t on the same page on some occasions. This isn’t a surprise, as it’s difficult to integrate new receivers in an offense during the middle of the season.

Jordan Matthews (3-37) and Alshon Jeffery (4-33) followed Tate in the box score. Zach Ertz (2-15) was much lower, as the Saints sent constant double teams his way. With Ertz taken out of commission, Wentz appeared to be completely discombobulated.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson promised to give Josh Adams more carries, and he wasn’t lying. Between Adams, Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood, they combined for 10 carries. Adams had seven of them for 53 yards and a touchdown. Adams would’ve seen more work had the Eagles not been in a big, early hole.

Bears 25, Vikings 20

Like it or not, the Bears are a Super Bowl contender. They have a prolific defense, a strong offensive line and dynamic skill-position players. They had a huge mismatch in this game, with their defensive front going up against Minnesota’s weak offensive line. For three-and-a-half quarters, the Bears dominated in the trenches, with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks winning their matchups with ease. Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter when the Bears were a bit fatigued, but they managed to recover an onside kick at the very end to win their seventh game of the season. The victory gave them a commanding lead of the NFC North.

That said, the Bears should’ve won this game by more than five points. Minnesota shouldn’t have had a chance at the end. By halftime, the Bears were outgaining the Vikings, 202-77, and they were averaging 1.8 more yards per play. Yet, the Bears were up just 14-0 at that point, and it appeared as though they might suffer a meltdown like they did against the Packers and Dolphins earlier in the year. It started when Mitchell Trubisky overthrew Allen Robinson and was intercepted as a result. They set up a Minnesota field goal. Tarik Cohen then fumbled the ball as he was dancing around in the backfield, and after recovering, the Vikings kicked another three. It was suddenly a one-score game, and this contest was nearly tied when Trubisky had a pick-six that was dropped.

Chicago’s offense, initially very hot, was suddenly reeling, but the defense helped them out greatly with a pick-six, as Kirk Cousins overshot Laquon Treadwell. This put the Bears up 16, and the Vikings simply didn’t have enough time to mount a comeback.

We saw some good and some bad from Trubisky. The second-year quarterback showed off his dynamic rushing ability in the opening half – 10 scrambles, 43 rushing yards – and he converted some key third downs. However, he threw two interceptions. In addition to the overthrow to Robinson, he also heaved a pick into triple coverage early in the game. Trubisky is very sloppy at times, throwing ugly passes off his back foot. He needs to stop doing that before it really costs Chicago in a big game.

With Robinson shadowed by Xavier Rhodes, Trubisky threw mostly to Taylor Gabriel, who caught seven of his nine targets for 52 yards. Gabriel led the Bears in receiving, followed by Robinson (3-39) and Anthony Miller (2-25), who made an impressive touchdown catch.

Jordan Howard didn’t find much running room, mustering 63 yards on 18 carries. Cohen’s rushing yardage paled in comparison (7-27), but he was shot out of a cannon on a 21-yard burst on a second-and-21 to move the chains in the third quarter. Cohen caught three passes for 23 receiving yards.

The Vikings, meanwhile, had trouble generating offense because of Chicago’s pass rush. The Bears forced Cousins into multiple mistakes. Cousins started by overthrowing Stefon Diggs for a touchdown. He then should’ve been picked off, but cornerback Bryce Callahan dropped an extremely easy interception. Cousins was picked on an overthrow right before halftime, and he followed that up with the aforementioned pick-six.

Cousins finished 30-of-46 for 262 yards, two touchdowns and the pair of interceptions. Cousins should’ve thrown just one score, but was gifted a second when a late drive was kept alive with a horribly called helmet-to-helmet penalty on a throw to Kyle Rudolph that was really a hit to the shoulder. Fortunately for the Bears, this awful call didn’t cost them the game.

The Bears cover slot receivers extremely well, which is why Adam Thielen was limited to seven catches for 66 yards. Diggs was Cousins’ primary target in this contest, as he reeled in 13 of his 18 targets for 126 yards and a touchdown. Aldrick Robinson (2-24) snatched Cousins’ other score.

With Hicks mauling Minnesota’s interior linemen, Dalvin Cook had absolutely no running room. Cook was restricted to just 12 yards on nine carries. He also lost a fumble in the opening quarter.

Rams 54, Chiefs 51

In the highest-scoring Monday Night Football game of all time, and the third-highest-scoring NFL game in history, it’s ironic that the result was defined by some key defensive plays.

The Chiefs had the first big defensive play when Jared Goff was strip-sacked, setting up a Chiefs touchdown. They later scored on another turnover when Justin Houston beat left tackle Andrew Whitworth to strip-sack Goff once again. However, the Rams had the more significant defensive plays. Aaron Donald forced a fumble from Patrick Mahomes in the second quarter, which was returned by Samson Ebukam for a touchdown. Mahomes was then pick-sixed by a defensive lineman on a battled ball to extend the Rams’ advantage to 40-30.

The Chiefs fought back and took the lead. The two teams were then on the seesaw, trading touchdowns, but Mahomes had a pair of chances to win the game at the end. Mahomes fell short, however, because of two more turnovers. Both were interceptions. The first occurred because Ebukam hit Mahomes as he released the ball. The second was a desperation heave with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, and it iced the victory for the Rams.

This game was a mirror image of the Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl thriller, where both offenses were humming, and yet a big defensive play decided the contest. That’s what happened here, except it was two big turnovers at the very end.

The quarterbacking play in this game was insane. Despite the loss, and the two picks at the end, Mahomes performed brilliantly. He threw six touchdowns, putting him side by side with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady for most touchdowns thrown in the first 11 games of a season. Mahomes, by the way, made just his 12th-career start. It’s scary to think how great he’s going to be with more experience.

Along with his six scores, Mahomes went 33-of-46 for 478 yards and three interceptions. Mahomes should’ve been able to eclipse the 500-yard barrier, but was betrayed by some drops. Travis Kelce had two of them, including one on a crucial third down. The other drop was on the final drive of the game that would’ve gone for 15 yards or so.

Jared Goff, meanwhile, battled Mahomes brilliantly, and he compared this game to a Cal versus Texas Tech bout. That’s what it felt like. Goff wasn’t as great as Mahomes on the stat sheet, but he came up huge in the fourth quarter. Goff finished 31-of-40 for 413 yards and four passing touchdown. He also had a rushing score.

As with Mahomes, Goff’s numbers could’ve been better. Several of his receivers drew interference flags, so those were yards that Goff lost. Brandin Cooks, who drew one of those flags, also dropped a deep ball. That said, the Chiefs had a chance to seal this game away with a Goff interception. Kansas City cornerback Orlando Scandrick, who was picked on all night, had a Goff pass go right through his hands in the final minutes in Rams territory. An interception there not only would’ve taken time off the clock, but it also would’ve given the Chiefs at least three more points. Instead, Scandrick dropped the ball, and Goff ultimately scored a touchdown on the drive.

Of all the skill position players, Tyreek Hill had the biggest game. Hill caught 10 of his 14 targets for a whopping 215 yards and two touchdowns. Hill caught a 73-yard bomb as Rams cornerback Sam Shields fell down. Hill later impressively toe-tapped his feet along the sideline before falling out of bounds.

Chris Conley also scored twice, catching seven of his eight targets for 74 yards. Kelce (10-127), meanwhile, also scored. He had a big stat line despite the two drops.

On the other side, Cooks led the Rams in receiving with eight grabs for 107 yards. As mentioned, he dropped a deep ball. He didn’t score either, but he at least drew an interference flag. Robert Woods (4-72) did as well, and he found the end zone. Josh Reynolds also had a huge night, as he caught six of his eight targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. Goff’s other two scores went to tight end Gerald Everett (3-49), including the game-winner.

With all of these crazy passing numbers, the running backs didn’t post great fantasy outputs. Kareem Hunt at least scored once on a reception. He gained 70 rushing yards on 14 carries while hauling in three catches for 41 receiving yards.

Todd Gurley, meanwhile, was limited to 55 yards on 12 carries while also catching three balls for 39 receiving yards. This was a frustrating night for Gurley fantasy owners, considering that there were 105 points scored in this game. Gurley was due for some regression after scoring an unreal number of touchdowns in the first 10 weeks of the season, but he’ll bounce back after the bye.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 15, 2024 – Late Games

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 15, 2024 – Early Games

NFL DraftKings Picks: Week 15

Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings – Quarterbacks

Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings – FLEX HALFPPR

Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings – FLEX PPR

NFL Game Recaps: Week 11, 2018

Related News