The Texans prevailed to claim the AFC South, but they had very little to do with this win. They were legitimately outgained, 435-229, and they averaged 2.4 fewer yards per play than the Buccaneers.
Really, all the Texans had to do was run the Bobby Boucher offense to achieve this victory. Kneeling down on every offensive snap would’ve been just enough, given how many times the Buccaneers shot themselves in the foot with dumb errors. This began immediately; Jameis Winston was pick-sixed on his first throw when Bradley Roby made a great play to jump the route. Winston appeared to be pick-sixed again on the next possession by Justin Reid, as Winston stared down his receiver, but an illegal block on the run back meant it was just a regular interception. On the following Tampa drive, an Ishmael Hyman hold negated a fourth-down conversion, leading to a blocked field goal.
If that wasn’t enough, Shaq Barrett was offside on a third-and-3, and then Winston overthrew two receivers for touchdowns on consecutive plays, though Justin Watson stumbled on one of those plays. Winston then heaved another interception on an inaccurate pass to Breshad Perriman. Just prior to intermission, Winston somehow overthrew two receivers on the same play!
The Buccaneers eventually got the game under control and were in a position to take the lead. Winston threw what appeared to be a fourth-down conversion to Cameron Brate, who had room to run. Brate, however, dropped the ball, allowing Houston to prevail.
Winston finished 25-of-48 for 335 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. His play was ghastly at times in this game. His fractured thumb definitely affected him on some occasions, but he doesn’t see the field properly, which leads to awful interceptions. Winston, however, also had some moments of brilliance, which has been par for the course with him this year. As a result, he’ll likely be franchised tagged this offseason.
Perriman was Winston’s leading receiver, hauling in seven of his 12 targets for 102 yards. He would’ve posted a much better stat line had Winston connected with him for a deep touchdown when Perriman was wide open. Perriman also nearly hauled in a decent gain along the sideline, but replay review showed that one of his feet happened to land out of bounds. Still, Perriman played well once again, so it’s possible that he has finally blossomed into a solid receiver after being deemed a first-round bust.
Winston’s sole touchdown went to Justin Watson, who caught five of his 10 targets for 43 yards. Watson should’ve scored a second time, but as mentioned, he stumbled out of his break, ruining a chance where he was wide open in the end zone.
Elsewhere, O.J. Howard (3-46) and Brate (2-17) posted highly disappointing numbers. Both had killer drops. I already discussed Brate’s. Howard’s drop negated a gain of about 25 yards.
It was the Ronald Jones show for the Buccaneers, as he had way more carries than Peyton Barber, 14-5. Jones gained 77 yards and also scored a touchdown. He made one mistake when he stumbled in the backfield to ruin a well-designed screen.
The Texans didn’t have nearly as much success running the ball, which wasn’t a surprise because the Buccaneers have an elite run defense. Carlos Hyde was limited to just 27 yards on 17 carries, though he managed to plunge into the end zone one play after an apparent Deshaun Watson-to-Darren Fells touchdown was overturned by replay review.
Watson actually led the Texans in rushing with seven scrambles for 37 rushing yards. This was despite Watson grabbing at his Achilles throughout the second half, which is certainly a concern. Watson also struggled as a passer, going 19-of-32 for only 184 yards and an interception on an ill-advised deep shot.
Part of the reason Watson struggled was because Will Fuller left the game with an injury. Fuller caught two passes for 11 yards, but quickly exited in the opening half, infuriating those who started him in their fantasy championships (i.e. me.) As a result, Kenny Stills led the Texans in receiving with five grabs for 57 yards.
Meanwhile, DeAndre Hopkins didn’t do much. He reeled in five of his nine targets for just 23 receiving yards. Watson missed Hopkins badly on some occasions, as it was apparent that the Houston quarterback was not 100 percent. With the division in hand, the Texans will be able to rest Watson next week.
Patriots 24, Bills 17
The Patriots dominated this game prior to intermission, outgaining Buffalo by nearly 100 yards, and yet the team trailed for the majority of the second half. Josh Allen hit some big plays, including a 53-yard touchdown bomb to John Brown and a 33-yard completion to Dawson Knox, who was tackled at the 1-yard line. Meanwhile, Julian Edelman was knocked out for a while with a concussion. The Patriots, who moved the chains well to start this contest, suddenly began sputtering without Edelman.
Edelman, however, managed to return in the fourth quarter, and he was part of the game-winning drive. The possession concluded with Rex Burkhead breaking two tackles in the backfield to scoot into the end zone for the decisive score.
The Patriots managed to hold off one final drive by the Bills to prevail and clinch the division. They will likely be the No. 2 seed, which means they’ll have a week off to improve their offense. Their scoring attack looked much better in this game despite battling a stellar Buffalo defense. Apparently, Bill Belichick is good at coaching and was able to figure out how to improve his team. It would be a huge mistake to count out the Patriots as a potential Super Bowl winner once again.
Tom Brady looked revitalized in this game, as he misfired on just seven occasions. He went 26-of-33 for 271 yards and a touchdown. He should’ve thrown a second score, but that was negated by a very bogus offensive pass interference. Brady did a great job of keeping the chains moving for most of the evening, as he converted 7-of-14 third downs. That was terrific when compared to Buffalo’s 2-of-11.
Brady’s leading receiver was Burkhead, who caught four passes for 77 receiving yards on top of his rushing touchdown. A big chunk of his yardage came on a 31-yard play on the final drive, but it ended with a lost fumble. Despite this, Burkhead rebounded and helped the team win.
Edelman likely would’ve led the team in receiving if he didn’t miss a chunk of the second half. He hauled in five balls for 72 yards. He and Burkhead were the only Patriots with more than 25 receiving yards, though Jakobi Meyers (3-25) and N’Keal Harry (2-21) contributed. Harry also had an 18-yard rush in which he broke several tackles, but was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sweep attempt right before halftime that allowed the Bills to score a touchdown prior to the break.
While Burkhead found the end zone, he wasn’t the team’s leading rusher. That was Sony Michel, who dashed for 96 yards on 21 carries. James White, who had 29 total yards, wasn’t used very much.
Devin Singletary continued to see the majority of the workload for the Bills. In fact, he handled every single carry among the running backs on the team. However, he didn’t have much room to run, as he was restricted to 46 yards on 15 carries.
Josh Allen nearly outgained Singletary on the ground, scrambling seven times for 43 rushing yards. However, he completed just half of his passes; he went 13-of-26 for 208 yards and two touchdowns.
Allen played better than the stats indicate, however. He was very clutch on the final drive with a trio of passes to Cole Beasley. Unfortunately for Allen, the drive finished on a sour note when he overthrew Knox in the end zone and then saw heavy pressure on the next two plays. Still, Allen was able to go toe to toe with Brady. I didn’t expect him to be this advanced in his second season; I figured he’d be here in 2020, so this is an encouraging sign for the Bills.
Beasley finished with a team-leading seven catches for 108 yards. He was much better than John Brown, who beat Stephon Gilmore’s coverage only once for his 53-yard touchdown.
49ers 34, Rams 31
Things looked grim for the 49ers on numerous occasions in this game, as the Rams were playing for their postseason lives. Los Angeles began with a touchdown on the opening drive, as the 49ers seemed helpless to stop Jared Goff with Sean McVay getting his quarterback out of the pocket. The Rams led by 11 twice in the opening half, but the 49ers’ defense finally stepped up when linebacker Fred Warner snatched a pick-six, making a great read on the play.
This turnover kept San Francisco within striking distance, but the Rams still had a four-point lead entering the final frame. However, Jimmy Garoppolo masterfully engineered an 83-yard touchdown drive to take the lead. Following a Rams field goal, Garoppolo was faced with a pair of third-and-16 plays. He hit Kendrick Bourne with a 17-yard strike by threading the needle the first time, then heaved a 46-yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders, who got open via a blown coverage by rookie safety Taylor Rapp. Sanders fell down for some reason after making the catch; otherwise, he would’ve scored the decisive touchdown. Instead, Robbie Gould had to try a 33-yard field goal, which he converted to give San Francisco its 12th victory of the season.
Despite the win, there are a couple of concerns for the 49ers. First, Garoppolo did not play a good game despite his fourth-quarter heroics. He held on to the ball way too long in the pocket, as he waited for his receivers to get open rather than anticipating throws. Garoppolo took six sacks, going 16-of-27 for 248 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the process. One pick wasn’t really his fault, as the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but the other was the result of him staring down his receiver, allowing Jalen Ramsey to snatch the easy turnover.
The second problem was the play of the cornerbacks not named Richard Sherman and K’Wuan Williams. San Francisco allowed Goff to torch them mercilessly, as the constantly frazzled quarterback went 27-of-46 for 323 yards, two touchdowns and the aforementioned pick-six. Goff could’ve been picked off on a second occasion in the fourth quarter on a blatant drop by a San Francisco defensive back, but this loss certainly wasn’t his fault. Nevertheless, the Rams have been eliminated from the playoffs in the wake of this defeat.
Going back to the 49ers, George Kittle led his team in receiving, catching five of his eight targets for 79 yards and a touchdown that gave the 49ers the lead in the fourth quarter. Sanders (3-61) was next on the receiving list, followed by Deebo Samuel (4-31). Sanders owners will understandably be upset that Sanders couldn’t keep his feet.
Raheem Mostert didn’t disappoint his fantasy owners, but he didn’t have a great game either. He rushed for 53 yards on just 11 carries, but scored a touchdown in the process. Tevin Coleman (5-33) was also mixed in, while Matt Breida was nowhere to be found.
Todd Gurley was the best fantasy running back in this contest because he was able to find the end zone twice. However, the 49ers did a great job of limiting him to just 48 yards on 15 attempts. Gurley did not look like the same running back as we’re used to seeing. Hopefully he can make a recovery this offseason. If the Rams are smart, they’ll hold him out of their meaningless Week 17 affair against the Cardinals.
Tyler Higbee continued to be a great surprise. He eclipsed the century mark once again despite Gerald Everett’s return to action. He caught nine of his 11 targets for 104 yards, though he dropped a pass that should’ve been a 20-yard completion. He trailed only Robert Woods (8-117) on the receiving list.
Elsewhere in the Rams’ receiving corps, Cooper Kupp saw just four targets, but he converted all of them (31 yards) and found the end zone to save his fantasy owners from a very disappointing result. Brandin Cooks (4-39) also scored. He received six targets.
Ravens 31, Browns 15
It seemed for a while that the Ravens would suffer yet another embarrassing loss to the Browns. Lamar Jackson threw wide of the mark on an early fourth down, and then he and Mark Ingram combined for a fumble on a read option. Cleveland, meanwhile, was able to capitalize on several penalties – a defensive holding while Baker Mayfield was in the grasp, an offside on a fourth down, and a poor pass interference call on an uncatchable pass – to eventually find the end zone.
The Browns were up 6-0 and seemed primed to pull a staggering upset. And then, reality set in. Jackson became unstoppable, scoring touchdowns on his next three drives. The Ravens were quickly up by double digits, allowing them to easily prevail despite some late-game misfortune.
That dark cloud over Baltimore’s 13th win was the injury Mark Ingram suffered in the second half. Ingram hurt his leg on a non-contact injury, which is usually terrible news. Perhaps that won’t be the case this time, but it could still hurt the Ravens’ playoff run. Mark Andrews also got banged up at the end, but he should be fine with a couple of weeks off.
Jackson was his usual MVP self, going 20-of-31 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. He also scrambled 17 times for 103 rushing yards. Jackson struggled with his passing in the opening quarter, but quickly got into a rhythm and became prolific once again.
Ingram had just eight carries because of the injuries, turning those attempts into 55 yards, though he scored a receiving touchdown. He was outgained by Gus Edwards (12-66) because he left the game early. Both were vultured by Justice Hill (3-19) at the very end.
Andrews, meanwhile, managed to lead the team in receiving with six catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns despite leaving early with his injury. He was also flagged for a bogus offensive pass interference in the end zone. Marquise Brown caught just a single pass for six yards, but he was open in the end zone at one point in the fourth quarter, but Jackson didn’t see him.
The Browns, meanwhile, had Baker Mayfield going 20-of-33 for 192 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a desperate deep shot. Mayfield appeared to throw a second pick, but replay review showed that the ball grazed the ground as a Baltimore defender tried to scoop it. Mayfield had some nice moments, but struggled for most of the afternoon. Some angry fans booed and yelled at Mayfield, who has been a huge disappointment in his second NFL season.
Odell Beckham caught one of Mayfield’s touchdowns, and he also drew an interference flag in the end zone, albeit on an uncatchable pass. Beckham also had a negative moment, as a taunting penalty of his ruined a promising drive in the opening quarter. Beckham, who spent some time engaged in a shouting match with inept head coach Freddie Kitchens, trailed only Jarvis Landry (7-74) in the box score.
The Browns didn’t feel the need to run the ball very much once again, as Nick Chubb received just 15 carries. He turned those attempts into 45 yards, while Kareem Hunt did all of the work as a receiver out of the backfield, catching four passes for 33 receiving yards.
Falcons 24, Jaguars 12
When a team hears that its head coach will be retained the following season, it usually plays hard. That certainly was not the case with the Jaguars, who put forth a very lackluster effort in this contest. Their defense allowed an easy opening touchdown to the Falcons and then their special teams fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Atlanta recovered and quickly found the end zone once again. Just like that, the Falcons were up 14-0, and yet the game had barely just started.
Atlanta didn’t do much offensively after that, as a red zone trip was ruined by Ryan throwing an interception into tight coverage. Still, it felt like the Falcons could’ve named the score of this game had they felt threatened at all by Jacksonville.
Ryan finished 32-of-45 for 384 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He would’ve posted a monster stat line if the Jaguars were able to be competitive, as evidenced by his 237-yard total in the opening half.
Julio Jones was also cheated out of not being able to do much in the second half. Still, Jones was able to catch 10 of his 15 targets for 166 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, however, and neither did Austin Hooper (7-82), who was second on the receiving list.
Devonta Freeman did all of the scoring. He rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while catching nine of his 11 targets for 74 receiving yards and a second score. Freeman made an amazing back-shoulder reception in the second half.
Leonard Fournette didn’t have the same sort of fantasy outing Freeman enjoyed, as he was able to run just 15 times because of the constant deficit. He turned those 15 carries into 71 yards. He also caught three balls for 34 receiving yards.
Gardner Minshew was woeful against a poor defense, going 13-of-31 for 181 yards and a touchdown. Minshew had his full complement of receivers, so there are no excuses. Perhaps this means Minshew Mania is mercifully over. If so, here are the 2020 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospect Rankings for Jacksonville to consider.
Chris Conley caught Minshew’s touchdown, and he also led his team in receiving with tw catches for 56 yards. D.J. Chark (2-18) was a huge disappointment, as he was very inefficient on his seven targets. Chark looked like he was struggling to run his routes, so perhaps he should’ve rested another week.
Saints 38, Titans 28
This game meant nothing for the Titans because of an optical illusion in the standings, which is why they rested some players, including Derrick Henry. The Saints, meanwhile, were fighting for a first-round bye. And yet, the Titans seemed to want this game much more in the early stages of the afternoon. It’s unclear if no one told them that this game was irrelevant for them, but they put forth way more effort than New Orleans did to start the contest.
This was apparent on some of Tennessee’s long touchdowns. Jonnu Smith and A.J. Brown scored on 41- and 49-yard touchdowns, respectively, that featured horrible tackling efforts. Meanwhile, the Saints were sleepy offensively. They racked up six penalties in the first 20 minutes, while Drew Brees had two potential interceptions that were dropped in the early stages. One was a wobbly overthrow to Michael Thomas, while the second was a deep shot to Ted Ginn into the end zone. Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara stepped out of bounds on a second-quarter short gain when he had plenty of room to run, which drew the ire of Brees.
The Saints, however, were able to turn things around and eventually win by double digits. Brees, Kamara and Thomas all caught fire in the final 40 minutes. Let’s review all three:
We’ll begin with Thomas, who caught 12 passes to break Marvin Harrison’s single-season receptions record. Thomas appeared to do this on his 11th catch to score a touchdown, but replay review showed that he was shy of the goal line by a couple of inches. This didn’t end up mattering because Thomas found the end zone two plays later. Thomas finished with 12 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown.
It was a crazy coincidence that the same thing happened to Kamara. He rebounded from his sluggish start to finish with a great stat line, gaining 80 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 attempts to go along with six catches for 30 receiving yards. Kamara appeared to score a touchdown on one occasion in the third quarter, but replay review showed that he was inches shy. The Saints went back to him on the next play, and Kamara rewarded them with a score.
Brees shook off his poor start and caught fire after intermission. Brees was 13-of-17 for 131 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. His overall numbers were 27-of-38 for 279 yards and a trio of scores. Brees was lucky to get away with not throwing multiple interceptions, as mentioned earlier, but he was unstoppable following intermission.
Before moving on to the Titans, it’s worth noting that Jared Cook scored two touchdowns. He caught three passes for 84 yards otherwise. He also drew an interference flag.
The Titans couldn’t sustain their hot start. Ryan Tannehill saw lots of pressure in the second half and took some bad sacks, including a 10-yard loss on a third-and-1. He hit big plays, but New Orleans’ defense stymied him in the second half. Tannehill finished 17-of-27 for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
With Henry out, Dion Lewis handled two-thirds of the workload. He had a lackluster showing, gaining 68 yards on 15 carries. He also caught just one pass for 19 receiving yards, which makes me wonder why he wasn’t used more in the receiving game.
A.J. Brown cooled down. He caught a 34-yard pass, but saw just two targets, as the Saints did their best to eliminate him from the game script. Instead, Tannehill had to throw to Tajae Sharpe, who caught five passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns, and also Jonnu Smith, who reeled in three balls for 63 yards and a score. Corey Davis (3-40) was a big disappointment once again.
Colts 38, Panthers 6
Both the Colts’ offense and defense were miserable in their Monday night blowout loss to the Saints, so they leaned on their special teams to win this game. Nyheim Hines had a great punt return following Indianapolis’ initial possession to set up a short touchdown drive. Hines then scored on the very next punt return. Despite Indianapolis doing very little offensively, the team was quickly up two touchdowns, which turned out to be an insurmountable lead for a Carolina squad that started a rookie quarterback in his first game and lost D.J. Moore to a concussion in the opening quarter.
And yet, if that wasn’t enough, the Colts scored on yet another punt return touchdown by Hines in the second half! The Colts effectively tallied 21 of their 38 points on punt returns, creating a misleading result. Granted, Indianapolis would’ve had possession with a chance to score had they not scored on special teams, but with the Colts converting just 4-of-11 third downs, it’s not like they were doing much with the ball anyway.
Despite having three fewer possessions to work with, Marlon Mack still nearly hit the century mark, gaining 95 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Had this game been more competitive, Mack would’ve eclipsed that plateau; Jordan Wilkins was given nine attempts late in the game, which he turned into 84 yards and a score.
Jacoby Brissett didn’t need to do much, which was a good thing because he still didn’t look completely healthy. He barely completed half of his passes, going 14-of-27 for 119 yards. One of his incmpletions was a deep bomb to an open receiver, but was overthrown. He saved his fantasy day from being a complete disaster by scoring a touchdown on three of his scrambles, which went for 37 rushing yards.
T.Y. Hilton also didn’t appear to be 100 percent. He caught three passes for 26 yards. Despite this, he managed to lead Indianapolis in receiving. He could’ve hauled in a deep score, but Brissett overthrew him.
Carolina’s receiving leader set a single-season record for receptions by a running back. That, of course, was Christian McCaffrey, who broke his own record. He snatched all 15 of his targets for 119 receiving yards. He didn’t do much as a rusher because of the early and constant deficit, gaining 54 yards on 13 carries.
Will Grier spent lots of time dumping off passes to McCaffrey, if you couldn’t tell. Despite the blowout loss, Grier wasn’t horrible. He went 27-of-44 for 224 yards and three interceptions, but two of those came late via desperation throws. Also, two of Grier’s picks occurred when Indianapolis cornerbacks snatched balls away from his receivers. That said, Grier was lucky that another possible interception of his was dropped.
Grier did a good job of using his legs to extend plays. That was the only positive, however, as he missed some throws he should’ve converted. He had Greg Olsen for a touchdown in the second quarter, but overshot him. He also overthrew a receiver on a third down in the final quarter.
Aside from McCaffrey, Grier’s leading receiver was Olsen, who caught two passes for 33 yards. He targeted D.J. Moore early, but Moore was lost to a concussion on the second drive of the afternoon.
Panthers defensive tackle Vernon Butler was ejected for dragging a player down by the face mask, punching another player in the helmet and then flipping off the fans. It’ll be shocking if he plays next week.
Jets 16, Steelers 10
The Steelers had control of their own destiny entering this game, but unfortunately for Mike Tomlin, he could not say the same about his quarterbacking situation. Tomlin had somehow positioned his team into playoff contention despite missing Ben Roethlisberger since Week 2. However, the quarterbacks absolutely crushed the Steelers, who no longer can control their own postseason fate. With the Texans having nothing to play for in Week 17, the Titans should be able to prevail, which means the Steelers need a miracle to reach the playoffs.
Devlin Hodges can certainly be blamed for this defeat. He began with an interception on a telegraphed throw and then heaved a duck – pun intended – into the end zone for his second pick. Tomlin had seen enough at that point, so he benched Hodges in favor of Mason Rudolph. This was the correct decision, as Rudolph quickly erased a New York 10-0 lead. Rudolph heaved a bomb to Diontae Johnson and then was able to thread the needle to JuJu Smith-Schuster to convert a third-and-9. It appeared at that point that the Steelers would prevail to maintain control of the No. 6 seed.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, Rudolph suffered an injury on a botched handoff, so Tomlin had to re-insert Hodges into the game. This proved to be disastrous, as Hodges bobbled a snap following an ill-advised sack to knock his team out of field goal range. Hodges had one more chance after that, but Smith-Schuster dropped a pass on fourth down move drop the Steelers to 8-7.
Hodges finished 11-of-17 for just 84 yards and the two interceptions, whereas Rudolph was 14-of-20 for 129 yards and a touchdown. Rudolph was much better, but Tomlin may have to roll with Hodges once more next week.
Rudolph wasn’t even the only player from Pittsburgh’s backfield to suffer an injury in this game. James Conner was also knocked out, which obviously hurt the rushing attack. Conner (6-32) was missed, as Benny Snell (7-14) didn’t have much success.
Johnson enjoy a big game, as he reeled in eight of his nine targets for 81 yards and a touchdown. James Washington (5-41) was next on the stat sheet. Washington appeared to suffer an injury on an awkward tackle, but he didn’t miss much action.
As for the Jets, Sam Darnold had an OK performance, going 16-of-26 for 183 yards and a touchdown. He made some mistakes, as he had an interception dropped on a poor deep shot in the opening quarter and then was strip-sacked prior to intermission that set up a touchdown for Pittsburgh. He also missed an open Jamison Crowder on a third-down attempt and sometimes seemed skittish in the pocket. Still, Darnold was battling a great Pittsburgh defense behind an offensive line missing three interior linemen and a right tackle, so this was an encouraging game for him.
Darnold’s sole touchdown went to Robby Anderson, who caught two passes for 32 yards. He drew an interference flag on the opening drive to set up his own score, which was an amazing, leaping grab in the end zone. Anderson trailed only Crowder (4-60) on the stat sheet.
Le’Veon Bell was able to get his revenge on the Steelers with this victory, though he didn’t do much on the box score. He rushed for 72 yards on 25 carries, which would’ve been a better stat line had he not taken an 11-yard loss on a horrible decision. Bell also caught four passes for 21 receiving yards.
Giants 41, Redskins 35
There are two prominent storylines in the wake of this battle between three-win teams. The first is that the Giants played themselves out of the Chase Young sweepstakes. They had a great chance to land the best player in the 2020 NFL Draft, but they’ll likely have to settle for someone besides Young and also Jeff Okudah, who could go to the Lions. This was a horrific victory for the Giants and a primary example of why a lame-duck coach should be fired prior to the offseason. I’ll have an updated 2020 NFL Mock Draft posted Wednesday.
The second prominent storyline was Dwayne Haskins. The rookie quarterback was hit both high and low to open the third quarter and had to leave the game with an injury. The Redskins, of course, have a dubious history of their quarterbacks suffering injuries that have ruined their careers, including Joe Theismann, Robert Griffin and Alex Smith. Hopefully, Haskins doesn’t suffer the same fate.
Despite losing out on Young and Okudah, Giant fans can at least still be encouraged by Daniel Jones’ brilliant play. Jones torched the Redskins mercilessly, going 28-of-42 for 352 yards and five touchdowns. His fifth and final score came in overtime when he marched down the field on the opening possession to negate a chance for Washington. I imagine the Redskins weren’t complaining too much, as they had Young fall into their laps. New York will regret this when Young is hounding Jones for years to come.
Jones didn’t have his full arsenal at his disposal, as Evan Engram was sidelined. This didn’t matter against the Redskins, as third-string tight end Kaden Smith had a big game, catching six passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns. Jones also threw touchdowns to Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard (6-76) and Cody Latimer (5-44). None of them led the team in receiving; that was done by Golden Tate, who snatched six passes for 98 yards.
While Jones and his receivers thrived, none of them had the sort of performance Saquon Barkley enjoyed. Looking completely 100 percent for the second game since he returned from injury, Barkley dominated the Redskins, who are actually solid against the run. They simply couldn’t tackle Barkley, who juked and broke tackles all afternoon. Barkley rushed for a ridiculous 189 yards and a touchdown, all while catching four passes for 90 receiving yards and a second score. Barkley was absolutely ridiculous, and this sort of performance puts him in consideration as the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 non-PPR fantasy football drafts.
Barkley likely idolized Adrian Peterson when he was growing up, so he got to battle the future Hall of Famer in one of his final NFL games. Peterson found the end zone, but didn’t get much yardage, as he was limited to just 36 yards on 15 carries.
Haskins’ injury was unfortunate, as he was enjoying a nice game. Haskins was 12-of-15 for 133 yards and two touchdowns and then was replaced by Case Keenum, who also had no problem torching the Giants’ beleaguered secondary. Keenum went 16-of-22 for 158 yards and a touchdown. He did a great job of engineering a final drive in regulation that went for 14 plays and 98 yards. He found Steven Sims for a 32-yard gain to convert a third-and-9 to keep the possession alive.
Speaking of Sims, he had a terrific outing, catching six of his 10 targets for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He also drew an interference flag on the final drive. Sims almost managed to reach Terry McLaurin’s team-leading figure, which was seven catches for 86 yards. McLaurin, however, suffered an injury in the fourth quarter.
Dolphins 38, Bengals 35
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Dolphins may have won on the scoreboard, but the Bengals were the true winners in this game. Credit to them for knowing how to tank appropriately (even though they tried to win.)
The relevance from this game was the Bengals’ loss clinching them the No.1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. They will have their choice of quarterback to lead their rebuild, and that was made certain in South Florida. Miami got a meaningless win that hurts the team’s draft positioning, but head coach Brian Flores is trying to change the culture in Miami, so adding a win in Week 16 has meaning to the coaching staff and players.
The Dolphins took the opening drive down the field for a touchdown. Ryan Fitzpatrick hit a couple of passes to Allen Hurns (2-41) and then threw a goal-line touchdown pass to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who was in the game as a fullback. Miami quickly got the ball back, and two receptions to DeVante Parker for 65 yards set up a touchdown catch by Parker on third-and-goal. Cincinnati responded with a field goal drive, but late in the first half, Fitzpatrick found tight end Mike Gesicki (6-82-2) to give the Dolphins held a 21-6 halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter, Fitzpatrick threw his fourth touchdown strike, connecting with Gesicki again on a short toss. Cincinnati finally got in the end zone when Andy Dalton found Tyler Boyd for a 34-yard touchdown, which was a great catch by the former Pittsburgh Panther. Fitzpatrick threw an interception to Darius Phillips, but the Bengals gave it right back at midfield on a sack-fumble by Dalton. Early in the fourth quarter, Dolphins turned the turnover into a short rushing touchdown for Myles Gaskin to go up 35-12.
The Bengals didn’t quit though, leading a furious comeback in the fourth quarter. Dalton threw touchdown passes to C.J. Uzomah (4-37-1) and Boyd, plus tossed a two-point conversion to Tyler Eifert (4-57-1). Cincinnati then recovered an onside kick to get possession with 28 seconds left. A pass to Boyd moved the ball to the 25-yard line with four seconds left, and on the next play, Eifert skied over a crowd for a touchdown. Dalton ran in the two-point conversion to complete the 23-point fourth-quarter rally to force overtime.
After trading punts in overtime, Fitzpatrick hit wide receiver Isaiah Ford on the run and he took off for a 28-yard gain. That set up the game-winning 37-yard field goal for Jason Sanders.
Fitzpatrick was 31-of-52 for 419 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
Gaskin led the Dolphins on the ground with 55 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Parker had five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Dalton completed 33-of-56 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Mixon had 50 yards on 21 carries.
Boyd had an excellent game, catching nine passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns.
Broncos 27, Lions 17
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
EDITOR’S NOTE: I can’t believe the Lions didn’t cover the spread. They were winning for more than half the game! I’d be so tilted had I bet the Lions, I don’t even want to think about it.
There was nothing at stake in this game other than draft positioning and the Broncos getting more information to decide whether they want to roll with Drew Lock as their quarterback in 2020. Lock played an efficient game against the undermanned Lions, and Detroit protected its top-five status.
On the opening drive, Lions quarterback David Blough connected with Kenny Golladay for a 35-yard completion to get inside the Denver 20, but the drive ended with a field goal. After trading some punts, Detroit’s Jamal Agnew returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown to put Detroit up 10-0. After that, however, it was pretty much all Broncos. Denver responded with a drive keyed by Lock connecting with multiple receivers to set up Royce Freeman (9-28-1) for a one-yard scoring dive. Before halftime, Lock led a field goal drive to have the score tied at 10 at intermission.
Lock led another field goal drive early in the third quarter, but the Lions answered by using Golladay on a few receptions to get downfield with Golladay scoring. Early in the fourth quarter, Denver used the ground attack and Lock to drive the ball down the field. A shovel pass to Daeshon Hamilton (6-65-1) allowed the receiver to find the end zone to take the lead. Midway through the fourth quarter, Philip Lindsay put the Lions away with a 27-yard touchdown run up the middle of their defense.
Lock completed 25-of-33 passes for 192 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. He was solid but unspectacular.
Lindsay ran for 109 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. Courtland Sutton had five receptions for 41 yards.
Blough was 12-of-24 for 117 yards and a touchdown. Golladay caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Kerryon Johnson ran for 42 yards on 10 carries in his return from injury.
Raiders 24, Chargers 17
The Raiders played their final game in Oakland last week, but this was a home affair as well. There were so many loud and crazy Raider fans in the stands of this contest that the Chargers had to go to a silent count. It was an absolutely pathetic display. The Chargers being in Los Angeles has been an embarrassing stain on the NFL, and the offense being disrupted led to Oakland’s victory in this contest.
The Raiders prevailed despite not having two talented offensive linemen, Trent Brown and Richie Incognito. This, however, didn’t bother Derek Carr at all, who misfired on just four occasions despite battling a Charger stop unit that has recently been enhanced by the return of Derwin James and some other defenders. Carr struck early with a 56-yard touchdown throw to Hunter Renfrow, and he did a great job of managing the game after that. He finished 25-of-30 for 291 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps Carr just needed Renfrow back from injury. Renfrow looked great in his first appearance since Week 12. Renfrow caught seven of his nine targets for 107 yards and a touchdown. Oakland’s decline coincided with Renfrow’s injury, so this offensive outburst, despite the two missing linemen, probably shouldn’t have been too surprising.
Elsewhere in the passing attack, Tyrell Williams had a decent performance, catching all four of his targets for 82 yards. Darren Waller (4-37) didn’t have as much success.
Josh Jacobs was out, so DeAndre Washington handled a full workload. Washington tallied 85 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, all while catching two passes for 21 yards. It’s worth noting that he dropped a pass on the team’s second possession.
Melvin Gordon didn’t get much volume in this game because of the early and constant deficit. He rushed for just 15 yards on nine carries, though he managed to score twice to reward his fantasy owners. His six receptions for 32 receiving yards also helped his PPR owners.
Philip Rivers had a mediocre day; he went 27-of-39 for 279 yards. He was lucky to get away with a potential interception when a pass of his to Keenan Allen was dropped by a defender. However, Rivers endured some drops by his teammates as well.
Allen led the Chargers with 71 yards receiving on five catches, but he dropped a ball in the second half. Hunter Henry hauled in five passes for 45 yards. Mike Williams (3-51) drew an interference flag in the end zone.
Eagles 17, Cowboys 9
The Eagles prevailed against their arch rival to seize control of the NFC East. They can clinch the division with a win over the Giants next week or a Dallas loss to the Redskins.
However, it wasn’t a clean victory for Philadelphia, as the team continued to suffer injuries. Cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills went down, while Zach Ertz suffered a rib injury. Ertz missed some action, but returned to the field. He wasn’t the same, however, so Dallas Goedert had to do all the work.
Goedert, proving how dominant he could be without someone at his position in front of him, was a monster against the Cowboys. He caught nine of his targets for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the injuries to Ertz, Lane Johnson and his regular receivers, Carson Wentz still had a great game. He misfired just nine times, going 31-of-40 for 319 yards and a touchdown. He also did some damage on the ground, scrambling six times for 22 rushing yards. He made one mistake when he was nearly picked on a sloppy throw in the second quarter.
Miles Sanders was instrumental in Philadelphia’s victory, as he used his blinding speed to pick up some big gains. Sanders rushed for 79 yards and a score on 20 carries, all while catching five of his six targets for 77 receiving yards.
Sanders finished second on the team in receiving. He was in front of Greg Ward (4-71), who had another nice game. Ertz, meanwhile, caught just four balls for 28 yards. He dropped a pass in the red zone during the opening drive, though a hard hit dislodged the ball.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, had trouble sustaining drives. They were just 3-of-14 on third downs, as it was evident that Dak Prescott wasn’t 100 percent. Prescott’s passes were all over the place, as he constantly missed open receivers for significant gains. This includes a horrible overthrow for a deep touchdown in the fourth quarter that would’ve given the Cowboys a chance to tie the game. Prescott also missed a wide-open Amari Cooper for a third-down conversion in the second half. Prescott’s deepest completion, a 41-yarder to Michael Gallup, was actually underthrown; had it been on the mark, Gallup would’ve scored a very long throw.
Prescott went 25-of-44 for 265 yards. The numbers don’t look horrible, but it was very obvious that Prescott was nowhere near 100 percent. If Prescott doesn’t recover within the next week, the Cowboys could have trouble beating the Redskins in the finale.
Prescott wasn’t the only Cowboy who was playing hurt. Cooper was missing on some important plays because he was sidelined with a knee issue. Cooper still saw a team-high 12 targets, but given that he and his quarterback were both hurt, it’s not a surprise that he reeled in just a third of his targets; he caught just four passes for 24 yards. He also had a killer drop on a third down prior to halftime.
Gallup, meanwhile, led the Cowboys in receiving. He snatched five of his 11 targets for 98 yards. He should’ve hauled in six balls, but he dropped a deep pass in the fourth quarter. He had a chance for the tying score at the very end, but young cornerback Sidney Jones broe up the pass in the end zone. Randall Cobb (5-73) was next on the stat sheet.
Ezekiel Elliott often has success against the Eagles, but not in this contest. Philadelphia bottled up Elliott, limiting him to just 47 yards on 13 carries. He also caught seven passes for 37 receiving yards.
Cardinals 27, Seahawks 13
The lasting image I’ll have from this game was Pete Carroll’s very solemn expression he had in the fourth quarter. I imagine he was upset that the team lost, but this result didn’t matter very much in the long run because Seattle can still claim the division by winning next week. Carroll was especially devastated because he lost two key players for the year.
Chris Carson and Duane Brown are both done. They won’t play again, even in the playoffs, which means Russell Wilson will have even worse protection than he’s used to. The Cardinals took advantage of this horrible blocking, as they got lots of pressure on the MVP candidate. Chandler Jones was unstoppable against Brown’s backup, as he logged four sacks, one of which included a forced fumble that a Seattle player recovered. This poor protection caused Wilson to go just 16-of-31 for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals didn’t really have a replacement for Carson. The team moved the chains well to start the game, and Carson was a major reason why. Carson gained 40 yards on four carries, while also catching a 20-yard pass. Carson, however, suffered an injury in the second quarter, forcing the Seahawks to use bums like C.J. Prosise (4-14) and Travis Homer (5-16), who was stuffed on a short-yardage carry near the goal line in the second half following a blocked field goal.
With Wilson having no time to throw, he had to settle for his short and intermediate targets. That would explain why Jacob Hollister (5-64) led the team in receiving, while Homer (6-26) was next on the receiving chart. Neither Tyler Lockett nor D.K. Metcalf did anything. Lockett caught just one pass for 12 yards despite seeing eight targets, while Metcalf didn’t reel in a single pass because of Patrick Peterson’s elite coverage.
The Seahawks weren’t the only team that suffered a major injury. Kyler Murray hurt his hamstring in the second half, so he couldn’t finish the game. It’s a shame because Murray was playing well; he was 11-of-18 for 118 yards and a touchdown to go along with 40 rushing yards on six scrambles.
Brett Hundley did a solid job of managing the game, even leading a touchdown drive late in the afternoon. Hundley was 4-of-9 for 49 yards, with two of the incompletions being drops. He also ran often, picking up three first downs with his legs. He accumulated 35 rushing yards on his six scrambles. Hundley took a bow to Arizona’s sideline when the scoring drive was capped off by Kenyan Drake’s touchdown.
Drake had another huge performance. He gained 166 yards and two scores on 24 carries. The popular musician also caught three passes for 18 receiving yards. It’s amazing how great he’s been, and it’s even more amazing that Adam Gase didn’t realize the sort of talent he had during his time in Miami.
Larry Fitzgerald led the Cardinals in receiving. He caught four of his seven targets for 48 yards and a touchdown. He appeared to have a second score, but replay showed that the ball barely hit the ground. Christian Kirk, who had no catches, had a terrible drop on a third down in the second half. He also nearly made an acrobatic catch along the sidelines in the fourth quarter, but replay review showed that his hand landed out of bounds before the second foot hit the turf.
Chiefs 26, Bears 3
Patrick Mahomes had some major revenge on his mind, thanks to the Bears passing on him in favor of Mitchell Trubisky. If this wasn’t apparent heading into the game, it certainly was when Mahomes counted to 10 on his fingers following a touchdown, symbolizing how many spots he had to wait to be chosen in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Mahomes was his usual terrific self in a very difficult matchup. He began by firing a laser to Tyreek Hill to move the chains on a third-and-18 and then converting another third-and-long. He kept the chains moving constantly when this game was in some doubt.
Mahomes finished 23-of-33 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. He also scrambled in a third score. The Chiefs took their foot off the gas in the third quarter; otherwise, Mahomes could’ve posted an even better stat line.
Hill finished with five catches for 72 yards, only trailing Travis Kelce on the stat sheet. The All-Pro tight end reeled in eight of his nine targets for 74 yards and a touchdown.
LeSean McCoy sat due to load management, allowing Spencer Ware and Damien Williams to share the workload. Ware started and ran for 14 yards on five carries, while Williams looked like the far superior player. He tallied 65 yards on 16 attempts.
Meanwhile, Chicago fans had to feel pretty bad watching what could’ve been with Mahomes. General manager Ryan Pace famously eschewed Mahomes in favor of Mitchell Trubisky, who was a train wreck in this game. Trubisky barely completed half of his passes, going 18-of-34 for only 157 yards.
The numbers are indicative of Trubisky’s performance. He overthrew Allen Robinson in the early stages of the game and then was lucky to see a potential interception dropped by a Kansas City defender. Trubisky also tossed a checkdown on a fourth-and-23 attempt for some reason. The only thing Trubisky did well was scramble, and he wasn’t even very good in that aspect; he ran six times for 20 rushing yards.
Robinson was the only Bear to log more than 26 receiving yards. He caught half of his 12 targets for 53 yards, while Anthony Miller (1 catch, 2 yards) suffered a major setback in production. Javon Wins (3-26) dropped countless passes, so it’s unclear why Trubisky threw to him so often. Perhaps Truubisky wanted to develop a rapport with a receiver of his talent level.
This was yet another lackluster performance by David Montgomery, who was limited to 57 yards on 13 carries. A chunk of his production came on a late 16-yard run when the Chiefs weren’t trying very hard.
Packers 23, Vikings 10
The Packers were trying their best to lose this game. They made numerous miscues in the opening half, starting right away when Aaron Jones fumbled the ball on the opening series. Following a Jones drop on third down in field goal range, Aaron Rodgers threw an interception when he stared down a receiver on a second-and-18, which set up a Minnesota touchdown.
If that wasn’t enough, Davante Adams fumbled around midfield. Adams then dropped a touchdown right before halftime on a pass thrown a bit behind him. It was a true comedy of errors for the Packers in the opening half.
Despite all of these ridiculous blunders, the Packers trailed by just one point at intermission. The Vikings had just two first downs at that stage in the game, compared to 13 by the Packers. Green Bay was outgaining Minnesota at that point, 221-68, all while averaging 2.2 more yards per play.
The reason for this was two-fold. First, the Vikings made some mistakes. Adam Thielen dropped a deep pass, while Kirk Cousins made numerous poor throws. Second, Green Bay’s defense was awesome, especially Za’Darius Smith, who lived in the Vikings’ backfield. This continued into the second half, as Minnesota posted zero points when not scoring off Green Bay turnovers. The Packers, meanwhile, stopped screwing up. They scored twice to put Minnesota away. This victory clinched the division for the Packers, who could end up as the No. 1 seed if they win next week and the 49ers beat the Seahawks.
Rodgers went 26-of-40 for 216 yards and the aforementioned interception. Rodgers didn’t play well early, but was 8-of-10 for 60 yards following intermission. Mike Zimmer did his best to confuse Rodgers with some different schemes, but Rodgers solved Zimmer’s looks eventually.
Adams ended up leading the Packers in receiving, hauling in 13 of his 16 targets for 116 yards. He also snatched a two-point conversion to help make up for his first-half blunders.
Jones was a monster, rushing for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts. He handled most of the workload because Jamaal Williams was knocked out with an injury. Jones also made amends late, as his 56-yard scoring burst ended all hope for the Vikings.
Speaking of Minnesota’s crushed hopes, Cousins gave his team no chance to win with some of his poor passes and decisions. He was fortunate when a Packer defender dropped a potential interception of his in the opening half, but then he sailed a horrible pick into double coverage later in the game. He also took bad sacks and showcased poor accuracy on key plays, including an overthrow in the direction of Thielen on a fourth down near midfield.
Cousins barely completed half of his passes, going 16-of-31 for 122 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Cousins is now 0-9 on Monday Night Football in his career, as he continues to demonstrate that he chokes in the clutch. His impending playoff performance should be even worse.
Thanks to Cousins’ incompetence and the aforementioned drop, Thielen didn’t catch a single pass on four targets. Diggs, conversely, had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. However, Diggs overthrew Cousins on a trick play in the second quarter.
The Vikings didn’t have Dalvin Cook or Alexander Mattison available, so preseason all-star Mike Boone was given the opportunity to handle the workload. Boone bombed, as he mustered just 28 yards on 11 carries.
For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.
