NFL Week 14 Indepth Recap
Falcons 0 Panthers 38
Bengals 22 Steelers 30
Cincinnati hated to lose a game to bitter rival Pittsburgh, no doubt. Losing Andy Dalton for what looks to be an extended period with a broken thumb was even worse.
Dalton was hurt on a tackle he made after throwing an INT and was replaced by AJ McCarron, who made an unfortunate comparison to himself and Tom Brady when he stepped in for Bledsoe back in the day. I like McCarron’s thinking. Maybe he can manage the offense until Dalton makes it back, but things look bleak to Cincy fan right now.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh rolled up to the 30+ point mark for the fifth straight contest with Big Ben using every weapon at his disposal.
The Bengals had more total yardage that the Steelers, but big plays were the difference. Pittsburgh is the most fun team to watch in the League at this moment.
Eye-Popping Stat: McCarron – Two picks offset by two TD throws.
Fantasy Carnage: DeAngelo Williams and AJ Green were good choices.
Raiders 15 Broncos 12
The story of the game was Khalil Mack, who sacked young Brock Osweiler five times. Five! One went for a safety.
Osweiler has not been impressive the past couple weeks. Putting Peyton back in when he is ready isn’t the answer, though. It’s going to be on Osweiler to cut down on mistakes and just do enough to keep the games close.
The go-ahead touchdown was set up by a muffed punt by Emmanuel Sanders.
Eye-Popping Stat: 61 rushing yards combined by both teams.
Fantasy Carnage: Not applicable.
Chiefs 10 Chargers 3
Philip Rivers is looking worse each week as his weapons are more limited. He did nearly bring San Diego back to win at the end but could never connect as they threatened from goal to go late in the fourth.
Melvin Gordon may end up being the biggest flop in the 2015 draft. The kid looked so promising coming out of Wisconsin, yet has only mustered 600 yards and does not know the feeling of crossing the goal line either.
KC is looking at a Wild card slot right now and could rock the boat in the AFC even though Alex Smith is not very threatening to opposing defenses in the postseason.
Eye-Popping Stat: Five sacks on Rivers.
Fantasy Carnage: KC defense.
Cowboys 7 Packers 28
Good news for Dallas is they are still in the playoff picture. The bad news is they suck and Dez Bryant has even quit on the year.
Green Bay looked like a rushing monster with the two headed threat of Starks and Lacy finally having a great game. It came against a team that is just before throwing in the towel for the year, though.
McCarthy took back over as play caller for the Pack so time will tell if that helps the offense over the last few games and into the postseason.
Matt Cassel had a bad game even for Matt Cassel. Dez was of no help, dropping three balls and finishing the game with just nine yards.
Eye-Popping Stat: 3.9 yards per completion for Cassel
Fantasy Carnage: Starks’ 22 fantasy points.
Seahawks 35 Ravens 7
I thought Russell Wilson was incapable of throwing over three TDs each week when this streak first started. I’m an idiot apparently. Dude is lighting it up and making Doug Baldwin look like a TD snatching terror!
Wilson burned the Ravens for five touchdowns, and the defense had no problem stopping what’s left of the Ravens offense. Baldwin hauled in three scores to make it eight in the last three games. Incredible.
The Hawks did lose Thomas Rawls for the year with a bad ankle injury, so we shall see if Wilson’s arm can keep the offense rolling next week with the run game hampered as they go to the third string option.
Eye-Popping Stat: Tyler Lockett going Gayle Sayers with Five TD catches and one each on punt returns and kickoff returns on his rookie season.
Fantasy Carnage: Wilson stacked with Baldwin again this week.
Jets 30 Titans 8
Marcus Mariota catching a quarterback throwback for a TD was the only highlight for Tennessee on this day as the Jets looked primed for a playoff run in the AFC.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing lights out over the last three games with nine TD passes and zero picks. He had three scores against the Titans as Brandon Marshall, and Eric Decker continued to be the most reliable one two punch at WR in the National Football League.
Mariota suffered through five sacks, and it isn’t clear if firing an interim head coach is a possibility for the team. Maybe they should just shut it down for the year before they get the kid hurt.
Eye-Popping Stat: Chris Ivory with 101 on the ground.
Fantasy Carnage: Fitz keeps being Mr. Reliable in fantasy land.
Jaguars 51 Colts 16
The Jags are not weekly winners but sure are fun to watch each Sunday as they pile on points and usually give up a few as well.
Matt Hasselbeck is about done for the year as he is getting abused regularly now. The Colts hope to get Andrew Luck back next week, but I doubt the O-line can protect him for very long either. The Colts may have to just keep an expendable QB in there like Charlie Whitehurst until they can bolster the line for 2016. No offense Charlie.
Eye-Popping Stat: Jacksonville’s kicker Jason Myers has missed seven PATs this year, yet is still on the team.
Fantasy Carnage: Bortles along with the JAX defense.
Eagles 23 Bills 20
This was supposed to be the game where Shady McCoy rolled back into Philly to take revenge on his former team and the coach that sent him packing.
McCoy did his part with 109 total yards. It was the rest of the Bills that failed to get it done. Penalties killed Buffalo again as they were beaten by a pretender in the Eagles.
Sam Bradford did muster two TD throws and the Eagles running back council managed 115 on the ground. Not great but good enough for the win.
Eye-Popping Stat: The Bills had the ball for ten more minutes than Philadelphia.
Fantasy Carnage: Tyrod.
Redskins 24 Bears 21
Washington had control of this one by 14 points a couple of times in the game. Chicago kept clawing their way back only to see a missed FG cost them again.
Robbie Gould missed a late kick that would have tied the game for the now 5-8 Bears.
Washington improves to 6-7 and lingers around the top of the sewer-like NFC East.
Eye-Popping Stat: 300 yards passing for each QB. Six sacks combined also.
Fantasy Carnage: Cousins with Jordan Reed.
Cardinals 23 Vikings 20
Being careful with the football is the difference in most football games. Arizona took care of the rock while the Vikes handed it over three times.
The Cards had the game in hand in the second half, but Minnesota was game until the end. Teddy Bridgewater had his crew in position for a tying field goal with under a minute to play but got stripped sacked by Dwight Freeney to end the hopes of the Vikes.
Arizona improved their record to 11-2 while Minnesota is looking at a Wildcard position as of now.
Eye-Popping Stat: Three lost fumbles by the Vikings.
Fantasy Carnage: Palmer with 20 fantasy points.
Browns 24 49ers 10
This was not a battle of the elite. The Browns are a mess with reports of the head coach and general manager possibly waiting to be fired at season’s end. The Niners are not very interesting as a whole despite the very good play from Blaine Gabbert the past few weeks.
Johnny Football got the start and did fine as he was helped by the rushing game with Isaiah Crowell racking 145 yards.
Manziel got the win and a stat line of 21/31 passing and one TD along with one INT. He scrambled for just 15 yards on seven attempts. Manziel will go against Seattle next week and will likely go through four Microsoft Surface Pros in that bloodbath.
Eye-Popping Stat: Nine sacks on Gabbert.
Fantasy Carnage: Crowell.
Saints 24 Bucs 17
The Saints managed to rev up their offense, which operates well every 4.2 games, to get over on Tampa Bay. Just when the Bucs were looking like a dangerous team down the stretch, they got pulled back down to reality.
Jameis Winston was just 18/32 with one TD but avoided any interceptions.
New Orleans got a big game out of old timer Marques Colston, who grabbed two touchdown passes from Brees.
Eye-Popping Stat: Two measly yards from CJ Spiller on the ground. Why even have him on the roster?
Fantasy Carnage: Brees with 20 points.
Rams 21 Lions 7
Five straight games worth of losses came to an end when Jeff Fisher finally used his workhorse. Todd Gurley gained 140 yards along with two touchdowns against the Lions in a game that showcased just what Gurley can do when given touches.
The Lions had the air knocked out of them by the refs in the TNF Packers theft and won’t get back the momentum they had before that game.
Both these clubs only have next season to look forward to with no playoff hopes even on life support.
Eye-Popping Stat: The Rams’ Case Keenum went just 14/22 with no TDs and actually got the win thanks to his tail back.
Fantasy Carnage: Gurley.
Patriots 27 Texans 6
Houston was beat as soon as it was obvious Rob Gronkowski was going to be a factor. That happened with just five minutes gone in the game when Gronk took off for a 45-yard catch that set up the first Patriots’ touchdown.
Houston did manage to get pressure on Brady, but it was too little too late when the sacks started adding up. The game was essentially over when JaDeveon Clowney tallied his third takedown of Brady.
JJ Watt was dealing with a broken hand and was not his usual dominant self in this SNF matchup.
New England ended the game with more banged up guys including LeGarrette Blount. They did move back to the #1 seed in the AFC as Denver and Cincinnati fell.
Eye-Popping Stat: Hoyer was 11/22 before leaving with a concussion.
Fantasy Carnage: Brady and the D.
Giants 31 Dolphins 24
It was a back and forth game with lots of touchdowns on Monday Night Football. But it was Eli Manning and Odell Beckham who pulled the Giants ahead for good in the end.
Manning had one of the best games of his career as he was protected well by the O-line and was super efficient with the football. Odell Beckham had another big game, scoring twice and adding 166 yards in receptions.
Beckham’s biggest catch came in the fourth with the score tied. Manning found the wide open ODB on a double move route and the star receiver never looked back. He went 84 yards for the score with no Dolphin ever near him.
Miami had a shot near the end of the fourth quarter, but Tannehill couldn’t connect with Jarvis Landry, who found himself open for a big catch that could have turned the tide.
The win put the Giants in a three way tie for first in the NFC East.
Eye-Popping Stat: Eli – 27/31 for 337, four TDs, no INTs or sacks.
Fantasy Carnage: Odell Beckham hitched to Eli Manning.