What a bizarre day of football. At one point, I seriously thought I would go 0-8 against the spread in the early slate. (I went 3-5, before going 3-1 in the late/Sunday night games to go 7-6 so far on the week.) Then I thought two of my best teams were toast when I lost Devonta Freeman. (One won, and the other is a big favorite pending Monday night.) Essentially, I went through the bottom of the abyss and came out the other side. Nonetheless, I have some notes from the journey:
• Brock Osweiler averaged 9.3 YPA and didn't throw a pick, Ronnie Hillman rushed for 102 yards, but somehow the Broncos scored only 17 points and needed to defend against a two-point conversion to win the game in regulation. Still, it's light years better than what they were getting from Peyton Manning.
• The Chiefs defense, a top-five unit over the last month or so, had its way against a banged up Chargers offensive line. Charcandrick West didn't do much early before straining his hamstring, but probably would have had a huge day judging by what Spencer Ware did in his place. Remember how important it was to handcuff Jamaal Charles to Knile Davis (healthy scratch)?
• The Chargers are a doormat right now, better than maybe the 49ers and I'm not sure who else. Besides the offensive line, the defense is terrible, and with Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd out and Antonio Gates hobbled, Philip Rivers lacks playmakers.
• I've faded the Vikings all year, and the one week I'm on them they get badly exposed. The Packers defense shut down Adrian Peterson and sacked Teddy Bridgewater six times.
• Eddie Lacy went 22-for-100, and it's telling he bounced back after taking a week off. Obviously, he was just playing hurt the whole time. I'd consider him a top-15 back again with upside for more if Aaron Rodgers gets going again.
• Randall Cobb is a borderline top-20 receiver right now.
• Thomas Rawls had a monster day with 255 YFS and two scores, and he could get extended run with Marshawn Lynch seeing an abdominal specialist Monday. While he won't draw the 49ers at home every week, he's still a top-10 back until/unless Lynch comes back.
• Blaine Gabbert got 7.8 YPA, threw a TD, took only two sacks and didn't throw a pick. While he's performed admirably since taking over a disastrous offense for Colin Kaepernick, this line is more about the Seahawks defense not remotely being what it was the last two years.
• Tony Romo was rusty but he warmed up as the game went on, and the Cowboys are more or less back to full strength. They'll likely need to go at least 5-1 to win the division and might have to run the table.
• Darren McFadden's carries the last five weeks: 29, 20, 27, 17 and 29. And he came into the game with a strained groin. Who knew he could be this durable?
• One of the things for which I'm thankful this year is not rostering Ryan Tannehill anywhere.
• I realize he made the game-winning kick, but what is wrong with Justin Tucker? He missed two 51-yard field goals, normally chip shots for him.
• With Joe Flacco now out for the year, the Ravens have lost their starting QB, their No. 1 WR, their starting running back, their backup running back (Lorenzo Taliaferro), their first-round draft pick WR and their best pass rusher. And they lost their best run stopper, Haloti Ngata, this offseason.
• I guess the NFL's concussion policy proceeds on a Case by case basis. Otherwise why was Keenum still in the game? He wound up fumbling and costing the Rams the game. I assume they must really hate Nick Foles.
• If I were a head coach, I'd send 10 rushers after every punt and have my returner fair catch every time. It's just not worth the inevitable penalties (and fumbles and injuries.)
• Maybe Carolina is growing into its undefeated record.
• While Cam Newton has been excellent this year with below average receivers, a game like today's is misleading. Sure he had five TDs and zero picks, but four of them were from five yards out or fewer. Had those plays been hand-offs, he would have seemed like a game manager in a blowout with 7.2 YPA and modest rushing stats. Of course, Tom Brady gets tons of short TDs, too, and it shows how overrated TD stats are in MVP discussions. Maybe there should be a total TD distance stat where a five-yard one only adds a small amount to your total.
• Devin Funchess led the Panthers in targets and got into the end zone. He wasn't especially efficient, but he has the most upside of any Carolina wideout.
• It only took half a season, but maybe the Texans defense is what we thought it would be.
• Playing with backup T.J. Yates, DeAndre Hopkins only caught five of 12 targets, but he beat Darrelle Revis deep for a score and finished with 118 yards and two touchdowns. How many other receivers could excel under those conditions?
• Since starting off 5-0, the Falcons have lost to the Saints, beaten the Ken Whisenhunt Titans 10-7, lost at home to the Bucs, lost to the Niners and lost at home to the Matt-Hasselbeck Colts. Even Bernie Madoff is astounded at that level of fraud.
• In truth, Hasselbeck is undefeated as a starter this year, though that's mostly due to the level of competition he's faced.
• What a disaster for the Eagles. Their defense yielded 8.5 YPA and five TDs to Jameis Winston and 283 yards on the ground. Doug Martin's 235 yards rushing without a score has to be the record, right?
• The Eagles almost seem to target their receivers almost at random. One week it's Jordan Matthews, another it's Riley Cooper and now it's Brent Celek. Eleven different players saw targets Sunday, and even if the passing game were to click, you'd never know which receiver or tight end to use.
• Carson Palmer shook off a rough first half to put up 317 yards and four TDs on 10.2 YPA against a good defense. The battle for league MVP is between Palmer, Newton and Brady.
• Gio Bernard caught 10 passes for 128 yards, but Jeremy Hill saw most of the work on the ground and scored two TDs.
• Andy Dalton also threw for 315 yards, albeit with a little less efficiency (8.1 YPA) and rushed for 34 more. It could have been a huge day for Dalton, but he missed a wide open Marvin Jones on a would-be 80-yard touchdown, and Jones dropped another deep ball that went through his hands.
• Jones saw nine targets, catching four for 60 yards, but his line could have been something like six for 160 and and two TDs.
• A.J. Green saw 12 targets, but lost his battle with Patrick Peterson, catching only four of them for 79 yards. In fact, 42 of those yards came on a catch against Jerraud Powers, and another catch for 13 yards came on a play when Peterson was sidelined.
• The Sunday night game should have gone to overtime, but the Bengals, on 3rd-and-2 with 1:14 left, threw an incomplete pass before kicking the field goal at 1:08. The Cardinals had no timeouts, so had Cincinnati run the ball, they could have ground the clock down to 28 seconds before tying the game. Of course, they might have gotten the first down on that run, in which case, they could take the clock all the way down as they tried to score a game-winning touchdown. But worst case, the game would almost certainly have gone to overtime.