Having the Eagles and Cowboys in the day games was bad, and having Tony Romo in my first-place-in-points NFFC league was worse. I did have Calvin Johnson in a couple key places, and the Bears late cover allowed me to digest my food. If you go 0-3, it's Thanksfornothing.
Disclaimer: I didn't watch the entire slate. I caught most of the Lions-Eagles, half of the Cowboys-Panthers and about half of the Packers-Bears.
• Romo's injury is yet another data point in what seems like the worst season for injuries in a long time. Even if he were healthy, the Cowboys would be out of it at 3-8, but now they're in the running for one of the top picks in the draft.
• What a disastrous season for Dez Bryant. He finally gets healthy and gets Romo back, only to lose him again. He's still a top-20-ish receiver with Matt Cassel, but that's probably his ceiling.
• I thought the Panthers were a fraud at 5-0, but it's hard to argue with them blowing out most of their opponents of late, and the Packers game was only close because Carolina went into prevent too early.
• The Giants were huge beneficiaries today as their two biggest NFC East rivals essentially eliminated themselves from contention. The Eagles are technically still in it at 4-7 and with the tiebreak advantage should they beat the Giants in Week 17. But not only did they fall 1.5 games behind, they looked like a team that had packed it in. If the Giants beat the 4-6 Redskins Sunday, giving them the sweep, the division is more or less locked up.
• Aside from how it helps the Giants, it was shocking how poorly the Eagles played on a national stage when they still controlled their own destiny to win the division. Chip Kelly wasn't even faking it, punting on 4th-and-2 from his own 41 with 2:15 left in the third quarter, down 38-7.
• Matt Stafford had a huge day, and it could have been bigger but for a few drops. The Eagles defense is awful, but Stafford was also zipping the ball with perfect accuracy most of the day. The play calling is also much better under new OC Jim Bob Cooter. They're not nearly as conservative, and they're letting Stafford sling it.
• Calvin Johnson had a monster day, but I'd like to see it against a non-doormat before I'm restoring him to his preseason ranking. I'd also like to see him score on a deep ball. While the three TDs were nice, he managed only 93 yards on 14 targets.
• The NFL changes so quickly. A month ago, having the Chiefs, Lions and Texans on your schedule was a cakewalk, while the Raiders and Jets were dangerous.
• It's too bad John Fox, Bart Starr and Brett Favre couldn't will the Packers to a win. Fox did his best by punting the ball back to the Packers on 4th-and-1 from midfield, up four, with two and a half minutes left. Of course, the Packers had the ball at midfield 40 seconds later anyway.
• Later on that drive, Aaron Rodgers passed the ball to Davante Adams to make it first and goal with a minute left, and Fox didn't take his last timeout, instead letting the clock run down to 30 seconds. At that point, time was not an issue for Green Bay, as they were going to throw the ball four times regardless, but Fox ensured if the Packers scored, the Bears would have no time left to drive for a game-tying field goal.
• The Bears prevailed anyway, and you have to wonder why Rodgers was only able to muster 4.7 YPA at home against an average defense. Part of the problem is Adams who can't hold onto the ball and has been horrifically inefficient the last several games, but it's strange Rodgers keeps going to him and that Adams is even on the field. Maybe Rodgers was just being careful not to upstage Favre on his big day.
• Eddie Lacy fumbled, but otherwise seemed like the player we drafted back in August.
• Curt Menefee's psychotically peppy and upbeat demeanor grates on me. He's probably got a closet full of dead bodies at his house.