NFL Reactions: The Fight Never Happened

A lot can change over the course of a couple weeks, and numerous big-name players are in the midst of remarkable seasons that warrant extensive praise. But let's be serious: we all know who the MVP is. If Patrick Mahomes plays 15 games this year – I'm taking the liberty of assuming he might earn a vacation for Week 17 – then the matter is settled. Any billed fight at this time would basically be kayfabe.

Cam Newton and Drew Brees had themselves awesome games Sunday in their big respective victories. Cam is on pace for 3,786 yards through the air (67.3 percent completed, 7.2 YPA) with 30 touchdowns to eight interceptions, with another 674 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, Brees is in the midst of what might be the best season of his Hall of Fame career, on pace for 4,672 yards with an 18:1 touchdown to interception ratio, boasting a particularly crazy combination of 8.4 YPA at a completion percentage of 76.3.

Neither guy is on Mahomes' level right now. After hanging another 375 yards and three touchdowns in Cleveland on Sunday, Mahomes is up to 2,901 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in nine games. The pace is 5,157 yards and 52 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, at a completion percentage of 66.2 and YPA of 9.2. Tom Brady's 2007 season saw him finish 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions at 68.9 percent completed and 8.3 YPA. Peyton Manning threw for 5,477 yards, 55 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his record-setting 2013 season, completing 68.3 percent at 8.3 YPA. Brady needed 578 pass attempts and Manning threw 659. Mahomes has been more explosive than either quarterback was in their respective record-breaking seasons – the guy has done his damage on a pace of just 564 attempts.

Through nine games, we have reason to believe Mahomes is in the midst of what could be the best quarterback season of all time. It seems like we're already a bit desensitized to the fact.

• For the first three weeks this year I panicked over my Kareem Hunt shares. I can feel my face turning red right now as I reflect on the fact. In Hunt's last six games he has 822 yards and 10 touchdowns from scrimmage. Spencer Ware looks very good this year and I think Hunt's owners should prepare for him getting a few breathers in the second half as Kansas City digs in their heels for the playoffs, but Hunt is a very good running back in the league's best offense. He almost categorically cannot fail for any significant stretch of time.

• I can't tell whether I should be encouraged by Cleveland's commitment to Nick Chubb in the running game or despair over the fact that this team clearly will not be functional until 2019 at the earliest. They're going to keep running him, but I'm not convinced he'll ever have much room. Maybe this upcoming game against Atlanta will prove an exception. It's heartening to see Duke Johnson finally get the shot he's warranted all year, but he deserves more carries too. It seemed like the Browns offense showed some improvement Sunday, so perhaps conditions will keep improving yet.

• I'm not saying Sean McDermott is the next Bill Belichick, but I will say that if the Bills fire him they will absolutely regret it. You cannot win with this team. Nathan Peterman is the wrong choice, but so were Josh Allen, A.J. McCarron, and Derek Anderson. McDermott asked for none of these outcomes. He didn't ask to swap out Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin with Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, and Jeremy Kerley. He didn't ask them to place an asking price on LeSean McCoy – by far their most dispensable pre-purge asset of any known market value – so high that it would instead doom him to Buffalo until the twilight of his career and the nadir of his trade market. Brandon Beane clearly has the political power in Buffalo, which means he'll likely be the last one on the hook for his actions, but that guy destroyed whatever capital the Bills had.

• As a side note on Buffalo, it's funny to watch them make the futile attempt to offset their horrendous quarterbacks with gigantic pass catchers. Kelvin Benjamin, Logan Thomas, Jason Croom, and Terrelle Pryor average 6-foot-5 and about 240 pounds, but their 27 targets Sunday resulted in 16 catches for just 133 yards.

• It's a good look for Matt Nagy that the Bears took care of business and clobbered the Bills on the road. Mitchell Trubisky still looks like a bit of a liability, but 12-of-20 for 135 yards, one touchdown, and one interception could have been worse against a fiery Bills defense that routinely overachieves. It was notably yet another week where a big game by one Bears runner (Jordan Howard) canceled the viable game script for the other (Tarik Cohen).

• I invested a ton of FAAB into Ryan Fitzpatrick this week, so I was absolutely mortified by his brutal first quarter showing. He got in the four pseudo garbage-time touchdowns to salvage the day, but I thought we were gonna see Jameis again. If Winston weren't so dislikable and horrifically stupid I think Fitz might have been in some trouble there.

• I've been critical of Adam Humphries but he was spectacular against the Panthers, catching all eight of his targets for 82 yards and two touchdowns. But I'm nothing if not a hater: this will be the best game of Humphries' career. If OJ Howard pretended to forget how to block he would basically turn into Vincent Jackson. Todd Monken needs to make it an imperative goal to feed Howard targets. He's a Hall of Fame-caliber tight end talent.

• The Panthers offense will probably be a bit frustrating for fantasy purposes, but Norv Turner is doing a nice job and there's a veritable powderkeg of talent for Newton to work with at the skill positions. Despite their different positions, all of Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Samuel, and D.J. Moore have very similar skill sets, and when you use them to spread out the field there's only so much the defense can do to help itself. Samuel and Moore are nowhere near their ceilings, either. This team needs to keep Torrey Smith in a backup role when he's healthy – he can't help Newton like Samuel and Moore can.

• Matt Ryan was murderously good despite playing a tough defense on the road. It was a great look for him after struggling on the road against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh earlier this year. If Ryan has the offense humming even on the road, he might finish this year even stronger than he started it.

• I'd try to sell Adrian Peterson the next time he has a decent game. Washington is a garbage team and the script can too easily go off the rails for Peterson's owners to correctly guess when he's worth starting. I'm inclined to chalk up Maurice Harris' big 12-target day entirely to garbage time. He was the WR6 on his own California team as a senior in 2015, behind such stars as Bryce Treggs, Trevor Davis, Kenny Lawler, Darius Powe, and Stephen Anderson.

• The Lions have various issues to sort out, but I think their dud against Minnesota was mostly just due to a return to form by the Minnesota defense. A lot of their decline this year was pretty obviously attributable to injuries, the Rams, and the Eagles. That defense has way too much talent on it to just fall off forever.

• The Golden Tate trade cleared up a ton of receiver snaps for Theo Riddick. Riddick is basically a wide receiver and was classified as one at Notre Dame, so it's a reasonable adjustment. But more than creating value for Riddick, I think this stealthily creates value for Kerryon Johnson. If Riddick is running routes at receiver, he isn't running them at running back. And we know LeGarrete Blount sure as hell isn't doing it. The Tate trade could really set off Johnson as a pass catcher. Now is your last chance to buy him.

• Joe Flacco very clearly decided to kick a field goal instead of throwing a touchdown pass to Lamar Jackson in the first quarter of Baltimore's loss to Pittsburgh. Watch the tape – Jackson goes in motion before the snap, and the defense doesn't follow. Flacco knows it's a zone at that point. He knows no one is on Jackson, and makes sure to look anywhere but right.

• Alex Collins has been disappointing this year, but he's running effectively. It unfortunately might not mean much if Javorius Allen stays involved even after Ty Montgomery gets added to the offense. I think subtracting Allen for Montgomery is the obviously right call, but who knows if the Ravens see it similarly.

• Keenan Allen has been uncharacteristically explosive this year, gobbling up 9.6 yards per target, yet he has just one touchdown on 47 catches. He's never been a touchdown guy, but these peripheral stats are difficult to reconcile, especially with Philip Rivers throwing 19 touchdowns in eight games. Allen might be a buy-low target worth considering, expensive as he still might be.

• The star receiver on the other side of that game is probably worth buy-low consideration, too. Doug Baldwin has been super efficient the past three weeks, turning 15 targets into 194 yards, but his target count has lagged due to a confluence of checkdowns and David Moore targets in that span. As long as Baldwin's knees cooperate, his skill set is All-Pro and Russell Wilson's play ensures eventual touchdown opportunity.

• Case Keenum is very lucky that Chad Kelly is a psychotic hothead. That might be true for Jeff Heuerman, also. With Demaryius Thomas gone we knew Courtland Sutton would see more work, but Heuerman figures to be one of the top FAAB expenditures this week after catching 10 of 11 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown. He's probably not actually good, but his function aligns with Keenum's needs.