By: Jonathan Goad
Now is not a good time to start losing games if your team is in the playoff mix. We saw several upsets this week starting on Thursday. Luckily for the Saints, the rest of the division also lost, except Tampa Bay, but they’re far enough behind it won’t matter.
Green Bay’s loss even cost Mike McCarthy his job. Who’s on the chopping block next?
Let’s get it started.
New Orleans Saints 10
Dallas Cowboys 13
This was a real bummer of a game. The Dallas defense held New Orleans scoreless in the first half which probably hasn’t ever happened in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era. This game was dud for fantasy purposes, too, unless you have Ezekiel Elliott. He was the only one who put up solid number. The Cowboys now control the NFC East. Even with the loss, the Saints are still in control of the NFC South.
Baltimore Ravens 26
Atlanta Falcons 16
If I were a betting man, I’d say Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn may be the next one to get the ax. The Falcons have underperformed all season. The Ravens’ stingy defense hard gave up anything to the Falcons. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s offense did just enough, led by Lamar Jackson.
Denver Broncos 24
Cincinnati Bengals 10
Phillip Lindsay ran all over the Bengals. He had 19 carries for 157 yards and two scores. That alone was enough to sink a Bengals team who is trending south. They already lost Andy Dalton for the year. Now, reports are saying that they’re going to shut A.J. Green down for the remainder of the season after he has surgery. With their third straight win, the Broncos find themselves back in the playoff mix.
Los Angeles Rams 30
Detroit Lions 16
The Lions hung around with the Rams for a while, but two fourth quarter touchdowns by Todd Gurley ended up being the difference. Gurley continued his romp through the league with 132 yards on 23 carries. He added three catches for 33 yards just for good measure. The Rams also locked up the NFC West with the win and are currently sitting in first place in all of the NFC.
Arizona Cardinals 20
Green Bay Packers 17
There’s something seriously wrong with the Packers. So wrong that they fired their head coach. While a playoff run isn’t likely to happen for Green Bay, it’ll be interesting to see who they get to replace McCarthy in the offseason. The Packers are in a position where they might end up with a rare lottery pick in next year’s draft.
Cleveland Browns 13
Houston Texans 29
The Texans have won nine straight games. They’re tied for the second best record in the AFC, but no one is talking about them. The Texans are playing as well as anybody right now. It’s time to give them some love.
Indianapolis Colts 0
Jacksonville Jaguars 6
The award for the most boring game goes to….this one. No one found pay dirt. The Jags held Andrew Luck and Company scoreless, but other than that, there wasn’t much to write home about in this one. Costly loss for the Colts.
Buffalo Bills 17
Miami Dolphins 21
Josh Allen ran for 135 yards on nine carries. He also threw for 231 yards and two scores. It wasn’t enough though as Ryan Tannehill threw three TD passes en route to handing the Bills their eighth loss of the year. Miami is back in the playoff discussion with the vicoty.
Chicago Bears 27
New York Giants 30
In this upset, two non-quarterbacks threw touchdown passes. Tarik Cohen threw one for the Bears and Odell Beckham threw one for the Giants. Odell now has two touchdown passes on the year. Maybe they’ve found their replacement for Eli Manning.
Carolina Panthers 17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
The Panthers dropped their fourth straight, and this one will hurt. Cam Newton’s four interceptions certainly didn’t help. If the playoffs started today, the Panthers would be on the outside looking in. They’ve got some work to do if they’re going to get into the postseason.
Kansas City Chiefs 40
Oakland Raiders 33
No Kareem Hunt, no problem for KC. Mahomes torched the Raiders for four scores. The Raiders did put up 33 points, but we already knew that Kansas City’s defense isn’t great. The Chiefs maintain their lead in the division.
New York Jets 22
Tennessee Titans 26
The Jets got out to a good start, but couldn’t continue it for four quarters. The Titans used 13 fourth-quarter points to come from behind and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Minnesota Vikings 10
New England Patriots 24
Raise your hand if you had James Develin in your fantasy lineup…Everyone who raised their hand is a liar. Even with Sony Michel, James White, and Rex Burkhead in the New England backfield, James Develin is the one who scored two rushing touchdowns. Bill Belichick is the ultimate troll.
San Francisco 49ers 16
Seattle Seahawks 43
As expected, Seattle didn’t have any trouble with San Francisco. Russell Wilson tossed four touchdowns in the win. The Seahawks have won three in a row and kept their Wild Card hopes alive.
Los Angeles Chargers 33
Pittsburgh Steelers 30
The Chargers used an 18-point fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Steelers. Philip Rivers threw for nearly 300 yards and two scores. What’s more impressive is that the Rivers are expecting their ninth child. Nine kids?! That’s nuts! His family can finally form it’s own football team.
Washington Redskins 13
Philadelphia Eagles 28
The defending champs are back in the playoff mix. Golden Tate has his best performance as an Eagle. The Redskins are really in trouble if they have to go with Mark Sanchez the rest of the way.
Lessons learned in week 13:
- Any team can lose on any given Sunday. They should make a movie about that…
- The Thursday night curse is still alive in fantasy football (I totally felt the effects).
- Guess who could have used Kahlil Mack’s services again…it’s Oakland.
- The Rams and Chiefs are back in the driver’s seat for home field advantage in the playoffs.
- No coach is safe.
Categories: NFL, Uncategorized
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