3M Report: Week 15
Welcome to this week’s edition of the “3M Report” – a weekly look back at the mayhem, magic and mishaps from around the NFL, focusing on situations and players that caught my eye or made me scratch my head in either awe or disbelief. So let’s take a look at week number five of the NFL season.
While much of the country was visiting their local theater last Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams played a game, possibly the final home game for the Rams as much of the off-season conversation will center on which teams will make the move to Los Angeles. The Rams managed to win an ugly game despite a career high 363 passing yards from rookie Jameis Winston, who has himself in the conversation to be considered a top five dynasty quarterback. It will be interesting to watch how highly Winston is selected in startup dynasty drafts this off-season.
Week fifteen hosted a rare Saturday night NFL game in which the Dallas Cowboys were finally and mercifully eliminated from playoff contention. With injuries to Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, this just hasn’t been the Cowboys year. Darren McFadden though, has been rejuvenated. He rushed for 100 yards against the Jets’ strong defense, and that was the fifth time he’s done that this season, second in the league behind only Adrian Peterson. McFadden felt like a short-term fix, but the Cowboys could consider going with him as their starter in 2016 as well.
The Vikings easily defeated division rival Chicago and the story of the day out of Minnesota had to be the play of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. After setting a new career high in passing yardage a week ago, Bridgewater connected on four touchdown passes against the weak Bears’ defense. His previous career best was just two. We saw Bridgewater get hot at the end of his rookie season as well, which sparked many to draft and rank him among the top five dynasty quarterbacks. He has done very little to live up to that valuation this season, but could be turning things around. He hasn’t shown the consistency for me to move him back up among the top quarterbacks in the game, but he is gaining some value as the season winds down. [inlinead]
The Atlanta Falcons finally showed some fight, which they seemingly hadn’t done in week, as they defeated the Jaguars on the road. The Falcons must lean on Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman and that is just what the did as both players reached the end zone for the first time in weeks. This just serves as a reminder to always start your studs. I know many believe in playing matchups or looking for trends and I value that information as well, but players like Jones and Freeman always belong in your lineups.
An ugly quarterback battle in Indianapolis saw Matt Hasselbeck, Charlie Whitehurst, TJ Yates and Brandon Weeden all play meaningful snaps in a game that could help decide a division champion. We know, at least we think, the Colts will be fine once Andrew Luck returns, but the Texans have so much talent that it is imperative they find a new starting quarterback this off-season.
The Panthers were threatened on Sunday in more ways than one. They needed final drive heroics from quarterback Cam Newton and he was glad to deliver as Carolina outlasted the Giants. The story of the day, of course, was the battle, and I do mean battle between Panthers’ cornerback Josh Norman and Giants’ receiver Odell Beckham. Things got ugly as they exchanged blows and words throughout the day and Beckham came out on the wrong side of nearly every confrontation. I didn’t think it was possible, but I think Norman and Beckham both proved in this game that they are the best the NFL has to offer at their position.
The Patriots’ Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski connected early for a touchdown and the Pats cruised to an easy win over the Titans. Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of action. With the Titans going nowhere this season, we may not see Mariota take another snap. Considering this is the second or third time this year he’s dealt with an injury, that would be the wise choice. You have to wonder if Mariota will be one of those players who always seems to be banged up.
One of my biggest takeaways of the day came in a game few really cared about, the Redskins hosting, and defeating, the Bills. In the win, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Washington is reportedly ready to give Cousins a long-term extension. Clearly, he’s not the flashiest or even the most talented quarterback in the league, but he has played well and put up fantasy numbers. We can’t ignore Cousins any longer. His teammate Jordan Reed also continues to put up huge numbers and is moving up my tight end ranks. I’ve always been a believer in Reed. In fact, I drafted him on nearly every team when he was a rookie. I jumped off the bandwagon though when concussions began to pile up. While that is still a major concern, Reed is playing well enough to provide insulation and upside to the injury risk he carries.
The Seattle Seahawks blew out the Browns and clinched yet another playoff bid as Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett all stayed hot. Wilson through three scores, two going to Baldwin and the third to the rookie, Lockett. The story of the day though, might have been the surprising play of running back Christine Michael. With Thomas Rawls done for the year, no one really knew what the Seattle backfield would look like, especially after they brought back both Michael and Bryce Brown in the past few days. They clearly felt better about Michael, who they drafted in the second round and traded earlier this season, as he saw 16 carries to Brown’s nine. Michael is certainly not a player I would trust in a championship matchup next week, but it is good to finally see him do something on an NFL field. Considering three teams, including the Cowboys and Redskins, have parted ways with him in the past three months, Michael has a long way to go to prove he belongs in the league.
The Green Bay Packers got a much needed road win over the much improved Oakland Raiders, but the team’s offense still just doesn’t look right. Aaron Rodgers barely cracked 200 passing yards and he hasn’t touched 300 since Week Ten. Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams all continue to be perpetual disappointments. Each of these players have had big games, but none can really be trusted next week. I won’t be surprised if there are some changes on the Packers’ coaching staff this off-season.
One of the most anticipated games of the day completely lived up to the billing as the Broncos and Steelers exchanged scores all day long in a balanced, high scoring affair. The Steelers overcame a first half deficit to get the win, thanks largely in part to Antonio Brown, who again showed he is one of the best in the league. Brown caught 16 balls, which is the second highest mark in the league this year, only behind Brown’s week nine 17 reception performance. Brown continues to show that as long as Ben Roethlisberger is in the game, he’s a dominant force.
I mentioned the Rams’ potential final home game and it was the same case with the Chargers, who are rumored to be on the move this off-season as well. Like the Rams, the Chargers also gave their fans one final win, dominating the Dolphins in a game that wasn’t as close as the 30-14 score might indicate. Dynasty owners continue to be frustrated by the Dolphins’ running game, specifically the way starting back Lamar Miller is being used. Miller carried the ball just nine times for only 12 yards. While he did get banged up, he later explained he was ready to go back in the game, but never got the opportunity. Knowing that Miller is a free agent following this season, it is difficult to see him re-signing with the Dolphins. A move to a new team could boost Miller’s dynasty value, as well as that of rookie Jay Ajayi, who would be expected to take over in Miller’s place.
The Cardinals continue their chase of the undefeated Carolina Panthers and a big part of that surge is rookie running back David Johnson. With Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington both missing time with injuries, Johnson has been given a heavy workload and it has paid off. Johnson looks like the long-term starter in Arizona and a running back on the rise when it comes to dynasty value.
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