NFL Game Recaps: Week 16, 2021

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Titans 20, 49ers 17

The 49ers have an important decision to make entering the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo can play very well against defenses that can’t cover the middle of the field, but he becomes completely incompetent against teams that are strong in this regard. Garoppolo even becomes a liability against such competition, so San Francisco could opt to make the change to Trey Lance, who offers so much more upside.

Garoppolo gave the 49ers a sneak preview of what they’ll see in the postseason. The 49ers had a chance to take a 24-0 lead in this game, but Garoppolo’s incompetence ruined that. Already up 7-0, Garoppolo threw an interception into the end zone when Janoris Jenkins jumped the route on a pass intended for George Kittle. Garoppolo had a chance for another touchdown on the ensuing drive, but overthrew a wide-open Kyle Juszczyk by a mile. Garoppolo closed out the opening half by getting away with two potential turnovers. A possible interception of his was dropped, and then he fumbled on a strip-sack, but Kittle managed to recover the loose ball.

Things only got worse for Garoppolo in the second half. He was finally guilty of a second turnover when he overthrew Deebo Samuel, allowing Amani Hooker to snatch the interception, setting up a Tennessee touchdown. Garoppolo then missing Brandon Aiyuk on a fourth-down pass in Tennessee territory. He eventually led a fourth-quarter touchdown, but it was too little, too late for the 49ers, who blew way too many opportunities in a game they should have won.

Garoppolo had a nice completion percentage, going 26-of-35 for 306 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He’s lucky he didn’t commit four turnovers. This was a disastrous performance for Garoppolo, and San Francisco must ask itself if Lance gives the team a better chance to prevail.

Deebo Samuel was the biggest producer for the 49ers, hauling in nine of his 11 targets for 159 yards. He also rushed five times for 32 yards. He and Jeff Wilson Jr. handled all but one of the carries, as Wilson’s 14 attempts went for 45 yards and a score.

Aside from Samuel, no other 49er accumulated more than 45 receiving yards. Aiyuk logged just 40 receiving yards on four catches, but reeled in the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Kittle was limited to just two grabs for 21 yards. The Titans are stellar at defending tight ends, so this outcome was not a surprise.

A.J. Brown nearly matched Samuel’s yardage total, but was more important for his team. He caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, abusing an injury-ravaged 49ers cornerback group. Tennessee’s offense was dreadful in the first half, averaging just 2.6 yard per play, but the Titans decided to just have Ryan Tannehill take shots to Brown in the second half, and it worked. Of Brown’s 145 yards, 121 came following intermission.

Speaking of Tannehill, he was an efficient 22-of-29 for 209 yards and a touchdown. Like Brown, Tannehill registered most of his yardage in the second half; he tallied just 40 passing yards prior to the break.

The Titans couldn’t find any running room against the 49ers’ stalwart ground defense. D’Onta Foreman mustered just 17 yards on nine carries, but scored a touchdown to salvage his fantasy performance. Jeremy McNichols (7-31) and Dontrell Hilliard (5-20) didn’t fare much better.

Packers 24, Browns 22

The FOX Sports pre-game show crew spent a segment discussing whether they thought Baker Mayfield was the long-term answer for the Browns. The consensus was that he was not, and their opinions were certainly validated in this affair. The Browns as a whole played an excellent game against the team with the best record in the NFL, but they ultimately lost because of Mayfield’s constant mistakes.

The Browns got out to a quick 6-0 lead, but Mayfield made sure that advantage wouldn’t hold very long. He was picked on an irresponsible deep shot into double coverage to set up a Green Bay touchdown. Mayfield then threw a second pick while in field goal range on a high throw to Jarvis Landry. This led to a second Green Bay touchdown. Mayfield’s third pick occurred when he fired the ball while drifting backward, showing terrible mechanics that were prevalent throughout the evening. This led to yet another Packer touchdown. For those keeping track, Mayfield’s three first-half interceptions allowed the Packers to score 21 of their 24 points.

Cleveland was able to mount a comeback in the second half, thanks to some great Nick Chubb runs and ineffective, conservative Green Bay drives. The Browns drew to within two and got the ball back with 2:05 and all three timeouts. Mayfield, however, ended the game with his fourth interception, though this one, unlike the other three, wasn’t exactly his fault because Donovan Peoples-Jones was held.

Still, Mayfield was horrible. He ruined the Browns’ chances of winning this game and making another playoff run. He finished 21-of-36 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and the four interceptions. He’s lucky he wasn’t picked a fifth time, as a potential interception of his was dropped in the third quarter.

Conversely, Aaron Rodgers was brilliant. He even made history, becoming the all-time Packer leader in passing touchdowns. He went 24-of-34 for 202 yards and three touchdowns.

Rodgers’ record-breaking touchdown went to Allen Lazard, who caught two early passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, but did nothing in the second half. Lazard was still second in receiving behind Davante Adams, who enjoyed a monstrous performance. Adams hauled in 10 of his 13 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His only mistake was a third-down drop in the fourth quarter that kept the game alive for the Browns. Fortunately for Adams, it would not matter.

While the Packers fed their star skill player the ball enough, the Browns did not do the same with Chubb. For some reason, Chubb was given just five carries in the first half. Chubb ended up with 126 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. He also caught three passes for 58 receiving yards.

Cleveland’s receiving leader was Rashad Higgins and his five receptions for 58 yards. Jarvis Landry (4-55) and Chubb were the only other Browns with more than 26 receiving yards.

Colts 22, Cardinals 16

The Cardinals seemed to be gift-wrapped a victory for Christmas. The Colts were down every single starter in the interior of their offensive line, as well as some other key starters like Darius Leonard and Khari Willis. If that wasn’t bad enough, Indianapolis also lost Eric Fisher and Jack Doyle during the early stages of the evening. How could Arizona not prevail against a skeleton-crew Indianapolis squad?

Despite this, the Cardinals found a way to lose. They squandered many opportunities and crushed themselves with dumb mistakes throughout the game. In the first half alone, they experienced a deep drop on third down, a missed field goal, a missed extra point, a turnover on downs, a safety, and seven penalties, including one that overturned a fumble recovery on a Carson Wentz strip-sack. Arizona finished the game with a second missed field goal and 11 total infractions. The team was horrendously coached by Kliff Kingsbury, while many of the players made too many blunders.

This includes Kyler Murray. The third-year quarterback made a brilliant 57-yard run to set up an early touchdown, but struggled for the rest of the evening. He was off the mark on too many of his throws, causing drives to stall. He also had issues with the snap, which was a problem last week as well. Arizona sorely misses its center, Rodney Hudson.

Murray finished 27-of-43 for 245 yards and a touchdown. Much of this passing yardage occurred in garbage time, as Murray accumulated just 79 passing yards in the opening half. This was a rough performance for Murray, as he clearly looks lost without DeAndre Hopkins. Murray turned in a decent fantasy performance because of his 74 rushing yards, but don’t be fooled into thinking that he played remotely well. He was a liability for the Cardinals when he wasn’t scrambling.

Speaking of liabilities, Kirk’s deep drop on the opening drive ruined a great scoring opportunity. Kirk was third on the team in receiving with seven catches, but for only 48 yards. A.J. Green also sucked, catching a single ball for 33 yards. They trailed Chase Edmonds and Zach Ertz, both of whom caught eight passes for 71 and 54 receiving yards, respectively. Ertz had a chance at an amazing fourth-down catch in the second quarter, but landed out of bounds. This was one of many instances in which the Cardinals were “nearly there,” but ended up failing.

Edmonds handled the entire workload with James Conner sidelined. In addition to his eight catches for 71 receiving yards, he also rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Jonathan Taylor didn’t have as many yards as Edmonds overall, but he broke the century rushing mark, gaining 108 yards on 27 carries. Despite these numbers, the Cardinals did a good job on Taylor following his first attempt, which went for 43 yards. Taylor had 65 yards on 26 tries otherwise, as Arizona limited him to half-a-dozen negative runs.

With Taylor bottled up in the backfield often, Wentz made some clutch throws, especially in the second half. He wasn’t perfect – he was lucky that a lost fumble was overturned, and he missed Taylor for a big gain – but he still misfired just 10 times, going 18-of-28 for 225 yards and two touchdowns.

Michael Pittman paced Indianapolis in receiving with eight catches for 82 yards. He didn’t catch a touchdown, with those going to T.Y. Hilton (4-51) and Dezmon Patmon (1-14), who put the Colts up nine in the fourth quarter, effectively ending the game.

Jets 26, Jaguars 21

This was a highly anticipated game despite these teams possessing horrible records. This is because the top two quarterbacks chosen in the 2021 NFL Draft were set to battle each other, with both being in favorable matchups. Both the Jaguars and Jets defenses were already poor, and both were missing key personnel. Everything was set up for Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson to thrive.

Neither Lawrence nor Wilson thrived, though I wouldn’t exactly say either struggled. Both rookie signal-callers had bright moments in this contest, mixed in with some mistakes.

Beginning with the top pick from April, Lawrence opened with a deep pass interference flag that he drew with Laquon Treadwell on the initial drive to set up a field goal. Treadwell dropped a deep touchdown of Lawrence’s on the next drive, though the Jaguars ultimately scored when Lawrence fumbled the ball near the goal line, only to see an offensive lineman of his pounce on the ball. Lawrence exeprienced another mixed drive after that. He showed nice touch on a 17-yard connection to Tavon Austin and then fired a laser to Marvin Jones for a gain of 10. However, he overthrew Jones for a touchdown and showed bad accuracy on a third-down heave to Austin. An ensuing drive of Lawrence’s saw him take a big loss on a strip-sack. Lawrence recklessly dropped back way too far in the pocket and was punished for it.

Lawrence, however, bounced back with his best throw, which was a 30-yard connection to Austin in which he displayed great ball placement while on the run. Lawrence was in position to lead his team to victory at the end. He hit his receivers with accurate throws, then made a great scramble to set up a first-and-goal. However, after a pass of his was nearly intercepted by C.J. Mosley, the Jaguars were discombobulated, and Lawrence’s final pass fell incomplete, though a successful throw would have been negated by a procedural penalty because Jacksonville wasn’t lined up properly.

Lawrence finished 26-of-39 for 280 yards. He also scrambled six times for 37 rushing yards. This was somewhat of a disappontment for Lawrence because he was battling a defense Gardner Minshew torched a few weeks ago. However, Lawrence showed enough positive signs to give the Jaguars some hope heading into 2022.

Moving on to the No. 2 pick, Wilson made a big play in the first half when he scrambled for a 52-yard touchdown, though that play featured some of the worst tackling efforts you’ll ever see. Wilson was brilliant as a runner in this game, rushing four times for 91 yards and a score.

As a passer, however, Wilson wasn’t quite as good. He wasn’t intercepted, but easily could have been thrice. One instance was an apparent pick by rookie safety Andre Cisco where Wilson stared down his receiver. Replay review said Cisco didn’t catch the ball, but I believe he did. Wilson’s second near-pick was a horrible throw down the seam. Wilson also showed poor accuracy on a pass to Tyler Kroft in the flat and later was nearly picked a third time on a high throw to Kroft.

Wilson had some bright moments, however. Following the Cisco “drop,” Wilson fired a 19-yard bullet on the next play. He later completed a 12-yard laser to move the chains on a third-and-9 that helped the Jets cover the spread. Wilson also impressively went through his reads on a fourth down and eventually found Braxton Berrios to move the chains once more.

Wilson finished 14-of-22 for 102 yards and a passing touchdown to go along with his great rushing totals. Wilson, like Lawrence had his ups and downs. However, this was an easy matchup for him, and I don’t think he met expectations. Lawrence was the better passer in this contest, as Wilson is very fortunate he wasn’t picked on numerous occasions.

Aside from the quarterbacks and draft positioning, the most significant development in this game was an Achilles tear suffered by James Robinson. The stellar back was in tears as he was carted into the locker room. This occurred early in the game, as Robinson had three carries at that point (10 yards). Dare Ogunbowale handled the workload in Robinson’s absence. Ogunbowale rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Michael Carter ended up being the leading rusher in this game. Carter dashed for 118 yards on just 16 carries, but he didn’t find the end zone, as Wilson and offensive lineman Connor McDermott vultured his scores.

Marvin Jones was the leading receiver in this contest, hauling in eight of his 13 targets for 74 yards. He barely edged out Austin (6-68) and Treadwell (4-54).

The Jets’ pass-catchers, meanwhile, were limited because Wilson did all the damage on the ground. Berrios paced the Jets with five grabs for 37 yards.

Bills 33, Patriots 21

The weather was much different in the second matchup between these teams, and that was evident right away when the Patriots called two pass plays on the opening possession, nearly matching Mac Jones’ three attempts in Buffalo back in early December. Jones threw more than four times than he did in that game – in the first half alone!

The Patriots certainly regret not running more often despite the calmer winds. Though Jones fired 13 passes in the first half, he completed just five of them, including an interception that was the result of a couple of deflections. Jones, who threw some wildly inaccurate passes at times, especially in the 2-minute drill prior to halftime, was also sacked on the opening possession.

The Bills, meanwhile, blew some opportunities in the early going, including an Emmanuel Sanders dropped touchdown on fourth down in the second quarter, but they were able to jump out to a 17-7 lead by intermission, as Allen beat New England on the ground and through the air. This lead was needed because the Patriots made a charge in the second half to stay within one score most of the time, thanks to their tough running game. Jones played better following intermission, but wasn’t quite good enough, as the Bills held on to the lead, thanks to three clutch third- and fourth-down conversions by Allen when he had possession in the fourth quarter trying to nurse a 26-21 lead. The possession eventually concluded with a touchdown pass to Dawson Knox to clinch the victory.

Allen, despite missing Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, still performed very well. He made some mistakes like missing Stefon Diggs for an early touchdown, overthrowing an open Jake Kumerow for another potential score, and having a near-interception dropped, but he was tremendous at times. The Patriots’ usually terrific defense simply couldn’t get off the field late in the game. Allen threw some amazing passes in the second half, and the designed runs the Bills utilized for him were very effective.

Allen finished 30-of-47 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He also showed no ill effects of the foot injury that bothered him the past couple of weeks, given that he rushed for 64 yards on 12 scrambles.

With Beasley and Davis sidelined, Diggs was expected to lead the team in receiving. He was second with seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. It was Isaiah McKenzie who paced the team in that regard. McKenzie was brilliant, hauling in 11 of his 12 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. The lone incompletion was a near-catch. McKenzie made some acrobatic receptions in this contest.

Conversely, Sanders was a disappointment. In addition to his dropped touchdown, he caught just two passes for 20 yards. Knox didn’t have a great stat line either (2-11), but he caught an Allen touchdown on a flip. He also had an earlier apparent touchdown called back because of an ineligible man downfield.

Devin Singletary didn’t have much success on the ground, but put forth a strong PPR fantasy performance because of his five catches for 39 receiving yards, plus a touchdown. However, he was limited to 39 yards on 12 carries.

Damien Harris was the leading rusher in this game despite the Patriots trailing throughout. Harris rushed for three touchdowns as well as 103 yards on 18 carries. It appeared as though Harris fumbled prior to crossing the goal line on one of his touchdown runs, but replay review did not overturn the call.

The Patriots had to lean on Harris, as Mac Jones failed to complete half of his passes, though he would’ve been better than 50 percent had his teammates not dropped three balls. He went 14-of-32 for 145 yards and two interceptions. His second pick was a desperation heave at the end of the game.

Only two Patriots logged more than 20 receiving yards: Jakobi Meyers (6-59) and Kendrick Bourne (2-33). N’Keal Harry (2-15) stepped in for Nelson Agholor and disappointed. He was guilty of two drops, and he didn’t show a great effort to break up Jones’ initial interception.

Rams 30, Vikings 23

Based on the public action leading up to this game, many expected the Rams to clobber the Vikings. The Rams prevailed and covered the spread, but this game was played evenly. In fact, the time of possession was deadlocked at 30:00 for both teams, and Minnesota outgained Los Angeles by five net yards.

The Vikings were able to benefit from some unusual Matthew Stafford mistakes. Stafford threw three interceptions. One wasn’t his fault, but the other two involved poor decision-making and bad field vision. The first pick occurred when Stafford was under heavy pressure and didn’t see Anthony Barr as a consequence. The second was irresponsibly fired into triple coverage. The interception that wasn’t his fault was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

With Stafford struggling through his three picks, the question must be asked: How did the Vikings lose this game? They made some mistakes as well. Kirk Cousins had his own interception when a ball bounced off K.J. Osborn’s hands, negating at least a field goal opportunity. Justin Jefferson also dropped a deep pass. However, the big mistake came on special teams. When the Vikings scored to draw to within 13-10, they gave up a punt return touchdown shortly later, allowing the Rams to jump out to a two-score lead, which Minnesota couldn’t quite overcome.

Stafford had a horrible game, going 21-of-37 for 197 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Vikings’ mistakes and the special teams bailed him out, so Stafford will need to play better in the playoffs, or the Rams will suffer an early exit.

Despite Stafford’s struggles, Cooper Kupp still had a strong fantasy performance. He caught 10 of his 13 targets for 109 yards, though he didn’t reach the end zone. Tyler Higbee (5-41) and Odell Beckham (4-37) were the only other Rams with double-digit receiving yards, as Van Jefferson snatched just one of his six targets for six yards because many of Stafford’s passes in his direction were off the mark. Beckham hauled in Stafford’s sole touchdown, mimicking Justin Jefferson in the end zone by doing Jefferson’s patented eye goggles dance.

Sony Michel was the top performer for the Rams, as he handled all but one carry. Michel dashed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Henderson’s one run was a burst of 17 yards.

The Vikings didn’t run the ball nearly as well with Alexander Mattison, who was battling a deficit and a tough ground defense. Mattison was limited to 41 yards on 13 carries, though he salvaged his fantasy performance with a touchdown.

Cousins had a fine game overall, going 27-of-38 for 315 yards, one touchdown and an interception that wasn’t his fault. However, he stalled in the red zone too often, and he made a bone-headed throw on third-and-goal when he made a risky toss toward the sideline that had no chance of being a touchdown. Cousins seems to make one or two of these dumb mistakes every week.

Jefferson barely did anything in the first half – two catches, 14 yards – but he exploded after halftime, snatching eight of his 12 targets for 116 yards. He needed to come up big after Adam Thielen (3-40) got banged up after making a catch. Osborn (5-68) made amends for his early mistake with an eventual touchdown.

Eagles 34, Giants 10

Despite the blowout victory, it appeared as though the Giants would pull the upset for a while. They scored the first points of this game, and this affair was tied at three heading into intermission. Jalen Hurts seemed on the verge of self-destructing. He opened the game 3-of-10 for 11 yards with a near-fumble and an interception called back by replay review. Hurts also failed to spot a wide-open Dallas Goedert in the end zone during the second quarter. With the Eagles being huge favorites, it appeared as though this might be an epic choke job in what was a must-win for the playoffs.

Fortunately for the Eagles, they were battling a Giants offense that couldn’t do anything outside of one drive in the second quarter. The Eagles were able to break open this game when a Jake Fromm interception gave them a short field and a subsequent touchdown. Fromm was hit in the face mask on the play, but no penalty was called. The Giants then continued to give the Eagles short fields on quick, ineffective drives and special teams gaffes, and it didn’t help that an unsportsmanlike penalty was thrown in on one of the possessions. Suddenly, the Eagles, who couldn’t score at all, were up 27-3 at the beginning of the final quarter. Prior to garbage time, the Eagles had outgained the Giants, 304-94.

Hurts ended up with a misleading stat line. He went 17-of-29 for 199 yards and two touchdowns, but didn’t play nearly as well as those mediocre numbers indicate. Though he endured four drops by his targets, Hurts was atrocious in the first half. If the Giants had a functional offense, the Eagles may have lost this game, despite what the final score says. Curiously, Hurts didn’t even bother to scramble, as he ran just twice for seven yards.

Hurts’ touchdowns went to DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson. Smith led the team in receiving with five catches for 80 yards. His touchdown was a thing of beauty, as Smith planted both feet in the end zone before falling out of play. Replay review ruled it incomplete after it was signaled a touchdown, but an unprecedented second replay review reversed the original replay review. It’s unclear why there were two replay reviews for this play, and why the second disagreed with the first. After the first replay ruled the play incomplete, the FOX announcers exclaimed, “Ah, I see why it was incomplete!” Two minutes later, it was ruled complete. None of this made any sense.

Elsewhere in the receiving corps, Quez Watkins (3-43) caught a deep pass on the Eagles’ second touchdown drive, while Goedert disappointed his fantasy owners with just two catches for 28 yards. As mentioned earlier, he would have scored a touchdown had Hurts recognized that he was wide open in the end zone. He, Jalen Reagor, Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders all dropped passes.

Speaking of Sanders, he rushed for 45 yards on seven carries, getting knocked out early with a fractured hand. Sanders’ fantasy owners watched Boston Scott (12-41) score a touchdown that Sanders deserved.

As for the Giants, there’s nothing positive to say. Fromm was absolutely atrocious in his first NFL start. He went 6-of-17 for 25 yards and an interception before getting pulled in favor of Mike Glennon. It’s hard to believe that this was the same Fromm who nearly engineered a back-door cover against the Cowboys on the final possession last week. Fromm missed a wide-open Darius Slayton for a potential big gain at one point in the second quarter. He also skipped a pass to Kadarius Toney, and a possible interception of his was dropped by Darius Slay. Fromm put forth one of the worst quarterback performances anyone has seen in a very long time.

No Giant accumulated more than 30 receiving yards, with Toney leading the way with four catches for 28 yards. Kenny Golladay (3-22) was next.

It’s unclear why Saquon Barkley was not part of the passing game at all; he caught just one pass for minus-4 yards. He did nothing on the ground either, mustering only 32 yards on 15 attempts.

Buccaneers 32, Panthers 6

The Buccaneers lost Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette to injury in a surprising loss last week to the Saints. They wouldn’t have any of those players available in this game, but they were able to get some contributions from other players to clinch the NFC South.

Antonio Brown made his return from an unwarranted suspension this week, and it didn’t look like he missed a beat. He caught 10 of his 15 targets for 101 yards. Then, there was Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who had a disappointing start to his young career. He sprinted for a 55-yard touchdown in the first half, breaking three tackles in the process. Meanwhile, Cyril Grayson hauled in a 62-yard bomb to set up a Tampa score.

With all of these surprising contributions, the Buccaneers were able to win easily, as they outgained the Panthers, 391-273, averaging 2.2 more yards per play.

Tom Brady went 18-of-30 for 232 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t the best fantasy performance, but Brady was battling a tough pass defense without three of his five primary weapons. The important thing is that Brady prevailed to clinch the division.

With Fournette out, Ronald Jones handled 20 of the 27 carries between him and Vaughn. The latter outgained Jones, but only because of the 55-yard run. Jones finished with 68 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Excluding Brown, Grayson led the Buccaneers in receiving with three catches for 81 yards. No other Buccaneer accumulated more than 23 receiving yards. That includes Rob Gronkowski, who had just one catch for 23 yards. He also dropped a touchdown pass. The Panthers are stellar against tight ends, so that would explain Gronkowski’s lackluster output.

As for the Panthers, they utilized a confusing platoon between Cam Newton and Sam Darnold. Newton started and led an early field goal drive, but struggled after that. Carolina then had Darnold take the field, and he completed a 63-yard bomb to Shi Smith. Despite this great throw, the Panthers removed Darnold immediately afterward and re-inserted Newton into the game. Newton proceeded to throw a bad pass. If Matt Rhule survives despite these idiotic tactics, anyone in America can keep their job, no matter how bad they are at it.

Newton barely completed half of his passes, going 7-of-13 for only 61 yards and an interception, which was a horrible throw up for grabs. This is the last time we should ever see Newton, as he was outplayed by Darnold, who went 15-of-32 for 190 yards. Darnold’s stat line wasn’t pretty either, but he wasn’t nearly as bad as Newton.

Excluding Newton and Darnold’s runs – 42 and 11 rushing yards, respectively – the Panthers’ leader on the ground was Chuba Hubbard, who mustered only nine yards on six carries.

Carolina’s top receiver was Smith, thanks to his 63-yard bomb. He caught three balls for 86 yards. Robby Anderson (5-58) and D.J. Moore (5-55) were next on the stat sheet.

Texans 41, Chargers 29

The Texans barely had a functioning roster entering this game. Take a look at their starting lineup, and how many players were sidelined with a minor illness:

Not only did the Texans win this game; they prevailed in a blowout, absolutely dominating the Chargers. It should be noted that the Chargers were missing some key players like Joey Bosa, Derwin James, Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams, but there’s no reason this game should have gone this way.

The biggest problem for the Chargers all year has been their run defense, and that was prevalent in this contest. San Angeles had no answer for Rex Burkhead whatsoever. Burkhead looked like the second coming of Earl Campbell, rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. The rushing yardage surrendered could have been even worse, as Royce Freeman (12-34) had a touchdown called back because of a penalty. It’s a shame for Freeman because his touchdown run was very impressive, as it featured three broken tackles. The Chargers had major problems with tackling all afternoon.

With Burkhead trampling over the Chargers with ease, Davis Mills had plenty of favorable passing opportunities. He made some great throws in this game and only misfired six times. He went 21-of-27 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. His best sequence was when he heaved a 36-yard bomb down the sideline to Phillip Dorsett from his own end zone. He concluded the drive by hitting Chris Conley in stride for a long touchdown.

Dorsett (3-55) was third on the Texans in receiving, trailing Conley (3-60) and Brevin Jordan (4-56), who made some athletic plays in this game. Conley and Nico Collins (3-33) caught Mills’ touchdowns.

Don’t blame this loss on the Ekeler and Williams absences. Justin Jackson filled in for Ekeler incredibly well, save for a lost fumble that set up a field goal for Houston. Jackson was brilliant otherwise with 64 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to go along with eight receptions for 98 receiving yards. Jackson was terrific after the catch.

As for Williams, the Chargers had Joshua Palmer also fill in well for him. Palmer caught five passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Keenan Allen was a major disappointment with four catches for 35 yards.

Justin Herbert did not take advantage of an incredibly easy matchup. Herbert went 27-of-35 for 336 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. One of those was a pick-six at the end on what may have been a miscommunication. Still, Herbert disappointed in the red zone, as the Chargers settled for way too many field goals throughout the afternoon.

Bengals 41, Ravens 21

The Ravens were really behind the eight ball entering this game, as they were forced into starting third-string quarterback Josh Johnson. The defense, meanwhile, would be without four starters in the secondary, including the top three cornerbacks. Despite this, it looked like the Ravens might pull the upset when they marched down the field on their opening drive to take a 7-3 lead.

And by halftime, the Bengals led 31-7.

Baltimore’s defense had no answer for Joe Burrow’s aerial assault. Burrow, in the first half alone, was 18-of-21 for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He torched the Ravens mercilessly with deep throws to Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd. Johnson, meanwhile, couldn’t quite keep up, and understandably so. Cincinnati, as a result, took a commanding lead in the AFC North in the wake of this victory.

Burrow ended up having a performance for the record books. He finished 37-of-46 for 525 yards and four touchdowns. This marked the fourth-best single-game passing-yardage performance in NFL history behind Norm Van Brocklin’s 554, Warren Moon’s 527, and Matt Schaub’s 527. Had the Ravens been more competitive, Burrow may have broken the all-time record.

Two Bengal receivers crossed the century mark, with Higgins leading the way with a monstrous afternoon. Higgins caught 12 of his 13 targets for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Chase didn’t find the end zone, but caught seven of his 10 targets for 125 yards.

Meanwhile, Burrow’s other touchdowns were thrown to Tyler Boyd (3-85) and Joe Mixon, who snatched all six of his targets for 70 receiving yards. Mixon understandably didn’t do as much on the ground, but scored another touchdown in that regard. He rushed for 65 yards on 18 carries.

As for the Ravens, Johnson definitely exceeded expectations, as no one thought he would do well in these circumstances. He went 28-of-40 for 304 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He should’ve thrown a second pick when he fired a pass right to Vonn Bell, but the safety dropped the ball.

Mark Andrews continued to dominate despite the quarterback change. He snatched eight of the 10 passes thrown his way for 125 yards and a touchdown. Rashod Bateman (4-26) also scored, while Marquise Brown logged five catches for 44 yards.

The Ravens obviously didn’t run the ball very much because of their constant deficit. Devonta Freeman was limited to 17 yards on six carries, but scored a touchdown to salvage his fantasy output.

Falcons 20, Lions 16
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Why did Jared Goff have to be ruled out with a cold? I loved the Lions at +4.5 when Goff was projected to start, but was scared off of them because of Tim Boyle. The Lions would’ve been a great play at +4.5.

Atlanta still has a shot at making the postseason, but Detroit is just playing for draft positioning and providing experience for its young players. The outcome of this contest helped both franchises.

Jared Goff was out of the game on the virus list, but there really wasn’t a drop-off with backup Tim Boyle. The Lions got moving on the opening drive, using rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown for some chunk completions to move down the field and get inside the 20, but the drive stalled and settled for a field goal.

After trading some punts, Atlanta finally got moving thanks to a good punt return and some usage of Pro Bowl rookie tight end Kyle Pitts. On fourth-and-inches, Cordarrelle Patterson took a pitch around the left side for a 5-yard touchdown. The Lions responded with a drive into Atlanta territory, and just past midfield, they executed a beautiful fake punt with a pass from the punter to the gunner for a 21-yard gain. To end the drive, St. Brown had a physical run after the catch to get across the goal line for a 21-yard score. The Falcons hit a 53-yard field goal late in the second quarter to leave the score locked at 10 at the half.

Early in the third quarter, Pitts made a highlight-reel catch along the sideline for a 35-yard gain, and that gifted Atlanta a field goal. St. Brown led a game-tying field goal drive. A third-down conversion to Pitts went for about 20 yards and moved inside the red zone. On the next play, Ryan found Hayden Hurst along the sideline of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown, and the Falcons seized a 20-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Boyle led a drive into Atlanta territory, hitting a fourth-down conversion to Kaliff Raymond to crack the Falcons 15, but the Lions settled for a field goal. Protecting a 20-16 lead late in the fourth quarter, Falcons receiver Russell Gage was stripped by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Detroit recovered just inside the Atlanta 40. Boyle moved the ball with a series of short completions, but on first-and-goal with under a minute remaining, Falcons linebacker Foye Oluokun undercut a route for the game-clinching interception.

Matt Ryan completed 18-of-24 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown.

Patterson ran for 14 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Pitts had six catches for 102 yards.

Boyle completed 24-of-34 passes for 187 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jamaal Williams ran for 77 yards on 19 carries.

St. Brown caught nine passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Bears 25, Seahawks 24
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s another game in which I backed off the underdog because of a quarterback change, plus some other Chicago injuries. Just can’t catch any breaks this year!

This game did not have any playoff relevance, and Justin Fields was out with an injury, so there wasn’t any developmental opportunity for Chicago’s young franchise quarterback. Both teams are without first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, so there really was no draft positioning on the line either. While nothing was at stake for Seattle and Chicago, both teams played like this game mattered. The reason is free agency tape is always important. Getting the next contract and earning money are always on the mind of the players.

Early in the first quarter, the Seahawks grabbed the lead when D.K. Metcalf torched Thomas Graham along the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. Nick Foles responded by leading a Chicago drive inside the 10, but on fourth-and-goal, David Montgomery was tackled short of the end zone by Jordan Brooks to deny the Bears points. Later, Chicago got a good punt return from Daz Newsome, and Foles guided the Bears to the goal line before Montgomery plunged in from a yard out to tie the game. Seattle responded with a touchdown drive that saw Rashaad Penny coast into the end zone. The Seahawks tacked on a field goal and took a 17-7 lead into the half.

Midway through the third quarter, the Bears put a scoring drive together with Khalil Herbert getting a short touchdown to cut the Seattle lead to 17-14. Seattle responded with Penny breaking off a 32-yard run up the middle of the Chicago defense. A few plays later, Russell Wilson found Gerald Everett for a 24-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 10. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bears produced a drive inside the 10, but Rasheem Green’s second sack of the game limited the possession to three points. Penny kept rolling over the Chicago defense, but the Seahawks ended up missing a short field goal that turned out to be critical.

After trading punts, the Bears got the ball back with about three minutes remaining, a 30-yard completion to Darnell Mooney (5-57) and a roughing-the-passer penalty promptly produced a 45-yard gain. Two completions to Montgomery produced more than 20 yards. On third-and-goal, Foles hit Jimmy Graham (2-30-1) for a leaping touchdown and Damiere Byrd made a leaping grab on the two-point conversion to give Chicago a 25-24 lead with just under a minute remaining. The Bears’ defense then forced a four-down stop to close out the win for Chicago.

Foles completed 24-of-35 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown.

Montgomery totaled 45 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Through the air, he was the Bears leading receiver with seven receptions for 61 yards.

Wilson completed 16-of-27 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Penny ran for 135 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Everett (4-68-1) led the Seahawks in receiving while Metcalf (2-41-1) was limited with an injury.

Chiefs 36, Steelers 10

It doesn’t seem that long ago when that the Chiefs barely beat the Giants at home in a disappointing Monday night affair. Things have changed substantially since then, as the Chiefs clinched the AFC West title with a dominating victory over the Steelers despite not having Travis Kelce available.

With Kelce out, the defense had to step up, and that’s exactly what happened. The Chiefs shut out the Steelers in meaningful action, with Pittsburgh’s first points coming on an irrelevant field goal while down 30-0. The Chiefs swarmed Ben Roethlisberger, forcing him into an early interception on an overthrow. This was one of three turnovers that hurt the Steelers in this lopsided affair.

Kansas City’s offense, meanwhile, didn’t seem to skip a beat without Kelce. The Chiefs generated 255 net yards on 6.4 yards per play in the first half alone. They could have reached the 40s had they not pulled Patrick Mahomes early in the fourth quarter.

Mahomes misfired on just seven occasions, going 23-of-30 for 258 yards. He threw just five times in the second half. He notched 205 yards by halftime, so he could have crossed the 400-yard barrier had the Steelers been more competitive.

With Kelce sidelined, Byron Pringle stepped up. He caught six passes for a team-leading 75 yards and tw touchdowns. The Steelers’ secondary made sure to erase Tyreek Hill (2-19) with double teams, so Mahomes looked elsewhere, and it worked perfectly. Mecole Hardman (3-31) also scored.

The Chiefs ran the ball well despite losing Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a chunk of this game with a collar bone injury. Edwards-Helaire gained 27 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, finishing behind Darrel Williams (11-55) and Derrick Gore (12-43).

Najee Harris was the leading rusher in this game, though most of his production came in garbage time; he accumulated just 29 rushing yards by halftime. He finished with 93 yards on 19 attempts. He also caught five passes, but registered only 17 receiving yards.

Roethlisberger was awful, with the Chiefs limiting him to 23-of-35 passing for 159 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned interception. It wasn’t all his fault though, as he endured some drops from his receivers. Two drops came from Diontae Johnson (6-51). Johnson led the team in receiving and scored a touchdown, but he was also guilty of a lost fumble when he wasn’t even contacted.

Raiders 17, Broncos 13

The Broncos saw tons of sharp action throughout the week, and they even ended up as a favorite entering this contest. Despite this, the Raiders absolutely dominated this game. They won by just four points, but they outgained the Broncos, 342-158, and averaged 1.1 more yards per play. They also won the time-of-possession battle by 13 minutes.

The only reason this score was close was because the Broncos were able to score some points off turnovers. They kicked a field goal following a Josh Jacobs lost fumble, and they scored a touchdown after a terrific play by Bradley Chubb to snatch an interception while breaking up a screen pass. Aside from that, the Broncos scored just three points versus a Las Vegas defense missing numerous starters. This was a completely embarrassing showing by the Broncos, who must look for a new coach and quarterback this offseason.

The Broncos’ defense couldn’t get off the field, as the Raiders rammed the ball down Denver’s throat. The Broncos had the 23rd-ranked DVOA run defense heading into this weekend, and it showed. Josh Jacobs trampled them for 129 yards on 27 carries. He missed out on a touchdown because Peyton Barber (5-22) vultured one.

Thanks to the running game, Derek Carr was constantly in great passing situations. He misfired just five times as a consequence, going 20-of-25 for 201 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The pick wasn’t really his fault, but Carr still showed poor ball security on a lost fumble. Carr appeared to suffer an injury on the play, but turned out to be just fine.

Carr’s sole touchdown went to Hunter Renfrow (3-40), who did a great job of getting his feet down in the end zone. He was fourth on the team in receiving, trailing Foster Moreau (4-67), Zay Jones (6-50) and DeSean Jackson (4-44).

Denver’s offense, meanwhile, was dreadful all afternoon. The team constantly had negative runs on first down, forcing Drew Lock into long-yardage situations. The Raiders were just mediocre against the run heading into the game (13th DVOA), but outside of Lock’s scrambles, Denver mustered just eight rushing yards in this contest. Despite this, the Broncos stubbornly ran on first down, giving Melvin Gordon way too many touches. Gordon finished with negative yards (-4) on seven carries. It’s mind-boggling as to why Javonte Williams isn’t getting more of a workload. Williams’ numbers weren’t great or anything – he rushed for 12 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts – but it’s obvious that he’s a better option than Gordon right now. Vic Fangio’s inability to recognize this is one of the many reasons why he must be fired at the end of the year.

Lock had a dream matchup against an injury-ravaged secondary, yet it didn’t matter. He occasionally made some nice passes, but was lackluster overall. He went 15-of-22 for 153 yards, showing poor pocket awareness and no feel for the game.

Jerry Jeudy led the Broncos in receiving with three catches for 60 yards. He also drew an interference flag, but dropped a pass on third down. Courtland Sutton (4-33) was next on the stat sheet. Noah Fant (3-30) dropped a pass as well.

Cowboys 56, Redskins 14

Dallas’ defensive line has dominated the competition in recent weeks, but the offense hadn’t quite held up its end of the bargain in that span. In fact, Dak Prescott’s interception against the Redskins two weeks ago nearly ended up costing Dallas a victory.

That dreadful Prescott performance seems like a million years ago. Prescott finally broke out of his slump, albeit against a poor pass defense missing lots of personnel. Prescott was nearly perfect in this game. He went 28-of-39 for 330 yards and four touchdowns, and yet those numbers would have been much better had the Redskins been more competitive. Prescott attempted just four passes in the second half, and he was pulled before the third quarter was complete.

Amari Cooper, like Prescott, had been in a bit of a funk, but that concluded in this game. Cooper led the team in receiving, catching seven of his 11 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. Dalton Schultz (8-82) and Malik Turner (3-82) were just barely behind Cooper. Schultz took a devastating shot to the head that looked like a multi-week concussion absence, but he inexplicably managed to return to action after missing some drives.

Elsewhere in the Dallas receiving corps, CeeDee Lamb didn’t do as well, snatching four passes for 66 yards. Michael Gallup (2-53) also disappointed his fantasy owners, though a 40-yard reception of his sparked a touchdown drive.

Ezekiel Elliott posted a great fantasy performance, but only because he scored twice. However, Elliott didn’t handle the full workload. In fact, he touched the ball just 10 times. He had nine carries that went for 37 yards, and he added a 5-yard receiving score. Tony Pollard (8-34) remained in the mix.

As for the Redskins, things quickly unraveled for them, as their 6-6 record from three weeks ago seems like it occurred in a different lifetime. There was even a physical fight on the bench between Da’Ron Payne and Jonathan Allen.

Those defensive players were understandably frustrated. Meanwhile, their offense did nothing Taylor Heinicke completed just seven passes, going 7-of-22 for 121 yards, one touchdown and two picks. His first interception occurred on a deep shot. The second was a pick-six when DeMarcus Lawrence dropped back into the throwing lane.

Terry McLaurin couldn’t get open, save for one play in which he was tripped up and no flag was thrown. McLaurin caught just three passes for 40 yards.

Antonio Gibson hauled in Heinicke’s sole touchdown. He caught two balls for 29 yards. He was able to carry the ball just six times because of the constant deficit, gaining just 29 yards in the process.

Dolphins 20, Saints 3

Though the final score indicates that this game was somewhat close, this matchup was very lopsided. The Dolphins outgained the Saints, 259-164, and averaged 1.2 more yards per play. The Saints didn’t convert a single third down. In fact, the first time they gained positive yardage on a third down was midway through the through the third quarter!

Ian Book, the Saints’ fourth-string quarterback, was forced into action because Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian were sidelined with a minor illness. Book had to make his first NFL start behind an offensive line that was missing both offensive tackles. The result was not surprising. Book took eight sacks and failed to complete a pass longer than 17 yards until a fluky play at the end. He was also picked twice and was fortunate that he didn’t throw more interceptions.

Book finished 12-of-20 for 135 yards and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six early in the evening on a telegraphed throw. He scrambled thrice for six rushing yards. Book was a mobile quarterback at Notre Dame, so perhaps the Saints should have designed some runs for him. Book had no chance behind his injury-ravaged offensive line.

The Dolphins, conversely, should have blown out the Saints, given that New Orleans was also missing some key defenders, including star linebacker Demario Davis. Tua Tagovailoa kept the Saints in the game for a while, however. He fired a horrible interception into double coverage when he had Jaylen Waddle wide open underneath. He took a bad sack to move out of field goal range. He also fumbled the ball on a strip-sack, but was fortunate that a teammate of his recovered. Tagovailoa also missed a couple of passes he should have delivered.

Tagovailoa went 19-of-26 for 198 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He put some nice drives together, but was very underwhelming overall. If the Saints had all of their personnel, it may have been the end of Miami’s winning streak.

Speaking of Waddle, the rookie receiver was unstoppable when Tagovailoa wasn’t throwing bad passes. Waddle caught 10 of his 12 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. He also drew an interference flag. I suspected the Saints might smother him with Marshon Lattimore, but they put Lattimore on DeVante Parker, who was held catchless. The Saints are probably questioning that strategy because Waddle dominated.

The Dolphins didn’t get much out of their running game. Duke Johnson and Phillip Lindsay shared the workload evenly, with both carrying 13 times for 39 and 36 yards, respectively.

Alvin Kamara also received 13 carries, which wasn’t nearly enough. The Saints weren’t trailing by more than two scores until the fourth quarter, so the Saints should have fed the ball to Kamara much more than they did. Kamara’s 13 rushes went for 52 yards, and he also caught only two passes for seven receiving yards.

Only two Saints logged double-digit receiving yards: Lil’Jordan Humphrey (3-70) and Marquez Callaway (4-46). Humphrey, who received some tight end snaps, broke free for a 56-yard burst at the end of the game when the Dolphins weren’t trying their hardest.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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