The Vikings should be able to keep their momentum rolling in Week 11 against an underperforming Broncos team.
Denver Broncos (3-6) at Minnesota Vikings (7-3)
Sunday, November 17, 1 PM ET, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Broncos’ keys to victory: Vic Fangio’s defense has done its part, ranking in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed. If Denver can get anything that resembles an offense clicking, that could be enough to steal a game from the up-and-down Vikings. That’s pretty unlikely, though. Denver has scored more than 20 points just twice this season. The good news, however, is that the Broncos were able to do it in their last game, with QB Brandon Allen at the helm. It actually probably works against the Vikings that QB Joe Flacco (neck) won’t play in this game.
Vikings’ to victory: If the Vikings just play their game, they should be just fine. That means controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. RB Dalvin Cook is one of the best running backs in the NFL, but a big question mark continues to be overall team health. The Vikings could really use WR Adam Thielen, who missed two of the past three games with a hamstring injury. The offense gets stagnant without him, as there just aren’t many receiving weapons for QB Kirk Cousins outside of WR Stefon Diggs.
Matchup to watch: Vikings DE Danielle Hunter vs. Broncos QB Brandon Allen. I would expect Vikings coach Mike Zimmer to throw a lot at Allen. There will be plenty of blitzes to keep Allen on his toes — or on his back. What makes Zimmer’s blitzes so effective is that he has two Pro Bowl-caliber defensive ends in Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen. There’s a good chance Hunter will have his second-straight season with 10 or more sacks before this game is over. Last season, he finished with a career-high 14.5.
Who wins? It will be difficult for the Broncos to slow down the Vikings’ offense, and it seems highly unlikely the Broncos will be able to put up points against Zimmer’s stingy defense. The Vikings should be plenty hungry considering they’re fighting for playoff positioning. Vikings 31, Broncos 13
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Yards
TD
Lamar Jackson
223 – 63
4
Daniel Jones
308 – 20
4
Patrick Mahomes
446
3
Kyler Murray
324 – 38
3
Dak Prescott
397
3
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Derrick Henry
188 – 3
2
Aaron Jones
93
3
Christian McCaffrey
108 – 33
1
Melvin Gordon
108-25
1
Dalvin Cook
97-86
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
Christian Kirk
138
3
Darius Slayton
121
2
Tyreek Hill
157
1
Golden Tate
95
2
Amari Cooper
147
1
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Mark Andrews
53
2
Travis Kelce
75
1
O.J. Howard
47
1
Jack Doyle
44
1
Kyle Rudolph
14
2
Placekickers
XP
FG
Harrison Butker
2
4
Younghoe Koo
2
4
Matt Gay
3
3
Jason Sanders
1
3
Sam Ficken
4
2
Defense
Sck-TO
TD
Steelers
4-3
1
Ravens
2-3
2
Rams
3-2
1
Raiders
5-3
1
Jets
6-2
1
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
TE Trey Burton – Calf
RB Devonta Freeman – Ankle
RB Giovani Bernard – Knee
RB Ty Johnson – Concussion
RB Jordan Wilkins – Ankle
WR Ryan Switzer – Back
RB Saquon Barkley – Undisclosed
Chasing Ambulances
Devonta Freeman – This is the only injury likely to create new opportunities. The Falcons already placed Ito Smith on injured reserve last week and next up means Brian Hill. He ran for 61 yards on 20 carries mostly all after Freeman left by halftime. Hill also caught a ten-yard pass. Hill already has some value as the new No. 2 for the Falcons and will be the primary if Freeman misses any time. Next week, the Falcons play the Panthers that just let Aaron Jones score three touchdowns. At this point in the season, Hill is a worthy addition if you have the room.
Free Agents and Notable Performances
RB Melvin Gordon – Finally broke 100 yards for 2019 when he ran 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown plus caught a pass for 25 yards. He ran for 80 yards on 20 carries in Week 9 versus the Packers. After six games back, he’s back in playing form with two straight games of 20 carries and 4.0 YPC.
RB J.D. McKissic – Ty Johnson left with a concussion so McKissic (10-36) and Paul Perkins (7-9) filled in. McKissic also caught six passes for 19 yards as the busiest receiver. He worth adding to a roster if there are reception points and the upcoming schedule (DAL, @WAS, CHI, @MIN) will need to use a running back as a receiver. That was with Jeff Driskell as the quarterback but Matt Stafford uses him a well.
TE Mark Andrews – Big game with six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. The notable part is that he’s only topped 50 yards in one other game since Week 2. He gained 99 yards on six catches in Week 6. Against the same Bengals team in their first meeting. They can’t always be the Bengals each week, but when they are, Andrews comes to life.
RB Joe Mixon – Okay, so he hasn’t rushed in a touchdown this year, but at least Mixon just turned in his first 100-yard rushing effort of the year. He ran for 114 yards on 30 carries and added 37 yards on two catches in the loss to the Ravens.
QB Ryan Finley – The rookie debuted with only 167 yards and one touchdown with one interception versus the Ravens which were not the best choice for a first game. Short of a catastrophic situation for your fantasy team, doesn’t look like he needs to be picked up. There is even game film on his this week.
Saints backfield – Sunday was a trash game for the Saints who never showed up. So it is hard to draw too many conclusions from what happened in the loss to the Falcons. Alvin Kamara returned from his ankle injury but only gained 24 yards on four carries. Latavius Murray ran five times for 12 yards so the Saints equally mixed the pair for at least this week. Kamara still caught eight of his targets while Murray only drew two passes. But the situation is more reminiscent of how the Saints used to mix Kamara and Mark Ingram.
WR Darius Slayton – He only caught one pass for six yards in the Week 9 loss to the Cowboys but the fifth-round rookie just turned in his first game over the century mark when he caught ten passes for 121 yards and two scores on the Jets. He has a bye this week but his fantasy playoff schedule for Weeks 14 to 16 are @PHI, MIA, and @WAS.
RB Saquon Barkley – There are missing offensive linemen and a rookie quarterback, but that still doesn’t completely explain how one of the most talented running backs on the planet just rushed for a net of one yard on 13 carries in the loss to the Jets. Barkley still caught five passes for 30 yards but the first pick in most fantasy drafts was hoped to offer more than 31 yards. Barkley was reported to have gone to the x-ray room after the game but no word as to why.
Cardinals backfield – The return of David Johnson did not change much. He only ran for two yards on five carries and caught one 8-yard pass. Kenyan Drake rushed ten times for 35 yards and caught six passes for a net six-yard gain. And that is without Chase Edmonds eventually mixed back in. For now, the backfield is split and Drake is getting the bigger share.
WR Andy Isabella – The Cardinals rookie is becoming a common deep threat lately with a 55-yard catch this week and an 88-yard reception in Week 10. His 78 total yards against the Buccaneers was second highest for the receivers.
RB Ronald Jones – He’s recently been given over ten carries per game but he had never caught more than two passes. Against the Cardinals, Jones ran for 29 yards and a score on 11 carries and added eight catches for 77 yards. The Bucs had not used running backs much as receivers, so it is worth noting since Jones’s fantasy value would be much greater if he had more than two receptions per game.
RB Damien Williams – Nice development for Williams. After sharing with LeSean McCoy, he was allowed 12 carries in Week 9 and gained 125 yards with one score. On Sunday, he ran for 77 yards on 19 carries and added five catches for 32 yards. McCoy was a healthy scratch. He lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown which works against a running back. But at least the Chiefs turned him into a workhorse this week.
WR DeVante Parker – With Preston Williams on injured reserve, Allen Hurns filled in bot only caught two passes for 32 yards on his four targets. Parker saw more work with ten targets and five receptions for 69 yards. The Fins will need to throw and look like they only trust Parker now.
WR DJ Moore – Kyle Allen is connecting better with Moore in recent weeks and his seven-catch, 101-yard effort in Week 9 was followed up with nine receptions for 120 yards at Green Bay.
RB Aaron Jones – He ran for 93 yards on 13 carries and had no receptions. But he scored three touchdowns, giving him a total of 14 scores on the year. He’s scored in seven of his ten games and yet hasn’t rushed the ball more than 13 times in the last five weeks.
Huddle player of the week
Christian Kirk – The second-year receiver hadn’t scored a touchdown this year and was mostly held to moderate production each week while his rookie quarterback went through his learning curve. Facing the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay was a great place for a career-best game. Kirk caught six passes for 138 yards and scored three touchdowns. It probably won’t be that easy next week in San Francisco. But he led the position for Week 10.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
But the team sure keeps winning in the draft order race.
Week 10 was quite fruitful in this pursuit. The Miami Dolphins picked up another win, this time over Indianapolis to make it two wins on the season.
Ditto for the New York Jets with a win over the New York Giants, as well as Atlanta upsetting New Orleans.
Those big winners of the weekend join the four teams sitting at two wins. Five more have three wins. Just one — the Washington Redskins — have a single win.
And then there are the 0-9 Bengals.
The Bengals stand alone atop the draft order and haven’t shown much in the way of progress on the field by comparison, to the point it’s fair to wonder if a coach could get fired.
With the way things have gone, it sure seems like the Bengals could keep a tight grip on the first pick without much of a problem. It’s hard to fathom 0-16, but one look at the remaining schedule doesn’t produce any guaranteed wins.
If nothing else, onlookers can take solace in the fact the top pick should mean the arrival of a new era at quarterback.
Former Lions WR Charles Rogers has passed away at just 38 years of age according to social media posts from former teammates
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Former Detroit Lions wide receiver and first-round pick Charles Rogers has died at age 38, according to social media posts from former teammates and confirmed by the Detroit Free Press’ Chris Solari. The Saginaw native and onetime Michigan State star was found dead in Florida on Monday morning.
Rogers’ time with the Lions is no small part of the story of the spectacularly lost decade of the 2000s. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft — taken one spot ahead of Andre Johnson — Rogers last just three seasons.
It could have been much more. Rogers caught two touchdown passes in his first career game and was at 22 receptions for 243 yards and three TDs in his first five before a broken collarbone shattered his season. He broke his collarbone again in 2004. Rogers became known as a fragile player and a colossal bust.
Substance abuse issues, including painkillers, derailed his career and his life. After football, he moved to Florida and worked with a childhood friend in an auto shop.
3 things the 49ers must do on offense to come away with a win Monday night.
The 49ers offense found a new way to win in Week 9 when Jimmy Garoppolo slung the ball around for 317 yards and four touchdown passes. Week 10 against the Seahawks won’t necessarily follow that same formula.
Here are three keys for the 49ers offense on Monday Night Football:
1. Get back in the run game
The returns of Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and Kyle Juszczyk give the 49ers their full stable of blockers for the first time since Week 2. Their rushing attack has spearheaded the offense through most of the first half of the year, and Monday is a chance for it to hit a new level with a fully healthy offensive line and fullback. Ball control will be enormous against MVP-candidate Russell Wilson, so the run game has to be at its best against a relatively soft defense.
2. Don’t dwell on the absences
It sounds like tight end George Kittle isn’t going to be available Monday night. That means tight end Ross Dwelley will start in his place, and likely take on much of the same role as Kittle. While Dwelley isn’t as talented as Kittle, he’s capable enough as a blocker and pass catcher to keep the 49ers from completely overhauling their game plan. They may not be able to lean on Dwelley the way they do on Kittle, but they need to trust him to make plays and not steer out of the scheme that’s gotten them to 8-0.
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3. Pass (catch) the torch
No Kittle means the 49ers will be without their top target in the passing game. Where those targets get redistributed is going to play a huge role in how well San Francisco moves the ball, especially on third downs where Kittle was so reliable. Dwelley will earn some of those looks, but receivers like Deebo Samuel, Dante Pettis and Kendrick Bourne will need to step into playmaking roles to help extend drives.
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If it had been successful, the Packers’ lead would have been cut to just six points, bringing Carolina that much closer to a thrilling comeback win. Panthers fans would be sharing Riverboat Ron memes and praising the genius and daring of their coach, who understands how the modern game works and isn’t afraid to use analytics to his advantage.
The two-point conversion attempt didn’t work out. So instead, Panthers fans are calling him foolish and worse. The thing is Rivera made the right call – at least if you believe in numbers. That time, anyway.
The result isn’t always going to be there. The process is what matters. The more times you make the correct decision, the more often you will reap the benefits.
That’s what makes Rivera’s inconsistent use of analytics so frustrating.
Rivera set the wrong tone for the game on the very first drive, when he decided to punt on 4th and 3 inside Packers territory. Given the way last week’s win over the Titans went, it was a baffling decision, made all the more confusing by Rivera’s post-game comments when he talked about the decision to go for two, per the Athletic.
“Yes, that was purely analytics, 100 percent. . . If you don’t get it there, you get an opportunity to go for two again. We feel pretty good about the play we had called the first time, and we felt good about having the second one up. It’s most certainly something where we went ahead and followed the analytics of it.”
“Following the analytics of it” is what winning teams do, but in the next breath Rivera changed course and talked about his gut feelings and game flow.
Last week, Rivera’s instincts told him to go for it on two separate fourth downs against the Titans. Or maybe it was the analytics. It’s hard to tell when there’s no clear method of operating. In any case, after that win, several players remarked on how much confidence Rivera’s aggressive decisions gave them.
What were they to think when Rivera punted away inside Green Bay’s territory to begin the game?
For all the talk about Kyle Allen’s poise and grit and leadership ability, not trusting him to get three yards there when the analytics say otherwise and Allen’s opening drive looked strong doesn’t inspire confidence and raises questions about Rivera’s own leadership.
The Panthers have an analytics department, which they announced without much fanfare in June. We must assume that Taylor Rajack and whoever else works in that department get paid real money to do their jobs. David Tepper can afford it, in any case. Since the franchise is paying for it, they might as well put it to use on the field.
Rivera needs to make a choice.
Either the analytics trump his gut feelings and the “situation” or they don’t. This mix and mash he’s got going on is only going to lead to confusion and more of those infamous missed opportunities.
Following a humiliating loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, the New York Giants are bracing for change entering the bye week.
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The New York Giants knew that a Week 10 game against the New York Jets was considered a must-win by many, so after coming up short in a 34-27 loss, they recognize that change could be on the horizon.
“I just worry about what I can control. We all know this league is a business and winning is everything in this league. When you don’t win, everything starts to look different. I’m worried about going out there each and every week and putting the best football I can on tape, do whatever I can to help my team win,” safety Jabrill Peppers told reporters.
Although he’s remained relatively confident in his job status leading up to Sunday, head coach Pat Shurmur sounded completely defeated after the Jets loss and appeared to accept the reality that his employment was no longer a sure thing.
“My concern is putting a team on the field that’s going to win a football game — that’s my concern. It’s always a one-week concern getting ready to play the next opponent and put a winning performance on the field. That’s my concern,” Shurmur said after the game.
Shurmur acknowledged that there would likely be some bye week evaluations with team ownership, but made it clear the media would hear absolutely none of those details.
“Well, obviously, anything that I speak about behind the scenes would be behind the scenes stuff. I wouldn’t share any of that with you, especially at this point,” Shurmur said.
Like Shurmur, superstar running back Saquon Barkley also looked and sounded defeated following the loss, uncharacteristically providing misdirected answers or quick one-liners.
“Only the thing I can focus on is coming in and being the player for my team. Just focused on this bye week, it’s a week where it gives everyone a chance to get healthier, not only myself but the whole team. We get to reflect on our season so far and try to be a better team than we were in the first half,” Barkley said.
It’s clear the Giants expect some change, but how might that manifest itself? Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch are unlikely to fire Shurmur, and Shurmur has already stated that Mike Shula and James Bettcher are safe, so what now?
We’ll all find out together over the next 7-10 days.
The Ohio State Buckeyes wrestling team dominated the Stanford Cardinal in the team’s first dual matches of the season.
Ohio State wrestling opened its brand new Covelli Center with a dominant win over unranked Stanford.
The final score of the dual match, 29-6 in favor of the Buckeyes, doesn’t show how close this match actually was. Ohio State lost only one of the nine weight classes, when Ethan Smith (165 lbs) was pinned by Shane Griffith. Of Ohio State’s wins in the other nine eight classes, none came via Fall (a pin) and only two were Major Decisions (wins by 8-14 points). The other seven wins were all by less then eight points, including two matches that required Sudden Victory.
Sammy Sasso, who absolutely ran roughshod over all of his competition at the Michigan State Open, found himself in the first tight battle of his collegiate career. He fought his way to a tight 3-1 win against No. 19 Requir van der Merwe.
Luke Pletcher, the newly-minted No. 1 at 141 lbs, needed some incredible moments in Sudden Victory just to eke out the win.
I’m certainly not complaining about a blowout win. But if coach Tom Ryan wants to show his team that it still has a lot it can improve on, most of these matches showed some definite room to grow. And it was great to see wins from Quinn Kinner 133 lbs and Zach Steiner at 184 lbs.
Ohio Intercollegiate Open
Several Buckeyes also competed at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open this weekend, instead of in the dual against Stanford. There was no official team competition, so every Buckeye at the OIO was representing themselves.
Three Buckeyes won their Gold Division brackets, including an impressive performance from freshman Carson Kharchla at 165 lbs. The competition level at the OIO wasn’t near the level that Ohio State will see in Big Ten play, but it was good to see such a strong performance. Rocky Jordan won the bracket at 174 lbs, while Gavin Hoffman did the same at 184. It’s hard to read too much into Hoffman’s victory, as two of his four wins came via injuries to opponents (one before the match, one mid-match). Still, 184 lbs is definitely the current weak spot in Ohio State’s lineup, and it will be great if the Buckeyes can get some confidence and victories in that weight class as the season progresses.
New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton didn’t blame officiating in his team’s 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, pointing to their own mistakes.
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Few viewers expected the New Orleans Saints to get trounced by the Atlanta Falcons — coming out of the bye week, inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, in a year where the Saints have been nearly undefeated and the Falcons have gone nearly winless. But that’s not what happened, when Atlanta’s defense swarmed Drew Brees and the Saints offense, leaving town with a 26-9 win on their shoulders.
Some fans would point to the game’s officiating as a culprit in the upset. Whenever the Saints defense seemed to win on a crucial down, it seemed like someone was flagged for an illegal use of hands penalty; giving up five yards and an automatic first down. Saints defenders were penalized for that on four different occasions on Sunday, twice on third downs which would have forced an Atlanta punt. In total, New Orleans drew a dozen penalty flags and ceded 90 yards. The Falcons were flagged seven times, giving up 48 yards. That’s about as lopsided as it gets in the NFL.
But Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t buy that as an easy explanation for his team’s loss. He rebuffed that notion during his postgame press conference, saying, “No, I thought the officiating was pretty good in this game. That had nothing to do with this game.”
Rather, Payton wants his team to look at their own mistakes and miscues. Excessive penalties are often a sign of poor execution and botched on-field decisions, and he looked back on the game as a big learning opportunity for just about everyone.
“Yes, absolutely, there’s a lot of corrections (to be made),” Payton continued, hammering his point home. “A lot of corrections. Look, it’s a good group here and they understand that tomorrow will be tough to watch it. It’ll go down. But shame on us if we can’t get those corrections made. That won’t be a problem. It’s much easier to come in and watch tape after you win, but that’s one of the things about this game that creates a little bit of toughness and grit.”
This Saints team has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, having been built around a largely-intact core of players going back to the 2017 season opener; they’ve won 33 of their last 45 games together, and know what must be done to rebound from a poor outing like this one.
Still, knowing what to do and putting it into practice are two different things. And the Saints have a critical four-game stretch ahead of them, featuring three more NFC South divisional games (peaking with a prime-time rematch in Atlanta on Thanksgiving) and then a home game in the Superdome against the San Francisco 49ers. If Payton and the Saints can right the ship and handle their business, they could be in position to lock up the division title and maybe a top-two playoff seed by the end of it. But that’s easier said than done in a league where any team can win on any given Sunday.
