Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Teddy Bridgewater – Knee
QB Matt Stafford – Thumb
QB Drew Brees – Ribs
RB Chris Thompson – Back
RB Tyler Ervin – Ribs
RB Jalen Richard – Chest
WR Tre’Quan Smith – Concussion
WR John Brown – Ankle
WR Danny Amendola – Hip
TE Nick Boyle – Leg
PK Kai Forbath – Ankle

Chasing Ambulances

The running backs made it out of Week 10 relatively unscathed.

QB Teddy Bridgewater – Had an MRI on his knee after the game and the results won’t be known until Monday. Early speculation was that the injury wasn’t serious. P.J. Walker finished the game for his first NFL action. Walker had been a star in the XFL, but Bridgewater seems likely to play against the visiting Lions this week.

QB Matt Stafford – Injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the first half but continued to play against Washington for one of his better performances. He had his thumb taped but later said it was harder to grip the ball. He’ll get an X-ray to see if there is any damage.

QB Drew Brees – Was crushed when DT Kentavius Street landed on top of him, Brees remained for that series to finish the first half but then could not play in the second half. There will be more information later in the week, but Brees said he did not believe it would be a long-term issue, but he added, “it’s just a matter of how long it’s going to be. And honestly, I really don’t know. It’s not something quite to this extent that I’ve experienced.” Jameis Winston came in to replace him but it is not certain if he or Taysom Hill would take over if needed. And likely – both would as they did in the win over the 49ers.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

Buccaneers backfield – Ronald Jones set the new franchise record with a 98-yard touchdown run in the win over the Panthers. He gained 192 yards on 23 carries and added a one-yard catch. Leonard Fournette only ran for 19 yards on eight carries and caught two for 11 yards. In Week 9, Fournette totaled 71 yards to 46 for Jones. This “hot hand” approach isn’t making starting lineups any easier.

RB Nick Chubb – His first action since Week 4 totaled 126 yards and a score on 19 carries. And yet, Kareem Hunt also ran 19 times for 104 yards and added three catches for 28 yards. That’s how this backfield operates ideally. Chubb should make plenty of noise with a softer schedule ahead and yet Hunt is not going anywhere.

QB Alex Smith – His first start since Kyle Allen was lost for the year, and Smith passed for 390 yards and no scores – but no turnovers. He’s kept Terry McLaurin (7-95) busy and that all that fantasy football wanted.

RB D’Andre Swift – Took the start this week and ran for 81 yards on 16 carries, plus caught all five targets for 68 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. Adrian Peterson only ran four times and caught one pass. 21 touches to five for Peterson says the Lions are getting more comfortable letting Swift handle a heavier load.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling – He only caught two passes for 53 yards in Week 9 but both were touchdowns. Against the visiting Jaguars,  MVS ended with four receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown. And yet, he totaled only one catch for 19 yards over the two games prior, so still hard to buy into his turning a corner. Plus Allen Lazard is likely back next week.

RB Miles Sanders – First game since Week 6 and ran for 85 yards on 15 rushes (5.7 YPC) and caught a couple of passes for ten more yads. He looked just as dangerous but the rest of the offense, again, limits him.

TE Jordan Reed – George Kittle is on injured reserve and while Reed was held to only one short catch by the Packers in Week 9, he caught five-of-six targets for 62 yards in the loss to the Saints. The 49ers go onto their bye but when they return, they’ll face the Rams and Bills with plenty of reasons to throw the ball.

RB Nyheim Hines – Ran for 70 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown, and caught five passes for 45 yards and a second score last Thursday. All that does is degrade Jonathan Taylor even more and keeps Jordan Wilkins as just another touch-leech part of the backfield.

RB Devontae Booker – Ran  16 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns on the Broncos. That was mostly about the Raiders handing the Broncos a beatdown and Booker just ran out the clock and scored both times in the end of the fourth quarter. But it is notable that he’s taken over the No. 2 role for the Raiders backfield and ran for 68 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries last week at the Chargers.

RB Salvon Ahmed – The undrafted rookie was released by the 49ers last August and signed to the Dolphins. He had his first NFL action in Week 9 when he rushed for 38 yards on seven carries. With Myles Gaskin on injured reserve and Matt Breida a game-time decision that became inactive, the Fins also made Jordan Howard a healthy scratch so that Ahmed and newly acquired DeAndre Washington could share the backfield. Ahmed got the start and never looked back. He ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries versus the Chargers compared to only two runs for two yards by Washington. That was the best rushing performance by any Miami runner this year. The Chargers only rank No. 21 against running backs, but Ahmed looked sharp with his 4.4/40-speed. He’ll be a hot commodity on the waiver wire this week.

RB Cam Akers – HC Sean McVay said that the rookie would see more use in the second half of the season and he was right. Akers started the matchup with the Seahawks and led the backfield with ten rushes for 38 yards. But he never was targeted and Malcolm Brown turned his six runs into 33 yards and two touchdowns since he came in for goal-line carries. And Darrell Henderson also scored once on his seven carries for 28 yards. Akers did start and did receive the most carries. Just not the ones that mattered.

RB Kalen Ballage – His first action with the Chargers was in Week 9 when he ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries with two catches for 15 yards. Versus the Dolphins on Sunday, Ballage ran for 698 yards on 18 carries with 34 more yards on five receptions. There’s still no word when Austin Ekeler returns but Ballage is laying claim to the starting role until Ekeler does return.

RB Alex Collins – The Seahawks were without Carlos Hyde and Chris Carson again, so Collins was given a bigger workload than the two carries for five yards from Week 5 when he was called up from the practice squad. He led the backfield with 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown plus one catch for four yards. DeeJay Dallas only ran twice for eight yards in the loss to the Rams. Carson is expected to return this week, so Collins is only of any interest when everyone else is out.

NFL tight ends – Each year, tight ends see their roles decrease as the season progresses and Week 10 holds that trend in place. The position only caught six touchdowns this week and none gained more than 65 yards. Having Travis Kelce on bye didn’t help, but the position disappoints even more each week.

Field-goal-mania – Entering into Monday night, NFL placekickers combined to match an NFL record with 11 field goals of at least 50 yards in one week. Through Week 10, there have been 71 50-yard field goals which is also an NFL record. Tyler Bass of the Bills kicked three field goals – 54, 55, and 58-yard kicks. And Jason Meyers of the Seahawks nailed a 61-yarder.

Ronald Jones – Ran 98 yards for a touchdown in the win at the Panthers and ties with Ahman Green (2003) for third-longest in NFL history. Only Tony Dorsett (1982) and Derrick Henry (2018) have covered the full 99 yards.

Huddle player of the week

Alvin Kamara  –  The Saints came out a bit flat and ended up losing Drew Brees to a rib injury and only passing for a total of 139 yards and one score adding in Jameis Winston for the second half. But Kamara came through. He only gained 15 yards on eight carries but ran in two touchdowns. He was also the leading receiver with seven catches for 83 yards and a third touchdown. No other receiver managed more than 27 yards.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Now get back to work…