Tag: T.Y. Hilton

Bumps, Bruises and Bow-outs

QB Brandon Allen – Chest
QB Philip Rivers – Foot
QB Carson Wentz – Benched
RB C Edwards-Helaire – Illness
RB Frank Gore – Concussion
RB Joshua Kelley – Ankle
WR Tyler Boyd – Ejected
WR Devante Parker – Ejected

Chasing Ambulances

Fortunately, not a lot of injuries and none expected to be serious.

QB Brandon Allen – The Bengals replacement for Joe Burrow only managed to complete 11-of-19 for 153 yards and one lucky 72-yard touchdown that was all thanks to Tyler Boyd. Allen left the game with a chest injury and was sacked five times by the Dolphins. Ryan Finley may be tabbed to face the Cowboys next week, but it is still a situation to avoid.

RB Frank Gore – Had a concussion after just one carry and the Jets – gasp! – ran better with non-37-year-old running backs. Josh Adams gained 74 yards on eight carries while ex-Lion Ty Johnson took over with 22 carries for 104 yards and one touchdown. He even added two receptions for 13 yards. Expect Johnson to be a hotter waiver wire pick-up this week and the Jets head to Seattle where Wayne Gallman just gained 135 yards in the Giants’ upset win. Johnson deserves to start even if Gore ends up healthy but the weekly practices should indicate what to expect.

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Did not practice with a stomach virus but was active for the matchup with the Broncos. He never played and HC Andy Reid said that CEH had lost weight and had not practiced, so they opted to not use him despite that he was active and dressed for the game. He is expected to be back to health for the trip to Miami this week.

QB Jalen Hurts – Carson Wentz played halfway through the third quarter and was benched after he completed 6-of-15 for 79 yards at the Packers. Hurts was sent in and while he only threw 5-of-12, they went for 109 yards and a touchdown. He offered some spark. HC Doug Pederson said he has not decided on a starter for Week 14 versus the Saints. It is telling that he didn’t dismiss the chance.

QB Philip Rivers – Was disclosed that Rivers has a plantar plate rupture – a more severe version of turf toe. He will need surgery to fix it but intends to play with the injury. Rivers has been more productive in recent weeks despite the pain, so no reason to expect any changes.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

RB Alvin Kamara – His stats were in free-fall once Taysom Hill took over but at least this week, he ran for 88 yards and one score on 15 carries. He only caught two passes for nine yards which limits his most dangerous skill, but at least he was better than the five fantasy points from Week 12.

RB Todd Gurley – Troublesome that the Falcons primary back was held to only 26 yards on eight rushes in Week 11 in New Orleans and then missed Week 12 with a knee issue. He was active this week, but only gained 16 yards on eight carries versus the Saints (again). Gurley has been very touchdown-dependent this year and he’s not looked nearly as spry in recent weeks. He’s a hard one to start right when fantasy playoffs kick-off.

WR Quintez Cephus – The Lions’ fifth-round rookie has been a part of the offense from Week 1 but usually one for one or two catches as the No. 4 wideout. With Kenny Golladay still out, the Lions wanted to take a longer look at the rookie Cephus. He caught two passes for 63 yards that included a 49-yard touchdown on the Bears’ secondary.

RB David Montgomery – The Bears’ running back ran for 72 yards on 17 carries and scored twice, plus caught four passes for 39 yards. The Bears brain trust still opted to give special-teamer Cordarrelle Patterson ten carries and the Lions presented the worst rushing defense. But the Bears lost the game and Montgomery’s best situation of the season still saw him lose ten carries to a gimmick kick returner.

WR T.Y. Hilton – It only took the Colts No. 1 wideout ten games to get in synch with Philip Rivers. He had been consistent with around 40 yards per game and then caught four passes for 81 yards and a score versus the Titans in Week 12. On Sunday, he led the Colts with eight receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown against the Texans for his best performance of the season.

WR Keke Coutee – Facing a formidable Colts defense, Brandin Cooks was limited to only 65 yards on five catches. But Keke Coutee lead the team with eight catches for 141 yards replacing the suspended Will Fuller. The next two weeks are tougher – road games at the Bears and Colts. But Coutee showed the same form he had in 2018 when he produced two 100-yard performances and then did little else until this week.

WR Chad Hansen – He sent many people to their game programs to figure out who the wideout was with five catches for 101 yards against the Colts vaunted secondary. Hansen was a fourth-round pick by the Jets in 2017 who had nine catches as a rookie and then none while he drifted on and off the rosters of the Patriots, Titans, Broncos and Saints. His 101 yards was more than double the 94 career-yards he had coming into the game and his first action in three years. He was promoted off the practice squad and made a splash. Both he and Keke Coutee can thank playing with Deshaun Watson for their success, but anyone with a 100-yard game late in the year is worth noting.

WR DeVante Parker – The Dolphins lead receiver was held to only 38.9 yards per game playing with Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback. He hurt his thumb and missed Week 12 when Ryan Fitzpatrick completed eight passes for 119 yards at the Jets. Tagovailoa returned and Parker returned to only four catches for 35 yards. When he plays with Fitzpatrick, he averaged almost 80 yards per game.

WR Collin Johnson – The Jaguars are another team trying out new players and the 6-6, fifth-round pick out of Texans showed up with 96 yards and a score versus the Browns last week. On Sunday, he led the Jaguars with four receptions for 66 yards while DJ Chark was held to only two catches for 41 yards by the Vikings.

WR Henry Ruggs – The Raiders picked the first wideout in the NFL draft and came away with Ruggs who has been “uneven” as a rookie. But the Raiders found themselves on the Jets’ 46-yard line with only 19 seconds left. They trailed the winless Jets 24-28 but DC Gregg Williams opted to call up a total blitz on the third-down play. That meant Ruggs, drafted 1.12 and running a 4.27/ 40-time, was one-on-one against CB Lamar Jackson, an undrafted rookie. Expect much talk about that play this week.

RB Cam Akers – The Rams’ rookie ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and added a 22-yard catch.  Darrell Henderson would also score on his 38-yard breakaway run but only handed three carries in all. Notable is that Akers 21 rushes in one game are more than any other Rams’ running back this year.

RB Wayne Gallman – He was on a five-game scoring streak after taking over as the primary back in Week 7. While he failed to reach the endzone this week in Seattle, Gallman ran for a season-best 135 yards on 16 carries.

RB Sony Michel – He was on injured reserve and while he was active last week, he had no carries. With Rex Burkhead gone,  the Pats only used Damien Harris and James White in Week 12. Michel finally saw use on Sunday when he ran ten times for 35 yards and added a catch for 23 yards. Michel only ran four times over the first three quarters and then saw most of his use late in the already-decided game.

Huddle player of the week

Darren Waller  –  Not often that the highest-scoring fantasy player for a week is a tight end. Even rarer that it wasn’t Travis Kelce. Waller ended with 13 catches for 200 yards and two scores versus the Jets this week and while Henry Ruggs caught the winning score, Waller was the only reason that play mattered.

Salute!

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

Now get back to work…