| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Jalen Hurts | 380-12 | 4 |
| Joe Burrow | 286-46 | 3 |
| Geno Smith | 367-3 | 3 |
| Jared Goff | 340 | 2 |
| Justin Fields | 254-71 | 1 |
| Running Backs | Rush Receive |
TD |
| Christian McCaffrey | 17-66 8-80 |
1 |
| Josh Jacobs | 26-144 2-6 |
1 |
| Samaje Perine | 21-106 6-49 |
0 |
| D’Andre Swift | 14-62 4-49 |
1 |
| Tony Pollard | 12-91 2-15 |
2 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Davante Adams | 8-177 | 2 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 11-114 | 2 |
| A.J. Brown | 8-119 | 2 |
| Tyreek Hill | 9-146 | 1 |
| Tyler Lockett | 8-127 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Greg Dulcich | 6-85 | 0 |
| Noah Fant | 4-42 | 1 |
| Evan Engram | 5-30 | 1 |
| Cole Kmet | 6-72 | 0 |
| Gerald Everett | 5-80 | 0 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Greg Zuerlein | 1 | 5 |
| Mike Badgley | 4 | 4 |
| Robbie Gould | 3 | 4 |
| Matthew Wright | 1 | 4 |
| Matt Gay | 2 | 3 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Browns | 0-4 | 3 |
| 49ers | 3-3 | 1 |
| Eagles | 6-0 | 0 |
| Cowboys | 3-5 | 1 |
| Chargers | 0-2 | 1 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
The injuries were getting lighter and lighter. And then Week 14 happened.
QB Lamar Jackson (BAL) – Knee
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Broken Foot
QB Tua Tagovailoa (MIA) – Ankle
RB Aaron Jones (GB) – Shin
RB Kenneth Walker (SEA) – Ankle
WR David Bell (CLE) – Hand
WR Quez Watkins (PHI) – Shoulder
WR Courtland Sutton (DEN) – Hamstring
WR Chase Claypool (CHI) -Leg
WR Treylon Burks (TEN) – Concussion
WR Jaylen Waddle (MIA) – Leg
TE Hayden Hurst (CIN) – Calf
TE Isaiah Likely (BAL) – Shoulder
Chasing Ambulances
QB Lamar Jackson – Injured his knee but it is not season-ending. Jackson will undergo further testing on Monday. HC John Harbaugh said they should know how long Jackson will be out by Wednesday.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Broke his foot and is lost for the rest of the season. It was fortunate that Garoppolo was unable to find a trade partner and that he remained a 49er when Trey Lance was lost for the year. This time, the 49ers do not have a former NFL starter ready to step in.
QB Tua Tagovailoa – Was on the injury report with an ankle injury last week, and then missed the final drive after injuring his ankle again. He had started limping earlier in the game after being sacked and the final strip sack by Nick Bosa sent him to the sideline. Tagovailoa downplayed the injury after the game but more should be known by Wednesday.
RB Aaron Jones – Was limited in practices because of his shin last week but wasn’t listed on the final report. He injured the shin again during the Packers’ win over the Bears and missed time but returned later in the game. But he was ineffective (2.9 YPC) on his nine runs while AJ Dillon had his best game of the season. The Packers head onto their bye which should help Jones get his shin healthy again.
RB Kenneth Walker – He injured his ankle in the second quarter of the win over the Rams and spend the rest of the day watching the game with a shoe off while resting his leg on the bench. HC Pete Carroll said that it wasn’t sprained but it was “jammed inside.” Carroll said that the severity of the injury was known yet, so we should have more word by Wednesday with the first injury report. DeeJay Dallas replaced him and also left with a sprained ankle.
WR Courtland Sutton – Injured his hamstring before recording a catch in the loss to the Ravens. He’ll be tested to determine the severity. His absence prompted Jerry Jeudy to play more despite just coming off an injury himself. Better word should be given by Wednesday when the Broncos discuss their injuries.
WR Treylon Burks – Was hit helmet to helmet when he caught his first NFL touchdown and somehow held onto the ball even after the crushing hit in the endzone. HC Mike Vrabel said, “I think he’s doing OK from what I’ve seen.” He’s likely to be held out next week unless he can spin through the concussion protocol quickly.
WR Jaylen Waddle – Left the loss to the 49ers with an unspecified leg injury during the middle of the second quarter. He returned in the third quarter but only caught one pass for nine yards in the second half. His practices should be telling this week as they prep to play at the Chargers.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QB Tyler Huntley (BAL) – The third-year backup stepped in after Lamar Jackson was injured and finished the win over the Broncos. He only threw for 187 yards and one interception but ran for 41 yards and a score on ten rushes. Jackson isn’t initially expected to be lost for the season, but he seems likely to sit out Week 14 at the Steelers, if not more. Huntley took over last year when Jackson missed the final four games of the season. He’s very much a “Jackson-lite.” He’s a good runner with 40 to 70 yards when he’s played and an adequate passer that has only thrown scores in two of his six career starts. He’ll be a downgrade to the receivers but offer fantasy value with his rushing yardage.
QB Brock Purdy (SF) – The 49ers selected the Iowa State grad as Mr. Irrelevant as the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft. He was the only other quarterback on the roster when Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the season with a broken foot. Purdy is the starter now, and the 49ers signed Josh Johnson from the Broncos’ practice squad as the new back-up. Purdy may be the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown, but he was still the ninth-best quarterback coming out of college. That’s better than other undrafted starters – Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, etc. Purdy threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He’ll face a tough Buccaneers defense this week, but his final three matchups of the fantasy season are the Seahawks, Commanders, and Raiders, who all sport below-average secondaries.
RB DeeJay Dallas / Tony Jones / Travis Homer (SEA) – If Kenneth Walker’s injured foot causes him to miss any games, this is the current set of running backs at the Seahawks’ disposal. Dallas was the initial replacement for Walker and ran for 37 yards on ten carries before injuring his own ankle. Tony Jones (7-14) handled the workload after that but was ineffective. Travis Homer missed the game on Sunday with a knee injury but has only served as a very occasional third-down back. Homer caught a score on his two receptions for 45 yards in Week 12 versus the Raiders. Dallas would be the preferred replacement though he’s been just a marginal player for three years. Homer is another with only spot duty for the last three years. Dallas becomes fantasy relevant if he is healthy enough to play this week if Walker is unable to play. But there is no attractive fall back in Seattle.
QB Desmond Ridder (ATL) – Yes, he has not played a down after being the second quarterback drafted this year. And the Falcons have been adamant about the whole “Marcus Mariota is our quarterback” mantra. But the Falcons just lost their eighth game of the season and are at that point of the season where it takes a math whiz coupled with drug-induced optimism to think they can still make the playoffs. Mariota just to the visiting Steelers after completing 13-of-24 for 167 yards and one score with one touchdown. The calls to see a change are getting louder.
WR Christian Watson (GB) – The rookie that totaled ten catches for 88 yards and no scores through Week 9 just scored. Again. Twice. Over the last four games, Watson caught seven touchdowns and added a 46-yard rushing score this week as well. Whatever switch that flipped in his head apparently doesn’t turn off.
WR DJ Chark (DET) – He caught a touchdown on his two receptions for 16 yards in Week 12 and just posted five catches for 98 yards in the win over the Jaguars. He’s starting to catch the attention of Jared Goff more. Jameson Williams also played on Sunday but failed to catch his only target. Perhaps he won’t immediately become a star that cuts into anyone else’s workload.
QB Deshaun Watson (CLE) – He finally made it back. A short two year-ish later, Watson started a game that was won by 13 points. That had almost nothing to do with him. Watson passed for just 131 yards and one interception against his old team and while they scored three touchdowns, none were by the offense. They returned a punt, returned an interception, and returned a fumble all for scores. Watson rushed for 21 yards on seven carries as the least productive runner for the Browns. Donovan Peoples-Jones (3-44) and Amari Cooper (4-40) were much less productive than they had been with Jacoby Brissett. It’s all a needed step to get Watson back into shape but it’s going to take down a few receivers in the process right when fantasy playoffs are looming in the future.
RB Zonovan Knight (NYJ) – The undrafted fallback from Michael Carter shared the backfield with James Robinson (4-10) and Ty Johnson (1-3), but Knight was clearly the best option when he ran for 90 yards on 15 carries that included a 48-yard gain. Knight even added five receptions for 28 yards. Now the question is what happens with Michael Carter when he returns because Knight has already distanced himself from Robinson and Johnson.
RB Jordan Mason (SF) – Christian McCaffrey had his typical productive game against the Dolphins – 146 total yards, eight receptions, one touchdown. But this was the most recent “first time” that they were without Elijah Mitchell. Deebo Samuel (4-5) helped out though he was a game-time decision and played like it. Mason offered eight carries for 51 yards in relief of McCaffrey. That may be short of fantasy relevancy, but it is more than enough to want on a fantasy roster knowing that McCaffrey could get hurt.
RB Samaje Perine (CIN) – Popped up in the box score with 30 rushing yards and caught four passes for 52 yards when Joe Mixon left the Steelers game in Week 11. He ran for 58 yards and a score in Tennessee in Week 12 and added four catches for 35 yards. On Sunday, he was better still, running for 106 yards on 21 carries and catching six passes for 49 yards. Going to be hard to hand over all of the work to Mixon when he returns.
Huddle player of the week
Davante Adams – The Raiders trailed the Chargers 13-10 at the half and in the first five minutes of the third quarter, Davante Adams caught touchdowns of 45 and 31 yards. They were separated by just one Josh Jacob run. Adams ended with eight catches for 177 yards and two scores for his best game yet with the Raiders. He accounted for 177 of the 250 passing yards and remains every bit of the target sponge that he was in Green Bay.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Mike White | 376 | 1 | QB | Lamar Jackson | 20 | 0 |
| RB | AJ Dillon | 119 | 1 | RB | Ken Walker | 36 | 0 |
| RB | Zonovan Knight | 118 | 0 | RB | Derrick Henry | 38 | 0 |
| WR | Isaiah Hodgins | 44 | 1 | WR | J. Smith-Schuster | 39 | 0 |
| WR | Jahan Dotson | 54 | 1 | WR | Amari Cooper | 40 | 0 |
| WR | Trent Sherfield | 75 | 1 | WR | Jaylen Waddle | 9 | 0 |
| TE | Noa Fant | 42 | 1 | TE | Dawson Knox | 0 | 0 |
| PK | Mike Badgley | 4 XP 4 FG | PK | Justin Tucker | 1 XP 1 FG | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 126 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 18 | ||||||
Now get back to work…