NFL Week 14 Takeaways

Injury Roundup

QB Russell Wilson - Denver Broncos

Head: Wilson left the game with a concussion and will have to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week. Unlikely based on recent concussion evidence.

QB Brock Purdy - San Francisco 49ers

Oblique: Purdy will undergo an MRI today to see the extent of his injury.

QB Tyler Huntley - Baltimore Ravens

Head: Huntley left the game with a concussion and will have to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week.

QB Kenny Pickett - Pittsburgh Steelers

Head: Pickett left the game with a concussion after briefly re-entering and will have to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week.

QB Mike White - New York Jets

Rib: White left the game for a drive but eventually returned quickly which could indicate this injury won’t sideline him for long. More tests to come.

RB Dameon Pierce - Houston Texans

Ankle: Pierce left the game but his injury is not expected to sideline him for much time.

RB Jeff Wilson Jr. - Miami Dolphins

Hip: Wilson was carted off and ruled out with no timetable on his return.

RB Mike Boone - Denver Broncos

Ankle: Boone was carted off and is expected to miss multiple weeks.

WR Deebo Samuel - San Francisco 49ers

Ankle: Expected to miss a few weeks with what is assumed to be a high-ankle sprain.

WR Tee Higgins - Cincinnati Bengals

Hamstring: HC Zac Taylor said that Higgins was hurt in warmups but they still let him play one snap.

WR Tyler Boyd - Cincinnati Bengals

Finger: Boyd has a dislocated finger. There is no timetable for his return.

WR Corey Davis - New York Jets

Head: Davis suffered a concussion and will need to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week.

TE Daniel Bellinger - New York Giants

Rib: Bellinger had just returned from an eye injury and is now dealing with a rib injury.

Game Recaps

Vikings @ Lions

Record Doesn’t Mean Everything

Despite the loss, I still like the Vikings a lot. They are nearly a shoe-in for the playoffs and have a really fun offense. Unfortunately, Vegas doesn’t lie. The Lions were favorites in this game after opening as underdogs, with many questioning why. Even looking at widely available advanced stats could tell you that the Vikings are not at the level of the Eagles or Bills. They rank closer to a team like the Giants. Are they frauds? Maybe. I think they can do damage in the playoffs with their passing game. They beat the Bills. Barely. Anything can happen when you reach the promised land but now that the Lions have beaten them, they could go on a losing streak like the 11-0 Steelers from 2020.

Jamo From the Top Rope

Jameson Williams is just another exciting player in a Lions offense that is not only scoring a ton but actually winning games. The team clearly wants Jared Goff to be their guy for the foreseeable future and they’ve surrounded him with some incredible weapons. Williams was the 12th overall pick of the draft but has spent his rookie season recovering from a torn ACL. His regular season debut was understandably disappointing as he only played 8 snaps and saw 1 target. In his 2nd game, he only increased that to 2 targets but took one to the house early in the game. It was good to see him show off the speed and deep play ability that we have been waiting to see. He is not a priority add at this point in the season. The Lions don’t have a lot to play for and it’s unlikely that his role immediately increases next week. He only played on 19% of offensive snaps and he should only be a very desperate start until he begins to see a larger role.

Ravens @ Steelers

Mitch Helps the Steelers WRs

Steelers fans were not happy to see Mitch Trubisky come in for a concussed Kenny Pickett and throw 3 picks in a close loss to the division rival Ravens. Maybe Steelers fans should be happy for the sake of a better draft pick but losing still feels bad, especially like this. Fantasy football doesn’t care, though. Trubisky threw for 276 yards on only 30 pass attempts. That’s more yards than Pickett has thrown in a game since Week 5 when Pickett threw for 327 on 52 attempts in a blowout loss to the Bills. Diontae Johnson caught 6 of 8 targets for 82 yards which nearly beat his 2022 best of 84 in Week 3. George Pickens continued to make incredible catches on the sideline and gained 78 yards on only 3 catches. Pat Freiermuth didn’t get many receptions but he caught a TD, and Steven Sims had a good week as the team’s WR3. If Trubisky has to start again next week, give a bump to the Steelers pass-catchers against a Panthers team that ranked 9th in True Matchup Rank for WRs heading into this week.

Browns @ Bengals

Perine Sticking Around

If you’re a Joe Mixon fan, it’s probably frustrating to see Samaje Perine stick around. While every RB in the league is going to have to come off to rest or for certain game situations and formations, Samaje Perine may see his role cut into Mixon’s production more than before. Perine played a higher percentage of snaps than he ever did pre Joe Mixon injury in Week 14. He also saw his highest pre-injury target numbers since Week 1. He only had 4 rushing attempts but scored on one of them. It is likely that he played more, especially as a receiving back, because of injuries to WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as well. If either continues to miss time, Perine could continue to frustrate Mixon managers by staying on the field and hawking TDs. The damage is minimal but it’s something to look out for.

Njoku is Back

BrownsZone

It is safe to say that David Njoku is back as promised. Catching 7 of 9 targets for 59 yards and a TD on another bad day for the Browns is telling. Njoku acts as the de facto WR3 for the Browns and is not at risk of losing his role. Kareem Hunt has been a non-factor and rookie David Bell has not been seeing a big uptick in targets. Njoku, the TE6 in PPR PPG, is on an offense that is steadily improving. Watson once again failed to get much going but his EPA/Play increased from awful to meh. With the rust shaking itself off, this continues to be an offense to target in dynasty and one that could bring big rewards next week. The only downside from a fantasy perspective is that the Browns face the Saints and Commanders at the end of the fantasy playoffs. Those are two of the worst matchups for TEs in the league.

Jaguars @ Titans

The Prospect We Were Promised

Trevor Lawrence is heating up. The 2021 first overall pick was touted as a generational prospect but he had not immediately impressed. In his second season, however, Lawrence is already smashing his rookie stats and impressing on the field in the 2nd half of the season. Whatever discounted price you may have been able to get Lawrence for in dynasty no longer exists. He’s throwing for 300+ yards, multiple TDs and few interceptions and is 10th in EPA/Play. The 2023 Jaguars with Travis Etienne, Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram are going to be fun.

Add Okonkwo?

Chigoziem Okonkwo was hyped up leading into Tennessee’s matchup with Jacksonville. The rookie TE was a non-factor all season but was constantly getting big gains on limited targets. In Week 12 he finally saw 5 targets and he did the same in Week 13. He made better use of them in Week 13, catching 4 balls for 68 yards. Then, in Week 14, against a Jaguars team that ranked above-average in True Matchup Rank for TEs, Okonkwo caught all 6 of his targets for 45 yards and a TD. He has firmly cemented himself as one of the top TE options this week.

Adding him to your roster is a different story. In redraft, I would be hesitant. Okonkwo’s increase in both snaps and targets coincided with WR Treylon Burks missing significant snaps. Burks only played 18% of snaps in Week 13 and was ruled out for Week 14. The Titans are low on quality receiving options after him, though, so he should at least command a role of his own but banking on another TD and 6 targets when Burks returns is a bit foolish. Even with how bad the TE position is outside of the top options, he’s not the first player you need to add to help your team for a playoff run.

Chiefs @ Broncos

Russ Started to Cook

I feel stupid for writing that. The joke is overplayed but to his credit, Russell Wilson was going wild against the Chiefs. Without Courtland Sutton, the Broncos passing game was still impossible to stop, thanks to Jerry Jeudy, who hauled in 8 catches for 73 yards and 3 TDs. Marlon Mack somehow took off for a 66 yard catch, too! Wilson left the game with a concussion but he can hold his head up high knowing he still has ‘it’. The yardage wasn’t the most impressive and he was sacked 6 times but he held his own against the Chiefs and they even had a chance to win the game. If you put Wilson in on the last two Broncos drives, there is a good chance they at least get into the red zone. This is encouraging but the injury could not come at a worse time. Without anything to play for, though, this should be a game to look back on and build off of for next season.

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By Themi Michalakis