NFL Week 16 Round Up

Injury Round Up

Cole Kmet (CHI) - Knee 

Kmet was ruled doubtful to return with a knee injury, the extent of the injury is currently unknown. 

Courtland Sutton (DEN) - Concussion 

Sutton was ruled out of the game with a concussion and will have to clear the league’s protocol to play next week. 

Trevor Lawrence (JAX) - Shoulder 

The Jaguars recently signed QB Matt Barkley following Lawrence’s shoulder injury. It could just be a precaution but his status for next week may not be clear for a few days. 

Isiah Pacheco (KC) - Concussion 

Pacheco was ruled out with a concussion and will have to clear the league’s protocol to play next week. 

Raheem Mostert (MIA) - Shin 

Mostert briefly left the game with a shin injury but claims that he is okay. 

Jaylen Waddle (MIA) - Shin/Ankle 

Waddle was dealing with a shin injury that is now being called a high ankle injury. There’s fear that he could miss some time with this. 

Jordan Addison (MIN) - Ankle 

Addison is day-to-day with an ankle injury. He was deemed questionable before being ruled out following the injury. 

T.J. Hockenson (MIN) - Knee 

Hockenson is out for the season after tearing his ACL.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. (WAS) - Ankle 

Rodriguez will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his ankle injury.

Weekly Weigh-In

New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Rams 

● Every week it seems like the Saints get back into games that they have no business staying in. Derek Carr is clearly not having his best season but he occasionally looks really good. His connection with Chris Olave is excellent and the sophomore WR just had one of his best games ever. With 2 games to play, he’s just 1 yard short of matching his rookie receiving yard total of 1,042. If the best Carr years are gone, he deserves a top QB throwing to him. 

● Kyren Williams can’t be stopped. It helps that the league needs to defend against both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, but how many RBs have had this much success on any offense? He’s 2nd in the league in rushing yards despite only playing 11 games. Kyren is 8th in rushing attempts but is averaging the most rushing yards per game in the league. He gets a Giants team that just gave up 170 rushing yards to the Eagles. 

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers 

● Thank you for joining us but the Jake Browning experiment has ended. Okay, not really, but to end so many promising drives against a team starting their CB at safety is not a good look. Browning had his 3rd 300+ passing game but threw three picks in a 34-11 loss to the Steelers. He is now 3-2 as a starter with both losses coming from Pittsburgh. They’re now just outside of the playoffs in a conference where every single win is going to matter. 

● Mason Rudolph and George Pickens is looking like a great connection. Pickens went off for 195 yards and 2 TDs and pushed himself over 1,000 yards this year thanks to the career day. The sophomore WR’s previous high in receiving yards was 130, and he never had two scores in a single game. Don’t expect this every week since Cincy was just as hurt as Pittsburgh on defense, but it should be a boost to everyone’s pride and belief in the team. 

Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Chargers 

● This was too close for comfort. Easton Stick is probably not going to come out of nowhere and become a good QB option but we got a reminder as to how vulnerable the Bills can be. A close call against this Chargers team is still a win, but also a warning to stay alert. Any loss will hurt right now. 

● James Cook was not nearly as effective as in recent weeks but still gained 70 yards on 20 carries. Leonard Fournette’s first game with the team didn’t do anything to change Cook’s role. 

● Quentin Johnston was 3rd on the Chargers in targets but finished 4th in receiving yards. Joshua Palmer is the WR1 with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams out and nobody else comes close. Gerald Everett has seen an uptick in targets since Easton Stick took over making him a good floor option in fantasy. TDs may be hard to come by though. 

Indianapolis Colts @ Atlanta Falcons 

● Michael Pittman Jr is going to get a lot of money this off-season. Without him, Gardner Minshew couldn’t take advantage of a juicy passing matchup as he threw for 201 yards, 0 TDs, and an interception on 37 attempts. Call it a bad day but maybe there is no real WR2 without him. TE Kylen Granson led the team in receiving yards while Josh Downs led them in targets but failed to do much with them. 

● It may seem like the Bucs are running away with the division, but the Falcons and Saints are only one win behind them. Tiebreakers will complicate things but it’s not over yet. 

Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers 

● Bryce Young looked good. The Panthers fell 33-30 but I doubt anyone was expecting them to keep it that close or to put up that many points. Young threw for over 300 yards and passed for 2 TDs in the loss and you can’t really ask for much more. He can’t be perfect every single drive and punting or turnovers have to be expected. Build an offense around him and let him shine. You didn’t draft him this highly to waste his precious rookie contract years. 

● Aaron Rodgers spent 3 years on the bench before throwing for 4,038 yards, 28 TDs, and 13 INTs in his first real season as a starter. Jordan Love has had more game experience in less time and is already at 3,587 yards, 27 TDs and 11 INTs. Even their rushing stats are pretty comparable. We have to adjust for the eras in which these two QBs started out as it’s infinitely easier to pass now, but Love’s stats are right up there with the best of them this year. At worst, he’s a pretty dang solid option that a lot of teams would be happy to have. Green Bay also seems to be finding some gems at WR which is really helping his development. The team is not ready for a title yet but I see greatness in Love’s future. 

Cleveland Browns @ Houston Texans 

● Imagine being a Steelers or Bengals fan and watching Lamar Jackson skyrocket into the MVP frontrunner while Joe Flacco leads the Browns to victory week after week. I’d be sick. I am sick. You cannot deny that Flacco is doing about as much as he can right now and then some. Interceptions are becoming a problem but he has a defense that can mask those issues for now. 

● Amari Cooper went ballistic against the Texans secondary en route to a historic game. Cooper caught 11 balls for 265 yards and 2 TDs. What a game and what a connection he has proven to have with Joe Flacco.

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings 

● The Lions have won their first divisional title since 1993. For context, not only has every other current team in the division won at least five in that span, even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (currently in the NFC South) won the division during that drought when it was still the NFC Central. While people like myself will marvel at how inept the team has been for three decades, we no longer do so to poke fun. This fanbase deserves Dan Campbell and the title. 

Washington Commanders @ New York Jets 

● Sam Howell can be so fun to watch sometimes but it’s hard to see how he fits into the team’s future. There’s an opportunity for Washington to end the season with a top-3 pick which gives them plenty of options on draft day. His high volume and great matchups mostly shielded him in the past thanks to solid box scores, but Jacoby Brissett is clearly out-playing him. Whether or not Eric Bieniemy stays at OC, a change seems necessary. 

● Breece Hall can do no wrong. When this offense is actually clicking and can get the ball into his hands, he’s unstoppable. All it took was 16 targets and the worst pass defense in the league to get him this far, but that’s a gripe that I have with the Jets, not Breece himself. Ending the season away against the Browns and Patriots will probably limit his upside but it’s nice to see that the Breece we know is still there despite a horrible offense. 

New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos 

● The clock seems to be striking midnight. The Broncos got a pass for losing to the Lions but this is not a good sign. When they can’t force turnovers, they get beat. It’s clear that the defense, while improving, is still a massive issue. A late comeback seemed to move momentum in their favor but a final punt and some questionable clock management sealed their fate. 

Las Vegas Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs 

● Code red, this is not a drill. The Chiefs are bleeding and everyone needs to take advantage. It would have been foolish to assume that they would be unstoppable contenders every year of the Mahomes era. They’re still one of the best teams in the AFC and the entire league but it feels like any team can take them down on a good week. Losing to division rivals in the Raiders and Broncos happens but it definitely feels different now. The offense desperately needs a WR1 and a great OC. They lost both and are facing the consequences of failing to replace them. 

● Zamir White could be the starting RB for the Raiders next year. The rookie was given a real chance to shine, and he has looked good in consecutive weeks. White has 39 carries for 214 yards and a TD over the last two weeks and while game-script may have played a big part, we can only look away for so long. Jacobs is a free agent next year and will be 26 soon. He led the league in rushing in 2022 and should still be an effective back but Vegas may find it in their best interest to let another team take him on while they bolster some other parts of the roster. 

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles 

● The Eagles may have snapped their losing streak but they’re still looking as beatable as ever. Jalen Hurts threw a pick-6 to get the Giants within striking distance, and the defense was letting up some big plays. Tyrod Taylor was leading a game-tying drive but threw an interception in the endzone despite it looking like the Eagles should have been called for pass interference. Narrowly avoiding against a rival like this given the state they’re in is not a good look heading into the playoffs. These teams face off in Week 18 at MetLife. Big Blue could spoil their hopes of the #1 seed and even the division. 

● Is the Tommy Devito show over? I hope it’s not but Tyrod Taylor isn’t a bad QB. Before he got hurt, he looked like the spark the team needed to keep things going when Daniel Jones went down. Some may argue that giving Devito more experience would help and that may be true now that the Giants are eliminated from the playoffs. There is a lot of work to be done this off-season and we should expect to see some changes in these final two weeks. 

Baltimore Ravens @ San Francisco 49ers 

● Talk about making a statement. The Baltimore Ravens are in the driver’s seat for the AFC North, the #1 seed, and the chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. They still need to get past the 11-4 Dolphins but they’ll be favored on the road after their performance on Christmas night. Lamar Jackson is now the MVP favorite but we have to appreciate how good this defense has been. Teams are averaging 16.3 points per game against them. 

● Brock Purdy, what happened? San Francisco was moving the ball down the field with relative ease for most of their 1st half drives, but three ended in interceptions. The Niners took a 5-0 lead after forcing a safety but they really couldn’t capitalize on much else. Sam Darnold came in late to lead the team to their 2nd TD drive of the game but it just wasn’t enough. The 49ers played worse the further they got behind despite boasting some of the best playmakers in the league. We’ve seen them fall before but this is their first since the bye week. They are not invincible and are likely to face Baltimore if they win the NFCC this year. 

● Kyle Hamilton might be the best safety in the league right now. He’s only 22 and just got his 3rd and 4th interceptions of his career in this game. He has 3 sacks, 13 pass deflections, and a forced fumble. PFF ranks him 5th in overall defense but 2nd in coverage. It won’t ever compare to Ed Reed vs Troy Polamalu, but Kyle Hamilton vs Minkah Fitzpatrick should be a hot rivalry debate for the next few years.

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By Themi Michalakis