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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
David Dorey

Tunnel Vision – Injuries, free agents and Sunday stars

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Jared Goff  278-0 5
 Baker Mayfield 381-(-2) 4
 Aiden O’Connell 248-0 4
 Brock Purdy 242-0 4
 Easton Stick 257-11 3
Running Backs Yards TD
Christian McCaffrey 18-115
5-72
3
James Cook 25-179
2-42
2
Kyren Williams 27-152
5-3
1
Jahmyr Gibbs 11-100
2-8
2
Ty Chandler  23-132
3-25
1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Jordan Addison 6-111 2
Jaylen Waddle 8-142 1
Terry McLaurin 6-141 1
Chris Godwin 10-155 0
Cooper Kupp 8-111 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
Sam LaPorta 5-56 3
David Njoku 10-104 1
Trey McBride 10-102 0
Hunter Henry 7-66 1
Isaiah Likely 5-70 1
Placekickers XP FG
Ka’imi Fairbairn 1 4
Matt Prater 2 3
Matt Gay 3 3
Jason Sanders 3 3
Harrison Butker 3 2
Defense Sack – TO TD
Dolphins 6-4 0
Raiders 3-5 1
Bears 4-3 1
Saints 7-0 0
Titans 4-1 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Will Levis – Leg
QB Zach Wilson – Head
RB Zack Moss – Arm
RB Keaton Mitchell – Knee
RB Jonathan Williams – Concussion
WR Zay Jones – Leg
WR Michael Pittman – Concussion
WR Ja’Marr Chase – Shoulder
WR Jayden Reed – Toe
TE Hunter Henry – Leg
K Randy Bullock – Hamstring

Chasing Ambulances

QB Will Levis – Injured his ankle but said afterward that he is alright and that the injury “could’ve been a lot worse and it was definitely scarier in the moment than it was.” He carries minimal fantasy value anyway, but had kept DeAndre Hopkins relevant.

QB Zach Wilson – Received a concussion in the shutout loss to the Dolphins. He was replaced by Trevor Siemian who would take the start this week against the visiting Commanders, the NFL version of Santa Claus coming down the chimney. Siemian was even worse than Wilson when he came into the loss to the Fins, but he may have some value against the worst defense in the NFL.

RB Zack Moss – Left the win over the Steelers with another arm injury and X-Rays were negative at the stadium. He was ruled out when he couldn’t grip the ball well.  He was replaced by a tag team of Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson which could repeat this week if Moss remains out. But, Jonathan Taylor may return this week.

WR Michael Pittman – Left the game in the second quarter when he got a concussion after getting blasted on a tackle. He may end up missing this week, and if so they will cobble together the tight ends and other wideouts to replace his production.

RB Keaton Mitchell – Broke into the open and then crumpled almost untouched in the win over the Jaguars. He is already reported to be gone for the season with a serious knee injury. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill will take over his production, but be much slower about it.

WR Zay Jones – Already missed time with a knee injury this year, and now suffered a hamstring strain in the loss to the Ravens. Jamal Agnew will help cover for him if needed, but the Jaguars are running out of wideouts with Christian Kirk already gone.

WR Ja’Marr Chase – Injured the AC joint in his shoulder and is considered “day to day.’ HC Zac Taylor said his availability for the Steelers game will be determined later in the week.

WR Jayden Reed –  Left the loss to the Buccaneers with a toe injury and will have a status update later in the week.

TE Hunter Henry – Injured his knee in the loss to the Chiefs at the start of the fourth quarter and did not return. His status will be updated by Wednesday.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

QB Dart Throw – For some leagues, Week 15 is the playoffs and even the league championship for large contests. And the Top-8 fantasy quarterbacks for when you need them the most – Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Joe Flacco, Aidan O’Connell, Brock Purdy, Easton Stick, Jake Browning, and Nick Mullens.  Basically, all names on your waiver wire in Week 1.  Maybe even a week or two ago for most of them.  That’s disappointing after the top quarterbacks have been so good all year… until now.

WR Justin Jefferson – He made it all the way through the game without injury. Jefferson led the Vikings with ten targets that became seven catches for 84 yards. That, in turn, helped Jordan Addison (6-111, 2 TD) succeed against lesser coverage. Nick Mullens (303 yards, 2 TD) looks like he’ll stick for now.

RB Bijan Robinson – One of the biggest questions that will come out of 2023 is why did the Falcons have such uneven usage of a supposed generational talent? Robinson faced one of the weakest defenses in the NFL – Carolina – and was limited to only seven rushes for 11 yards while Tyler Allgeier handled 14 rushes for 45 yards. Robinson is already the leading rusher for the Falcons. Seven carries! They already drafted a generational talent in Kyle Pitts and then don’t use him. Now they have Robinson and do not use him. If they use a first-round pick on a quarterback, should we assume up front that he won’t get to play?

QB Joe Flacco – The Browns’ latest quarterback just threw for 374 yards and two scored on the Bears. He passed for 311 yards and three scores in Week 14. He’s only played three games and already has the two highest-producing games for Cleveland.

RB Raheem Mostert – He’s 31 years old and  has already topped his career marks in carries, yards and scores. This week versus the Jets, he ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. That a Miami team record with 20 touchdowns on the season, with three games left to play. Does he age in reverse? He’s playing out his ninth NFL season with more touchdowns than he’s scored in all other years combined.

RB James Conner – The Cardinals’ primary rusher ran for 105 yards and two scores at the Steelers in Week 13 and then went in his bye. He returned to face the 49ers on Sunday and reeled off 86 yards and a score on 14 rushes, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. And mostly on fantasy benches across the land.

QB Josh Allen – The Bills beat the Cowboys 31-10 in a laugher and Josh Allen spoke about his newfound wisdom after the game, suggesting that it is okay that he didn’t have to take the team on his back and do everything for the offense. He can allow James Cook to score twice with 227 total yards. Allen only passed for 94 yards and a touchdown but did run in one score. And that is not okay, at least not without warning during fantasy playoffs.

TE Isaiah Likely – Mark Andrews was lost after Week 12 and the Ravens No. 2 tight end stepped up these last two weeks with five catches for around 75 yards and a touchdown in each. That was more yardage than Andrews had in all but two games this year.

TE Sam LaPorta – The rookie just caught three touchdowns on his five catches for 56 yards in the win over the Broncos. That gives him an NFL tight end lead with nine touchdowns – no other in the position has scored more than six. Ironically, the Lions old tight end T.J. Hockenson is the No. 1 and Travis Kelce is No. 2. And LaPorta is No. 3 and just ten fantasy points away from being the No. 1 – as a rookie.

Huddle player of the week

Syndication: Democrat and Chronicle

James Cook  –  He already had improved in the second half of the season and against the previously feared Cowboys defense, Cook turned in a career-best performance with 179 yards and a score on 25 carries, plus caught two passes for 42 yards and a second touchdown.  Cook demolished the Cowboys almost single-handedly.

Salute!

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

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Baker Mayfield 381-(-2) 4 QB Dak Prescott 134-27 0
RB Ty Chandler 23-132
3-25
1 RB Breece Hall 6-12
1-2
0
RB Devin Singletary 26-121
4-49
0 RB Bijan Robinson 7-11
1-3
0
WR Terry McLaurin 6-141 1 WR Brandin Cooks 2-10 0
WR Jordan Addison 6-111 2 WR DeAndre Hopkins 2-21 0
WR Tre Tucker 3-59 2 WR Garrett Wilson 3-29 0
TE David Njoku 10-104 1 TE Taysom Hill 1-4 0
PK Ka’imi Fairbairn   1 XP   4 FG PK Younghoe Koo 1   XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 202 Huddle Fantasy Points = 26

Now get back to work…

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