While the Chiefs are doinking in walk-off field goals, the Bills are finding new ways to lose. Six touchdowns. Three on the ground, three through the air. Zero turnovers. Zero sacks taken. A loss.
That was Josh Allen’s Sunday. Never has the phrase “what more could so-and-so have done?” been more apt. Well there is one thing — not play for Sean McDermott. Whereas the Chiefs make their own luck with steely late-game execution, McDermott has made a habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on all his biggest stages.
The Bills would have probably still lost Sunday even had McDermott either: 1. Caught-and-canceled Allen’s ill-fated quarterback sneak, or: 2. Simply not called his foolish timeout afterward. But he didn’t, and they did.
It’s — not realizing the timeout was the only thing that mattered in that situation — the kind of mistake that would have never happened had McDermott ever played even one game of Madden, but this is real life, and the head coach continues to undermine his superhuman quarterback.
Allen has nothing left to prove. All that’s left is the résumé box checking. “Win a Super Bowl” probably won’t be possible if it’s McDermott making the late-game calls.
Five Week 14 Storylines
Isaac Guerendo latest 49ers running back to get hurt. But will he be the first to immediately return? Guerendo’s last touch came at the 10:45 mark of a non-competitive contest. His departure understandably activated alarm bells, but he said afterward it was “just precautionary,” and that he’s feeling “great.” Potentially great news, though not the entire story. Dealing with the ever-dreaded, always vague “foot sprain,” Guerendo’s Monday MRI could still reveal something that requires time on the shelf. That’s especially true since the 49ers naturally play on Thursday Night Football this week. Fantasy managers can harbor optimism for the time being, but Patrick Taylor Jr. belongs on speed dial, with Israel Abanikanda and Ke’Shawn Vaughn both potential change-of-pace options.
Zach Charbonnet complicates the calculus for Kenneth Walker’s return. Now that’s how you do a plug-and-play RB1 appearance. Of course, I only had Charbonnet ranked as a plug-and-play RB2. Charbonnet had not been running particularly well as Walker’s caddie, and he didn’t cover himself in glory in his 2023 spot starts. But Sunday was the best performance by any Seahawks back all season, one that puts Walker on notice after months worth of sub-par performances. Perhaps Charbonnet is a “rhythm back” who still won’t pressure Walker upon his return, but how could you not give him more work after what he did Sunday? Chunk gains on the ground, solid work as a pass catcher, a break-away touchdown. Maybe Charbonnet didn’t create his own standalone fantasy value, but he’s likely damaged Walker’s.
DK Metcalf fades further from WR1 relevance. If you’re a Metcalf manager, you’re probably laughing at that headline. “Don’t you mean fades from further from WR2 relevance?” And you might be right. Not the same since missing Weeks 8 and 9 with a knee injury, Metcalf has returned to a Seahawks offense that isn’t the same, either. Namely, they’ve put the governor back on Geno Smith while relying more on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. None of that means it will be impossible for Metcalf to produce some of his signature long gainers down the sideline, but the conditions that help create Metcalf’s spiked weeks have dissipated. Frankly, “boom/bust WR2” would probably be a good outcome for the stretch run. That’s not what you drafted. It is what you have.
Derek Carr puts unsatisfying exclamation point on unsatisfying season. I guess we could add “unsatisfying Saints tenure,” but Carr’s contract situation is complicated enough that it’s not a given. That’s unfortunate, since this marriage is hurtling toward what was always the only possible outcome: Failure. Hurdling is how we arrived at this exact endpoint. Carr, for reasons unknown, went high into the air in the Meadowlands and came down on both his head and wrist. A concussion evaluation, and a fracture. The last man standing for an injury-ruined offense, Carr should now give way to Jake Haener, who figures to be tasked with little more than handing the ball off to Alvin Kamara. That might seem silly — shouldn’t the Saints seek to evaluate either Haener or Spencer Rattler? — but with whom might they do so? “Kevin Austin”? Dante Pettis? There’s no one left. The big question now becomes if that will include teflon GM Mickey Loomis in the offseason.
Jonathon Brooks clouds NFL future with non-contact knee injury. It’s an uncomfortable reality that if you begin your career injured, your NFL future is already no better than 50-50. For every Travis Kelce, there are 50 Marcus Lattimores. That’s why the Panthers played things safe with Brooks’ return from his torn college ACL. It made no difference. Three games in, Brooks already appears to have a new tear. That’s the worst-case outcome, but the best case is so infrequent. The Panthers at least have Chuba Hubbard. Fantasy managers who used a top-three dynasty pick on Brooks? Well, you have another one coming your way. Save an I.R. spot for the 21-year-old, but don’t count on ever seeing a return on investment.
Don’t forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter/Bluesky.
Five More Week 14 Storylines
Bucky Irving re-tweaks back vs. Raiders. Whereas Jonathon Brooks got all the time in the world to heal up his knee and still got immediately re-injured, Irving got no time to rest his back and … got immediately re-injured. Unlike Brooks, it seemed Irving might return. He kept his uniform on and was rocking a heating pad. Since the Bucs were handling the Raiders, however, there wasn’t much point in forcing the issue. That won’t be the case in Week 15, where the Bucs have their toughest remaining game in the Chargers. Of course, forcing the issue with Irving’s health is what got the Bucs here in the first place. Irving should be considered genuinely questionable for the first week of the fantasy playoffs, with the preferred outcome maybe being getting one game off before returning for plus Cowboys and Panthers dates.
Aidan O’Connell suffers season-ending knee injury vs. Tampa. O’Connell wasn’t performing nearly as well as he did against the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Friday, but he was keeping the Raiders in the game with a superior opponent. The same wasn’t true for Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers’ fantasy managers. Whereas AOC made his dynamic duo PPR money printers in Week 13, the bank examiner was circling like a vulture Sunday. He’s now camped out in the front yard, as there is no way Desmond Ridder can supply the easy looks that make Meyers and Bowers tick. Bowers, of course, can go nowhere near fantasy benches. You just have to take your chances that Ridder figures something out with his No. 1 weapon. Meyers? It’s been a nice story, but that’s not a ship you can go down with in the fantasy quarterfinals.
Tank Bigsby finally gets good game script, easily leads Jaguars’ backfield. Bigsby has been the Jags’ best back all season. It hasn’t mattered because they’re always playing from behind, game circumstance that apparently doesn’t suit Bigsby’s skill-set. The Titans fixed that problem for Week 14 and, remarkably, it could be smooth sailing from here on out. Although the Jags are 3-10, their stretch-run schedule consists of vs. NYJ, @LV, vs. TEN, @IND. Do you spot a potential blowout anywhere in there? Anything is possible when you’re awful, but more likely is Bigsby “better late than never”-ing his RB2/FLEX ascendance and being a mid-season bench stash you’re thankful you kept around on the back-end of your roster.
Isaiah Davis plays Braelon Allen to a draw in Breece Hall’s absence. All season long, fantasy managers comforted themselves with the tale that their dead Allen bench spot would at least result in plug-and-play RB2 status were Hall to ever go down with injury. Heck, maybe even RB1. Instead, they got a timeshare with fellow rookie Isaiah Davis, one that did not appear undeserved. Now they have nothing but questions. Will Hall come back for Week 15 or be babied along in a lost season? Will Aaron Rodgers continue to start? Will anything matter at all in New York? The Week 15 matchup is good in the Jaguars, but in the fantasy playoffs, you want answers. All Allen has right now is questions.
Deebo Samuel remains only 49er not to get in on the fun. As the Niners began their last stand, almost every hand was on deck. Samuel? He was swimming in the ocean. As expected, Samuel’s run-game involvement ramped up in Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason’s absence. Also as expected, it didn’t go anywhere. Five carries for 13 yards. Once a ground-game game-breaker, Samuel is averaging 2.9 yards per carry this season. He is not compensating through the air, where he has 85 yards over the past four weeks. No longer breaking tackles, Samuel is not the same physically after taking so much punishment in 2021-23. 28 and perhaps on his way out of San Francisco, Samuel is a fantasy legend whose time seems to have come too early.
Questions
1. What is the NFL trying to prove putting that Jaguars/Titans game somewhere other than Thursday Night Football?
2. Is it in the NFL bylaws that every awful team must have a punter with a nickname? (Looking at you, “Scottish Hammer.”)
3. Why does Kyler Murray _______
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Jameis Winston (vs. KC), Aaron Rodgers (@JAX), Drake Maye (@AZ), Will Levis (vs. CIN), Bryce Young (vs. DAL), Cooper Rush (@CAR)
RB: Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick, Tank Bigsby, Isaiah Davis, Jerome Ford, Kimani Vidal, Kendre Miller, Israel Abanikanda, Ke’Shawn Vaughn
WR: Quentin Johnston, Keon Coleman, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Elijah Moore, Josh Palmer, DeVaugh Vele, Jalen McMillan, Ray-Ray McCloud
TE: Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, Noah Gray, Juwan Johnson, Will Dissly (injured), Tyler Higbee, Michael Mayer, Grant Calcaterra
DEF: Commanders (@NO), Falcons (@LV), Jets (@JAX), Bengals (@TEN), Raiders (vs. ATL), Cowboys (@CAR), Panthers (vs. DAL), Cardinals (vs. NE)
Stats of the Week
Drake London has drawn 10-plus targets without reaching 100 yards five times this season. This is a “Kirk Cousins is cooked” stat.
Which brings us to Marc Raimondi: “Kirk Cousins is the first quarterback to go four straight games in a single season without a touchdown and at least eight interceptions since Brett Favre in 2005.”
Via Underdog: “Trey McBride now has the most receptions (76) without a receiving TD in any 12-game span since at least 1970.”
Awards Section
Week 14 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Josh Allen, RB Zach Charbonnet, RB Isaac Guerendo, WR Puka Nacua, WR Jordan Addison, WR Justin Jefferson, TE George Kittle
Week 14 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Jordan Love, RB James Cook, RB Alvin Kamara, WR A.J. Brown, WR Jayden Reed, WR DK Metcalf, TE Brock Bowers
That’s What’s Known as the “Patriots Fallacy” Award: That the Chiefs “keep getting lucky.” No, young man, they are simply better than your team.
Ok, But Still, That Was Excessive Award: The Chiefs doinking in Sunday’s latest walk-off field goal.
Quote of the Week, from Malik Nabers: “Malik Nabers, hearing for the first time about the plane overhead calling for this dumpster fire to be fixed: “I ain’t pay for the plane.”
Hero of the Week Award: Graham Gano, knowing overtime was not necessary in Giants/Saints and shanking a game-tying kick as time expired.
Kadarius Toney Performance of the Week: Kadarius Toney, for somehow getting a personal foul on a fair catch then later muffing a punt.
