Before getting to tonight's game, a quick look around the league:
Josh Gordon is back after a three-year hiatus. Or so we hope. He's expected to return Week 13. Before rushing out to add him, consider that it could take him the rest of the season to get into football shape. Also consider he'll be relying on arguably the league's worst QB (whoever the Browns are starting by Week 13). In his 2013 breakout, Gordon was catching balls thrown by eight-season veteran Jason Campbell (career 81.7 QB rating) and competent backup Brandon Weeden (look at his actual post-2013 numbers if you don't believe me). He's not getting close to that sterling level of talent with the current crop of Cleveland QBs. And finally, he's one misstep away from a potential lifetime ban. The sky's the limit. But not this year. And not with the A.J. McCarron-less Browns.
Corey Davis was the #5 overall pick in this year's draft. And now he's back after a seven-week recovery from a hamstring injury. Hamstrings have a way of becoming the "nagging" variety, but apparently Tennessee has been extra cautious with its prized rookie. Available in 74% of ESPN leagues, Davis should be added as a WR3.
Jay Cutler is expected to return on Sunday. If he bombs, it could be the last time we see him on an NFL field without a microphone in hand.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan won't guarantee Jimmy Garoppolo will start a game this season. The cynic in me believes this is an ownership decision--that the Niners would rather get a top-2 pick in next year's draft. The public story is that Garoppolo needs weeks and weeks to learn Shanahan's complicated system. Either way, this disastrously bad team will remain disastrous.
Speaking of disastrous, the wonderfully wealthy Brock Osweiler is the Broncos' new starting QB. Soon he'll be the Broncos' former starting QB for the second time in three seasons.
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Tonight the 5-2 Bills visit the 3-5 Jets in a matchup that looked miserable this summer, but which now has significant implications for both teams. The Bills have won four of five and actually face a near-must-win game. If they fall to 5-3, their next four contests are against the Saints, Chargers, Chiefs, and Patriots. They could realistically be 6-6 after that stretch and well outside the playoff bubble. Meanwhile, the Jets are a surprising "what-could-have-been" team with three consecutive back-breaking losses. After tonight, if playing their best going forward, they could realistically win three of the next four against the Bucs, Panthers, Chiefs, and Broncos. Sure, it's a stretch. But a 4-5 Jets could at least imagine being 7-6 (of course, their last three are against the Saints, Chargers, and Patriots, so let's not get ahead of ourselves).
What's the biggest storyline for each team? On one side, all eyes will be on Buffalo's newly acquired #1 receiver, Kelvin Benjamin. The Jordan Matthews experiment has been a rousing failure, as the former WR3 was handed the team's #1 role and simply hasn't produced. Benjamin's value spikes in an offense that will center around him and LeSean McCoy. Benjamin has the potential to be a high-volume prolific scorer and is facing a Jets D yielding a league-high 17 passing TDs. Start him as a WR2 with top 5 upside.
On the other side, I'm watching the Jets' running game. Outside of a Week 4 thrashing of Jacksonville--the NFL's worst run D--Bilal Powell is averaging 2.9 yards per carry this year. Tonight's he's facing one of the league's stingiest Ds. I believe if the Jets had been 2-6 or worse, the 29-year-old Powell would have been gone before the trade deadline. And while Matt Forte isn't running much better, he remains a key cog in the passing game, further diminishing Powell's upside. These two have been alternating who gets the most touches. Meanwhile, rookie Elijah McGuire is running better than both of them on the ground and could be starting later this season when the Jets are officially looking to next year (i.e. stash him if you have space for a speculative add).
Josh Gordon is back after a three-year hiatus. Or so we hope. He's expected to return Week 13. Before rushing out to add him, consider that it could take him the rest of the season to get into football shape. Also consider he'll be relying on arguably the league's worst QB (whoever the Browns are starting by Week 13). In his 2013 breakout, Gordon was catching balls thrown by eight-season veteran Jason Campbell (career 81.7 QB rating) and competent backup Brandon Weeden (look at his actual post-2013 numbers if you don't believe me). He's not getting close to that sterling level of talent with the current crop of Cleveland QBs. And finally, he's one misstep away from a potential lifetime ban. The sky's the limit. But not this year. And not with the A.J. McCarron-less Browns.
Corey Davis was the #5 overall pick in this year's draft. And now he's back after a seven-week recovery from a hamstring injury. Hamstrings have a way of becoming the "nagging" variety, but apparently Tennessee has been extra cautious with its prized rookie. Available in 74% of ESPN leagues, Davis should be added as a WR3.
Jay Cutler is expected to return on Sunday. If he bombs, it could be the last time we see him on an NFL field without a microphone in hand.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan won't guarantee Jimmy Garoppolo will start a game this season. The cynic in me believes this is an ownership decision--that the Niners would rather get a top-2 pick in next year's draft. The public story is that Garoppolo needs weeks and weeks to learn Shanahan's complicated system. Either way, this disastrously bad team will remain disastrous.
Speaking of disastrous, the wonderfully wealthy Brock Osweiler is the Broncos' new starting QB. Soon he'll be the Broncos' former starting QB for the second time in three seasons.
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Tonight the 5-2 Bills visit the 3-5 Jets in a matchup that looked miserable this summer, but which now has significant implications for both teams. The Bills have won four of five and actually face a near-must-win game. If they fall to 5-3, their next four contests are against the Saints, Chargers, Chiefs, and Patriots. They could realistically be 6-6 after that stretch and well outside the playoff bubble. Meanwhile, the Jets are a surprising "what-could-have-been" team with three consecutive back-breaking losses. After tonight, if playing their best going forward, they could realistically win three of the next four against the Bucs, Panthers, Chiefs, and Broncos. Sure, it's a stretch. But a 4-5 Jets could at least imagine being 7-6 (of course, their last three are against the Saints, Chargers, and Patriots, so let's not get ahead of ourselves).
What's the biggest storyline for each team? On one side, all eyes will be on Buffalo's newly acquired #1 receiver, Kelvin Benjamin. The Jordan Matthews experiment has been a rousing failure, as the former WR3 was handed the team's #1 role and simply hasn't produced. Benjamin's value spikes in an offense that will center around him and LeSean McCoy. Benjamin has the potential to be a high-volume prolific scorer and is facing a Jets D yielding a league-high 17 passing TDs. Start him as a WR2 with top 5 upside.
On the other side, I'm watching the Jets' running game. Outside of a Week 4 thrashing of Jacksonville--the NFL's worst run D--Bilal Powell is averaging 2.9 yards per carry this year. Tonight's he's facing one of the league's stingiest Ds. I believe if the Jets had been 2-6 or worse, the 29-year-old Powell would have been gone before the trade deadline. And while Matt Forte isn't running much better, he remains a key cog in the passing game, further diminishing Powell's upside. These two have been alternating who gets the most touches. Meanwhile, rookie Elijah McGuire is running better than both of them on the ground and could be starting later this season when the Jets are officially looking to next year (i.e. stash him if you have space for a speculative add).