Since the NFL added a third game to Thanksgiving in 2006, only twice have the road teams won all three games. The first time was in 2012. The second time was yesterday.
Starting with Detroit vs. Chicago, I missed big on the "David Blough doesn't stand a chance" prediction. His two first-quarter scores shut me up in a hurry. That said, his TD pass to Kenny Golladay was severely underthrown; it was simply blown coverage. And no one was near Marvin Jones for the second TD. On the one hand, I'm nit-picking: Golladay and Jones did far better than I expected against a solid Bears defense. On the other hand, 47% of Blough's passing yards came on the first two drives. He was eventually exposed. But from a fantasy perspective, the damage was done: If you listened to me on Golladay and Jones, you deserve to be annoyed.
The rest of the game played out largely as predicted. I told a lot of folks that Bo Scarbrough's ceiling was about eight points, and he finished with 8.3. David Montgomery rebounded. Allen Robinson was a must-start. And Jesper Horsted made good on my Hail Mary suggestion. While it was a solid comeback win for Chicago, this team remains in trouble. Their six wins have come against the 8-3 Vikings, along with teams with a combined record of 13-41-2. Next up are the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, and Vikings (in Minnesota). They'll be lucky to win one more.
Now to Dallas vs. Buffalo. I thought the Cowboys would rise to the occasion. Instead, in his first nationally televised appearance, Josh Allen played like vintage Dak Prescott, and Dak played like a non-franchise QB. Dallas is now 3-6 since starting 3-0. Of course, those first three wins were against the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. Their story is a lot like Chicago's: beating up on bad teams and wilting against above-.500 teams. Fortunately, their remaining schedule is easier. Unfortunately, they're clearly not a great team.
On the fantasy front, Dak, Zeke Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Randall Cobb all played roughly as expected. And all eyes will be on Amari heading into Week 14 on news that he needed an x-ray on his previously injured knee after the game. For Buffalo, the "unbenchable" Josh Allen continued to amaze. But I missed big on Cole Beasley and Devin Singletary. As I shared with many of you, Dallas's D has been terrific against opposing #1 receivers. So while John Brown was bottled up most of the day, Beasley enjoyed the fourth best fantasy day of his career--and against his former team. Hats off to those who took a chance on him.
Finally, no surprise: New Orleans avenged their shocking Week 10 loss to Atlanta. But how they did it was plenty surprising. Michael Thomas had his worst fantasy output of the season, Alvin Kamara was quiet, Latavius Murray was nearly silent, and Drew Brees was essentially unstartable. Multiple times balls went off receivers' fingertips; Brees & company left plenty of yards on the field. Yet credit Atlanta's defense, which gave up 31.3 points per game in their first eight contests, and only 18.3 in their last four vs. some high-powered offenses.
Speaking of the Falcons, another abysmal start for Matt Ryan, though he salvaged a barely middling fantasy day late. While Julio Jones's absence had something to do with the letdown, poor decision making was the biggest factor. His two picks were terrible throws. His fumble was unnecessary (he could have slid for the first down instead of running upright). After a blistering start that included four 3+ TD performances in his first six games, he now has five touchdowns and eight turnovers in his last five contests. Signed through 2023, the 34-year-old will be tough to trust the rest of the year.
Elsewhere, Jaeden Graham continued to step up in Austin Hooper's absence. Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage both offered fantasy startability, while Christian Blake impressed in his first high-demand NFL appearance.
And a word on Devonta Freeman. If you saw something different, shout it out. What I saw was a still-talented back running finding narrow holes behind a terrible line, converting what should have been 1-2 yard gains into 3-4. He's not as bad as his numbers suggest, though it's plain to see his fantasy value will remain suspect the rest of the way. If the Falcons cut him this offseason, whoever signs him will get a better player than what we've seen in 2019.
Starting with Detroit vs. Chicago, I missed big on the "David Blough doesn't stand a chance" prediction. His two first-quarter scores shut me up in a hurry. That said, his TD pass to Kenny Golladay was severely underthrown; it was simply blown coverage. And no one was near Marvin Jones for the second TD. On the one hand, I'm nit-picking: Golladay and Jones did far better than I expected against a solid Bears defense. On the other hand, 47% of Blough's passing yards came on the first two drives. He was eventually exposed. But from a fantasy perspective, the damage was done: If you listened to me on Golladay and Jones, you deserve to be annoyed.
The rest of the game played out largely as predicted. I told a lot of folks that Bo Scarbrough's ceiling was about eight points, and he finished with 8.3. David Montgomery rebounded. Allen Robinson was a must-start. And Jesper Horsted made good on my Hail Mary suggestion. While it was a solid comeback win for Chicago, this team remains in trouble. Their six wins have come against the 8-3 Vikings, along with teams with a combined record of 13-41-2. Next up are the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, and Vikings (in Minnesota). They'll be lucky to win one more.
Now to Dallas vs. Buffalo. I thought the Cowboys would rise to the occasion. Instead, in his first nationally televised appearance, Josh Allen played like vintage Dak Prescott, and Dak played like a non-franchise QB. Dallas is now 3-6 since starting 3-0. Of course, those first three wins were against the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. Their story is a lot like Chicago's: beating up on bad teams and wilting against above-.500 teams. Fortunately, their remaining schedule is easier. Unfortunately, they're clearly not a great team.
On the fantasy front, Dak, Zeke Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Randall Cobb all played roughly as expected. And all eyes will be on Amari heading into Week 14 on news that he needed an x-ray on his previously injured knee after the game. For Buffalo, the "unbenchable" Josh Allen continued to amaze. But I missed big on Cole Beasley and Devin Singletary. As I shared with many of you, Dallas's D has been terrific against opposing #1 receivers. So while John Brown was bottled up most of the day, Beasley enjoyed the fourth best fantasy day of his career--and against his former team. Hats off to those who took a chance on him.
Finally, no surprise: New Orleans avenged their shocking Week 10 loss to Atlanta. But how they did it was plenty surprising. Michael Thomas had his worst fantasy output of the season, Alvin Kamara was quiet, Latavius Murray was nearly silent, and Drew Brees was essentially unstartable. Multiple times balls went off receivers' fingertips; Brees & company left plenty of yards on the field. Yet credit Atlanta's defense, which gave up 31.3 points per game in their first eight contests, and only 18.3 in their last four vs. some high-powered offenses.
Speaking of the Falcons, another abysmal start for Matt Ryan, though he salvaged a barely middling fantasy day late. While Julio Jones's absence had something to do with the letdown, poor decision making was the biggest factor. His two picks were terrible throws. His fumble was unnecessary (he could have slid for the first down instead of running upright). After a blistering start that included four 3+ TD performances in his first six games, he now has five touchdowns and eight turnovers in his last five contests. Signed through 2023, the 34-year-old will be tough to trust the rest of the year.
Elsewhere, Jaeden Graham continued to step up in Austin Hooper's absence. Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage both offered fantasy startability, while Christian Blake impressed in his first high-demand NFL appearance.
And a word on Devonta Freeman. If you saw something different, shout it out. What I saw was a still-talented back running finding narrow holes behind a terrible line, converting what should have been 1-2 yard gains into 3-4. He's not as bad as his numbers suggest, though it's plain to see his fantasy value will remain suspect the rest of the way. If the Falcons cut him this offseason, whoever signs him will get a better player than what we've seen in 2019.