If that was Tom Brady's final fourth-quarter comeback--a record-breaking 44th, moving ahead of Peyton Manning--then it will probably rank as one of the more improbable of his career. He needed 54 pass attempts, tied for the third most among those 44 comebacks. And the 17 points scored was tied for the third fewest among those 44 comebacks. His 5.2 yards per attempt was tied for--you guessed it--the third fewest among those 44 comebacks.
He's now on pace for 742 pass attempts on the season, which would break his career high from last year. Matthew Stafford holds the all-time record (727). With the Bucs now 1.5 games up on Atlanta, we might envision Brady hitting 750+, including the postseason, which would give him 1,500+ across two seasons. For context, that's almost as many as Lamar Jackson's thrown in his career.
Brady's overall decline (yes, the offensive line is a big part of the problem, but not the only part) should make fantasy managers rostering Mike Evans or Chris Godwin a bit anxious heading into the fantasy playoffs. When the backfield accounts for 15 targets, and the combo of Julio Jones and Cade Otton account for 16, that's an issue. Godwin's averaging his fewest fantasy points per game since 2018. Evans is averaging the fewest of his career.
On the ground, it was either nice or terrible to see Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White splitting touches. Going forward, this surely will be an issue. For now, both should be viewed as top-32 RBs with top-20 upside. If you have both, they form a great hedge given their usage near the goal line.
For New Orleans, Rashid Shaheed looked good again. Not enough to roster, but he appears to be the co-No. 2 WR alongside Jarvis Landry. Chris Olave is Chris Olave. And a nice evening for Taysom Hill managers. I didn't see that coming. And when it comes to Hill, I never see it coming.
Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara hasn't averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry since Week 7. He hasn't scored since Week 8. Not much more can be said. He'll get two favorable matchups after the bye (Atlanta and Cleveland). But let's face it: few starting RBs have had a more dismal six weeks than Kamara.
I pulled for all of you last night. Helped that my game was already decided. Congrats to Dave Dvorak, Greg Slack, John Doherty, and Brad Shiffman. Rough luck for Drew Wiechmann. We can't all be winners. Unless we each compete in a different league and somehow all win the same week, which is pretty much impossible. But we can dream.
And . . . the winners of the closest-score competition, picking the Bucs 20-17 . . . Jeff Haddou and Chuck Freeman. Both are first-time winnners this season. Both obviously very deserving of this incredible moment in the sun.
And . . . not to steal that moment away, but special bonus recognition to Rick Esterly. If you go back through the archives this season, you'll find that Rick often comes incredibly close to the final score. Rick, I don't know how you do it. Yesterday you picked the Bucs 20-18. I can think of about a half-dozen times recently when you almost won. If there's some secret--like an elixir or preferred fortune teller--no need to fill us in. Just post some cryptic comment, and we'll know the deal.
He's now on pace for 742 pass attempts on the season, which would break his career high from last year. Matthew Stafford holds the all-time record (727). With the Bucs now 1.5 games up on Atlanta, we might envision Brady hitting 750+, including the postseason, which would give him 1,500+ across two seasons. For context, that's almost as many as Lamar Jackson's thrown in his career.
Brady's overall decline (yes, the offensive line is a big part of the problem, but not the only part) should make fantasy managers rostering Mike Evans or Chris Godwin a bit anxious heading into the fantasy playoffs. When the backfield accounts for 15 targets, and the combo of Julio Jones and Cade Otton account for 16, that's an issue. Godwin's averaging his fewest fantasy points per game since 2018. Evans is averaging the fewest of his career.
On the ground, it was either nice or terrible to see Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White splitting touches. Going forward, this surely will be an issue. For now, both should be viewed as top-32 RBs with top-20 upside. If you have both, they form a great hedge given their usage near the goal line.
For New Orleans, Rashid Shaheed looked good again. Not enough to roster, but he appears to be the co-No. 2 WR alongside Jarvis Landry. Chris Olave is Chris Olave. And a nice evening for Taysom Hill managers. I didn't see that coming. And when it comes to Hill, I never see it coming.
Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara hasn't averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry since Week 7. He hasn't scored since Week 8. Not much more can be said. He'll get two favorable matchups after the bye (Atlanta and Cleveland). But let's face it: few starting RBs have had a more dismal six weeks than Kamara.
I pulled for all of you last night. Helped that my game was already decided. Congrats to Dave Dvorak, Greg Slack, John Doherty, and Brad Shiffman. Rough luck for Drew Wiechmann. We can't all be winners. Unless we each compete in a different league and somehow all win the same week, which is pretty much impossible. But we can dream.
And . . . the winners of the closest-score competition, picking the Bucs 20-17 . . . Jeff Haddou and Chuck Freeman. Both are first-time winnners this season. Both obviously very deserving of this incredible moment in the sun.
And . . . not to steal that moment away, but special bonus recognition to Rick Esterly. If you go back through the archives this season, you'll find that Rick often comes incredibly close to the final score. Rick, I don't know how you do it. Yesterday you picked the Bucs 20-18. I can think of about a half-dozen times recently when you almost won. If there's some secret--like an elixir or preferred fortune teller--no need to fill us in. Just post some cryptic comment, and we'll know the deal.