It was far from the best game of Week 14, but the biggest story in fantasy came in Jacksonville, where Daniel Jones, already playing with a broken leg, suffered a torn Achilles to his other leg. The team fears his season is over, and with the injury comes massive downgrades for some top players as we enter the fantasy playoff season. Jonathan Taylor is an RB2 now, at best. Tyler Warren is a borderline starter even at a weak tight end position. I don’t see how you can play any of the other receivers without a show-me game from the only remaining QB on the Indianapolis roster — Riley Leonard. Unfortunately, we’re out of time for show-me games.
What about Anthony Richardson? He got hit in the face with an elastic band and suffered an orbital fracture — reportedly he’s not yet cleared to even practice, never mind withstand contact. (That was some Flintstones-like rubber band, apparently.) The Colts trading two first-round picks to the Jets for Sauce Gardner is looking like a franchise-killing deal for this iteration of the Colts, who don’t have a first-round pick until 2028 and now have no QB (Jones is a free agent, too).
Early Games: Josh Allen slays Cincy; Shedeur Sanders shines
Seattle at Atlanta: The Seahawks have the most underrated defense in football, especially against the pass (though their run defense is ranked even higher, but who cares about run defense). The Falcons had 154 yards on 31 pass plays. Gross. I was worried teams would put everyone on the line and make it impossible to identify pass rushers until the Seahawks figured it out. Well, they were shut down in the first half and then dominated after halftime, with Sam Darnold going 11-for-15 for 182 yards and three scores.
Cincinnati at Buffalo: Nothing against the Bills, but everyone outside of Buffalo was rooting for the Bengals, who would have had an 82 percent playoff chance if they had run the table with their schedule — on paper, this was their only tough game. Joe Burrow was great until he tried to loft a screen over an onrushing defender and it got picked and returned for a touchdown, turning a lead into a deficit in the fourth quarter. Burrow followed that up with an interception that was not his fault (tipped at the line). Josh Allen was flawless and compiled four scores, including a career-long 40-yard rushing TD. He was so deadly and controlled, scrambling for huge gains all day. The Cincy running game badly underachieved relative to its recent performance. Ja’Marr Chase could not get on track.
Shedeur takes it himself for his first NFL rushing TD#TENvsCLE on Fox and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/cObrI7zX5Q
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 7, 2025
Tennessee at Cleveland: Yes, there was a ton of yards after contact involved on one long touchdown, but Shedeur Sanders made some big-time throws, including this laser to Jerry Jeudy. He is the only Cleveland QB with multiple scoring strikes of 15-plus air yards on the season. He led the team all the way back in the fourth quarter and didn’t get a chance to tie the score when he was removed for a trick play on the two-point conversion. Sanders badly outplayed No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, and I get that the Browns’ defense is very good… but still. This is no fifth-round pick. Sanders accounted for four TDs and threw for 364 yards. I’d debate even drafting a QB if I rooted for the Browns. Most encouraging: two sacks in 44 dropbacks. Yes, Harold Fannin is very much a must-start now. (David Njoku injured his knee on this amazing TD pass.)
Washington at Minnesota: Jayden Daniels is hurt again and it’s a lost season for last season’s golden child. I was not impressed by J.J. McCarthy (four sacks in 27 dropbacks). Three passing TDs and basically a Justin Jefferson shutout is just another brick in the wall for Jefferson managers.
Miami at N.Y. Jets: Really nothing to report here. De’Von Achane was hurt, but his rib injury is not expected to keep him out next week. Tyrod Taylor was hurt (groin) on the team’s first offensive play. Rookie seventh-round pick Brady Cook, who seems to have a lot of respect from his teammates, was unable to muster any offense until the game devolved into garbage time. Taylor is Scatman Crothers in “The Shining” every time he gets a chance to play, meaning he gets dispatched almost immediately (spoiler alert).
New Orleans at Tampa Bay: I know Emeka Egbuka has gone from the next big fantasy thing to fantasy benchwarmer with lightning speed, but Baker Mayfield is scatter-armed. Is this would-be TD a drop or a very bad throw or a little of both? Egbuka doesn’t have a chance on a lot of these passes. But one of the biggest controversies next August is going to be where to rank Egbuka. Is the glass half full based on the first month or so? Or is it half empty based on everything since? I don’t even see the glass. Tyler Shough got the win and was effective on the ground. Are the Saints going to trade up for a QB after spending a top-40 pick in 2025 on Shough? I predict they will not.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Aaron Rodgers sprung to life and took DK Metcalf, whom I left for dead, with him. The team had no running game to help Rodgers. Many thought this was going to be the breakout Derrick Henry game given how the Bills just pounded the Steelers in Week 13. Didn’t happen. There are no more big games left for Henry. Eventually, kids, the circus leaves town for everyone. Lamar Jackson is just a guy out there now. He at least ran a little more. The Ravens need Jackson to be like Josh Allen, given this supporting cast, and he can’t do that. Allen is the only running QB who remains dangerous. Jackson barely runs. Jalen Hurts is just a short-yardage back, basically. Daniels is Samuel Jackson in “Unbreakable” at this point. Daniel Jones was chewed up and spit out and probably will never be a runner again. Kyler Murray’s career has flatlined. Jaxson Dart gets postered with massive collisions every week. We may have to rethink this running stuff.
Late Games: Christian Watson is the new Jamo; Jacoby Brissett’s championship pace
Chicago at Green Bay: Caleb Williams bounced back after a really rough start. He was sacked just once in 36 dropbacks. Does he have trouble on some easy throws? Yes. Accuracy will never be his strong suit. The key to the game was the downfield passing of the Packers, with Christian Watson playing a starring role. The lesson with Watson, as I wrote when he was on most waiver wires, is he’s the fit for this style of big-play offense. No one is going to get targeted much (Watson had only four targets). But he has 100.2 PPR receiving points on just 38 targets, just insane efficiency (including 24.9 points on his four targets Sunday). What do we do with him next season? He’s basically Jameson Williams. You have to just play him because he can have monster games with low volume. This is why the Flex 10 fantasy roster format was invented. I also love the crossing pattern for the TD. That’s the forgotten play in football and how you beat man — it’s what teams used to do before they got obsessed with pick plays. Yes, it’s dangerous to throw over the intermediate middle.
A quick word about the fourth-down play that decided the game. You have to make that call on third down, not fourth down. Get the yard, man. The Bears created a massively hard pass for Williams running to his left as a right-handed thrower. Just sneak it or tush-push it there even with Kyle Monangai taking the snap. So I’m not putting that interception on Williams. It’s on head coach Ben Johnson. And I get there was a run option there for Williams, but if the defense contains the edge, that is just busted.
Denver at Las Vegas: A good day for RJ Harvey and the Denver running game. Bo Nix is so safe and boring. To be fair, this is the year in the AFC to game-manage your way to a Super Bowl. Geno Smith is the Colts’ QB next year (I’m not saying this is a good idea, just making a prediction).
L.A. Rams at Arizona: Justice was served with Puka Nacua busting out. He’s better than Davante Adams, who is an inner-circle Hall of Famer but can’t be at the top of his game still at his age. Nacua not only got the yards but the touchdowns, too. Blake Corum is something I’ve been resisting because he hasn’t gotten the market share. I’m tempted to throw in the towel on this, but Corum got the garbage time and Kyren Williams is still the clear No. 1 there, as far as I can tell. Michael Wilson? What can you say? It’s an organizational failure that this guy performs like this when the depth chart got thinner. Of course, there was the change in QB to journeyman backup Jacoby Brissett. The Cardinals can’t win, but Brissett, Wilson and of course Trey McBride are starters in all fantasy formats. Murray is reportedly done for the season, too. Brissett’s 17-game pace right now: 5,225 passing yards and 32 passing TDs.