The drama about the ultimate teams that would make the N.F.L. postseason was not cleared up until finally the previous possible second of the common time, when the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday evening on a subject aim on the previous enjoy of overtime to declare just one of two remaining wild card berths in the A.F.C.
The Raiders’ 35-32 defeat of the Chargers finished the period for Los Angeles, and due to the fact the Indianapolis Colts (9-8) were being upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-14) previously on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) sneaked into the playoff field on the toughness of a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders and Chargers could have equally produced the playoffs with a tie, and for a great deal of overtime it seemed as if the groups could possibly be pleased without having a victory. But Daniel Carlson kicked a industry target as time expired to give Las Vegas the get, and a a little a lot more favorable playoff seeding.
The wild scenarios created the final video game of the period of abnormal consequence in the initially N.F.L. period with an expanded, 17-game normal year. The previous day of the time, which prolonged into the 2nd weekend of 2022, provided 5 A.F.C. groups fighting for the two remaining berths and the San Francisco 49ers taking the final place in the N.F.C. with a gain in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams.
2021 N.F.L. Season News and Examination
What occurred on Saturday
The two online games finished on Saturday went in accordance to seed, retaining the winners alive for bigger playoff seeding. The Kansas City Chiefs, who defeat the Denver Broncos, remained in the jogging for the top seed in the A.F.C. and a very first-spherical bye, and ended any long-shot likelihood that the New England Patriots or Cincinnati Bengals may take the No. 1 seed for them selves.
The late activity involving the playoff-sure Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles was mainly meaningless — and lifeless, due to the fact the Eagles rested their beginning quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and had a raft of Covid-19-connected absences — but it served identify both teams’ seeding in the N.F.C.
The Eagles, for instance, will perform the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4). The Bucs cruised into the postseason with an straightforward get at property that saw them established the team record for regular-season wins they experienced established in their Super Bowl-profitable time in 2002.
Sunday’s early online games
In the course of the early games on Sunday, the Tennessee Titans sewed up the No. 1 seed in the A.F.C. by keeping off the lowly Houston Texans. That wiped out Kansas City’s hopes for the leading seed and the to start with-spherical bye.
The Colts unsuccessful to clinch one particular of the two remaining A.F.C. wild-card berths by losing to the Jaguars, 1 of the league’s worst groups. A Colts victory would have shut the door on the playoffs for both of those the Ravens and the Steelers.
The Bengals (10-6) had already received the A.F.C. North, but with Kansas City’s acquire on Saturday, their sport in opposition to the Cleveland Browns did not aid their playoff seeding.
Sunday’s late afternoon game titles
The Buffalo Expenditures (11-6) and the Patriots (10-7), who experienced equally secured playoff spots before Sunday, were being battling for the A.F.C. East crown, which considerably affected their seeding. The Charges conquer the Jets (4-13) and the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins (9-8), handing the division crown to the Bills and forcing the Patriots to travel following weekend … to Buffalo.
The Arizona Cardinals (11-6) shed a chance to claim the N.F.C. West by falling short from the Seattle Seahawks (7-10), handing the divisional title to the Los Angeles Rams (12-5), who misplaced to the San Francisco 49ers (10-7) in time beyond regulation.
The 49ers’ victory also eradicated the New Orleans Saints (9-8), who defeat the Atlanta Falcons (7-10).
The Green Bay Packers (13-4) experienced previously clinched the leading seed and a initial-round bye in the N.F.C.
Whether you got off to a great start in Thursday’s games or you’re looking to make up ground, you’re going to have a lot of questions about your lineups this week, I know. Adam Aizer and Heath Cummings updated you on the latest news and answered some start/sit questions on this morning’s FFT podcast, and Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath are on CBS Sports HQ until kickoff of the 1 p.m. games to answer your questions and keep you updated on all of the news you need to know on the FFT live show.
Make sure you check both out, but if you want more direct answers to your questions and other news updates, I have two more ways for you to win: Go to Twitter and use the hashtag “#AskFFT”, where our whole team will be answering questions all morning; and go to the FFT YouTube channel to chat with Adam and I from 11:30 until kickoff. We’ll be there right up until kickoff answering as many questions as we can, so make sure you’re in the chat early to get your questions in.
Here’s the rest of our preview content to get you ready, and check out my updated position rankings at the bottom of the newsletter to help with any early lineup dilemmas you may have:
Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Sep 12, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones (2) and Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Nissan Stadium.
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
McNichols is actually the biggest injury here, because it seemingly frees up Dontrell Hilliard to play a big role again. Hillard surprisingly emerged as the most-used running back for the Titans in Week 11, catching eight passes and finishing with 82 yards from scrimmage. The Titans have a tough matchup against the Patriots on the way this week, but given the Titans’ injuries at both running back and wide receiver, it’s going to be hard to go away from Hilliard coming off that kind of usage. He’s in the RB2 discussion for PPR leagues.
The other interesting situation here is the Jets, with Carter placed on IR earlier this week. Johnson and Tevin Coleman figure to split work for the Jets in the backfield in a great matchup against the Texans, but can you actually trust either? Johnson played 20 snaps in Week 12 and had one carry and one target; Coleman rushed for a whopping 16 yards on five carries with one target of his own. Coleman probably needs a touchdown to have much Fantasy value, so you’re hoping Johnson splits carries with him and gets a decent passing game role. He’s more of an RB3, while Coleman is truly just a desperation play — it wouldn’t shock me to see La’Mical Perine out produce him.
The Seahawks RB absences are also worth noting. Alex Collins figures to be the leading rusher against Washington, but DeeJay Dallas did match him in snaps last week, so he’s an interesting beat-the-waiver-wire add this morning just in case he pushes Collins this week.
These two are looking like game-time decisions, which isn’t a bad thing for those of you with Patterson, who plays at 1. If Patterson is active, you’re playing him — he’s been one of the best players in Fantasy this season and has an excellent matchup against the Jaguars on the way. If he doesn’t play, my preference would be to avoid the Atlanta backfield, but that may not be possible, so I would prefer Mike Davis to Wayne Gallman, especially in PPR. He wouldn’t be a top-24 RB, however.
The problem with Jones is he doesn’t play until 4:25 p.m., so if you have to make a decision early, he’s putting you in a tough spot. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Sunday morning there is “optimism” around Jones, who is pushing to play and will go through pre-game warmups to prove he’s ready. The problem is, the Packers tend to be pretty conservative with injuries, and with a Week 13 bye coming up, they may opt to give him two full weeks to get back to full strength. I can’t see into the future, so I can’t tell you whether to sit an early player for Jones; if you have a viable replacement in the late slate of games, it’s worth the risk, but otherwise, I would probably pass. AJ Dillon figures to see a solid role no matter what and is a decent starter even if Jones plays, so I would probably just keep him active.
I’m willing to start Barkley and Hunt as top-20 running backs this week and Mitchell is right in that range as well, so you’re probably starting all three of those guys. And I’m probably passing on the Patriots duo, since both are expected to play and it’s not like we have any reason one way or the other to consider one or the other more likely to be limited — injury details don’t tend to leak out for the Patriots. Expect another timeshare there, one that makes them both fringe Fantasy options until something changes to give one of them a real advantage. You’re hoping for a touchdown either way.
Wide receivers
Out: A.J. Brown (chest; IR), Corey Davis (groin), Antonio Brown (ankle), Sterling Shepard (quadriceps), Kadarius Toney (quad), Auden Tate (thigh), Anthony Schwartz (concussion), Ben Skowronek (back)
Legitimately questionable: Allen Lazard (shoulder), Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin), Curtis Samuel (groin), Nico Collins (hip), Adam Humphries (hip)
Expected to play: Marquise Brown (thigh)
The Titans already have Julio Jones and Marcus Johnson on IR, so they are incredibly short-handed for this one. Dez Fitzpatrick, Chester Rogers, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine led the team in WR snaps last week, and Westbrook is the only one you could even consider starting coming off a 100-yard game, but you’d probably have to be pretty desperate to do so — he turned eight targets into 29 yards in Week 4 against the Jets the last time Brown was out. He’s not a top-40 WR for me.
I’m starting Marquise Brown in his return against the Browns, and it really doesn’t take much thought. He’d been a bit disappointing prior to the injury, with fewer than 40 yards in two of his previous four games, however he also had 44 targets in those four games, so there’s no way I’m not starting him. He’s a top-15 WR, while Rashod Bateman is in the WR3 discussion as he’s had at least six targets in each of the first five games of his career.
Tight ends
The hope is that Thomas will be activated from IR prior to Monday’s game, but given the late kickoff there, you can’t take the risk that he won’t play unless you want to add Gerald Everett as a fill in just in case. I like Thomas’ chances of returning to be a viable starting Fantasy option, however, so if he’s available in your league, I would go out and add him unless I’ve got one of the handful of no-doubt-about-it, must-start tight ends.
