This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
I really liked the idea of the Broncos getting 6.5 at home against the Bills. The reality not so much. I also laid 8.5 with the Packers, probably the wrong side anyway, but especially bad given Matt Ruhle's cover-at-all-costs strategy.
- What more can be said about Josh Allen? He torched the Broncos for 359 yards, two pass TDs, took only one sack, didn't throw a pick and rushed for 33 yards and two TDs. He reminds me of peak Brett Favre, only with more mobility. And it was laughable how easily the Bills scored even after giving up 25 yards of penalties to make it goal-to-go from the 30. One of those penalties actually negated a slick, behind-the-back, trick hand off to Devin Singletary that went for a would-be score too.
- Both Bills backs were effective, though 51 of Singletary's 68 yards and his TD that counted were on a garbage time run-out-the-clock play he took to the house. That's rare in today's fantasy football, but I remember when it was normal for Terrell Davis or Emmitt Smith to take a 25-120-1 outing and turn into 26-160-2 against a tired defense.
- Stefon Diggs (13-11-147-0) and Cole Beasley (10-8-112) had their way with the Broncos defense all day. Had the game been closer, Diggs might have caught 20 passes.
- Melvin Gordon (11-61-2, 4-4-20) has always been a good fantasy back. He's not a star in real life, but he has a nose for the end zone, and his teams always give him the key carries. Noah Fant (11-8-68-1) was far and away the Broncos' top target.
- The Bills dominated the Broncos in every phase, and but for an Andre Roberts muffed punt, it would have been even more of a blowout. But it would have been nice to get a heads up that the Broncos were using a random guy off the street at kicker who made Dan Bailey look like Jan Stenerud.
- The Bills are the second best team in the AFC and maybe the entire NFL.
- The Packers started the game up 21-3 on three straight TD drives, then scored only a field goal the rest of the game.
- Aaron Rodgers was sharp early, but the Panthers pressure (five sacks) got to him, and the Packers didn't adjust.
- Aaron Jones (20-145-1, 4-3-13) was the only Packer who delivered, and almost all of it was in the first half.
- Davante Adams (10-7-42) appeared (not sure how it'll be credited) to have his first drop of the year and looked sluggish.
- The Packers had three sacks, but otherwise gave Teddy Bridgewater a lot of time to throw.
- DJ Moore (8-6-131) is apparently 100 percent healthy again.
- Ruhle made an interesting strategic decision to kick the field goal, down 11, on 1st-and-10 from the Packers 15 with 2:04 and one timeout left. Carolina needed two scores, and kicking the field goal there enabled them to kick the ball deep to the Packers, using the two-minute warning, their final timeout and 40 seconds of clock to get the ball back, down eight, with 55 seconds left. Had Ruhle taken a shot at the end zone, the two-minute warning would have happened on offense, and even if the Panthers scored a TD, they'd have had to rely on a successful onside kick. Given how hard it is to recover an onside kick these days, I actually think the math works out in Ruhle's favor, and they did what they had to on defense to give their offense one last chance. But I'm open to being corrected if there's something I'm missing.
