Alright, now it’s time to get serious.  Technically you can still sneak into the playoffs in some leagues with 7 losses but any time you have 5, 6, 7 losses you are skating on thin ice.  It’s win now time in that situation.  On the flip side, if you have a bunch of wins, now is where you can look at trends and plan for playoffs.  Who is trending up? What are the developments?  To help with that, I’m going to share the things that I’m personally looking for in each game this week. 
 

*All times below are Eastern Standard Time*

 

Packers @ Cardinals - Thursday 8:20 PM (Recap)

Packers - The COVID guys will return but unfortunately Robert Tonyan won’t.  Do the Packers make a trade for available guys like maybe an Evan Engram? Do they just roll with the block-heavy Marcedes Lewis? Or does a guy like Josiah Deguara get a bigger role?

Cardinals -  DeAndre Hopkins only played 15 snaps here so we didn’t really get a good look at the full offense.  It seems like like Hopkins, A.J. Green, and Christian Kirk as their base set so the snap battle is now between Zach Ertz and Rondale Moore.  

 

Titans @ Colts - Sunday 1:00 PM

Titans - The main topic with this team is Julio Jones.  Is he going to be dealing with this hamstring all year or is he coming back to form? He has dropped a 128 yard game this year.  Losing teams might want to sell and teams with winning records may want to roll the dice and buy. 

Colts - The greatest mystery is Mo Alie-Cox.  He hardly runs any routes!  He ran nine in week 6 and only 12 in week 7. Yet he scored touchdowns in both.  Meanwhile, Jack Doyle ran 20 routes last week.  Will his role ever expand?

 

Bengals @ Jets - Sunday 1:00 PM

Bengals - Joe Mixon played 34 snaps, Samaje Perine played 30.  That’s as bad as it sounds.  Touchdowns for Mixon have masked things a bit but it’s less than ideal.  Mixon owners need to hope this is only precautionary since he did hurt his ankle a couple weeks back. 

Jets - The quarterback situation is what it is.  Here’s what I care about.  Corey Davis is the split end getting big money - he’s going to play.  You essentially have room for one other WR to play a full snap share and another to play a near full snap share in the slot.  You’ve got Jamison Crowder, Elijah Moore, Denzel Mims, and Keelan Cole.  I think most people would like to see the young guys Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims play - maybe Crowder a trade chip?

 

Eagles @ Lions - Sunday 1:00 PM

Eagles - We’ve seen it time and time again with the NFL rumor mill - where there is smoke, there is fire.  There is smoke regarding Gardner Minshew potentially getting a shot so Jalen Hurts needs to have things locked up.  Luckily he gets the Detroit Lions.  

Lions - At 0-7, the Lions already know they are toast. I expect them to do some pseudo-tryouts, especially at the WR position, to see who will stick with this team or not.  Sometimes we’ve seen that actually land guys new(ish) roles that translate to some fantasy success (like Preston Williams).  The key one I’d like to see is Amon-Ra St. Brown no longer just be a slot guy and have him play some flanker. 
 

Panthers @ Falcons - Sunday 1:00 PM

Panthers - Sometimes when they put the backup QB in, they put the rest of the backups in.  But P.J. Walker only played 19 snaps while Royce Freeman played 29.  29 snaps for Freeman and 34 for Chuba Hubbard has got to be at least slightly concerning if you have been depending on Chuba.  Keep an eye out. 

Falcons - Calvin Ridley, Kyle Pitts, Russell Gage, the WRs are set.  The real question is with the RBs.  Is the increased usage for Cordarrelle Patterson from this past week the real deal? Or does Mike Davis claw back some of that work?

 

49ers @ Bears - Sunday 1:00 PM

49ers - This is the final straw this week.  With Deebo Samuel banged up, Brandon Aiyuk is either going to step up here or there’s no more time to wait.  Last week Deebo ran 30 of 32 routes, Aiyuk ran 23 of 32.  That’s simply not enough. 

Bears - We know exactly what this offense is.  But quarterback play is 100% the issue. There is no denying it.  The leash for Justin Fields has to be crazy short at this point. 


Steelers @ Browns - Sunday 1:00 PM

Steelers - Not only is Juju done for the year but Eric Ebron is now out.  We are going to get a real good glimpse at rookie Pat Freiermuth this week.  That’s the most interesting thing here for sure. 

Browns - D’Ernest Johnson had a monster game but Nick Chubb returns this week.  This team has been know for it’s usage of two backs.  Do Johnson earn himself a role? Or is it the full on Nick Chubb show. 


Rams @ Texans - Sunday 1:00 PM

Rams - Tyler Higbee is a guy who is always on the cusp of a TE1 and rarely offers big upside.  This is the very worst team vs in the league vs the tight end. If he doesn’t show out this week, he can probably be dropped. 

Texans - Mark Ingram has been traded.  We know David Johnson will get the pass work as Phillip Lindsay has never been trustworthy at pass blocking.  The question is whether Johnson gets the full role or whether Lindsay muddles it up. 


Dolphins @ Bills - Sunday 1:00 PM

Dolphins - This team has yet to really have all of the wide receivers healthy.  Even with just Jaylen Waddle, DeVante Parker, and Gesicki playing, I’d like to see what the snaps look like.  Because Will Fuller is also out there lurking. 

Bills - Dawson Knox is out for the foreseeable future with a broken hand.  Taylor Gabriel time? Or do they like the tight end and go with Tommy Sweeney?


Jaguars @ Seahawks - Sunday 4:05 PM

Jaguars - The Seahawks let up nine targets to tight ends week 6 and even the lowly Saints tight ends got a little involved.  Dan Arnold knows the playbook by now so this is a prove-it week.   

Seahawks - Alex Collins played 22 snaps.  Rashaad Penny played 20.  Travis Homer played 12.  Can anyone be trusted?


Patriots @ Chargers - Sunday 4:05 PM

Patriots - Brandon Bolden had a fantastic game in the “James White” role vs. the Jets.  Is that role for real for him? Or was that just how they wanted to play the blowout?  

Chargers - Keenan Allen has not quite been Keenan Allen so far this year - in large part due to the emergence of Mike Williams.  Is Joe Lombardi going to get him involved or was he just a bad pick?

 

Buccaneers @ Saints - Sunday 4:25 PM

Buccaneers - Rob Gronkowski returning is interesting but he may be limited in his first game back.  What I really want to see if how much of Antonio Brown’s role can Tyler Johnson capture? AB might be out for awhile and last week Johnson played 49 snaps (which isn’t far off from the 56 that Mike Evans played). 

Saints - The other side of the trade.  Does Mark Ingram eat into the Alvin Kamara share? Or is Kamara going to be just fine? We might not get the answers this week. 


Football Team @ Broncos - Sunday 4:25 PM

Football Team - J.D. McKissic was favored in a negative game script last week, as we’ve seen.  But Antonio Gibson supposedly shed his injury tag.  This one is always interesting to see unfold. 

Seahawks - Folks who had Chris Carson were bailed out with Alex Collins last week - will the oft-injured Rashaad Penny return to rain on that parade this week?


Cowboys @ Vikings - Sunday 4:25 PM

Cowboys - This one we have dreaded for awhile (or looked forward to if you roster him).  The return of Michael Gallup.  The real question for me is whether Dalton Schultz can continue to enjoy his target share.

Vikings - We know what this team is to a certain degree - Jefferson, Thielen, Dalvin. The next battle for relevancy is with K.J. Osborn and Tyler Conklin.  Conklin with his TE eligibility is promising but he has blocked on 17.5% of pass plays this year which is way too many.


Giants @ Chiefs - Sunday 4:25 PM

Giants - This might be the last stand for Evan Engram.  It’s a great matchup for tight end and the WRs are still banged up.  If he does nothing here, we can’t really be hopeful about him when the other guys get healthy though.  He’s also a trade candidate before this Tuesday. 

Chiefs - All eyes have to be on Patrick Mahomes.  He hasn’t quite been himself - holding on the ball too long and making bad decisions.  This SHOULD be a “get right” game.  But the spread is oddly only 9.5 points with the Chiefs at home.  The team needs their leader to step up.