This slate didn't make an especially strong impression on me. A lot of the early games could have gone either way, and the late ones were all competitive early until one by one they devolved into blowouts. There was an epidemic of offensive pass interference, but I'm pretty sure it's caused by over-diagnosis.
• The Chiefs have not allowed a rushing touchdown, and they haven't thrown a touchdown to a wide receiver all year. They were a little lucky to beat the Bills, aided in part by Doug Marrone punting on 4th and short in plus territory early and lining up to draw the Chiefs offsides on 4th-and-1 late, taking a false start penalty and punting like he would have done anyway. But Kansas City's defense is pretty good, and Alex Smith's combination of game management and scrambling is probably enough to get them into the playoffs.
• Jim Caldwell showed some courage faking punts and going for it (and converting) on 4th-and-6. Ryan Tannehill showed some poise, but the Lions defense was relentless.
• Damien Williams looked better than Lamar Miller. I'm not sure whether Miller's shoulder was the cause of his light workload, but Williams could supplant him.
• Jarvis Landry isn't as fast as Mike Wallace, but he might be the team's best receiver already. Charles Clay caught a lot of short passes and looks like he's back as a key component of the offense after battling injuries early on.
• The 49ers-Saints game was a tough one to handicap because the Saints almost never lose at home, but the 49ers didn't crumble last year after a bad start, and will get Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman back, so they know they have a chance if they can hang around.
• Most of the offensive PI Sunday was ticky-tack and unnecessarily called, but Jimmy Graham's shove of Perrish Cox on the Hail Mary would-be-game-winning TD was legit, Cox's sales job notwithstanding.
• Mark Ingram has 57 carries the last two weeks - this isn't a committee anymore, and I'm not sure that'll change too much even after Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas return, so long as Ingram's healthy.
• Marques Colston is the Wes Welker of the Saints right now, and that's not a good thing.
• Carlos Hyde is obviously better than Frank Gore, but the 49ers don't seem to care. It's bizarre that Anquan Boldin is still relevant. You could roll out Boldin, Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne every week, and beat the team that had Michael Floyd, Cordarrelle Patterson and Keenan Allen.
• The Jets caught the Steelers - cocky and coming off two huge wins - at the right time, and the Steelers caught New York - desperate and at home - at the wrong one. Turnovers kept the game from being competitive, but this was going to be a tough game for the Steelers regardless.
• The Martavis Bryant TD was the ultimate garbage-time gift, something you almost never see with fewer than two minutes left in a game.
• Dez Bryant is the Rob Gronkowski of wide receivers, and that's a good thing. It's unlikely he's getting tackled one on one by a DB near the end zone.
• I sat Denard Robinson for Percy Harvin in an important NFFC league. Robinson did nothing except break one big run for a TD, and get a short-yardage TD after Toby Gerhart got stuffed. Harvin did nothing too except without the TDs.
• Whatever Rob Lowe got paid, it wasn't worth it.
• Julio Jones had plenty of targets, catches and yards, but it would be nice to see him find the end zone one of these months.
• For all the Sammy Watkins/Kelvin Benjamin talk, Mike Evans might lead rookie receivers in production at season's end.
• The Titans against anyone is an unwatchable game.
• The Giants are done, so it's really fairly painless to see them lose (though I was aghast they blew the cover in what was such a competitive game for three quarters.) Odell Beckham looks like a star, and Eli has actually been okay this year. They just have no running game, and the defense has fallen apart.
• Marshawn Lynch scored four TDs and made it look fairly easy. Giants tacklers bounced off him like he weighed 400 pounds.
• The Raiders were actually up 10-6 at once point. I suppose if games were 15 minutes long, there would be more volatility.
• Peyton Manning looked terrible early but still had 340 and five.
• The Ronnie Hillman foot problem that gave C.J. Anderson the workload cost me (and I imagine many others) dearly in a league. Apparently Hillman's lack of pass protection ability had kept Julius Thomas in as a blocker the last few games. With Hillman mostly out, Thomas had two more scores. With Hillman banged up, Anderson playing well and Montee Ball likely back next week, it's anyone's guess who gets the bulk of the work.
• The Cardinals were actually losing 14-10 when Carson Palmer went down. But as soon as AZ got the lead, and Austin Davis had to throw, it's not surprising disaster ensued.
• If Carson Palmer has a torn ACL (as suspected), it's a good thing he signed that extension Friday. Timing is everything.