Gridiron Digest: How Do the NFC's Contenders Stack Up?

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens stunned the Patriots with a 37-20 upset Sunday, exposing some soft spots in both the New England offense and defense and proving to all the Patriots fatalists that the NFL is actually up for grabs this year.

But let's face it: The Patriots remain the team to beat in the AFC. And while challengers like the Ravens, Texans and Chiefs gained some ground Sunday, the most likely AFC scenario finds the Patriots reaching the Super Bowl to face a team from a conference in which we're much less clear how the contenders stack up.

No NFC team has Jackson or a Ravens-style offense to attack the Patriots, but which of the muddled mix is best suited for the matchup? To answer the question, Gridiron Digest developed the Anti-Patriots Index to determine which NFC challenger is best equipped to topple a dynasty.

Stick around after we size up the NFC field and break down the Ravens victory for much more in this week's Gridiron Digest:

• Find out what middleweight matchups like Steelers-Colts and Eagles-Bears taught us about the playoff race

• Come face-to-face with a fate worse than losing on purpose (spoiler alert: it's called "being the Jets")

• Meet three quarterbacks named Allen and learn how to tell them apart

• Discover which wide receiver is catching 81 percent of passes thrown at him this season and which team needed its linebacker's brother to lead it in rushing on Sunday

...plus, midseason awards and much, much more!

The Anti-Patriots Index: Which NFC Heavyweight Is Built to Win a Super Bowl?

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

The goal of every NFC contender is not to win the NFC; it's to win the Super Bowl. And despite Sunday night's Ravens upset, that probably means beating the Patriots. And it takes more than just a great record, an MVP quarterback or clever coaching to beat the Patriots in January or February.

That's why Gridiron Digest has created the Anti-Patriots Index to determine which of the NFC contenders is best designed to win Super Bowl LIV.

The Anti-Patriots Index ranks each NFC team along a five-point scale in four criteria critical for taking down the NFL's most annoyingly persistent dynasty: 

Big-game quarterback: Sure, Nick Foles helped the Eagles beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Good luck betting on that kind of lightning striking twice.

Offensive depth: The Patriots defense can take away what you are best at, and probably what you are second-best at, too. A true challenger must be able to compete on offense in multiple ways.

Four-man pass rush: As the Giants taught us in 2007 and 2011, you have a chance if you can pressure Tom Brady without blitzing him.

Mistake-free factor: Commit penalties, miss field goals and give away turnovers against the Patriots in a big game, and they will liquefy your soul and drink your hopes and dreams.

The four scores are then combined using an advanced mathematical formula (multiplication) to create the Anti-Patriots Index.

Let's start by seeing how the NFC's top three contenders stand up. Then we'll get to the rest of the field in the following segment.

Green Bay Packers (7-2)

Week 9 result

The Packers suffered a shocking and ugly 26-11 upset at the hands of the Chargers. Aaron Rodgers played one of the worst games of his career, while the defense allowed 442 yards of offense. 

Big-game quarterback: 5

Aaron Rodgers has started 16 career playoff games. In the equivalent of a full season against top competition in winner-take-all games, he has thrown for 4,458 yards and 36 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions. Sounds like a big-game quarterback to us.

Offensive depth: 1.5

If the Patriots neutralize Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, it will leave Rodgers running around in circles, scowling and hoping Jimmy Graham will come through for him in a critical moment. (Narrator: Graham will not come through for him in a critical moment.)

Four-man pass rush: 3.5

It's technically a multiple front, but whatever: Mike Pettine slides Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith from left to right to cause confusion while Kenny Clark rushes up the gut and situational players like Kyle Fackrell cause 3rd-and-long headaches. It's effective, but Brady has a century-long history of picking over-engineered pass rushes apart. 

Mistake-free factor: 4

Rodgers has thrown four interceptions in the last two years, and the Packers' penalty rate is lower than the league average.

Anti-Patriots Rating: 105

Rodgers has skills that cannot be defended on a whiteboard, and before getting stunned by the Chargers, the Packers were improving steadily since looking very ordinary early in the season. Don't overreact to Sunday's results; the Packers represent the toughest matchup for the Patriots if they can survive the NFC gauntlet.

San Francisco 49ers (8-0)

Week 9 result

The 49ers survived a mild scare in a 28-25 win over Arizona with the help of four Jimmy Garoppolo touchdowns and a typical clamp-down performance (until late in the game) by their defense. 

Big-game quarterback: 1.5

Garoppolo is playing well but remains inexperienced and untested. There's also a chance the Patriots installed some Winter Solider sleeper-agent programming during the three years he played for them: "Longing. Rusted. Furnace (NOOOOO!). Benign. Homecoming (DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS!). Freight Car (I SHALL NOW THROW DIRECTLY TO DEVIN MCCOURTY AS INSTRUCTED)."

Offensive depth: 4

Since San Francisco employs a four-headed backfield, a receiver committee and a scheme that uses George Kittle a dozen different ways, the Patriots defense won't be able to just take one or two guys away.

Four-man pass rush: 5

The 49ers' six-man defensive line rotation, which is loaded with former first-round picks, has the talent and depth to do some of the things the 2007 Giants did to the Patriots. 

Mistake-free factor: 3

The 49ers entered Week 9 as the least-penalized team in the NFL (39) but had coughed up 12 turnovers, and early penalties led to a Cardinals score on Thursday. Robbie Gould is just 2-of-7 beyond 40 yards.

Anti-Patriots Rating: 90

A Patriots-49ers Super Bowl would likely look a lot like last year's Patriots-Rams Super Bowl: Both defenses shine, the hot young quarterback gets stymied by Bill Belichick's scheme, and the Patriots ride an edge in experience/special teams/precision to victory. 

New Orleans Saints (7-1)

Week 9 result

Bye.

Big-game quarterback: 4.5

Brees has thrown for 4,759 yards and 33 touchdowns in 15 career playoff games. But there was that overtime interception in the NFC Championship Game last year no one talks about. Of course, that game would have been over if not for a ridiculous call that went against the Saints. And gosh, what are the chances the Patriots would benefit from a strange call in the Super Bowl? 

Offensive depth: 1.5

Neutralize Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara and you have nerfed the Saints offense. That's hard to do, of course. But the Patriots defense could do it.

Four-man pass rush: 3

Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport provide most of the Saints' pass pressure off the edge. Close your eyes and you can picture Brady stepping up in the pocket to avoid them and dropping a 20-yard touch pass to Rob Gronkowski. Yes, we're assuming Gronk will be back for the Super Bowl in this scenario. Gotta bring your A game, NFC contenders.

Mistake-free factor: 4

The Saints take care of the ball and have committed just nine penalties in their last three games after being flagged 38 times in their first four games. Special teams mistakes and missed field goals may be a concern, however.

Anti-Patriots Rating: 81

Brees's Saints and Brady's Patriots have squared off just three times in human history (the Patriots are 2-1). The world deserves a Brady-Brees Super Bowl, but it would take step-up performances by Kamara, Thomas, the offensive line, the secondary, Sean Payton and others for the Saints to beat this year's Patriots. Then again, the Saints got plenty of step-up performances just like that in the first half of the season.

The Anti-Patriots Index: How the Rest of the NFC Stacks Up

John Froschauer/Associated Press

The NFC isn't just a three-team race. Not yet, anyway. So let's look at how the second-tier contenders stack up against the Patriots. (Note: Read on in this week's Gridiron Digest for deeper breakdowns of Eagles-Bears, the Vikings' loss to the Chiefs and other Week 9 NFC action.)

Los Angeles Rams, anti-Patriots rating 71.25: We saw this movie in February. The Rams represent a pretty challenging matchup for the Patriots. The problem is that they are currently in third place in their own division.

Seattle Seahawks, anti-Patriots rating 30: With few offensive weapons, an ordinary defensive front and a league-average penalty/fumble/blunder tendency, the Seahawks would rely on Russell Wilson to single-handedly beat the Patriots. Of course, the Seahawks rely on Wilson to single-handedly beat almost everyone. But these are the Patriots we're talking about. 

Dallas Cowboys, anti-Patriots rating 28: It's hard to take a team seriously as a threat to the Patriots after it lost to the Jets, but the Cowboys have enough of an edge in the trenches to theoretically take an early lead and then run the ball down the Patriots' throat. If the Patriots scored first in a Super Bowl, however, they would win 77-3. Perhaps we will see things differently after these teams face off in Week 12.

Minnesota Vikings, anti-Patriots rating 24: The Vikings have the offensive depth and defensive talent to cause trouble for the Patriots. And if you are imaginative enough to picture Kirk Cousins winning at least two playoff games before coming up huge against Belichick in the Super Bowl, you should send a resume to Pixar.

Carolina Panthers, anti-Patriots rating 18.25: The Panthers defensive front could cause some headaches for the Patriots. But even if you give Cam Newton back to the Panthers in Superman mode (and forget how he looked against the Broncos in the Super Bowl), they could still probably lose to the Patriots simply by muffing and fumbling punts and kickoffs. 

Detroit Lions, anti-Patriots rating 12.5: We're being thorough here. And charitable about how Matthew Stafford would play during a deep playoff run. And extra-charitable about Matt Patricia facing his old mentor and not doing something brilliant like making the Lions skip Super Bowl Opening Night for an Empire Strikes Back workout in a swamp or something.

Philadelphia Eagles, anti-Patriots rating 8: The Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII because they were playing high-precision football and the Patriots were sloppier than usual. The roles have reversed this year.

Chicago Bears, anti-Patriots rating: 7.25: If you are wondering, we really did the same calculations for these teams that we did for the 49ers, Packers and Saints. Kirk Cousins was given a 0.5 "big-game quarterback" score. Mitch Trubisky was given a 0.25 because multiplying everything by zero seemed a little unfair. (Russell Wilson got a 5; the Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz ratings are withheld to keep Eagles and Cowboys fans from hijacking the comments.)

Game Spotlight: Ravens 37, Patriots 20

Nick Wass/Associated Press

What happened

The Patriots proved to be mortal. And Lamar Jackson proved just how much he's capable of.

The Ravens took a 17-0 lead with Jackson tearing through the mighty Patriots defense while opening up opportunities for Mark Ingram II and Gus Edwards with the option threat. But a pair of Ravens turnovers deep in Patriots territory helped New England cut the Baltimore lead to 17-14 at halftime.

Just when the Patriots appeared to be seizing momentum with a third-quarter drive, Marlon Humphrey scooped up a Julian Edelman fumble and raced 70 yards for a touchdown. The Ravens then kept the Patriots at arm's length for the rest of the game, with Jackson leading a pair of 14-play touchdown drives and the Ravens defense harassing Tom Brady into some uncharacteristic mistakes.

What it means

As you saw in earlier segments, we're not going to play the "Patriots are in big trouble" card.

The Patriots are about to enter their bye with a 1.5-game lead over the Ravens and a comfortable two-game lead over the Texans and Chiefs. Their late schedule has enough Dolphins and Bengals on it to give them inside track to home-field advantage. And no team in the NFL can wallop them with the kind of option-heavy offense the Ravens use every week.

The Patriots should be just fine.

But the defense is not the impenetrable fortress it appeared to be when it stomped all over the likes of the Jets. Opponents can run up the gut, as the Browns demonstrated last week when they weren't fumbling all over themselves. On the other side of the ball, Brady needs some healthy reinforcements on the offensive line, and these Patriots don't have the firepower to pull off vintage Brady comebacks if they fall too far behind.

As for the Ravens, Jackson finished with 61 rushing yards and two touchdowns with an efficient passing line: 17-of-23 for 163 yards and a third score. When the Patriots adjusted to the option threat, Jackson was able to take to the air. And when the moment started to look a little big for him as the Patriots mounted a comeback, Jackson came up bigger. 

Sunday's win represents the next stage of Jackson's development—and signals that the Ravens could make some serious noise in the playoffs.

What's next

A bye for the Patriots, and the next best thing to a bye for the Ravens: a trip to Cincinnati to visit the Bengals.

Middleweight Matchups Digest

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

There weren't any showdowns between truly great teams Sunday afternoon, but there were several between pretty good teams. And Gridiron Digest is here to catch you up on all of them:

Eagles 22, Bears 14

The Eagles took a 19-0 lead as the Bears offense completely flatlined in the first half then nearly coughed up that lead on dropped passes and defensive lapses before regaining control of the game in the fourth quarter.

Mitch Trubisky plays quarterback like a kid trying to fake his way through a book report presentation who has not only not read the book but isn't even sure what books are or how they work. Matt Nagy could face a roster-wide mutiny at this point if he doesn't replace Trubisky with Chase Daniel, Tarik Cohen running the full-time Wildcat or a JUGS machine.

Steelers 26, Colts 24

Jacoby Brissett suffered a knee injury (likely a sprain) early in the game. Replacement Brian Hoyer threw a pick-six to Minkah Fitzpatrick but also tossed three touchdown passes, proving once again that it's possible for a team not coached by Adam Gase to remain competitive with a third-stringer at the helm.

But the Steelers ultimately prevailed for their third straight win in a game full of fumbles, safeties and penalty-assisted scoring drives when Adam Vinatieri badly shanked what would have been a game-winning 43-yard field goal.

The Steelers have played their way into the thick of the playoff chase with wins over other Wild Card hopefuls (the Colts and Chargers) and have an upcoming schedule that features the Bengals, Jets, and Browns (twice).

Raiders 31, Lions 24

The Raiders won a back-and-forth contest thanks to a pair of Lions turnovers, 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns from rookie Josh Jacobs, a fourth-quarter drive capped by a Hunter Renfrow touchdown and a defensive stop at the 1-yard line in the final seconds.

The Raiders are now 4-4, very alive in the Wild Card hunt and playing very well for a team that looks like it should lose to the Dolphins on paper.

The Lions are now 3-4-1 and failed to beat a team that committed 10 penalties and fumbled three snaps on Sunday despite a 406-yard passing day from Matthew Stafford. Matt Patricia will inform us who's responsible for all of this as soon as he's done covering all the mirrors in the team facility with towels. 

Chiefs 26, Vikings 23

The Vikings and Kirk Cousins reaffirmed their status as being just good enough to lose important games.

Cousins threw three touchdown passes, but the conservative running-and-screen-passing game plan prevented the Vikings from pulling away despite outplaying the Chiefs for most of the afternoon. Some Damien Williams and Tyreek Hill highlight-reel moments, a shanked punt in the waning minutes and a pair of Harrison Butker field goals gave the Chiefs a much-needed win without Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes should return next week to turn the Chiefs back into Super Bowl contenders, while Cousins will remain Cousins and the Vikings the Vikings.

Texans 26, Jaguars 3

The Texans harshed the buzz of Minshew Mania once and for all by dropping into coverage and forcing the rookie to beat them by reading the defense instead of improvising. Minshew turned the ball over four times, allowing the Texans to pull away after looking shaky offensively in the first half.

Deshaun Watson made some miraculous plays to keep the Texans offense moving and is getting lots of MVP buzz. The best thing that can be said about Watson is that he looks a lot like Russell Wilson. But since Wilson still looks a lot like Wilson, he remains the best candidate for MVP.

Panthers 30, Titans 20

Gridiron Digest will cover this game in the upcoming Allen, Allen and Allen segment. Life is too short to write about Kyle Allen vs. Ryan Tannehill twice in one article.

Digest Tank Watch: Dolphins 26, Jets 18

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

What happened

The chase for the first overall pick in next year's draft got a lot more interesting when the don't-call-them-tanking Dolphins ran into the buzz saw of mismanagement and misery known as Adam Gase's New York Jets.

The Dolphins took a 21-7 second-quarter lead on three Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown passes. But they then appeared eager to let the Jets back into the game when they allowed Vyncint Smith to break multiple tackles on a 78-yard kickoff return. When the Jets still couldn't score (Darnold threw an ugly goal-line interception after an apparent touchdown pass was overturned), the Dolphins gave up a safety when Fitzpatrick couldn't sneak out of his own end zone.

Ultimately, no amount of ineptitude could counterbalance Jets silliness, and the Dolphins prevailed thanks to muffed punts negated by Jets interference penalties, 3rd-and-25 draw plays when trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, and the piece de resistance: a late-game safety on a shotgun snap that whizzed past an unprepared Darnold's earhole. 

What it means

There are people who will tell you that Miami's win—which provided a much-needed morale boost, allowed young players like Preston Williams, Mike Gesicki, Nik Needham and Jomal Wiltz to enjoy some success and surely helped players buy into Brian Flores' program—was a bad thing for the organization because it hurt the team's chances of securing the first overall pick. Those people are very silly, and you should ignore them.

The Dolphins victory does make the Bengals the front-runners to select first overall next year, with the Jets joining Washington and the Falcons in a four-team race to the bottom. The goal for any of these organizations should not be to finish last but to prove that they have the organizational stability and vision to make the most of whomever they draft with one of the top picks.

To that end, the Jets added an exclamation point to a disastrous week in which they entertained trade deadline offers for nucleus players like Jamal Adams and Le'Veon Bell, causing much unneeded drama. They played on Sunday like they were demoralized and disinterested, and they are also coached by someone who is likely to make things worse, if that is possible.

What's next

The Jets face the Giants in a Battle for What's Left of New York's Football Dignity next week, with a Tank Watch showdown against Washington after that. The Dolphins visit the Colts.

Allen, Allen & Allen

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Three quarterbacks with the last name Allen started this week. And like the Terminator running through every Sarah Connor in the phone book, Gridiron Digest went straight down the Allen list to find out who they were, what they did and what they are likely to do next.

Brandon Allen, Broncos: 12-of-20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-19 victory over the Browns

Allen saw the first regular-season action of his career Sunday after lurking on benches and practice squads around the NFL since 2016. He threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Courtland Sutton and tossed a short pass that Noah Fant turned into a rumbling 75-yard touchdown thanks to the low-impact tackling of the Browns defense. He didn't do much else, as the Broncos ran just 43 plays to the Broncos' 73. 

The Broncos' strategy with Allen subbing for Joe Flacco (on injured reserve with a neck injury) was to let the Browns march up and down the field like attention-seeking toddlers running around at an adult dinner party until they self-destructed in the red zone, settled for field goals or otherwise tired themselves out. It worked on Sunday but is hardly a recipe for long-term success. 

The Broncos may want to evaluate second-round pick Drew Lock at some point after the bye. Conversely, they may want to just keep screwing up their quarterback situation because of their nearsighted fascination with game managers and anoint Allen their quarterback of the future immediately.

Josh Allen, Bills: 14-of-20 for 160 yards, one touchdown passing and one rushing touchdown in a 24-9 victory over Washington

Josh Allen checked all the Josh Allen boxes on Sunday in an effort much like all his other performances this season:

• Longest play a short pass and run by a running back? Check: a 49-yard screen to Devin Singletary.

• Big rushing play? Check: a sneak for a touchdown.

• Win against an overmatched opponent? Check: Dwayne Haskins made his first start and proved he's extremely capable of handing the ball to Adrian Peterson and running out the clock while trailing.

• Overall performance that's less impressive the more you look at it? Check.

Allen is playing just well enough to keep the folks who roasted him during last year's draft season off his back and give Bills fans plausible deniability for claiming he's a viable franchise quarterback. He looks a lot like the early Joe Flacco at times. But he also looks a little like last year's Mitch Trubisky.

Kyle Allen, Panthers: 17-of-32 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 30-20 victory over the Titans

Allen threw an early-game interception, almost threw a second and couldn't move the offense until he tossed a short touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey after a Titans interception gave the Panthers the ball in their red zone.

After that, Allen did what he has done in relief of Cam Newton all season against less-than-stellar competition: He fed McCaffrey, slung enough deep balls to keep the defense honest and managed the game while the defense took care of business.

With Newton seeing foot specialists, Allen will get an extra-extended audition as a starter despite last week's 51-13 reality check against the Niners. He's nothing more than a capable backup, no matter what the Cam Haters talk themselves into believing. 

Inside the Numbers

D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press

Dwayne Haskins, QB, Washington: 15-of-22 for 144 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions

Haskins was sacked four times for 28 yards, so Washington's pass offense netted just 116 yards on 26 Haskins dropbacks, while Adrian Peterson rushed 18 times for 108 yards. 

Haskins' longest pass play was a 22-yard screen to Peterson. His second-longest pass play was a 16-yarder to Jeremy Sprinkle against a soft fourth-quarter defense in a 24-9 loss. Handoffs to Peterson remained the bread and butter of Washington's offense, even as it trailed well into the fourth quarter.

Protecting a rookie quarterback is one thing. Interim head coach Bill Callahan tried to bury Haskins under blankets and hoped no one would notice he was there.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Raiders: 28 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns

Jacobs has rushed for 120 or more yards in three of his past four games. He is now on pace to rush for 1,480 yards and 12 touchdowns in his rookie season.

His 740 rushing yards so far this year is a higher total than in any of his college seasons. In fact, Jacobs (who was used as a committee back at Alabama) rushed for just 1,491 yards in his entire college career, meaning he is nearly on pace to eclipse that number in his rookie season.

Look more closely at a college runner with "durability issues," and you just might see one with fresh legs. 

Trey Edmunds, RB, Steelers: 12 carries for 73 yards

Desperate for running back help with James Conner and others unavailable, the Steelers activated Edmunds, the brother of linebacker Terrell Edmunds (and of Bills safety Tremaine Edmunds), off the practice squad. He led the Steelers in rushing during their 26-24 victory over the Colts, thanks in large part to a 45-yard first-quarter run.

With 13 catches for 73 yards, all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels handled the receiving chores for the inexperienced Edmunds. 

The ultimate test of the "running backs don't matter" theory would be for multiple teams to replace their running backs with one of their linebackers' brothers and see how much of an impact it has on the offense.

Tyler Lockett, WR, Seahawks: 13 catches on 18 targets for 152 yards and two touchdowns

Lockett had as many targets on Sunday (18) as in his past three games combined and more than Chris Carson had carries (16) in a wild 40-34 overtime win against the Buccaneers, which may represent a breakthrough for offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who usually considers 2nd-and-10 a great rushing down. 

Lockett has now caught 81.9 percent of passes thrown to him (59-of-72) this year, a remarkable figure considering he is a deep threat. The average depth of target for Lockett entering Week 9 was 11.3 yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

If your average throw travels a yard past the sticks and you are catching more than eight out of 10 of them, even Schottenheimer will eventually stop establishing the run and start getting you the ball.

Midseason Awards Digest

Ralph Freso/Getty Images

Because Week 9 is the exact midpoint of the season (and this week's matchups were a little meh), we decided to shake things up by handing out the midseason versions of many of our weekly awards:

Offensive Line of the Midseason: The Saints ranked second in the NFL in run blocking and fifth in Adjusted Sack Rate through Week 8, according to Football Outsiders. They're also a big reason the Saints started 7-1 despite losing Drew Brees for much of the first half and Alvin Kamara for part of it. So let's hear it for tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk (both playing at an All-Pro level), guards Larry Warford and Andrus Peat, rookie center Erik McCoy and super sixth man Will Clapp!

Defender of the Midseason: Patriots defenders Stephon Gilmore and Jamie Collins split this award for their contributions to what looks like one of the greatest defenses of the modern era. Gilmore earned Defensive Player of the Month honors for October and has been locking down opponents' top receivers all season. (Most of those top receivers weren't all that great, but let's not get into that here.) Collins has contributed all over the stat sheet in his return to Foxborough: two interceptions against the Dolphins in Week 2, two sacks against the Jets in Week 3, 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Browns last week, forced fumbles against the Giants and Washington, and so forth. 

Special Teamer of the Midseason: While we're recognizing Saints role players, let's single out special teams ace J.T. Gray. His blocked punt set the tone in the Week 7 Bears victory, and he has had a tremendous impact on the team's blocking and coverage units.

Best Supporting Actor in Someone Else's Highlight of the Midseason: Chiefs running back Damien Williams was off to the races on a 91-yard touchdown run against the Vikings, and it looked as though no one could catch him. No one except teammate Tyreek Hill, that is, who caught up to Williams from about 20 yards behind him like the Roadrunner casually speeding up to Wile E. Coyote on rocket skates.

Assistant Coaches of the Midseason: Three 49ers assistants can share this award: offensive line coach John Benton, whose unit has been outstanding despite multiple injuries at tackle; running game coordinator Mike McDaniel, whose multi-faceted rushing attack has made establishing the run kinda cool again; and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who is making the most of one of the most talented units in the NFL.

Meaningless Fantasy Touchdown Provider of the Midseason: Falcons tight end Austin Hooper is helping a lot of folks win their fantasy leagues with his 52 catches, 591 yards, 5 TDs stat line in the first half of the season. But four of Hooper's five touchdowns came at the ends of Falcons games. And of course, the only reason they play the fourth quarters of Falcons games is for fantasy production. And trying to clear the "over," but that's a different Digest segment.

Fantasy Leech of the Midseason: It's bad enough that the 49ers have a three-to-seven-headed monster (depending on whether you count injured guys, fullbacks, etc.) of a backfield, making life miserable for fantasy gamers. But do they have to use Jeff Wilson Jr. as a goal-line back who has leeched away four short-yardage touchdowns this season, too? Incidentally, Wilson was the rusher who got stuffed at the goal line before halftime on Thursday night, but Kliff Kingsbury called a galaxy-brained timeout before the play. Given a second chance, Jimmy Garoppolo threw a touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders instead. The 49ers are so good this year that even their fantasy leeches have fantasy leeches.

Gridiron Digest Sportsbook

Abbie Parr/Getty Images

Off the handle: The Packers were getting well over 90 percent of both the bet slips and the handle at many major sportsbooks against the Chargers because let's face it: No one really likes or even thinks about the Chargers.

So the few, proud wagerers who took the Chargers and an unappealing +4 spread felt pretty darn good as they waltzed to an upset romp. Folks who bit on a Chargers moneyline that hovered around +155 leading up to the game had to be ecstatic. And the house was certainly pleased to take in all that sweet Packers action. 

Undercover heroes: Things looked bleak for wagerers who took the Seahawks (-4) when Jason Myers lined up for what looked like a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. But Myers missed the 40-yarder wide right, sending the game to overtime and setting up an opportunity for Russell Wilson to drive down the field and win the game—and cover the spread—with a touchdown pass to Jacob Hollister. 

Lines on the move: Washington leaped from +9.5 to +11 road dogs at Buffalo upon news that Dwayne Haskins would make his first NFL start. Gridiron Digest jumped all over that action because the public always overreacts to quarterback changes, and the Bills just aren't good enough to be double-digit favorites.

Big mistake.

Washington kept things interesting (we're using that term loosely) with a conservative game plan that left it trailing (and covering) 17-9 deep into the fourth quarter before handing the Bills the ball near midfield to set up a final touchdown. Washington is now 2-2 against double-digit spreads this year. It has a bye next week, followed by a meeting with the (ugh) Jets, so there's no reason to think about this team or its spreads for a while.

Overwatch: The most important field goal in Vikings-Chiefs wasn't Harrison Butker's game-winner. It was his previous field goal, which tied the game at 23-23 with an over-under of 46. After all, what were the odds that this game would end in a scoreless tie and an over-under push? Come to think of it, anything is possible when Kirk Cousins is involved. 

Monday Night Action — Cowboys -6 at Giants: Check your favorite book for the exact spread; we're seeing Cowboys -7 in some places as of Sunday night, with Giants action at legal New Jersey books likely skewing the numbers. The Giants are 5-14-1 ATS at home since 2017, while the Cowboys are 13-2 ATS in division games since 2017, so the trends match what we see on the field.

The Cowboys are the better team and have been very good at taking care of their NFC East business of late. Laying less than a touchdown to get them is an easy, don't-overthink-it play.

Point-Counterpoint

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Trade deadline fizzles out with minimal news.

Point: It's almost as if NFL general managers would rather do nothing and make failure more likely than take a bold risk they could be blamed for if it backfires.  

Counterpoint: Please try to forget what happened this week when Digest spends next October hyping "32 Daring Trades That Are 100 percent Certain to Go Down."

Trent Williams claims that Washington team doctors misdiagnosed a cancerous growth on his head six years ago.

Point: Typical coddled modern player. Rub some dirt on that half-decade of life-threatening malpractice and get back on the field!

Counterpoint: Maybe Dan Snyder shouldn't have cut costs by filling the team's medical department with doctors of liberal arts?

Jamal Adams trade rumors turn into a weeklong melodrama for the Jets.

Point: What were the Jets supposed to do? Not pick up the phone? Not listen to offers? Not then make counteroffers? Not reportedly spend hours negotiating with multiple suitors, thereby turning a core player into the top trending story of the trade deadline? This sort of thing happens to NFL superstars at the trade deadline all the time! What's that? Why no...I can't think of another example...

Counterpoint: Let me quote the Adam Gase Guide to Team Building: "Step 1. Turn a young superstar into a malcontent. Step 2. Trade the malcontent. Step 3. Blame previous failures on the losing culture created by the malcontents. Step 4. Sprinkle in some wide receiver screens on 3rd-and-25. Now, just add Peyton Manning vouching for you every time you lose a job, and Presto! Instant head coaching success!"

Seahawks claim Josh Gordon off waivers.

Point: Can't wait to see him blocking and running decoy routes while Brian Schottenheimer looks for ways to get C.J. Prosise the ball more often.

Counterpoint: Does it make me a bad person if I just cut and paste all of the hopeful things I wrote about Gordon during all his previous fresh starts over the past six years?