NFL Betting Preview: Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders
Rooting Interests Week #1
This series started as an experiment during the bye week in 2019 and took off almost as fast as Anquan Boldin (At least I like to think it did). So as we begin the 2020 season I figured why not continue these posts while fully realizing that early on in the season they are nearly worthless. So bear with me while the season progresses and these provide more insight into the Bills quest not only to make the playoffs, not only towards an AFC East title, but more so towards a high seed possibly resulting in multiple home playoff games. Now, I present the first iteration of 2020 “Rooting Interest” posts. Included in this is the “Game Importance Scale” which will rate games from 👏👏👏👏👏 (Most Important) to 👏 (Least Important). Future iterations of this series will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings. NOTE: I do not consider ties or injuries for the sake of this discussion. Tiebreakers in order below are for overall standings.
H2H = Head to Head
WLC = Win/Loss in Conference
WLG = Win/Loss in Common Games min 4
SOV = Strength of Victory
SOS = Strength of Schedule
Texans @ Chiefs (Thursday 8:20PM) 👏 👏 👏 The day we had feared may not happen this year, is happening. FOOTBALL IS BACK! Early season games are more difficult to find an optimal outcome for because we just don’t know how good each team is. While there seems to be a national consensus that each of these teams will be competing in January we can’t know that for certain. What we do know is that the Bills play one of these teams this year thus our ol’ reliable SOV & SOS can be increased by that team winning the first game of the season. Optimal Outcome: Chiefs’ Victory Eagles @ Football Team (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 The Eagles take on the Washington..Football Team? As of today the impact of this game on the Bills is negligible, with no tangible Optimal Outcome. Root for whoever you want here but because I need to pick someone I’m going to do so on the basis that I want to see Carson Wentz succeed. Optimal Outcome: Eagles’ Victory Dolphins @ Patriots (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 👏 👏 Ok. This one matters and I’ll be honest, I could see the Dolphins being a better team than the Patriots in 2020 but with Belichick still under the headset I can’t bet on it. What I know, we all know, and everyone else knows is that it’s about time that someone take the throne in the AFC East instead of the Patriots. I reserve the right to change the optimal outcome when these teams meet up again on December 20th but for week one that is where we will go. Optimal Outcome: Dolphins’ Victory Packers @ Vikings (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 Similar to the Eagles & Football Team game this one pits two teams against each other who the Bills won’t see on the field in 2020. This is currently a toss-up, in regard to optimal outcome, but I saw an awful lot of hate tossed the Bills way from Stefon Diggs ex-team so for this week, at least, we go against them. Optimal Outcome: Packers’ Victory Colts @ Jaguars (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 👏 This is the only game in week one’s slate where I’ll directly use the preseason perception of a team as the decision on Optimal Outcome. One of these teams has talent scattered throughout the roster and added a borderline HOF QB (Debate?) the other, jettisoned two of its better players in a likely effort to upgrade a mustache ladened, cutoff jean-wearing, long-haired having QB by out-tanking every other bad team in a quest for Marissa Mowry’s fiancé. Root for the tanking team. Optimal Outcome: Jaguars’ Victory Bears @ Lions (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 Tigers, Lions, and Bears oh my. This is yet another game that at this point in the season has nearly 0 impact on the Bills. The Optimal Outcome here is purely based on the fact that one of these teams allowed the Bills to use their stadium when Buffalo was pummeled by a snowstorm. I suggest we root for them. Optimal Outcome: Lions’ Victory Raiders @ Panthers (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 The Raiders traveling to Bills South makes for a double whammy here. AFC vs. NFC makes the optimal outcome of this one easy and rooting for our twins down south makes it a no brainer. Optimal Outcome: Panthers’ Victory Jets @ Bills (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 1-0, that’s the goal. No fans in the stands will make for a weird atmosphere yet I imagine the Jete aren’t all that excited to drive into New York State. You all know the optimal outcome here so not to much more to say but for those interested look out for my “Matchup Preview” to be released early Friday morning. Optimal Outcome: Bills’ Victory Browns @ Ravens (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 👏 In week 1 there is not much context to formulate an optimal outcome for this game. What we do know is that the Browns have the talent to be a threat late in the season and the Ravens are returning a large portion of a roster that went 14-2 in 2019. This is a pick’em game, for now, but purely using last year as evidence root for the Ravens if your main concern is just making the playoffs and root for the Browns if you are concerned about playoff seeding. The Bills have higher aspirations this year than last so the optimal outcome is chosen accordingly. Optimal Outcome: Browns’ Victory Seahawks @ Falcons (Sunday 1:00PM) 👏 👏 More often than not two NFC teams playing each other has little impact on the Bills standing at the end of the season. The difference in this game is that the Bills play the NFC West in 2020 thus a win by that team increases their SOS with a possible increase to SOV. If this rarely used tiebreaker comes into play at the end of the season this week 1 game could have a major impact. Optimal Outcome: Seahawks’ Victory Chargers @ Bengals (Sunday 4:05PM) 👏 👏 👏 Similar to the Browns @ Ravens games the full meaning of this game lacks context until the season progresses. Can Tyrod Taylor make the Chargers competitive? Is there the remote possibility that Joe Burrow is as advertised and can lead the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1990? We will have to wait for those answers but what we do know is that the Bills play one of these teams so pumping up SOV & SOS early can’t hurt. Optimal Outcome: Chargers’ Victory Cardinals @ 49ers (Sunday 4:25PM) 👏 👏 One of those rare games where there are two NFC teams, both of whom the Bills play in 2020. SOS & SOV is a wash here so the optimal outcome is a pick’em. The Bills game should be over by now and if you are opting not to watch the Chargers @ Bengals game then watching this game is a solid second choice which should help further understand how difficult the Bills’ schedule is. For the sake of getting an Optimal Outcome I’ll root against the same team making the Superbowl two years in a row. Optimal Outcome: Cardinals’ Victory Buccaneers @ Saints (Sunday 4:25PM) 👏 The Bills play neither of these teams. Tom Brady plays for one of these teams. Don’t root for Tom Brady. That is all. Optimal Outcome: Saints’ Victory Cowboys @ Rams (Sunday 8:20PM) 👏 👏 Remember Thanksgiving last year? That was fun. Two NFC teams go at it in primetime here but only one of them the Bills play in 2020. Root for the same team the Bills dominated on Thanksgiving 2019 to lose for an early bump in SOS and possibly SOV. Optimal Outcome: Rams’ Victory Steelers @ Giants (Monday 7:15PM) 👏 👏 This a pretty cut and dry decision. AFC vs. NFC. The only thing that may give us pause here is that one of these teams is lying about what state they play in. Let’s set the saltiness aside and do what’s best for the Bills in 2020 here, we will deal with that lie at a later date. Optimal Outcome: Giants’ Victory Titans @ Broncos (Monday 10:10PM) 👏 👏 👏 Two AFC Teams. Two teams the Bills played in 2019. Two teams the Bills beat in 2019. Two teams the Bills play in 2020. It could be argued that outside of the Jets @ Bills and Dolphins @ Patriots this game could be the most important in Week 1 in regard to how 2020 will pan out for the Bills. The Optimal Outcome of this game may adjust as the season moves forward but for now this choice will factor in momentum with the idea that an early losing streak could be detrimental for the team the Bills play in Week 5 (As opposed to the one they play in Week 15). Optimal Outcome: Broncos’ Victory If all of these games went the optimal route below would be the updated AFC standings (All tiebreakers considered). For this week the assumption is that unknown tiebreakers go in the Bills favor:
DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) calculates a team's success based on the down-and-distance of each play during the season, then calculates how much more or less successful each team is compared to the league average. DVOA Pass/Run Defense Rank: Team’s NFL rank in DVOA pass or run defense so far this season. #1 means best DEF against the pass/run, #32 means worst DEF against the pass/run. ATS = Against the spread DVOA from https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef/2019
Opp (HOU) Pass DVOA: #25 Opp (HOU) Run DVOA: #10 Injuries to Watch DEF (HOU): CB Lonnie Johnson (OUT) S Justin Reid (OUT) S Mike Adams (OUT) S Tashaun Gipson (Q) CB Bradly Roby (Q) Injuries to Watch OFF (IND): RB Marlon Mack (OUT) WR Parris Campbell (OUT) WR T.Y. Hilton (Q) TE Mo Alie-Cox (Q) TE Eric Ebron (Q) Key WCB matchups: None Relevant Target Share %’s (season): T.Y. Hilton (25%) Eric Ebron (14%) Zach Pascal (12%) Jack Doyle (12%) Nyheim Hines (12%) Chester Rodgers (9%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Jonathan Williams (47%, 14, 1) Nyheim Hines (36%, 6, 4) Marlon Mack (32%, 14, 0) QB/WTE Breakdown The Colt’s just keep on rolling, and those of you who listen to the Bill Simmons Podcast will recognize the Ewing Theory; it occurs whenever a team inexplicably gets better after the departure of their star player. Now, we can’t ever know if the Colts are actually better without Andrew Luck, but sitting tied atop the AFC South with the Houston Texans surely backs this theory up. Jacoby Brissett (upgrade) has been very good this year, throwing for 1,797-yards and 15 touchdowns, sporting a QBR of 51.7, which places him right behind Tom Brady - good for 16th best in the NFL. The Texans have been much better against the run than the pass this year, and were torn apart by Lamar Jackson last week (but who hasn’t been?), so look for IND to attack through the air. Brissett gets a slight upgrade in this good matchup, but he’s still better suited for 2 QB formats - although HOU does give up 21.6 FPPG to QBs, plus 26.1 to wideouts, making it an enticing matchup. T.Y Hilton (upgrade) participated in today's walkthrough and is expected to make his return from a calf injury, his involvement further upgrades Brissett while downgrading the Colts auxiliary passing options. Zach Pascal, Chester Rodgers and Marcus Johnson are all shaky options with Hilton back, and none are recommended plays. Pascal is the best bet, but he has disappointed in recent weeks without Hilton, posting 2-26-0 and 2-17-0 receiving lines the last two weeks. Eric Ebron is also expected to suit up, relegating Jack Doyle to a low-floor TE2. Both tight ends have a habit of sapping each other’s value, but Ebron is the preferred play due to his nose for finding the endzone. RB Breakdown Stud running back Marlon Mack (OUT) broke his hand last week against the Jaguars and is expected to miss several weeks. That leaves Jordan Wilkins, Jonathan Williams and Nyheim Hines to shoulder the load. Many including us thought that Wilkins was the true handcuff to Mack, but as fate would have it, Wilkins was inactive due to injury when Mack went down, allowing Williams to break out. The backfield situation is now one to avoid, as it’s fully expected to be a three headed RBBC, with Wilkins and Williams splitting early down work, with Hines eating up the passing-catching work. The matchup isn’t a good one either, as HOU is ranked top-10 in Run DVOA and gives up 18.5 FPPG to RBs. It’s best to take a wait and see approach with these running backs to see if one breaks out above the rest. Update The Colts are going with Jonathan Williams (stash) as the starter for tonight's game, giving him more appeal than the other two options. That being said, it's extremely difficult to know if that means he'll be given the bulk of the early down work or if he's a starter in name only. Proceed with caution but definitely stash him if you can.
Texans
Opp (IND) Pass DVOA: #10 Opp (IND) Run DVOA:#23 Injuries to Watch DEF (IND): S Khari Willis (OUT) CB Shakial Taylor (OUT) CB Rock Ya-Sin (OUT) Injuries to Watch OFF (HOU): WR Will Fuller (Q) Key WCB matchups: None Relevant Target Share %’s (season): DeAndre Hopkins (31%) Will Fuller (21%) Kenny Stills (14%) Keke Coutee (12%) Duke Johnson (10%) Darren Fells (10%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Duke Johnson (59%, 8, 2) Carlos Hyde (34%, 9, 1) Buddy Howell (7%, 2, 0) QB/WTE Breakdown I’ll be the first to admit that we got our score prediction wrong regarding the Texans/Ravens last week, at the very least we expected a close game, not the absolute spanking the Ravens delivered. The matchup doesn’t get easier this week; last time these two teams played, Deshaun Watson (downgrade) threw for 308-yards and a touchdown, but also tossed a pair of interceptions and ran for just 32-yards. Fantasy owners can’t justify sitting a quarterback of Watson’s caliber, but it’s best to keep expectations in check - IND allows just 16.3 FPPG to QBs and 21.7 FPPG to WRs. Despite having a down year, DeAndre Hopkins aka Nuk, is the WR9 in PPR formats. He just isn’t having the explosion games we’ve become so accustomed to. He’s killed the Colts in the past and is due a big game, continue to get him active in all lineups. Will Fuller is expected to play but make sure he’s active before the game starts, and if he returns, this will bump Keke Coutee to the bench. The last time all the wideouts were healthy it was Kenny Stills in the slot, with Fuller and Nuk on the outside (Rotoworld). Either way, if Fuller is active both he and Stills are boom-or-bust WR4 options. They likely need to hit on a deep ball to find any value. Coutee shouldn’t be in any lineups irregardless of Fuller playing. Both Darren Fells and Jordan Akins remain involved in the offense, draining both of their values. So far, Fells has been the better option due to finding the endzone, but he can’t be trusted as more than a touchdown-dependent TE2. RB Breakdown Last week gave us a good preview of which running back would be on the field in situations the Texans were trailing, and it was unsurprisingly Duke Johnson receiving the higher snap rate than Carlos Hyde (upgrade standard). It’s likely that HOU faces a positive or neutral game-script tonight as the home favorites, meaning that Hyde will likely be heavily featured in the run game. Interestingly, even though IND Run DVOA is much worse than their Pass DVOA, they only give up 96.8 rushing yards per game and just 14.2 FPPG to RBs. Treat Hyde as a back-end RB2, it seems likely he finds his way into the endzone. Duke J can’t be trusted as more than a desperation RB3. Score Prediction: Texans 24, Colts 21
Opp (CLE) Pass DVOA: #13 Opp (CLE) Run DVOA: #20 Injuries to Watch DEF (CLE): DE Olivier Vernon (Q) S Eric Murray (D) Injuries to Watch OFF (MIA): WR Gary Jennings (Q) Key WCB matchups: None Relevant Target Share %’s (season): DeVante Parker (20%) Mike Gesicki (13%) Jakeem Grant (11%) Albert Wilson (10%) Patrick Laird (10%) Allen Hurns (7%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Kalen Ballage (70%, 14, 6) Patrick Laird (21%, 7, 6) Myles Gaskin (9%, 1, 1) QB/WTE Breakdown The tank is still on in Miami even after winning a couple games. Instead of a being a shoo-in for the first pick, it’s looking like they’ll be top-3. Ryan Fitzmagic (downgrade) continues to sling the rock, and impressively threw for 323-yards with no scores and no interceptions against a very good BUF secondary last week. Either way, he does not need to be considered as a fantasy option. Devante Parker has continued his breakout, albeit about 3 years too late for most fantasy owners to get behind. Parker has a solid shot to make his preseason goal of 1000- receiving yards, and as mentioned last week, MIA has a very favorable schedule moving forward for wideouts (CLE, PHI, NYJ, NYG, CIN). He needs to be owned in all formats. Jakeem Grant showed out last week, rushing for a touchdown and returning a kickoff for another. That kind of production can’t be relied upon, but he does have a penchant for big plays and appears fully healthy - he’s looking like the preferred flier over the likes of Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson. At one point it looked like Mike Gesicki may carry value the rest of the season, but it’s hard to get behind any MIA player and he completely busted last week with a 4-18-0 receiving line. Still, he has at least six targets in three consecutive games so he warrants some consideration, but he’s best suited as a TE2. RB Breakdown The good news is that Kalen Ballage (downgrade) salvaged his fantasy day with a rushing touchdown. The bad news is that he ran for just 9-yards on 9 carries, adding another 8-yards on 5 receptions. He’s a desperation RB3 that can’t be recommended in any format. Fellow running backs Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin aren’t seeing the volume right now to be considered in any format.
Browns
Opp (MIA) Pass DVOA: #32 Opp (MIA) Run DVOA: #19 Injuries to Watch DEF (MIA): S Bobby McCain (Q) DE Taco Charlton (Q) LB Raekwon McMillan (Q) CB Ken Webster (Q) Injuries to Watch OFF (CLE): OT Kendall Lamm (Q) Key WCB matchups: Odell Beckham vs. Nik Needham (Rotoworld) Relevant Target Share %’s (season): Odell Beckham (26%) Jarvis Landry (24%) Kareem Hunt (24%) Nick Chubb (11%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Nick Chubb (56%, 27, 1) Kareem Hunt (42%, 12, 8) Dontrell Hilliard (1%, 0, 0) D’Ernest Johnson (1%, 0, 0) QB/WTE Breakdown Last week's win against PIT got ugly, culminating in DE Myles Garrett ripping off Mason Rudolph's helmet and hitting him over the head with it. No matter which way it’s looked at, losing Garrett is a big loss for CLE. Luckily, they face a MIA squad that ranks in the bottom half for both Run and Pass DVOA. Baker Mayfield tossed two touchdowns last week, but still hasn’t performed at the level that was expected this season. Odell Beckham Jr. (upgrade) has been a bust so far, but against MIA is a great matchup - they give up 22 FPPG to QBs and 25.4 FPPG to WRs. CB Nik Needham is expected to shadow OBJ, and it’s not an imposing matchup, Needham was destroyed last week by ‘Smokey’ John Brown to the tune of 9-137-1. It seems more likely that he booms than busts this weekend, and he’s a good bet to find the endzone for the first time since Week 2. Speaking of finding the endzone, Jarvis Landry (upgrade PPR) has found paydirt in three consecutive weeks. Consider Landry an upside WR2 for PPR formats in the great matchup. It appears that tight end David Njoku isn’t expected to return from IR this week, when he does return it’ll hurt Landry’s redzone usage. Demetrius Harris and Ricky Seals-Jones are desperation streaming options - MIA gives up 7.7 FPPG to tight ends. RB Breakdown MIA has been better against the run in recent weeks, a couple weeks ago they were ranked almost dead last in both Run and Pass DVOA, but they have moved up the ranks against the rush. It’s likely irrelevant, as Nick Chubb (upgrade) and Kareem Hunt (upgrade PPR) should run all over them in a positive game-script. Start Chubb with confidence as an RB1 and consider Hunt an upside RB2 in PPR formats - MIA gives up 22 FPPG to RBs. Score Prediction: Browns 27, Dolphins 17
Opp (BUF) Pass DVOA: #9 Opp (BUF) Run DVOA: #27 Injuries to Watch DEF (BUF): DE Jerry Hughes (Q) DB Siran Neal (Q) Injuries to Watch OFF (DEN): WR Tim Patrick (Q) OG Dalton Risner (Q) C Conner McGovern (Q) OT Ja’Wuan James (Q) RB Phillip Lindsay (Q) Key WCB matchups: Courtland Sutton vs. Tre’Davious White (Rotoworld) Relevant Target Share %’s (season): Courtland Sutton (24%) Noah Fant (15%) Phillip Lindsay (11%) Royce Freeman (11%) Tim Patrick (11%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Phillip Lindsay (64%, 18, 2) Royce Freeman (30%, 9, 1) QB/WTE Breakdown After squandering a big early lead last week, the Broncos head to Buffalo hoping to right the ship. Brandon Allen (downgrade) got off to a hot start with a few big throws, but faded in the second half and was a big reason why the Vikings were able to make a comeback. The Bills have an above average pass defense - surrendering the 4th fewest FPPG to QBs - so any streamer appeal Allen might have had is nullified by the matchup. His best weapon in the passing game, Courtland Sutton (downgrade), will face one of his toughest matchups of the season in a likely shadow matchup vs Tre’Davious White. Despite the tough individual matchup, and the fact the Bills have given up the 9th fewest FPPG to WRs, Sutton’s performance this season has earned him a long leash in season-long leagues. He’s worthy of a start as a somewhat lower ceiling WR2. The surprise for the Broncos last week was Tim Patrick (deep stash) receiving eight targets and going for 77-yards on four catches. While Patrick is worth consideration as a deep-league stash, this is not the week to take a shot on starting him. He’s no more than a dice-roll WR4/5. Rookie tight end Noah Fant (downgrade) had another solid outing with a 4-60 line on a team-leading 11 targets. The Bills are perhaps the toughest against TEs - fewest FPPG allowed to the position - so Fant deserves a matchup downgrade. However, his role as the second option in this passing game, combined with his elite after-the-catch abilities, make him a low-end TE1 at such a thin position. RB Breakdown Denver was unable to establish a consistent running game against the Vikings stout front seven last week, but the Bills have a weakness in this area so it may be a matchup to exploit. Phillip Lindsay (upgrade) soundly out-snapped Royce Freeman in this loss, and looks set to lead the timeshare again this week assuming he’s healthy. Although Lindsay hasn’t been as involved in the passing game of late, his total touches have consistently been higher than Freeman’s. The Bills have given up the 15th most FPPG to RBs, but have a bottom-tier rush defense by DVOA metrics. Consider Lindsay a lower-end RB2 this week due mostly to the low projected point totals, but the matchup makes him worthy of a start in most leagues. Freeman is only a handcuff for Lindsay owners at this point.
Bills
Opp (DEN) Pass DVOA: #15 Opp (DEN) Run DVOA: #6 Injuries to Watch DEF (DEN): LB Joe Jones (Q) LB Justin Hollins (Q) Injuries to Watch OFF (BUF): OT Ty Nsekhe (Q) Key WCB matchups: John Brown vs. Chris Harris Jr. Relevant Target Share %’s (season): John Brown (26%) Cole Beasley (20%) Dawson Knox (11%) Devin Singletary (10%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Devin Singletary (74%, 16, 1) Frank Gore (26%, 12, 2) QB/WTE Breakdown The Bills finally won a game that came primarily due to passing game heroics, albeit against the league-worst Dolphins defense, but now return home to face an underrated Broncos defense. Josh Allen finished with a career-best passer rating last week, and finished with an excellent final fantasy line. His rushing ability was on full display, but his impressive passes to John Brown were what really had his owners gushing. This week the matchup is a bit tougher - the Broncos give up the third fewest FPPG to QBs despite only the 15th ranked pass DVOA. Allen may regress a bit in the passing department, and this game’s low projected final score suggest fewer TDs, but his rushing upside keeps him in the back-end QB1 mix. As for the previously mentioned John Brown (downgrade), he goes from one of the cushier matchups in the league to one of the toughest. He’s likely to face Chris Harris Jr. in shadow coverage most of the day, and although Harris got dusted a bit by Stefon Diggs last week, he remains one of the premier coverage corners in the NFL. The downgrade is negated somewhat by Brown’s ability to break a big play at any time, so owners can continue to plug him in as a WR2, but keep expectations in check. Cole Beasley (drop) is the only other WR worth consideration for the Bills, but his inability to rack up high catch totals has sapped any potential PPR value. Although he’ll likely get an easier matchup than Brown, his value is limited only to very deep leagues as a WR4/5 with little upside. Dawson Knox (drop) has shown some flashes as a rookie TE in the league, but he too hasn’t been able to consistently produce for fantasy. He’s an extremely TD-dependent TE2 whose matchup - Broncos give up the 13th most FPPG to TEs - isn’t enough of an upgrade to warrant a stream. RB Breakdown With the Bills having so much success through the air last week, there were fewer opportunities for Devin Singletary and Frank Gore (drop) on the ground last week than would be expected in such a positive game flow. However, Singletary was far more efficient with his opportunities, and looks like he’s on the precipice of a breakout. The Bills offense has struggled to put up points against good defenses, but Singletary has been a consistently impressive force when given opportunities. The Broncos have a solid rush defense and give up the 12th fewest FPPG to RBs, but the potential for an increased role in positive game-script put the rookie in RB2 territory. Gore’s only value is as a hindrance to Singletary’s breakout, and he shouldn’t be owned in any league except as an extremely low-upside handcuff. Score Prediction: Bills 20, Broncos 16
Opp (CIN) Pass DVOA: #31 Opp (CIN) Run DVOA: #24 Injuries to Watch DEF (CIN): None Injuries to Watch OFF (PIT): WR Juju Smith-Schuster (D) RB James Conner (D) WR Diontae Johnson (D) Key WCB matchups: None Relevant Target Share %’s (season): Juju Smith-Schuster (17%) Jaylen Samuels (16%) Diontae Johnson (15%) Vance McDonald (13%) James Washington (13%) James Conner (12%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Jaylen Samuels (34%, 10, 6) Trey Edmunds (47%, 6, 3) James Conner (18%, 6, 2) QB/WTE Breakdown Putting aside the fact that he was involved in an ugly brawl at the end of last week’s game, Mason Rudolph (downgrade) was simply horrendous under center last week. He threw four interceptions, and couldn’t seem to hit receivers that were further than five yards away from him (even that was a struggle). The matchup couldn’t be better - the Bengals’ pass defense is ranked 31st by DVOA and gives up the 3rd most FPPG to QBs - but that doesn’t move the needle enough to consider him in standard leagues. Perhaps in a 2 QB league there’s an owner brave enough to stream Rudolph in this matchup, but we’d recommend against it. Another reason to avoid Rudolph in any format is that he will likely be missing top target Juju Smith-Schuster, although it’s not like he used him much in the first place. With Juju doubtful to suit up, and Diontae Johnson questionable to play as well, James Washington is the only name to keep an eye on. If both of those players sit, Washington could be a volume-based WR3 based on opportunity and matchup. However, owners should likely avoid the situation altogether, despite the favorable matchup. Vance McDonald may have a better shot of capitalizing on the opportunity, but he too has been victim to Rudolph’s struggles (and his own). McDonald would be a low-end TE1 if both players sit, if only due to the matchup and the bump in usage. Still, avoid this passing game if possible. RB Breakdown Fantasy owners were dealt another tough injury-related lineup decision last week when the Steelers took James Conner off the injury report prior to kickoff, only to see him leave the game with a re-aggravation of a shoulder injury he had apparently been dealing with all week. Conner is looking doubtful to suit up against the Bengals on Sunday, so the backfield will again feature Jaylen Samuels (upgrade PPR) and Trey Edmunds this week. Although Edmunds actually led the team in snaps, it was Samuels who got the majority of the touches, and managed to score a TD despite the ugly offensive performance. The Bengals are a favorable matchup - giving up the fourth most FPPG to RBs - but the state of this offense overall limits Samuels’ fantasy appeal somewhat. Still, if Conner is out, Samuels should see the requisite volume to belong in the RB2 ranks, especially in PPR leagues due to his passing acumen. Edmunds is not a fantasy option at this point.
Bengals
Opp (PIT) Pass DVOA: #5 Opp (PIT) Run DVOA: #8 Injuries to Watch DEF (PIT): None Injuries to Watch OFF (CIN): AJ Green (D) WR Audent Tate (Q) WR Stanley Morgan (Q) Key WCB matchups: None Relevant Target Share %’s (season): Tyler Boyd (24%) Auden Tate (19%) Alex Erickson (11%) Tyler Eifert (10%) Joe Mixon (8%) Gio Bernard (7%) RB Snap %/Touches/Targets Week 11: Joe Mixon (59%, 16, 3) Gio Bernard (52%, 4, 3) QB/WTE Breakdown If you decided to stream Ryan Finley (16 team 2 QB league only) last week because the Raiders have a porous pass-defense, you likely ended the day with a loss. The rookie was again unimpressive, despite a favorable matchup, and now faces the 5th best pass defense by DVOA metrics. He is an easy avoid in all formats and all league sizes this week. Finley will be without AJ Green (ankle) again this week, and likely without Auden Tate (concussion, neck) as well. That leaves Tyler Boyd (downgrade) as the lone survivor of what was once a somewhat fearsome WR corps, at least on paper. The Steelers are middle of the pack in FPPG allowed to WRs, but they’ll be able to focus most of their attention on Boyd knowing he’s the only threat out wide. After watching the Steelers shut down Cooper Kupp two weeks ago because they saw him as the most important target for Jared Goff, there’s reason to believe that’s how the Steelers will approach Boyd. He’s in the WR4 range simply due to his likely volume, but his QB situation and tough matchup keep him out of the top-36 and give owners a strong incentive to consider benching him. Alex Erickson and Tyler Eifert are not fantasy options at this point outside of extremely deep leagues. There simply isn’t enough juice in this passing game with the rookie under center. If the Bengals are to pull the upset, it will be through a game manager type performance from Finley, a strong running game, and an even more inept Steelers offense. RB Breakdown Despite their offense becoming even more inept after benching Andy Dalton, the Bengals have found some success in the running game with Joe Mixon (upgrade standard) the past two weeks. Against two straight solid rushing defenses over the past two weeks (BAL and OAK), Mixon has racked up 200 rushing yards and over 50 receiving yards. This is due in part to a renewed commitment to him and the volume he has received, but also seemingly a slight improvement from the offensive line and perhaps from Mixon himself to run with more vigor. The Steelers are another tough matchup - giving up the 6th fewest FPPG to RBs - but with his current volume and obvious talent, Mixon should be viewed as an RB2 regardless. If Finley can improve even slightly from last week, it would give Mixon a chance to repeat his performance and snag another rushing TD along the way. Gio Bernard is simply a handcuff to Mixon at this point, but he should be owned by all Mixon owners, especially those with postseason aspirations. Score Prediction: Steelers 17, Bengals 14
[Game Preview] Week 17 - Dallas Cowboys (8-7) at Philadelphia Eagles(13-2)
Dallas Cowboys (8-7) at Philadelphia Eagles (13-2)
It wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day a win is a win and the Eagles were able to pull one out against the Oakland Raiders in week 16 to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs to ensure the road to the Super Bowl comes through the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles will look to stay undefeated at home and against the NFCE in a meaningless game against the division rival Dallas Cowboys as the roles are reversed from last season. On the the flip side the Cowboys will be playing for pride and possibly Jason Garrett's job as in the season finale. The Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention last week with a loss to the Seahawks as frustration boiled over between second year QB and veteran WR Dez Bryant after Dak's second INT of the game. Prescott has struggled recently throwing 4 INTs and zero TDs in his last two starts. The Eagles are expected to rest many starters on Sunday, but QB Nick Foles is expected to see the field in hopes of getting himself right after his extremely poor outing last week against Oakland. The team hopes to end the season on a strong note in the meaningless game as they will have a bye to start the first week of the playoffs and await their opponent.
Record VS. Spread: Philadelphia 10-5, Dallas 7-7-1
Where to Watch on TV
FOX will broadcast Sunday’s game to a regional audience. Kenny Albert will handle the play-by-play duties and Ronde Barber will provide analysis. Kristina Pink will report from the sidelines.
Calling the game on 94WIP and the Eagles Radio Network will be Merrill Reese, the NFL’s longest-tenured play-by-play announcer (41st season). Joining Reese in the radio booth will be former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick, while Howard Eskin will report from the sidelines.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
WIP-FM
94.1 FM and 610 AM
Allentown, PA
WCTO-FM
96.1 FM
Atlantic City/South Jersey
WENJ-FM
97.3 FM
Levittown, PA
WBCB-AM
1490 AM
Northumberland, PA
WEGH-FM
107.3 FM
Pottsville, PA
WPPA-AM
1360 AM
Reading, PA
WEEU-AM
830 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
WEJL-FM
96.1 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WEJL-AM
630 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WBAX-AM
1240 AM
Williamsport, PA
WBZD-FM
93.3 FM
Wilmington, DE
WDEL-FM/AM
101.7 FM
York/LancasteHarrisburg, PA
WSOX-FM
96.1 FM
Philadelphia Spanish Radio
Rickie Ricardo, Macu Berral and Gus Salazar will handle the broadcast in Spanish on Mega 105.7 FM in Philadelphia and the Eagles Spanish Radio Network.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
LA MEGA
105.7 FM
Allentown, PA
WSAN
1470 AM
Atlantic City, NJ
WIBG
1020 AM; 101.3 FM
Dallas Radio
Dallas Cowboys Radio Network Brad Sham returns for his 39th season in the Dallas Cowboys radio booth. Beloved by Cowboys fans, Sham's award winning play-by-play has provided the soundtrack to many of the most memorable moments in Dallas Cowboys history. Babe Laufenberg returns as the Network's full-time color analyst. A fixture on the sideline, veteran reporter Kristi Scales provides instant updates from the field.
September 30th, 1960 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX. Dallas Cowboys 25 - Philadelphia Eagles 27
Points Leader
The Dallas Cowboys lead the Philadelphia Eagles (2542-2329)
Coaches Record
Doug Pederson: 2-1 against the Cowboys
Jason Garrett: 7-8 against Eagles
Coaches Head to Head
Doug Pederson vs Jason Garrett: Pederson leads series 2-1
Quarterback Record
Nick Foles: Against Cowboys: 1-3
Dak Prescott: Against Eagles: 1-2
Quarterbacks Head to Head
Nick Foles vs Dak Prescott: First meeting between the QBs
Records per Stadium
Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Cowboys lead the Eagles: 8-6
Record @ AT&T Stadium: Eagles lead the Cowboys: 6-4
Rankings and Last Meeting Information
AP Pro 32 Ranking
Eagles No. 4 - Cowboys No. 16
Record
Eagles: 13-2
Cowboys: 8-7
Last Meeting
Sunday, November 19th, 2017
Eagles 37 - Cowboys 9
Carson Wentz threw for two touchdowns and three 2-point conversions after Philadelphia lost kicker Jake Elliott to a head injury, and the Eagles all but wrapped up the NFC East with a 37-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in week 11.
Carson Wentz threw for 2 TDs and 245 yards in a meaningless games as the Cowboys rested starters and Tony Romo threw the final TD pass of his career in the loss.
Eagles - Video – It was like a great Christmas present that was terribly wrapped. Nick Foles looked dreadful and the Eagles defense made some key mistakes in the first half, however they came up huge in the second half causing 5 turnovers including a key one late that led to a Jake Elliott 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to give the Eagles a 3 point lead. The Eagles defense added another late TD as Derek Barnett scooped up a fumble on a late ditch lateral and the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs with a sloppy 19-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.
Cowboys - Video – Dak Prescott's struggles finally caught up with him as the Cowboys as their 3 game winning streak and playoff hopes ended in a loss to Seattle Sunday. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and the Dallas offense didn't score a touchdown despite the reunion with his backfield mate. Coleman gave Seattle a 14-9 lead in the third quarter when he reached down to catch Prescott's badly overthrown pass to Elliott and ran untouched 30 yards for a touchdown. The TD put Seattle in front for good and the Seahawks won a playoff elimination game against Dallas, beating the Cowboys 21-12 on Sunday in Ezekiel Elliott's return from a six-game suspension.
Connections
Eagles RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a native of Haltom, TX and went to Haltom High School. Vaitai played collegiately at TCU in Fort Worth, TX
Eagles S Jalen Mills was born in Dallas and grew up in DeSoto, TX and went to Desoto High School.
Eagles LB Jordan Hicks played collegiately for Texas.
Cowboys Safeties Coach Greg Jackson played for the Eagles during the 1994-95 season.
Cowboys Director of Pro Scouting Judd Garrett was selected in the 12th round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles but was released before the season began.
Cowboys Assistant Director of Video Stephen Gagliardino began his NFL career in 1995 as a ball boy with the Philadelphia Eagles when he was 16 years old, working training camp and game days at Veterans Stadium. He did that for four seasons before moving over to the Eagles video department in 1999, where he worked full time as an intern for three seasons (1999-2001).
Many Cowboys fans were born and raised in the Greater Philadelphia Area, however have no ties to Dallas nor have ever been to the city.
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett was born in Abington, PA, located roughly 15 miles north of Philadelphia
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott played together at Mississippi State University when Prescott was a red shirt freshman.
Eagles OT Lane Johnson is from Groveton, TX and has family who are Cowboys fans including his grandmother who has told “Shut up, if you want to see 75” while she was routing for the Cowboys.
Eagles WR Mack Hollins and Cowboys WR Ryan Switzer played WR together at University of North Carolina the last 4 seasons.
2018 Pro Bowlers
Eagles
Cowboys
OT Lane Johnson
OT Tyron Smith (Starter)
QB Carson Wentz (Starter)
C Travis Fredrick
TE Zach Ertz (Starter)
OG Zach Martin (Starter)
G Brandon Brooks (Starter)
DE Demarcus Lawrence (Starter)
DT Fletcher Cox (Starter)
FS Malcom Jenkins
C Jason Kelce (1st Alt)
DE Brandon Graham (1st Alt)
CB Jalen Mills (3rd Alt)
K Jake Elliot (2nd Alt)
ST Kame Grugier-Hill (2nd Alt)
General
Referee: John Parry
Philadelphia owns the best record in the NFL this season at 13-2. The Eagles’ 13 wins are tied for the most in single-season franchise history (also 2004, 13-3)
In Week 14 at L.A. Rams, Philadelphia clinched its 10th NFC East title and 25th all-time postseason appearance. The last time the Eagles clinched the division crown in Week 14 or earlier was in 2004 (clinched in Week 12).
In Week 15 at N.Y. Giants, Philadelphia secured a first round bye in the playoffs, marking just the sixth instance since 1970 that they accomplished the feat.
Philadelphia secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with their Week 16 win against Oakland.
Only five NFL teams have won 14+ games since 2008: 2016 Patriots (14-2), 2015 Panthers (15-1), 2011 Packers (15-1), 2010 Patriots (14-2) and 2009 Colts (14-2)
Philadelphia is 7-0 at home for the first time since 2004. The last time the Eagles finished the season 8-0 at home was in 1992. Overall, Philadelphia has gone undefeated at home just four times in franchise history, doing so in 1992 (8-0), 1949 (6-0), 1948 (6-0) and 1945 (6-0).
Philadelphia has scored 457 points (30.5 points per game), which ranks 2nd all-time in single-season franchise history, trailing only 2014 (474 points). Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Eagles are just 18 points shy of setting a new club record.
Philadelphia is aiming to go undefeated in NFC East games for the first time since 2004.
Philadelphia has scored 36 TDs on 55 red zone drives to lead the NFL in red zone TD efficiency (65.5%)
Philadelphia ranks 2nd in the NFL in total points scored (457), trailing only L.A. Rams (465).
Philadelphia ranks 2nd in the NFL in point differential (+168), behind L.A. Rams (+170). The Eagles are the first NFL team to score 450+ points (457) while allowing less than 290 points (289) since the 2012 Broncos (481-289).
Philadelphia owns the NFL’s 2nd-ranked rushing offense (136.3), trailing only Jacksonville (145.3). The Eagles have rushed for 2,000+ yards (2,045) for the first time since the 2013 campaign (2,566).
Philadelphia is just the sixth team in NFL history to record 2,000+ rushing yards and 38+ passing TDs, joining the 2011 Saints (2,127-46), 1999 Rams (2,059-42), 1998 49ers (2,544- 41), 1991 Bills (2,381-39) and 1987 49ers (2,237-44).
Philadelphia has converted 17 of 24 fourth downs, ranking 3rd in the NFL in fourth-down conversions (70.8%), trailing only New Orleans (85.7%) and Jacksonville (76.9%).
Philadelphia leads the NFL in rushing defense (75.9). The Eagles have allowed just 1,138 rushing yards this season, which is the club’s best mark since 1991 (1,136).
Philadelphia is just the seventh team in NFL history to register 2,000+ rushing yards while allowing no more than 1,200 rushing yards in a season, joining the 2010 Steelers, 2007 Vikings, 1969 Cowboys, 1964 Bills, 1946 49ers and 1940 Bears.
Draft Picks
Eagles
Cowboys
DE Derek Barnett
DE Taco Charlton
CB Sidney Jones
CB Chidobe Awuzie
CB Rasul Douglas
CB Jourdan Lewis
WR Mack Hollins
WR Ryan Switzer
RB Donnel Pumphrey
S Xavior Woods
WR Shelton Gibson
CB Marquez White
LB Nathan Gerry
DT Joey Ivie
DT Elijah Qualls
WR Noah Brown
DE Jordan Carrell
Notable Off-season Additions
Eagles
Cowboys
WR Torrey Smith
OG Byron Bell
WR Alshon Jeffery
OG Jonathan Cooper
DE Chris Long
DT Timmy Jernigan
RB LaGarrett Blount
CB Patrick Robinson
G Chance Warmack
QB Nick Foles
S Corey Graham
CB Ronald Darby
K Jake Elliott
LB Dannell Ellerbe
OT Will Beatty
Notable Off-season Departures
Eagles
Cowboys
CB Nolan Carroll
QB Tony Romo
DE Connor Barwin
OG Ronald Leary
DT Bennie Logan
OG Emmett Cleary
QB Chase Daniel
DT Jack Crawford
CB Leodis McKelvin
DT Terrell McClain
WR Dorial Green-Beckham
CB Brandon Carr
DE Marcus Smith
CB Morris Claiborne
RB Ryan Mathews
SS Barry Church
FS JJ Wilcox
Milestones
QB Nick Foles (7251) needs 247 yards to move up to 9th all-time on the all-time Eagles Passing Yards list Norm Van Brocklin
QB Nick Foles (51) needs 4 TDs to move up to a tie for 9th all-time on the all-time Eagles Passing TDs list Norm Van Brocklin
TE Brent Celek (4,985) needs 15 more yards to reach 5000 career receiving yards.
TE Brent Celek (395) needs 5 more receptions to reach 400 career receptions.
TE Zach Ertz (3640) needs 7 yards to move up to 14th on the Eagles all-time receiving list all-time passing WR Jason Avant
DE Brandon Graham (38.5 – 7th) needs 1 sacks to move up to a tie for 6th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DT Andy Harmon.
DE Fletcher Cox (34 - 10th) needs 1.5 sacks to move into a tie for 9th all-time on the Eagles sack list with William Fuller.
S Malcolm Jenkins's (4) needs 1 more Interception for a TD to tie CB Eric Allen (5) for most Interceptions for a TD by an Eagles player. Jenkins is the only Eagles player to have a pick 6 in 3 straight seasons.
DE Demarcus Lawrence (23.5) needs 3.5 more sacks to move up to a tie for 10th on the Cowboys all-time sack list with Jay Ratliff and Jason Hatcher.
QB Dak Prescott (44) needs 2 TDs to move up to 7th on the Cowboys all-time passing TD list moving ahead of Eddie LeBaron.
RB Ezekiel Elliott (2511) needs 218 rushing yards to move up to 11th on the Cowboys all-time rushing yards list passing Felix Jones.
OL/DL Matchups Note: Pressure Rate and Yards Before Contact are projected numbers based on the starters' grades and are adjusted for injuries. All other stats are based on this season's data
Tm
Pr%
SCon
YBCo
Runs ins. 5 yd ln/gm
TD ins. 5 yd ln%
Pass B %
Run B %
DAL (OL)
4.3
14
1.97
1.1
44
-12
12
PHI (DL)
7.2
19
1.37
0.6
33
PHI (OL)
4.4
16
1.69
1
31
-7
17
DAL (DL)
6.7
13
1.75
1
25
Matchups to Watch
Nick Foles vs. Competency
Just as we all expected the defense carried Nick Foles in a great defensive show down with the Raiders. Last weeks performance was largely the opposite of Week 15 leaving fans of the other NFC playoff teams salivating at the chance to play Nick Foles. If there is one word used to describe Foles in his career it would be inconsistent. The Giants and Raiders games are the two games you could point to when you want to describe what Nick Foles is capable of since there is usually no in between. The starters will play in this meaningless game against the Sean Lee led Dallas Sean Lee's and this is a good thing - at least for the offense. Foles needs all of the live reps he can get to be ready for the postseason. No one expects him to go out on the field and look like Carson Wentz. All we need Foles to do is to go out on the field in the post season and not look like Dak Prescott. Fact is, there were several plays open all game to different receivers for Foles to hit against the Raiders and he missed nearly all of them. No one wants to pile on a poor performance, but if Foles plays like he did against the Raiders in the playoffs the Eagles will be one and done faster than the 2016 Cowboys. This is the matchup to watch in this game. Continuity and familiarity will help Foles. Being used to the elements will help Foles. Sunday's game against Dallas will be very cold. While that is an effective equalizer for the Eagles moving forward it doesn't help if their own QB doesn't handle the elements well either.
Eagles Snap Counts vs. Necessity
There isn't really much to watch for in this game other than Nick Foles and the offense, but Pederson has come out and said that the starters will play in this game. Obviously, if the Eagles lose this nothing changes but we should be watching how the team plays, who plays, the amount of snaps they play, and if they make it through the game cleanly. I wouldn't expect the defensive line to see the full workload they are used to but we will see them play snaps. I think it'll be important for guys like Ellerbe and Darby to continue to get snaps and make sure they are still in game shape. There is also the possibility Sidney Jones will play. If there is a situation where you can get him meaningful snaps without having to worry about a games consequences this is it. Maybe the Eagles give some snaps to reserve tackle Will Beatty to ensure that he has some work under his belt in the event it is needed. Wisniewski could certainly use some snaps since he has missed the last two and a half games. All there is to watch is how long the usual cast of characters plays.
Doug Pederson vs The Future
Jimmy Kempski struggled with his key matchups in this game but did mention that it'll be interesting to see how Pederson calls this game. He's playing the starters; do you call a game to win? I think he'll need to be smart and not reveal anything too deep in the game plan that he'll use for Foles in the playoffs. This is really a stretch since there is no silver lining to Foles starting moving forward. Pederson should be smart about what he does Sunday so as to not tip their hand when the games count again.
Eagles vs. Expectations
This has been a magical roller coaster season for the Eagles. Many fans expected the team to improve and challenge for a playoff spot despite the more pessimistic projections from national writers and worthless redditors alike. Carson Wentz took the next leap to greatness this season and established himself as one of the upper tier QBs in the league. Doug Pederson proved he knew what he was doing despite a lot of skepticism from fans and writers alike. Dak Prescott stinks. There was room for optimism after last season. The Eagles went 7-9 with their most difficult schedule since NFL realignment. This doesn't take into account the number of teams the Eagles faced coming off a bye - consecutively - then playing a Falcons team coming off 10 days rest. That strength of schedule percentage doesn't take into account naming Wentz starter a week before the start of the season after trading Bradford. It doesn't take into account he was a rookie with a rookie head coach and a new staff and scheme. Yet, here the Eagles are. Through all the adversity this team has faced this season they sit 13-2 and the number 1 seed in the East. There is a chance that the Eagles could set the franchise record for wins if they beat the Cowboys on Sunday. The postseason was always going to be a challenge even with Wentz given the depth of the NFC but has become even more difficult to navigate without him. I would imagine there is less expected of this Eagles team from the outside since Wentz's injury than from before. The team should be used to that by now. The Eagles still have everything to play for and will need its best players to raise their level of play moving forward. The coaching staff will need to bring its very best in order to win moving forward. Week 17 is meaningless... but how the team prepares and carries itself isn't.
To all EFL members, from Seattle to South Beach, I have one thing to say: Welcome to the fucking show. It's my pleasure to have EFL around for its 4th year, and it is our #1 goal to improve in every way so that this league becomes the best experience out there for Madden aficionados. With so many new members this year--members that we hope help establish the core of this league for its future--I figured that it would be nice to break the ice with each owner in the best way I know how: by attempting to roast you all and/or your teams. Given, this will be easier as more time passes since I'll get to know people better, but with the opening week roast I aim to establish an EFL tradition that emphasizes our efforts to build a strong Madden community. They may all suck, but some might not; either way, let's have a laugh at someone as we usher in the new league year. First and foremost, I will touch again on our opening night primetime Games of the Week. Check out the primetime preview for a more in-depth look at these matchups, and expect some fireworks either way. In Game 1, starting at 6pm EST on 8/8, we have cuppa tea Rhys bringing his Chiefs down to exotic Jacksonville to take on Florida Man Plex. After 1.5 hours of bitching about Tyree Jackson, we will move our attention to N'awlins, LA, where bad gal Ry Ry meets Mo, although some people call him Moreece. You don't want to miss these milestone games, folks. We've got the first EFL 20 games, first primetime opener in league history, and Plex's 1000th game of Madden 20 all in the same night. What more can you ask for? If you're actually asking that question, then look no further for your answer. On Friday, 8/9, EFL opens across the league with a 14-game slate over 3 days to kick things off. Here's a look at these matchups and what to look for (or shield your precious eyes from): San Francisco 49ers (Theeeverbro) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Asshat) Our first non-GOTW matchup of the week takes us to boring ass Tampa Bay to see Theeeverbro--new to the NFC as well as the all-22 view--attempt to throw just 4 INTs with Jimmy the Gent against a truly terrifying Tampa Bay defense led by the rotting corpse of Chris Conte. Asshat will look to shut down Jimmy G by getting some pressure from Jason Pierre-Paul, the number one PFF (Person with Four Fingers) defender in all of football. On the other side of things, we will see Reuben Foster and Solomon Thomas, the defensive weapons Jon Lynch obtained by fleecing Ryan Pace and embarrassing him on draft day, tee off against a weak Tampa Bay offensive line and run game. JK. LOL (go Bears). Theeeverbro will instead look to rookie MAGA bitch Nick Bosa to pick up the slack and fulfill his superstar potential as soon as possible. No matter what happens, the league will be excited to see Theeeverbro coaching this roster on the field in a meaningful game. After all, he had strong conviction on this team and only deliberated a mere 53 days before selecting them. Cincinnati Bengals (Illmatic) @ Seattle Seahawks (Blaza) We have our first taste of the unknown in Seattle, as two-time EFL 19 Super Bowl Champion Illmatic takes on newcomer Blaza in a high stakes, winner-take-Ciara showdown. What makes it an unknown, you may ask? Well, not only do we have no tape on Blaza, but we also are playing a Madden title that does NOT feature whip route hot routes for the tight end. Is Illmatic in trouble? He will probably answer that one with a resounding no, but the hamster living in his bedroom and powering his internet may have some different thoughts on the matter. Nevertheless, he will put his championship pedigree to the test against a rebuilding Seattle squad that is looking to ride the Russell Wilson wave to continued success despite a multitude of losses on defense. Is Blaza up to the challenge? We’ll see soon, but don’t be too quick to count him out. He sounds like a Dodgeball character and is confident in his ability to put the Globo Gym Purple Cobras on his back to get a victory. Buffalo Bills (Klassick) @ New York Jets (TomDaddy) EFL history may suggest an emphatic Klassick victory is in store to get the Buffalo era off to the right start. However, let’s take a closer look at the important details in this matchup to see where the advantages stand out the most. This Buffalo squad is take-no-prisoners but take-all-alleged-rapists. After trading prized shorts-wearer Josh Allen, the Bills will hit the gridiron with Shady McCoy, a truly wonderful teammate who does not hold out and also isn’t afraid to speak up [to vulnerable women]. This unique tandem of assault and disrespect will have its opposition fearing for their livelihoods each day, but as long as Ben and Shady win their football games before going home, that opposition should be temporarily be safe. On the other hand, TomDaddy brings his Jets into Week 1 with a great football mindset. LeVeon Bell will look to keep his performance at an elite level after a historic run with Pittsburgh and a 2018 in which he set a personal career high in blunts smoked on the couch. Bell, who is striving for a second straight championship after leading his fantasy team to its league’s highest honor just a year ago, claims to be in the best shape of his life and ready to do what he does best. Joining Bell in New York is stud linebacker CJ Mosely and standout first round draft pick Quinnen Williams. Unlike the Abuse Amigos in Buffalo, these players are always working to become better teammates, and instead of playing with the safety of their loved ones, they just play with themselves. Denver Broncos (@damnitBob) @ Oakland Raiders (Guy) Guy just can’t catch a break these days. First, he lands in a division with English chaps Craig and Rhys, both known to take full advantage of QB mobility when they possess it. But then, Bob goes and trades for the Dak Attack while cutting statue-esque Joe Flacco just moments later. Damnit Bob! Regardless, we’re all praying for your blood pressure, Guy. With regards to the matchup itself, this one should have plenty of intrigue. If a divisional rivalry isn’t enough to peak your interest, also note that Bob has that VIP Madden access and will probably have some cheat codes to sneak into the game if he starts to fall behind. Yeah, we’re onto you Bob. Guy, on the other hand, will need to take all of that money that Mark Davis spent this past offseason on guys not named Khalil Mack, and translate it into some on-the-field success. The gameplan will surely be to get new all-pro acquisition Antonio Brown off to a hot start. Guy will want to break the ice quickly with Brown and make him feel at home, as you don’t want him getting cold feet about signing with Oakland. If Carr develops some chemistry with Brown then watch out, as Guy could be headed to Flavortown in no time. Indianapolis Colts (HotRod) @ Los Angeles Chargers (Craig) Live from a modestly priced Oklahoma City Air BnB townhouse comes a HUGE opening week matchup between two exciting rosters in the middle of Super Bowl contention. Resident tech/graphic design genius Rod will travel from Indy to the outskirts of LA, where he will sit in traffic for about 5 hours before finally reaching the stadium where the Colts will prepare for their first home game of the year against the Chargers. General Luck will square off against Commander Phillip Rivers and his battalion made up of his own children (Kony 2012). Luck enters this battle with a few more small arms at his disposal in the form of new arrivals Devin Funchess (free agency) and Parris Campbell (draft). The big question here will be whether or not new pass rusher Justin Houston can make his presence felt against a weak LA offensive line. If so, look for the Luck stampede to overwhelm the Rivers family. Atlanta Falcons (Dusty) @ Minnesota Vikings (Slusha) Our next EFL showdown takes us to the luscious, pure waters of Lake Minnetonka, where self-proclaimed Green Bay Packer fan Slusha aims to defend his turf against Dusty’s Dirty Birds. Led by non-Hall of Fame quarterback Matt Ryan, this Falcon offense will not be one to take lightly. They feature one of the top WR duos in the league in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley (Roll Tide, Dust) and on the other side of the ball, they weaponize more speed than any defense out there. To combat this talented Falcons squad, Slusha will turn to his own elite WR combo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, a tandem that will force the absolute best of the Falcons secondary if they want to keep that Minnesota offense from exploding. Thielen, a scrappy player and real “lunch pail” kind of guy, has gone from unwanted and unknown to a bonafide all-pro talent that is fully deserving of his Top-10 WR status. Minnesota also trots out one of the leagues most talented defenses, which is the real reason why Mitch struggled against them last year. Seriously, give the guy a break, he looked bad on primetime but that asshole Harrison Smith hit him late and the Vikings are super good on defense so it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. …Wait, where was I? Ah yes, the Vikings will look to slow one of the league’s most powerful offenses with elite all-around play from Harrison “Hitman” Smith and a vicious pass rush from Danielle Hunter and Eversen Griffen. Simply put, this game is popcorn time. New York FOOTBALL Giants (JBell) @ Dallas Cowgirls (Rascrush) In our first of two NFC East rivalry matchups to begin the season, we will see JBell and the fighting Saquons travel to Jerryworld to take on the new look Dallas Cowboys, fresh off of Rascrush’s patented 19 trades before ever playing a game. While Dallas has a far superior roster on paper, don’t be too quick to count out a fresh JBell ready to make a name for himself. The biggest thing to watch for this game is how rookie Drew Lock fares in his first taste of big boy action. Will Ras regret moving Top-40 quarterback Dak Prescott, or will Lock make Cowboys fans forget all about those lame ass draft picks they received along with him? Detroit Lions (Pitt4Life) @ Arizona Cardinals (Braves) In this under-the-radar NFC matchup, the improved defense of the Detroit Lions will look to instill doubt in the minds of Cardinals fans regarding their new star center-fielder Kyler Murray. Head Coach Pitt will look to lean on talented sophomore RB Kerryon Johnson and standout WR Kenny Golladay to dissect an Arizona defense with a lot of youth and potential but a lack of proven playmakers. Arizona head coach and Colin Kaepernick superfan Braves will try to ease Murray into the action by focusing on a faster start for star running back David Johnson, who will undoubtedly be hungry to rebound from a lackluster 2018 season. Braves was recently asked about the pressure he faces after relieving former head coach Kliff Kingsbury of his duties, and he had the following to say: “I have nothing but great things to say about Kliff’s tenure here in Arizona, and only hope I can live up to his legacy and continue to instill the culture he brought with him here. During his 18 days as coach here, he brought the best out of these players, and it shows both on and off the field. I loved his policy of having the whole team kneel every day out of respect to NFL legend and personal friend of mine, Colin Kaepernick, and I plan on continuing this tradition. I wish him nothing but the best as he pursuits his dream of dancing with the Chippendales all over the world.” Safe to say, the Cardinals will be must-see television as they begin yet another new era. Green Bay Packers (SpecialK) @ Chicago Bears (Tiller) Rivalry week continues in full swing as we head to the Windy City to watch Maserati Mitch attempt to avenge last season’s opening night loss at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and his merry band of offensive linemen who have to hold every play to accomplish anything. Many are predicting this division to run through Chicago with Tiller commandeering an incredible defense led by Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson. Special K will have to put real life friendship to the side for this one if he wants to prove those doubters wrong. Kev, be sure to use Tiller’s wife’s fandom against him and win that mental battle. Either that, or inject your quarterback with some hard drugs before the game. Los Angeles Rams (MAGA fuckhead) @ Carolina Panthers (Cook) This Week 1 matchup is of personal interest to me, as we have one of EFL’s most active sim owners in Cook facing off against a member of the Armpit Stain of America Club. I don’t think I’ve ever roasted Cook before and I don’t plan to now, yet I also don’t really need to roast Jtkeer either, as he roasts himself daily with that stupid red hat he wears. He will most likely throw to Todd Gurley in the flat about 18 times per half despite Gurley’s concerning battle with arthritis in his knee. Emotions will battle amongst each other as Jtkeer roots for a Cam Newton injury while simultaneously wishing he could trade his African-American players for Christian McCaffrey. All jokes aside, though, we should expect a fun matchup between two talented rosters as well as no less than 12 racial slurs shouted in Cam’s direction (only 8 of which will be from the opposing head coach). Baltimore Ravens (Cimmy) @ Miami Dolphins Watch out folks, this’ll be the most exciting straight sim you’ve ever seen! In reality, I shouldn’t joke about this because we get to avoid watching the Dolphins roster take the field for at least one more week. But I have a feeling we’ll miss out on a solid matchup between two EFL rookie coaches. Everyone will wait another week before seeing Cimmy’s gameplan for Lamar Jackson and whether he will finally pull off that trade for Saquon. I sense a bribe suspension incoming. Meanwhile, MG is our newest member and the book is still out on him. He’s attempting to break the biggest curse in Madden history: the late 2010s Miami Dolphins roster. After some early moves to begin the ultimate rebuild mission, all eyes are on South Beach to see if they eventually become an NFL team. Washington Redskins (Ditka) @ Philadelphia Eagles (Dolla) Here’s what we all came for, folks: the self-roast. Ditka joins the NFC East this year to help with the recovery of one of the NFL’s most historic[ally racist] franchises, and first in his path is the mega-loaded Philadelphia Eagles roster. Ditka seems like an underdog on paper, but Dolla could make things interesting if he gets off his game by nutting at the sight of his first RPO completion. The R-Words, on the other hand, will turn to rookie QB Dwayne Haskins and powerful young RB Derrius Guice to keep this game at the tempo they like if they hope to keep things competitive. If the game becomes uncompetitive, definitely expect Ditka to bitch about it in chat. He thinks he’s turned a new leaf, but he can’t escape who he is. Boom! Got ‘em. If Ditka is smart and can keep his emotions in check, he’ll blame the loss on something natural like internet connection or fatigue since he’s moving into a new house Saturday. Or maybe he’ll just call it a tank job until Week 2. He’s got plenty of options, whereas Dolla only prefers two: Run or Pass. That’s a full-circle roast right there since Dolla loves RPOs. Get it? Pittsburgh Steelers (Adrian) @ New England Patriots (Elmayimbe) In this alternate history timeline, Rocky Balboa’s wife has joined the sports world herself as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and will look to return the team back to their hard-nosed, run-first ways of past years. After the departure of Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger, the offense now belongs to Juju Smith-Schuster, as long his bicycle doesn’t pop a tire on his way to the stadium. Feeding him targets will be the Cannon in Shorts, Josh Allen, who will need to improve as a passer in his second year to give fans hope that he can be a franchise QB. Speaking of franchise QBs, the Patriots will look to develop Jarett Stidham right away after the retirement of kiddy-kisser Tom Brady, a system QB. Wait, Brady is back? Oh. Well then, Tom Brady returns for his age-74 season to throw some dimes against tight zone coverages that feature defenders less than 20 yards away from receivers. You hear it every year, but don’t bet against this man. Tennessee Titans (Smalls) @ Cleveland Browns (Bluto) Last but certainly not least on the schedule for Week 1, we get to see the all-of-a-sudden must watch Cleveland Browns in their first game since landing star WR Odell Beckham Jr. in the offseason. In a game surely to make Colin Cowherd squirm, Baker Mayfield will be expected to build upon a solid rookie campaign in which he nearly led the Browns out of the gutter and into the playoffs. The Titans, on the other hand, remain one of the NFL’s most perplexing teams. Are they contenders or overrated? Many continue to expect improvement from the team as well as QB Marcus Mariota, and with a defense as talented as Tennessee’s, a playoff run shouldn’t be out of the question. Maybe a coaching change is what will spark the run in Nashville. Get well soon, Smalls, your team needs you. Good luck, EFL. I hope to improve my roasts as I get to know everyone a little better.
It stands to reason that the Broncos will put the speedy Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on DeSean Jackson in a showdown between the former teammates and a rematch of several thrilling Training Camp one-on-ones in years past. Though Rodgers-Cromartie should have over-the-top help from safety Rahim Moore, it will be his primary responsibility to contain one of the league's most dynamic playmakers. After the loss to the Chiefs in which Jackson was held to just three catches, expect the Eagles to find more ways to get their explosive playmaker the ball. While the most publicized concern is what will happen with Peyton Manning going against the Eagles' struggling secondary, the defense must get pressure on the Hall of Fame quarterback in order to slow down the Broncos' prolific passing offense. Manning thrives on quick throws, so Eagles defenders will have to be disciplined and solid as tacklers in order to minimize yards after the catch. If Manning is allowed to comfortably sit in the pocket and go through his progressions, he will pick apart any defense. The Broncos' offensive line has allowed only four sacks so far, the third fewest in the league, but will be missing All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady, who is done for the season with a Lisfranc injury. His replacement, Chris Clark, is a five-year veteran who now has to protect Manning's blind side and just made his first ever start at left tackle against the Raiders, surrendering the only sack of the game. Trent Cole and Brandon Graham must take advantage of this matchup, generate significant pressure and get Manning off his game if the Eagles defense is to have any success. See more at the Philadelphia Eagles website.
Series Leader Philadelphia Eagles leads Denver Broncos (7-4) Coaches Record Fox: 1-4 against Eagles Kelly: 0-0 against Broncos Coaches Head to Head John Fox/Chip Kelly: First Meeting Quarterback Record Michael Vick: Against Broncos: 1-1 Peyton Manning: Against Eagles: 3-1 Quarterbacks Head to Head Peyton Manning/Michael Vick: First Meeting Points Scored Denver Broncos lead Philadelphia Eagles (244-230) Records per Stadium Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Philadelphia Eagles leads Denver Broncos (1-0) Record @ Sports Authority Field at Mile High: Denver Broncos leads Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) AP Pro 32 Ranking Eagles No. 21 - Broncos No. 1 Last Week Broncos: W 37-21 vs Raiders Eagles: L 26-16 vs Chiefs Last Meeting December 27, 2009 - Eagles beat Broncos 30-27 The Eagles moved to 11-4 in the penultimate game of the 2009 regular season on a game-winning field goal by David Akers with seven seconds left. Donovan McNabb threw for 322 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on the day while Brent Celek led the way for the Eagles with 121 yards receiving. Of course, the biggest storyline on the day was the return to Lincoln Financial Field by Brian Dawkins, who left for Denver the summer before. Last 10 Meetings
12/27/2009 Philadelphia Eagles: 30 - Denver Broncos: 27
10/30/2005 Denver Broncos: 49 - Philadelphia Eagles: 21
10/04/1998 Denver Broncos: 41 - Philadelphia Eagles: 16
11/12/1995 Philadelphia Eagles: 31 - Denver Broncos: 13
09/20/1992 Philadelphia Eagles: 30 - Denver Broncos: 0
10/29/1989 Philadelphia Eagles: 28 - Denver Broncos: 24
09/21/1986 Denver Broncos: 33 - Philadelphia Eagles: 7
09/18/1983 Philadelphia Eagles: 13 - Denver Broncos: 10
09/07/1980 Philadelphia Eagles: 27 - Denver Broncos: 6
12/14/1975 Denver Broncos: 25 - Philadelphia Eagles: 10
Stats (Leaders)
Eagles always listed first.
Passing
Name
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
RAT
Vick
51
91
832
5
2
96.0
Manning
89
122
1143
12
0
134.7
Rushing
Name
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
McCoy
62
395
6.4
2
Moreno
34
160
4.7
2
Receiving
Name
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Jackson
19
359
18.9
2
Thomas
20
307
15.4
2
Sacks
Name
Sacks
Team Total
Barwin, COX
2.0
9.0
Phillips
2.5
8.0
Tackles
Name
Total
Solo
Assist
Sacks
Kendricks
27
20
7
0
Woodyard
25
13
12
0
Interceptions
Name
Ints
Team Total
Boykin, Williams
1
2
Harris
2
6
Punting
Name
ATT
YDS
LONG
AVG
NET
IN 20
Jones
13
536
61
41.2
37.3
7
Colquitt
13
566
59
43.5
40.0
8
Kicking
Name
ATT
LONG
PAT
FG
Henery
5
48
8/8
5/7
Prater
5
53
16/16
5/5
Offense Rankings
Team
Overall
Rushing
Passing
Eagles
2
1
13
Broncos
1
14
1
Defense Rankings
Team
Overall
Rushing
Passing
Eagles
30
T22
29
Broncos
13
2
22
AP Summary
Broncos: Aim for their 4th straight win at home vs. the NFC. QB PEYTON MANNING is 3-1 vs. Philadelphia with 8 Touchdowns vs. 3 Interceptions and a 104.5 Passer rating. He has 12 TD passes in 2013, the most through Week 3 of any season in NFL history. RB KNOWSHON MORENO had 93 rushing yards and 2 TDs in his last game vs. an NFC team. WR DEMARYIUS THOMAS has 146 Yards After Catch in 2013, the most in the AFC. Thomas is averaging 103.3 receiving yards in his last 7 games vs. the NFC. WR ERIC DECKER had a career-high 9 catches in his last game against the NFC. TE JULIUS THOMAS & WR WES WELKER aim for their 4th straight game with a Touchdown catch. Denver’s Defense leads the AFC with 6 Interceptions. CB CHRIS HARRIS has an Interception in 2 of the past 3 games. CB DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE spent 2 seasons (2011-12) with the Eagles. CB CHAMP BAILEY has 52 career Picks, the 3rd-most among active players. Champ had an Interception in his last game vs. Philadelphia. Eagles: In his only start vs. Denver (10/31/04 with Atl.), QB MICHAEL VICK completed 18 of 24 (75 pct.) for 252 yards with 2 Touchdowns vs. 0 Interceptions for a 136.1 Passer rating. He also rushed for 115 yards (12 att., 9.6 avg.). Is 1 of 5 career games (incl. playoffs) with 100+ rating & 100+ rush yards. RB LE SEAN MC COY leads the League with 395 rushing yards & 514 total yards from scrimmage. He is averaging 171.3 yards from scrimmage per game. Shay’s 395 rushing yards are the most ever by an Eagle through the first 3 games. McCoy has two 100-yard rush games & 100-yard receiving game so far this season. WR-PR DE SEAN JACKSON had a Touchdown catch in the last meeting. He is averaging 18.9 yards per catch in 2013 and ranks 2nd in the league among active players (min. 200 catches), with a 17.6 average (293 rec., 5,144 yards). WR JASON AVANT had 5 catches for 87 yards and 1 Touchdown last week. He also had a TD in the last meeting. TE BRENT CELEK had 4 catches for 121 yards and a TD (47 yards) in the last game vs. Denver. 8 Eagles have at least 1 Sack in 2013, tied for most in NFC. DT FLETCHER COX leads Philadelphia with 2 Sacks & has 6.5 Sacks in his last 10 games. DE VINNY CURRY picked up his 1st career Sack last week against Kansas City. CB CARY WILLIAMS is 1 of 3 Defensive Backs in the NFL with an Interception & a Sack this year. LB TRENT COLE had sack in the last meeting.
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[OC] One Hit Wonders: The Story of Olandis Gary (HB, Denver, 1999)
The one-hit wonder is fascinating. How an artist seemingly comes out of nowhere, makes it big, and then never does anything relevant again is odd to think about. One month, they’re a nobody. The next month, they’re one of the most famous people in the country. And a few months after that, they’re back to either being a nobody again, or creating albums that don’t generate any hits but are so critically acclaimed that they literally lead to the creation of one of the most popular music subreddits on Reddit (and that’s not an exaggeration). The same thing is true in the NFL. How does a player have one good season and then do nothing else? Was it purely a fluke? Was it a result of unlucky circumstances, such as an injury or a scheme change? Was it something that happened off the field? That’s what this series is all about. I did a bit of it last year, but I really want to focus on it again this offseason, because the offseason is painfully boring. So, the One-Hit Wonders series is back, focusing on players that only had one season of relevance, then faded into oblivion. And after winning Super Bowl XXXIII in the 1998 season, the Denver Broncos were at a crossroads. John Elway retired, going out on one of the greatest notes in the history of the NFL. To go out of the league with a Pro Bowl appearance, a Super Bowl title, a Super Bowl MVP, and the best record in the AFC is a pretty good way to retire. But after Elway’s retirement, Terrell Davis’ injury, and an 0-4 start to the 1999 season, all hope looked lost for the Broncos. It looked like the offense would be unable to get anything going… until one man appeared out of nowhere and flipped the script, emerging as one of the best halfbacks in the NFL. In 1999, he was third in rushing yards per game, had 1,159 total yards, and 7 touchdowns. For the rest of his career, he would have just 23 yards per game, 839 rushing yards, and 4 touchdowns. This is the rise and fall of Olandis Gary. Part I: From Marshall to Georgia Gary entered the NFL as a 24-year old rookie, and spent more than 4 years in the NCAA system, seeing as he graduated high school in 1993. He went to Upper Marlboro Riverdale Baptist in the DC area and was listed as a returning halfback in the 1992 preview (meaning that he had to have played in 1991), and the 1993 high school football preview. In the 1994 high school football preview, it said that he was one of 16 players who graduated, and that the running game would now be in the hands of junior halfback Tee Butler (who eventually became a LB at Virginia Tech). He was a star in high school, setting the Maryland private school rushing record with 5,375 yards over his career. So it made sense that he would continue his football career in college, and he did this at Marshall. Things weren’t turning out well, though. He didn’t start for the Thundering Herd, and backed up future Jaguars halfback Chris Parker (he played a grand total of one game with the Jaguars in 1997, and didn’t play any other game with any other team). Then, he wanted to go play for Georgia in the SEC, even though coach Bob Pruet supposedly told Gary that he’d be making a mistake, and that there were “a million and one reasons why [he] couldn’t play in the SEC.” So after doing nothing of significance at Marshall in 1994 and 1995, and sitting out the 1996 season due to transfer rules, he was finally able to play in 1997 with the Bulldogs. In 1997, Gary appeared on Georgia’s roster as the backup to Robert Edwards. That 1997 squad for Georgia was full of one-hit wonders in the NFL for halfbacks, including both Gary and Edwards, alongside Patrick Pass. For those curious, Edwards was drafted in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Patriots, and had 1,115 yards and 9 touchdowns in his rookie season. He was actually fifth in the NFL in rushing touchdowns in his rookie year. Things took a tragic turn, though, when during a flag football game at the Pro Bowl, he completely blew out his knee. The fact that his leg didn’t get amputated is surprising. The fact that he was able to walk again is even more surprising. The fact that he was able to play football again in 2002 absolutely blows my mind. One of the more tragic one hit wonders, to say the least. As for Patrick Pass, he’s a minor one-hit wonder; he had 3 touchdowns for the Patriots as a fullback in 2005 and had 0 touchdowns in any other year of his career. He had more Super Bowl wins (4) than touchdowns (3), as he won 3 titles with the Patriots and then won Super Bowl XLII as a member of the New York Giants. Getting back to Gary, though, he had 7 touchdowns in his first season with the Bulldogs, averaging 5.8 yards per carry as the change-of-pace halfback. By the end of the season, Edwards was carrying the bulk of the duties running the ball, so everyone’s playing time diminished. This box score from a late November game against Auburn shows that. Edwards had 18 carries in that game. Hines Ward (yes, the receiver) had 5, and quarterback Mike Bobo had 5. Nobody else had more than 1, and Gary didn’t have a single rushing attempt. At that point, unless it was Bobo taking off and running/getting sacked, or a reverse to Ward, Robert Edwards was getting the carries. Gary’s season was overshadowed by what Edwards was doing, which makes sense, seeing as Edwards was good enough to go in the first round of the ensuing draft. To highlight this overshadowing, even though Gary scored in the 1998 Outback Bowl, Robert Edwards stole the show with 3 touchdowns. Gary was a victim of a really talented backfield. But in 1998, Gary would get his moment as the feature halfback. Nobody else came remotely close to Gary in terms of rushing contributions; the next closest halfback on the team (Ronnie Bradley) had 47 carries for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gary had 4.9 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns, picking up 698 yards on 143 carries. It didn’t come easy; it wasn’t until the second half of the season that his reps and production began to increase. Once he got his opportunities, though, he made the most of them, with back-to-back games of over 100 yards against Auburn (130) and Ole Miss (132). Here’s an article on his college career winding down in 1998, with a somewhat amazing bit of foreshadowing in the final paragraph where author Ray Glier states, “it’s far too early to say that Gary might be like Terrell Davis.” In the 1998 Peach Bowl, the Bulldogs of Georgia defeated the Cavaliers of Virginia 35-33. In Gary’s final collegiate game, he saved some of his best for last, scoring 2 touchdowns and winning the offensive MVP of the game. After getting overshadowed for most of his career, he rose from the ashes in 1998. All of the sudden, his chances of making it in the NFL were rising and were legitimate. And those chances would be fulfilled in the 1999 NFL Draft. Part II: Getting Drafted After the 1998 season, Terrell Davis was the best halfback in all of football. If you want to know how you get into the Hall of Fame despite only really playing four years, look no further than Davis’ production in his first four seasons with the Broncos. And the 1998 season is up there with one of the greatest seasons for any halfback of all-time. He led the NFL in yards per carry with 5.1. He scored 23 touchdowns, which is tied for 8th in NFL history, and at the time, was third in NFL history, only behind Emmitt Smith’s 25 touchdowns in 1995 and John Riggins’ 24 touchdowns in 1983. He had 21 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for 6th in NFL history, and at the time, was tied for third in NFL history. And, he had 2,008 rushing yards, which is 5th in NFL history, and at the time, was third in NFL history, only behind Eric Dickerson’s total of 2,105 yards in 1984 and Barry Sanders’ total of 2,053 yards in 1997. Oh… and he won his second straight Super Bowl, made it to the Pro Bowl, was named a First Team All-Pro, won Offensive Player of the Year, and won the MVP award. Not too shabby. So it was clear that entering the 1999 season for the Broncos, that Terrell Davis was going to be the lead back. But who did the Broncos have behind him? Well… not much. They didn’t have a whole lot. Even after one of the greatest seasons in the history of the NFL by a halfback, the position was still a pretty big need. The backup in 1998 was Derek Loville, who I did a post about a year ago as my first installment of this series. Loville’s one season in the spotlight came in 1995, when he scored 13 touchdowns for the San Francisco 49ers and finished eighth in the league in rushing touchdowns with 10. But in 1998, he did absolutely nothing, averaging just 3 yards per carry and picking up only 161 yards. He was the #2 halfback. Excluding quarterbacks, the guy with the most rushing attempts after that was Vaughn Hebron with 9. He was primarily a kick returner (though he was a halfback in the mid-90s with the Eagles and didn’t do a whole lot), and wouldn’t even appear on the 1999 roster. Especially since the Broncos didn’t add any halfback in free agency, they desperately needed some help for depth purposes. They needed to draft a halfback in 1999. The 1999 NFL Draft was definitely a mixed bag for halfbacks. At the top in the first round, Edgerrin James and Ricky Williams were both really good. James has a good chance to get into Canton some day, and Ricky Williams, while definitely not worth an entire draft class worth of picks, had a pretty good NFL career (anytime a halfback finishes his career with over 10,000 rushing yards, it’s hard to call that a failure). Kevin Faulk, drafted in the second round by the Patriots, finished his career in the Patriots Hall of Fame, and played 161 games for the Pats from 1999-2011. Then, you had a bunch of halfbacks that didn’t work out. Miami choosing JJ Johnson is a forgotten bust; drafting a 25-year old rookie in the second round that only puts up 5 rushing touchdowns on 3.4 yards per carry and starts a grand total of 5 games is not good. Joe Montgomery is another forgotten bust; he got drafted by the Giants in the second round, and finished his career with the Giants with just 4 touchdowns, running the ball just once for the team after 1999. Kansas City second round pick Mike Cloud only had 4 touchdowns in his four seasons with the team, and had a terrible 3.1 yards per carry on 6.8 yards per game. Jermaine Fazande was drafted by the Chargers in the second round, and played just two seasons in the NFL. And in the third round, the talent did not improve; Shawn Bryson got drafted by the Bills and scored just 2 touchdowns, while Amos Zereoue backed up Jerome Bettis for a few years, then took the starting job and proceeded to do nothing with it. This was not one of those drafts where every halfback was a good pick, and where you could find talent all across the board. Outside of the consensus top two, you really had to dig to find good halfback talent. But it seemed like the Broncos did just that when they took Gary in the fourth round with pick #127. He was the first halfback taken after Sean Bennett got taken by the Giants (who finished his career with 126 yards), the final halfback taken in the fourth round, and the 12th halfback taken in the draft. There was a chip on his shoulder. He had something to prove at Georgia. Now, it was time to prove something in the NFL. Part III: A Really, Really Bad Start That chip on your shoulder thing was something that Gary may have taken a bit too literally at first. In 1998, the Broncos had a free safety out of Tennessee named Tori Noel who was on the practice squad. But in 1999, he was supposed to make an impact. The New York Times called him part of the future in a throwaway line in one March 1999 article, and got a Super Bowl ring for being on the roster during Super Bowl XXXIII; Noel later sold his ring and eventually had it land on Pawn Stars, which only further drives home the point that after 21 years, you never know what is gonna come through that door. Noel was supposed to have a spot on the team in 1999 and make at least somewhat of a contribution. That all ended during a practice incident at the goal line involving Olandis Gary. During a Wednesday practice, Gary ran over Noel, making a second effort to get into the end zone. Gary said that “he pulled up on the play thinking it was over and left himself defenseless.” With something to prove, Gary made that second effort, but unintentionally ended Noel’s career in the process. Noel was diagnosed with a herniated disk and had to have surgery after getting taken away in an ambulance. It was a pretty hectic preseason for Gary, from that injury to playing a preseason game in Australia, which was the first and only NFL game ever played in Australia. But when the 1999 season started, the Broncos stumbled. It was already going to be a longshot trying to defend their title after the retirement of John Elway. Those odds only got worse when they started the season 0-4. Let’s be clear- teams have gotten off to bad starts before after winning the Super Bowl the year before. After winning Super Bowl XV in the 1980 season, becoming the first team in NFL history to ever win the Super Bowl as a wild card, the Oakland Raiders went 2-4 in their first 6 games (their final season before moving to Los Angeles). After winning Super Bowl XXV in 1990, the New York Giants went 2-3 in their first 5 games in 1991. And after winning Super Bowl II in the 1967 season, following the loss of Vince Lombardi, the Green Bay Packers only won two of their first 6 games in 1968. But at the time, only one team in NFL history had gone 0-4 in their first four games the year after winning the Super Bowl. The New York Giants won their first Super Bowl in 1986, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. Then, the Giants went 0-5 to start off the 1987 season. However, you can put an asterisk next to that if you wish, since the 1987 season had the replacement players playing, and the Giants lost three of those five games with a replacement roster (the Giants are a .500 team if you take away the replacement games, which, while not great, is obviously not the same as starting 0-5). The Denver Broncos were in pretty bad company to start off that 1999 season. The first game was on Monday Night Football against the Dolphins. Miami won easily, defeating Denver 38-21. It was a 38-14 game late in the fourth quarter before a garbage time touchdown by Ed McCaffrey on a pass from Brian Griese, so the score wasn’t even that close. They followed that up with a 26-10 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead. A 13-10 loss to Tampa Bay where the Broncos only had 8 first downs followed in week 3, and in week 4, the Jets got revenge from that AFC Championship, as the Jets went into Mile High and defeated the Broncos by a score of 21-13. Part IV: The Sudden Decline of Terrell Davis In this slump, teams stacked the box. It’s tough to stack the box on John Elway because he’s a top 10 QB all-time and he’ll make you pay for your mistakes. But stacking the box on an inexperienced Brian Griese? That’s doable. And because of that, Terrell Davis was kept in check during the 1999 season. In the first four weeks, he only averaged 3.15 yards per game. When you compare that to his 1998 season, where he was averaging over 5 yards per game, it’s like night and day. He didn’t have any game with over 80 yards rushing, and had just 2 touchdowns in the first 4 weeks of the season. Those numbers are pretty pedestrian, and for a guy coming off of a 2,000-yard season, are downright terrible. Then, disaster struck. It was the moment that led to the tailspin of Terrell Davis’ career. When the Broncos played the Jets, they threw five interceptions. Brian Griese threw 3, and Bubby Brister threw 2. Both quarterbacks were abysmal that day, with Griese posting a 31.3 passer rating and Brister posting a 30.8 passer rating. For perspective, spiking the ball into the ground on every play is a 39.6. You could do nothing but chuck the ball into the ground, and you’d have a higher passer rating than either Griese or Brister on that day. On 3rd and 9 midway through the third quarter, Griese threw a pass intended for Shannon Sharpe. It got intercepted by Victor Green (one of the forgotten players of the late 90s and early 2000s, as he started 108 games in nine seasons for the Jets). As Terrell Davis went for the tackle, he tore two ligaments in his right knee, and had to have surgery to repair the ACL and MCL. That ended his season and forced Derek Loville into action right away. In January, they had John Elway and Terrell Davis, and a Super Bowl title. In October, they had neither one, and an 0-4 start. All hope looked lost. Then, Olandis Gary showed up. Part V: Flying Out of the Gate To replace Terrell Davis is a tall order. And Derek Loville was the man for the job, according to Mike Shanahan. Shanahan flat out said that Loville would be the starter heading into week 5 against the Oakland Raiders. And it made sense, seeing as Loville was the backup beforehand, while Gary didn’t even receive a carry in the first four weeks of the season. But something changed. Because Shanahan quickly took that back, and in week five, Loville didn’t even play. Olandis Gary got the start, and had to do the bulk of the rushing. The only other player to get a legitimate rushing attempt (so I’m excluding Brian Griese’s seven carries, since they were quarterback runs) was Anthony Lynn (yes, that Anthony Lynn), who had one carry for one yard. The rest of the job was done by Olandis Gary. And, sure enough, the Broncos won their first game of the season, taking it over their division rival by a final score of 16-13. Gary’s numbers don’t look amazing; he had 20 carries for 64 yards, and had a few rough drives, including a first quarter drive where he had 1 yard on 3 carries. But, the Broncos got the job done and got the victory. Gary got the chance to start his second game the following week against Green Bay, and to say that he delivered would be an understatement. In a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII, to the surprise of many, the Broncos dominated in the second half, breaking out of a 3-3 tie to outscore the Packers 28-7 in the second half. Here’s one of Gary’s runs from that 31-10 victory, where he had 37 rushing attempts (a franchise record for most rushing attempts by a rookie) and 124 yards, including his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard run at the goal line. Denver called his number early and often; on their first offensive drive of the game, Gary ran the ball 10 times. By the end of the first half, Gary either touched the ball or was the intended receiver on the play 21 times. At the midway point in the season, following a 90-yard game against New England and a 79-yard game against Minnesota, he had 357 yards on 3.76 yards per carry, and had ran the ball 95 times (approximately 24 times per game if you do the math). He was getting all of the touches, and was making the most of them. Four weeks after Davis’ injury, and Gary went from not seeing the field to one of the best rookie running backs in the league. Then, his true breakout game happened. Part VI: The Breakout Game What you have to understand going into the week 9 matchup between the Broncos and the Chargers was that the Chargers were an almost impossible team to run on. Joe Pascale is one of the forgotten defensive coordinators in league history, but his teams were always good at stopping the run. In terms of yards per attempt, the Chargers had the best rushing defense in the league in 1998, 1999, and 2001, and had the second best rushing defense in 2000 in this category. And in 1998, the Chargers led the league in fewest yards allowed on the ground. During the 1998 season, teams averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on the Chargers. Among the highlights from that 1998 season in run defense included a performance against Arizona where even though the Chargers lost on a game-winning field goal by Chris Jacke at the last second to get the Cardinals into the playoffs for the first time since 1982 and for the first time since relocating to Arizona (a memorable game that ended in dramatic fashion and even a storming the field moment), they allowed just 25 rushing yards. There was also the game against the Raiders where Napoleon Kaufman started at halfback and had 12 carries for 17 yards, with Oakland having just 18 rushing yards for the entire game on 18 carries (it’s a game in serious consideration for one of the worst close games ever played; the Raiders won 7-6, and there were 15 first downs combined in the game, with 5 turnovers). And, there was a game against Baltimore where the Chargers won 14-13, and the halfbacks on the Ravens had just 18 rushing yards (Jim Harbaugh had 22 yards rushing, while Priest Holmes and Errict Rhett combined for 18). Bottom line- the Chargers’ run defense was really, really good. You don’t run on the Chargers. And in 1999, that trend continued. In their first game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chargers forced seven fumbles, and recovered four of them. Corey Dillon, who made the Pro Bowl and averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 1999, was stuffed, with 12 carries for 37 yards, as the Bengals were held to just 47 yards on the ground on 17 carries (less than 3 yards per carry). In a 20-10 victory over the Detroit Lions, the Lions had 37 rushing yards on 24 carries. If that’s not impressive enough, 20 of those yards came from quarterback Charlie Batch. Take Batch out of the equation, and on designed runs, the Lions had 19 carries for 17 yards. And, the week before against Kansas City, even though the Chargers lost 34-0, their run defense was not to blame; Kansas City ran the ball 39 times, but only picked up 97 yards, with no player on the Chiefs averaging more than 3 yards per carry. Entering that game in 1999, the Chargers had gone 26 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. The scene is now set. Running on the Chargers back in the late 90s was virtually impossible, and in comes a rookie halfback taking over the place of Terrell Davis. He then proceeds to do this. For the first time in nearly two years, the Chargers had allowed a 100-yard rusher. Oddly enough, the last time the Chargers allowed a 100-yard rusher prior to Gary’s performance was in 1997 against Terrell Davis. But in this game, Gary had 108 yards and 2 touchdowns, both of which came in the second half. What might make this performance more impressive is that he was relatively stuffed in the first half. On the opening drive of the game, Gary had just 12 yards on 5 carries. At the end of the first half, Gary only had 32 rushing yards on 12 carries. The Chargers defense was doing its job for the first half; Gary was ineffective, and had less than 3 yards per carry. But in the second half, he just went off. After a few really solid performances in a row, averaging about 93 yards per game in his first 5 games, it was clear that Gary was up for the challenge. Following an 0-4 start, the Broncos had won 3 of their next 5 games, and a lot of it was because of Olandis Gary. And after not playing in any of the first four games, Gary already had two games with over 100 yards rushing, both of which were victories. For him, the momentum wouldn’t stop for the rest of the season. Part VII: Continued Form Gary didn’t do a whole lot in his next game against the Seahawks (65 yards on 26 carries), but fast forward to a Monday Night Football game against the Oakland Raiders the next week. This was right before Denver’s bye week. It was a dramatic game, with the Raiders taking a 21-18 lead on a Michael Husted 44-yard field goal with just 1:21 left. But Brian Griese marched his offense down the field, and Jason Elam (one of the most underrated kickers in league history) drilled a 53-yard field goal to tie it up at 21-21. That sent the game into overtime. And in overtime, after the Broncos forced a Rich Gannon fumble and turnover, Olandis Gary does this on the first play of the drive. Gary was never much of a big play halfback (he was consistent, but didn’t have a whole lot of long runs), but this was definitely the biggest play of his career. He followed up that performance with a rushing touchdown against the Chiefs on 4.36 yards per carry, and a rushing touchdown against the Jaguars the week after that. By the end of the Jacksonville game (a 27-24 loss), the Broncos were eliminated from postseason contention, with a 4-9 record. It was definitely a disappointing season coming off of back-to-back Super Bowl titles. After losing just 9 regular season games in the previous 3 seasons combined (13-3 in 1996, 12-4 in 1997, 14-2 in 1998), the Broncos were already sitting at 9 losses through the first 13 games. But in a rough season, Olandis Gary was a bright spot. And that was highlighted in week 15 and week 16. Against the Seahawks, Gary had 183 yards rushing on 22 carries, including this 71-yard run that was just short of a touchdown, and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. The following week against the Lions, Gary had 185 yards rushing on 29 carries. He had played 11 games at this point, and was averaging over 100 yards per game. And while the season ended on a sour note, with just 38 yards on 18 carries against the Chargers (again, the Chargers were really tough to run on back then), he had established himself when all was said and done. The final line for him on the season: 1,159 yards, 4.20 yards per carry, and 7 rushing touchdowns. He averaged 96.6 yards per rushing on the season, which was third in the NFL, only behind Stephen Davis of Washington and Edgerrin James of Indianapolis. He averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which was ninth in the NFL. And, he made it onto the All-Rookie Team alongside Edgerrin James. Things were going great for Gary, and there was now a bright spot for the Broncos. They had the potential in 2000 to boast one of the greatest 1-2 combinations of all-time on the ground. Get Terrell Davis back healthy, and he’s your #1 option for obvious reasons. But Gary as the #2 halfback, seeing what he did in his rookie season, is a pretty good option to have. And heading into the new millennium, the front office felt the same way. Part VIII: The First Draft of the New Millennium How good was Olandis Gary in 1999? He was so good that after the season, the Cleveland Browns wanted to trade for him. According to that article, the Browns inquired about trading for the fourth round pick out of Georgia, but Shanahan was only willing to give him up for a first round pick. Seeing as the Browns only had one first round pick, and that pick was the first overall pick in the draft, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for Cleveland to pull the trigger. Because of this, Cleveland declined to inquire any further. Keep in mind that Terrell Davis’ recovery time was 4-6 months after the game against the Jets, so there was no question that he’d be ready to go by this point. So for Shanahan to pretty much refuse to trade Gary, despite the fact that he’d be relegated to a backup status at this point, is somewhat surprising, and shows how much confidence the Broncos had in Gary. And it wasn’t unwarranted at the time; entering the 2000 season, Gary was literally mentioned in the same sentence as John Randle and Terrell Davis as guys who are late picks that become amazing. Two of those guys in that sentence are in the Hall of Fame. But, the Broncos did need a halfback in 2000, since Derek Loville was traded to the Rams for a sixth round pick. Denver only had two halfbacks on the roster. Granted, they were both really good halfbacks in Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary, but that’s all they had. They needed a third halfback, so in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, they drafted Mike Anderson out of Utah. Anderson scored 22 touchdowns in his final two seasons with the Utes, and averaged 5 yards per carry in his final season with Utah in 1999 (the team’s first season in the Mountain West Conference). Still, the expectations were pretty clear. Davis would be the starter, with Gary as the best #2 halfback in the league, and Mike Anderson being the #3 option. Seems like a really good plan on paper. But even the best laid plans go awry. Part IX: Everyone Dies On October 26, 2000, the episode of SpongeBob Squarepants titled “Something Smells” premiered. In this episode, SpongeBob is feeling down on his luck after he eats a sundae that gives him bad breath. Nobody wants to be around him because of it. His best friend, Patrick Star, tries to cheer him up by telling him a story about the ugly barnacle. In this story, which you can watch here and enjoy in all its humor, there’s a barnacle that’s so ugly that everyone dies. I think that story was partially inspired by the halfback situation for the Denver Broncos at the start of the 2000 season. Everyone who played halfback died. It was a Monday Night Football game against the defending champion St. Louis Rams. The champion from 1997 and 1998 was facing off against the champion from 1999. And it was a great game, with the Rams winning 41-36 after blowing a 35-20 lead late in the third quarter. But in this game, everyone at halfback died. Overnight, Denver’s situation went from maybe the best in the league to one of the worst. Terrell Davis started the game, with 9 carries and 34 yards. Then, after a 32-yard field goal by Jason Elam, he never saw the field again. Turns out, he was injured with a sprained left ankle and foot, missing the next seven games. He then got injured later in the season with a stress reaction in his lower left leg. In two years, Davis went from the most productive halfback in the NFL to a guy who couldn’t stay on the field. But Davis getting injured means that, once again, Olandis Gary gets his opportunity. He stepped in for Davis and performed really well, with 80 yards on 13 rushing attempts. Once again, he did his part filling in for the injured Davis. It’s no surprise that Gary did well, seeing as he did well in 1999, and had a pretty solid preseason, including a game against Green Bay where he had 94 rushing yards and a game against San Francisco where he scored. Things would be just like last season. Terrell Davis can’t play, so Olandis Gary gets the start. This time, though, Anderson is the backup instead of Loville. If only it worked out that way. Because Gary was running on a torn ACL. I don’t know how he had 80 yards rushing on a torn ACL, but that’s what happened. Gary even said himself that he thought he could play on it. Following that game, Gary missed the rest of the 2000 season. Mike Anderson took over, and much like Gary, came out of nowhere to steal the show, posting 1,487 yards (4th in the NFL) and 15 touchdowns (5th in the NFL). On top of all of that, Anderson won the Offensive Rookie of the Year. If you placed a bet on the #3 halfback on the depth chart entering the season winning that award, then you probably left Las Vegas with a lot of extra cash when all was said and done. Mike Anderson looked good. But coming off of a torn ACL is tough, and Terrell Davis coming off of back-to-back injury plagued seasons is tough. Denver’s once promising halfback situation looked a lot bleaker heading into 2001 coming off of a loss in the wild card round. Part X: Bouncing Back? Despite injuries to Davis and Gary in 2000, the Broncos kept things the same for the 2001 season. Denver didn’t spend a draft pick on a halfback. The only free agent halfback that the team signed in 2001 was Tony Carter, and he wasn’t much of anybody. In the previous season with New England, he had 37 carries and 90 yards, picking up 2 touchdowns. This was, hands down, the most productive season of his career. Denver was fine going into the season with a 3-headed monster of Davis, Gary, and Anderson, even though Davis couldn’t stay healthy, and Gary was coming off of a torn ACL. But, once again, Davis couldn’t stay healthy. He had a great game on Monday Night Football against the Giants (I don’t know why the Broncos seemed to play on MNF in the first week of the season all the time back then), with 101 yards rushing. However, he got hurt, and wouldn’t play again until November 5 against the Oakland Raiders. Davis then got injured again in November against the Chargers, and would end up only playing 8 games in 2001. So, we’re back to square one. This time, Gary entered the season behind Mike Anderson on the depth chart, so he didn’t see any playing time against the Giants since he was the third string halfback. But two weeks later (remember that nobody played the week after because every game got cancelled due to the attacks on September 11), Gary had one of the best games of his professional career, picking up 90 yards and a touchdown in a 38-17 victory over the Cardinals. This was his first appearance since the torn ACL that kept him out for practically all of the 2000 season, and he did not disappoint. Gary was back, right? Not quite. Turns out, that game would be a fluke. For the rest of the season, it was clear that he was not the same halfback. Granted, Denver’s rushing game was not the same in 2001 that it was in previous years; the team only averaged 3.9 yards per carry on the ground, and had just seven rushing touchdowns for the entire season. But to say that Gary struggled would be an understatement. He had just 43 carries for the rest of the season, picking up 138 yards (3.21 yards per carry). At this point, it was clear that he had fallen out of favor with Shanahan for Mike Anderson. At the trade deadline, the Broncos tried to trade Gary to the Ravens, offering Gary and a fourth round pick to Baltimore for defensive tackle Lional Dalton and a second round pick. Eventually, the Broncos would get Dalton, as he would play for Denver during 2002, but that’s besides the point. Shanahan had no problem moving on from Gary and giving the entire workload to Mike Anderson and an eventually-healthy Terrell Davis (which never came to fruition). Gary’s disappointing 2001 campaign ended in a Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys, where he broke a bone in his left leg. That game ended his season. After an incredibly promising rookie campaign, Gary had now had consecutive seasons ending in a season-ending injury. Combined with the injuries to Terrell Davis over the past three seasons, and the Broncos had to do something in 2002 to fix this problem. Note: I had to break this up in the comments because the final word count was over 8,000 words. Parts XI-XIII Parts XIV-XVI
Denver Broncos Betting Preview . Denver (6-9) has been eliminated from the postseason and at this point can only hope to put the final nail in the coffin of Oakland this week. A win over the Raiders would also give them the satisfaction of tying them for 2nd place in the AFC West with 7-9 records. Broncos are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite; Denver is 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a home favorite; Under is 12-3-1 in Broncos last 16 versus the AFC West; Raiders vs Broncos Final NFL Betting Analysis. Both teams won’t hold anything back. Although Oakland should show fire, Denver won’t care. Raiders beat Broncos 24-16 in 1st game after Brown's release. Derek Carr threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive of the season, rookie Josh Jacobs ran for two scores and the Oakland Raiders ... Installing this game at a virtual “pick ‘em” seems fairly standard when you take everything into account. Frankly, it’s hard to gauge how good or bad the Chargers are in 2019 given how utterly inconsistent they have been. We saw this team get flummoxed by the Broncos and the Titans, yet they completely dismantled an Aaron Rodgers-led Packers squad that was 7-1. Then, the two preview the Week 5 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs from a fantasy and gambling perspective. Listen as the two talk about the spread, point total, fantasy plays and much more! Enjoy the show with the player at the top of the page and make sure to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
The Oakland Raiders may actually be playing ter football than their opponent this week. The Broncos haven’t been playing well of late after losing to the 49ers and Browns the past two weeks. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos are both coming off of upset losses last week, and will meet in Denver in NFL Week 4 with the Broncos a small home favorite. Professional handicapper Al ... The Monday Nighter is less than attractive with the Denver Broncos travelling to Oakland to meet the Raiders, but what better way to spice up an otherwise lame matchup than to bet it. Well, that ... Denver holds a dominating 8-4 record against Oakland since 2010, but the coming Sunday Night Game between Broncos and Raiders is one of the toughest games to decipher heading to week 9. Oddmakers ... Money Line Odds: Denver Broncos -140 odds Oakland Raiders +120 odds Over Under Total Odds: 46.5 Betting Preview: The teams split their two meetings in 2016 with each team winning and covering the ...
