Sunday Aftermath: Herbert's injury, Purdy's MVP odds and much more

Nothing breaks bad quite like a Chargers season. Sadly the damage this time is quite literal. Desperately searching for anything positive against the Broncos, Justin Herbert instead added a fractured throwing finger to his growing collection of broken digits. It marks the formal end of another “what did we learn here?” campaign for the league’s most haywire franchise.

All this talent. All these hopes. How is it never anything but broken dreams? That’s a question for another season, and undoubtedly another coach. The one certainty of this latest era of slapstick Chargers football is that Brandon Staley doesn’t have the answers. The coach who couldn’t tie right headed into Week 14 wondering if Joshua Kelley or Isaiah Spiller might develop the hot hand. They were left freezing.

So it’s on to 2024 with a new head coach (likely) and supporting cast, but things might still get worse before they get better. Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler are on their last legs. Mike Williams is hurt. Quentin Johnston is lost. The defense is aging and injury-prone. For once, expectations will be low. Or at least that’s what we think now. One of the offseason’s annual rites is talking ourselves back into the Bolts. May the McVay or Shanahan disciple be with them.

Five Week 14 Storylines

Justin Jefferson departs just as quickly as he returns. Planet earth’s best wide receiver made it only 13 plays in his first appearance since Week 5 before finding himself on the receiving end of a literal hospital ball. Scary, awful stuff, and the kind of incident that is likely to end Jefferson’s 2023 as the Vikings prepare for seemingly their ninth quarterback change. Unpaid and in a contract year, Jefferson seemed understandably wary of returning from his hamstring issue before he was genuinely 100 percent healthy. This was the thanks he got, and a reminder he just needs to wait out the clock. Despite the injury and Minnesota’s ongoing quarterback woes, 24-year-old Jefferson is still the best answer to the question “who is the No. 1 receiver in Dynasty leagues?”

Josh Jacobs injures knee in 3-0 loss. At least Jefferson’s team won. Jacobs appeared to be in considerable pain upon going down in the fourth quarter. He was also in considerable fantasy distress, generating just 50 scoreless yards on 15 touches. This being the NFL, he naturally only has three days to get ready for Week 15 against the Chargers. Aka, he’s probably not going to suit up for Thursday Night Football. In Jacobs’ wake is a committee where Zamir White handles early downs and Ameer Abdullah catches the passes. With all 32 teams finally active this week, White isn’t a particularly appealing streamer, even in this run-based offense.

Sign up to stream the NFL Holiday Exclusive between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers, only on Peacock, Saturday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Visit PeacockTV.com/NFL for more details.

The Ravens finally put it all together on offense. To be more precise: They finally put it all together in fantasy football. The Ravens have been scoring enough points and winning enough games all season. It has just been maddeningly inconsistent in the way it has manifested on the digital gridiron. Sunday produced a QB1 Jackson finish and scores for each of Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers and Isaiah Likely. Each pass catcher also commanded at least seven targets, with the wideouts both reaching 10. The kind of stuff we’ve been waiting for … but in a surprising shootout with the Rams. There would not be anything surprising about a Week 15 shootout with the Jaguars’ leaky pass defense, but Jackson will need Trevor Lawrence (ankle) to be healthy against Baltimore’s elite defense for the right conditions to develop.

Jake Browning keeps the scam going ahead of tough Week 15 test. Has anyone ever gobbled up so many easy yards on layup looks like screens? Don't answer that question, Brock Purdy. (This is a joke, I swear. I have accepted my Purdy overlord, as you will see in a minute.) The answer is quite possibly no. The going-forward prognosis is quite probably poor. Browning played four excellent quarters against the Jags in Week 13. It was more like four well-timed throws against the Colts. The degree of difficulty kicks all the way up against Brian Flores’ Vikings this Saturday. Flores has had young QBs in jail this season. Especially with all 32 teams active and the need for streaming alleviated, Browning can remain left on waiver wires.

Bears and DJ Moore keep percolating. You have already heard me use the phrase “all 32 teams will be active for Week 15” too many times. But one thing we know for sure: DJ Moore is a WR1 no matter how many teams are playing. Finally being treated like the alpha he is by his quarterback, Moore is also a point of emphasis for his play-caller. Chicago is manufacturing Moore looks when Fields isn’t feeding him conventional targets. The results have been one top-12 day after another, and the ninth most overall PPR fantasy points. The Browns are a far tougher Week 14 matchup than the Lions, but the days of overthinking Moore’s ranking are long gone.

Don't forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter.

Three More Week 14 Storylines

Everything goes sideways for Texans in New York. There is no way to sugarcoat this one. Nico Collins made it only one catch before departing with a calf injury, while C.J. Stroud played through 3.5 dismal quarters only to be rewarded with a concussion on an unnecessary (but not dirty) follow-through from Jets DL Quinnen Williams. The injury came at the end of Stroud's worst professional performance, but one he can hardly be blamed for with Collins joining Tank Dell on the shelf in monsoon-like conditions. Now the waiting game begins. With Collins dealing with calf issues as recently as last month, he’s probably not going to be out there for Week 15 against the Titans. It’s more complex for Stroud. If he’s active, it’s possible his top-two wideouts will be Noah Brown and Robert Woods after they combined for 1/-2 in New York. The entire Texans operation is looking like a shaky bet for the first week of the fantasy playoffs.

Joltin’ Joe Flacco claims leadership of the Browns’ offense. And oh those Browns. It might sound like parody or a bit, but Flacco is performing as the best quarterback they’ve had in some time. Flacco already has as many three-score performances as Deshaun Watson in a Browns uniform, while his 311 yards Sunday were more than Watson has ever managed in Cleveland. Not what the Browns are paying for! They will still take the outcome as Flacco keeps them in the playoff hunt. Whereas the Jags were a pillow-soft Week 14 matchup, Week 15 opponent Chicago has been improving through the air. Anyone who has played fantasy football long enough knows Flacco himself isn’t about to become relevant. It does seem he has the right stuff to keep Amari Cooper, David Njoku and perhaps Elijah Moore going.

Brock Purdy revs up the MVP debate. With Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts all off their games, the MVP race is as wide open as it’s been in years. Enter Purdy and his sensational supporting cast. That’s where the Purdy debate will begin and likely end. He’s not even the most valuable player in his own offense (Trent Williams). Heck, he’s not even the most valuable skill player (Christian McCaffrey). How can he be MVP? Maybe because arguably no one in the entire league is doing his job better right now. Because what is Purdy’s job if not putting CMC, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle in position to make plays? Purdy does so with frightening regularity. It’s easy to talk Purdy’s way out of the MVP race. It’s harder to admit he fully deserves consideration.

Give the gift of Rotoworld Draft Guides with our exclusive holiday Bundle offer. Unlock hundreds of player profiles, rankings, mocks, and more for the 2024 football, baseball, and basketball seasons. Use code HOLIDAY23 at checkout to receive 25% off and a $10 Fanatics gift card. Click here to get started!

Questions

1. Do you remember which team the Panthers beat?

2. Has Derek Carr considered something other than screaming at every single one of his teammates after each of his many, many mistakes?

3. I would have to assume it’s a problem for the NFL that Joe Flacco is still the 17th best quarterback in the league, right?

Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)

QB: Gardner Minshew (vs. PIT), Joe Flacco (vs. CHI), Will Levis (vs. HOU), Aidan O’Connell (vs. LAC)

RB: Zamir White, D’Onta Foreman, Jerick McKinnon, Chase Brown, Tyjae Spears, Ty Chandler, Miles Sanders, Rico Dowdle

WR: Odell Beckham, Curtis Samuel, Demario Douglas, Robert Woods, Zay Jones, Noah Brown, Quentin Johnston, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalin Hyatt

TE: Logan Thomas, Cade Otton, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Conklin, Brevin Jordan, Hunter Henry

DEF: Falcons (@CAR), Colts (vs. PIT), Broncos (@DET), Vikings (@CIN), Rams (vs. WAS), Raiders (vs. LAC)

Stats of the Week

On the Lions’ recent offensive struggles: Amon-Ra St. Brown has been held below 50 yards in back-to-back games after previously clearing the half-century mark 10-of-10 times. Sam LaPorta, meanwhile, has posted his two smallest yardage outputs against the Bears in the past three weeks. The Broncos are not a Week 15 get-right spot.

Via Bill Barnwell: "Since the (Lions’ Week 9 bye), however, Jared Goff's QBR under pressure is 0.6. That's less than one out of 100. It's the worst mark in football."

Zach Wilson posted just the third 300-yard game of his career and second two-score effort of 2023. The party will probably instantly stop against the Dolphins.

Rich Hribar on the Vikings’ defensive dominance: “The Vikings have allowed just one opponent to hit their implied team total over their past 10 games. 24.4 percent of the drives against MIN have reached the red zone or scored prior, the lowest rate in the league. MIN has allowed a TD on a league-low 11.2 percent of drives since Week 4.”

Mike Clay on the Zack Moss chalk again not hitting: “Zack Moss: 83 percent of the snaps...13 carries and eight targets...56 total yards and zero TDs. Another dud on big usage. Not ideal”.

Stefon Diggs is averaging five catches for 53 yards in seven games since his last 100-yard outing.

Awards Section

Week 14 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Lamar Jackson, RB Ezekiel Elliott, RB Breece Hall, WR Deebo Samuel, WR Drake London, WR DJ Moore, TE Evan Engram

Tweet of the Week, from Kevin Clark: If you explained the situation without the names you’d probably have guessed Kadarius Toney.

The Let Him Cook Tweet of the Week, via Rich Eisen: “In my 20 years at @nflnetwork , I’ve never seen more fourth down decisions, play-calling and execution backfire more for a team than the Brandon Staley Chargers.”

Other Than That Mrs. Lincoln Tweet of the Week, via Zach Krueger: Horrifically bad and also an illegal challenge by John Harbaugh to cost his team a timeout.

Factual Burn Tweet of the Week, via Connor Hughes: Allen Lazard sighting! He’s called for a holding. #Jets

Seahawks Tweet of the Week, from Mookie Alexander: Only the Seahawks could get a mini-bye week and end up even more injured.