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This is going to be a week unlike one we have seen in quite some time!

This pretty much goes against everything I stand for when writing these, but this week, with the fact that EVERY GAME is a close matchup, you can make an argument for every game being on every line!

So, you’re already here, might as well take a look at my argument .

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I will say that I am thankful for you all that take time every week to check out my football opinion – THANK YOU!

WEEK 12 – HERE WE GO!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

15 – HOUSTON over New York Jets – Thanksgiving isn’t normally a holiday that includes gifts, but I will gift the Texans a top line spot this week thanks to a home matchup against Zach Wilson.

14 – DALLAS over Las Vegas – As a Raiders fan, I’m thankful the 2022 Draft is defensive heavy as I watch the Raiders draft slot go higher and higher every week.

13 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Philadelphia – As I said before, with the matchups this week, plan on putting a “hunch” pretty high if need be…as seen here.

12 – Buffalo over NEW ORLEANS – The Bills are a lot better than they have shown the last few weeks, look for this to be their comeback.

11 – BALTIMORE over Cleveland – It seems like the negative pressure is getting to Baker Mayfield.

10 – Carolina over MIAMI – While it’s easy to say the Dolphins are Super Bowl contenders after a road win over the Jets (pause for laughter) but I’m not quite ready to jump on that bandwagon just yet.

9 – CINCINATTI over Pittsburgh – The AFC North is pretty tight, but my BOLD PREDICTION is that THE BENGALS WILL WIN THE DIVISION.

8 – INDIANAPOLIS over Tampa Bay – Give Jonathan Taylor the ball and let him do his thing…seems to be working pretty well so far.

7 – SAN FRANCISCO over Minnesota – The Vikings are playing well right now, but the 9ers have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

6 – WASHINGTON over Seattle – I still need to see something positive before having any more confidence in the Seahawks.

5 – NEW ENGLAND over Tennessee – After losing at home to the Texans, why would you think the Titans will win this week?

4 – DENVER over Los Angeles Chargers – It seems like the rest of the AFC West have just accepted the fact that the Chiefs will win the division again.

3 – DETROIT over Chicago – Just get through this game, and the Nagy era could be all over Bears fans!

2 – GREEN BAY over Los Angeles Rams – A loss last week is probably the best thing for Aaron Rodgers going into this huge NFC matchup.

It’s Christmas week and I think it’s safe to say that most teams wish lists are pretty similar…they want players!

Between injuries and COVID protocols, we have a player shortage that has rivaled that of the ongoing supply shortage in the world! Obviously, this makes it a little more difficult to make picks…but that’s just part of the fun!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you and your families have a safe and fun one!

16 – KANSAS CITY over Pittsburgh – It’s going to take a lot more than what the Steelers have right now to take down the Chiefs.

15 – DALLAS over Washington – I doubted the Cowboys the last time these two played – won’t make that mistake again.

14 – Tampa Bay over CAROLINA – A depleted offense won’t be an issue for the Bucs when they are against Cam Newton led offense.

13 – Los Angeles Chargers over HOUSTON – The Chargers are in need of a game against the Texans.

12 – GREEN BAY over Cleveland – It’s not the playoffs yet so you can still count on a Packers win.

11 – CINCINNATI over Baltimore – A backup backup quarterback isn’t the best strategy when heading into Cincy.

10 – SEATTLE over Chicago – Are excited are you to see Nick Foles under center for the Bears??

9 – PHILADELPHIA over New York Giants – How can you predict the Giants to win another game this season?

8 – LAS VEGAS over Denver – Not only do the Raiders collapse in the second half of seasons, but once pretty much out of playoff contention, they get back on the winning track to mess up their draft position…this year will be no different.

7 – ATLANTA over Detroit – The Falcons haven’t been good this season, but they are good enough to win at home against the Lions…so that’s something I guess.

6 – Los Angeles Rams over MINNESOTA – If Dalvin Cook does play in this one, still pick the Rams but drop it down a few lines.

5 – TENNESSEE over San Francisco – AJ Brown is back and should be heavily used for a Titans win.

4 – NEW ENGLAND over Buffalo –The Pats should all but wrap up the AFC East crown after this week.

3 – Indianapolis over ARIZONA – Just hand the ball off, Carson! My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that Jonathan Taylor will rush for over 200 yards this week.

2 – Miami over NEW ORLEANS – When you have to bring in a rookie quarterback to start, you’re chances to win are pretty slim.

Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters. All fantasy stats are half PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

525 Passing Yards

Joe Burrow had a hell of a game on Sunday, notching the highest point total of the week - the second highest going to his teammate, Tee Higgins, who had an equally gaudy stat line. Burrow went 37 of 46 for 525 yards and 4 touchdowns, tacking on 11 rushing yards just because. Burrow had 38.1 fantasy points, which was well ahead Dak Prescott’s 31.3 points (the QB2 of the week), but then again, Dak didn’t even play 3 full quarters. Joe Burrow outgained every single team in the league so far in Week 16, and I don’t see a serious challenge to that stat coming tonight. It is Burrow’s best game as a pro - his two highest passing games have come this year against the Ravens. Burrow is now the first player to throw for 400+ yards twice in one season against the same opponent, putting up a total of 941 yards against Baltimore, also a record for any QB against one opponent in a season. This is the most passing yards in a game since 2014 and Burrow now sits as the 4th highest passing yardage total of all time - just 3 shy of taking the 2nd overall spot, but still a bit behind Norm Van Brocklin’s 554 yards against the New York Football Yanks, way back when the Rams were in Los Angeles. Time is truly a flat circle.

132 Receptions

Cooper Kupp is now on pace to have a shot at breaking Michael Thomas’s single season receptions record. Some might complain that it’s easier with a 17-game season, and while that’s true, I find it mostly irrelevant. New records will not go into the book with an asterisk, and the season is unlikely to have fewer games in the future. The playing field is always changing, along with rules, and eras are just different, so deal with it and just enjoy the fun of players breaking records. Thanks for allowing me that digression - on to the numbers. Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor are neck-and-neck for the most non-QB points on the season. Kupp has 325.4, Taylor has 324.2 and the next closest player is a whopping 60 points behind them. Taylor has the edge in yards gained (1,962) and touchdowns (19), but Kupp is certainly the beneficiary of the half PPR system, which has netted him an additional 66 points. At the end of this season, I’ve considered the merits of a point per first down, rather than point per reception (half or full), and I think it could be a trend that takes off in fantasy football. There are slightly fewer first downs on average, but awarding a full point instead of a half point would still boost scoring a little bit, and assign it to the players who make a bigger impact on the game.

37.4 Fantasy Points

The aforementioned Tee Higgins was the biggest beneficiary of Joe Burrow’s career game. He put up the second highest point total for any wide receiver this season, only eclipsed by Tyreek Hill’s 42.1 point performance in week 4. Higgins put up the 4th highest receiving yardage total on the season. Bengals receivers (Higgins and Chase) now have two of the top 4 receiving yardage totals on the season. Higgins has improved on nearly every statistical category from his rookie year. He’s averaging 1 more yard per reception, 1.3 more receptions per game, over 22 more yards per game, his catch percentage has jumped more than 5%, and even his yards per target has gone up by 1.4. Higgins may not have been the big storyline of the Bengals with Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Mixon taking the headlines so far this year, but it’s clear that he’s rounding out into a proper star in the NFL and is a key part of one of the youngest team cores in the league.

-4 Yards Rushing

Melvin Gordon accomplished the unique feat of finishing with negative rushing yards without exiting the game early with injury or losing yards on a kneel down. To be fair to Gordon, he had a 4 yard reception, so he finished the day with a net total of zero yards from scrimmage. On average, for every carry, Gordon went backwards 20 inches. Gordon’s final 3 carries went for -3, -4, and -3 yards. He opened the game with a 4 yard carry, and could not gain more than 1 yard at a time after that, aside from his single 4 yard reception. Obviously the Broncos have a rough situation without Teddy Bridgewater, but sometimes I just like to have a little bit of fun at the expense of a guy who’s been taking carries from Javonte Williams all year! Am I a little biased? Did I draft Javonte in my dynasty league this year? Yes.

19.75 Fantasy Points Per Game

Finally, a shout out to the Dallas Cowboys D/ST squad. Over the last 4 games, they are averaging 19.75 points per game, (16.42 over the last 7). They have been absolutely dominant in real and fantasy football, winning all of their last 4 games, allowing just 14.25 points per game - and we know that 7 of those last night were just total garbage points. The Cowboys D/ST are the #1 D/ST in fantasy football. They have scored more than any kicker this year, and more points than all but 2 tight ends. They have scored 9 total touchdowns this year, and have a whopping 25 interceptions, led by Trevon Diggs who has an astonishing 11 interceptions - the highest single season total since Everson Walls had 11 in 1981. Diggs still has 2 games left to keep adding on, and as I mentioned before, I don’t care that he has more games in a season than other players.