Jags QB Trevor Lawrence completed 24 of 39 passes for 217 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in Saturday’s loss at Kansas City. Lawrence was up and down in this one, throwing a couple of passes (beyond the 1 INT) that should have been intercepted. However, this game could have turned out differently had Christian Kirk hauled in a beautifully thrown deep ball. Overall, Lawrence took a massive step forward in year 2. Future growth isn’t out of the question with newfound coaching stability — plus the impending arrival of Calvin Ridley.
Giants WR Richie James hauled in 7 of 10 targets for 51 yards in Saturday's Divisional Round loss vs. the Eagles. No other Giants pass-catcher recorded more than 2 receptions in this contest. The Giants' WR corps stands out as a weak spot on their roster when looking back on the season and is likely to look very different in 2023. It's tough to project anyone's future on this roster beyond WR Wan'Dale Robinson, the rookie who saw his season derailed by multiple knee injuries. On top of that, we also don't know if QB Daniel Jones will re-sign with the team. The resurgent, HC Brian Daboll-led Giants will be a fascinating team to follow this offseason as they look to capitalize on this season's success.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley recorded 9 carries for 61 yards and 2 catches for 21 yards in Saturday's Divisional Round loss vs. the Eagles. Though the Giants' season ended in a disappointing fashion, Barkley has a lot to be happy about entering free agency this offseason. The Pro Bowl back played in 16 games for the 1st time since his rookie season in 2018 and set a career-high in rushing yards (1,312) in 2022. The soon-to-be 26-year-old will be a dynamic fantasy asset regardless of what team he suits up for in 2023 and beyond. He said after Saturday's game that “everyone knows I want to be a Giant for life," taking away any potential mystery around his intentions. We'll see if his desire to return to New York comes to fruition in the coming weeks.
Giants QB Daniel Jones completed 15 of 27 attempts for 135 passing yards with 1 INT in Saturday's Divisional Round loss vs. the Eagles. He also added 24 yards on 9 carries in the ground game. The former 1st round pick is set to become a free agent this offseason after recording the most productive season as a pro. Jones set a career-high in passing yards (3,205) and rushing yards (708) in 2022. When asked about returning to the team, Jones said he'll "cross that bridge when we get there. I’ve really enjoyed playing here. I appreciate all those guys in the locker room. It’s a special group of guys. And I really enjoyed being a part of it," in post-game interviews. His future will be one of great intrigue this offseason.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown roped 3 of 6 targets for 22 yards in Saturday's Divisional Round win vs. the Giants. Teammate WR DeVonta Smith led the team in receiving in this contest, corraling 6 of 10 targets for 61 yards and 1 TD. TE Dallas Goedert also found the end zone in addition to 5 receptions and 58 yards of his own. QB Jalen Hurts was extremely efficient as a passer in this contest, but the game plan was considerably more focused on the rushing attack. Fantasy managers who roster Brown in playoff contests will hope for better luck next week.
Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell tallied 112 yards on 12 carries with a 35-yard TD run in Saturday's Divisional Round win vs. the Giants. Teammate RB Miles Sanders ran the ball 17 times for 90 yards. The Eagles' rushing attack collectively cranked out 3 of the team's 5 total TDs and 268 total rushing yards, their 2nd-highest total in a game all season. The big takeaway here is that Sanders had his first game of over 65 rushing yards since Week 14. Hopefully, this is a sign that the unfortunate skid of production he'd seen over the last month is over. We'll find out who the Eagles' opponent will be in the NFC Championship game tomorrow night.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts completed 16 of 24 pass attempts for 154 yards and 2 TDs in Saturday's Divisional Round win vs. the Giants. Hurts also added 34 rushing yards and 1 TD on the ground. The dual threat looked much better and healthier than he had in Week 18 vs. this same Giants' defense. The playoff bye week seems to have been what Hurts needed to give his ailing right shoulder some rest. Whichever team the Eagles end up playing next will certainly have their hands full if Hurts and company can replicate the dominant success from this Divisional round game.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes hurt his right ankle in the 1st quarter of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars. He initially remained in the game but eventually headed back to the locker room with trainers and gave way to QB Chad Henne. X-rays on Mahomes' ankle came back clean, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, "but it does appear to be a high-ankle sprain." Mahomes will return for the 2nd half of this game. We'll see how that ankle holds up.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (toe) is active for today’s Divisional Round game vs. the Chiefs. He was limited in practice all week but shouldn’t be inhibited today. Lawrence posted a 259-2-0 passing line in Kansas City back in Week 10. The Chiefs finished the regular season 31st in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs.
Multiple Bucs players told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that they don't expect QB Tom Brady back with the team in 2023. Media members got the same feeling after Brady's end-of-season press conference. If Brady doesn't return to Tampa Bay, it remains unclear if he'd retire or sign elsewhere. Rapoport mentions the Raiders, 49ers and Titans as potential landing spots if Brady returns for a 24th NFL season. Brady threw for another 4,694 yards this past year, but his 6.4 yards per attempt was the 2nd worst mark of his career. His Pro Football Focus passing grade was well down from the previous 2 seasons, although it still ranked 7th among 31 qualifiers league-wide.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) logged full practice participation all week and doesn't carry an official injury designation for Sunday's Divisional Round game vs. the Bengals. The veteran wideout missed last week's Wild Card matchup vs. the Dolphins due to this injury. McKenzie primarily runs routes out of the slot and will likely draw coverage from Bengals CB Mike Hilton. Hilton only has 4 games this season in which he's allowed more than 50 receiving yards to opposing WRs.
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman is making good progress in his recovery from November foot surgery, HC John Harbaugh said Thursday. "He's going to be ready to soon run at full speed," Harbaugh said. Bateman flashed early this past year with 2-59-1 and 4-108-1 lines to open the season, but a Lisfranc injury to his left foot limited him to just 4 more games the rest of the way. It doesn't sound like that'll be an issue in 2023, though, setting up the 23-year-old Bateman as an intriguing post-hype sleeper. We'll see who Baltimore hires at OC and if that new OC opens up the passing game.
Bills Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) practiced fully again on Thursday ahead of Sunday's Divisional Round game vs. the Bengals. It seems the veteran wideout is on track to play barring any potential major setback. We'll keep an eye out for updates tomorrow regarding a final word on McKenzie's availability.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (toe) practiced in a limited fashion all week and is officially questionable for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Chiefs. This trend of Lawrence being questionable with his toe issue is nothing new and shouldn't prevent him from suiting up this weekend. The Chiefs' defense ranks as the 2nd-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs. It's a good spot for Lawrence on paper, but it's hard to get the taste of the 4 INTs that Lawrence threw in the 1st half vs. the Chargers last week out of our mouths. We're not as keen on the second-year signal caller as a result.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (hip) didn't practice all week and has been ruled out for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars. Rookie WR Skyy Moore (hand) managed to practice fully all week and doesn't carry an injury designation. WR Kadarius Toney could see a small bump into DFS relevancy for this weekend's slate with this news, though neither Toney nor Moore carries a target share greater than 10% since Toney's arrival from the Giants in Week 9. We still feel best about WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling for fantasy purposes. The Jaguars' defense ranks as the 9th-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion on Thursday and doesn't carry an official injury designation for Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Eagles. Despite being weighed down by his ankle injury last week vs. the Vikings, Hodgins led the Giants in receiving with an 8-105-1 stat line. The Eagles' defense ranks 10th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs and will be a much tougher draw. Still, Hodgins ranks 1st on the Giants in target share (26.5%) and air yards share (36.4%) over their last 4 games, including the Wild Card round. We feel good about his chances regardless of the matchup.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid said Thursday that RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) is "unlikely" to play vs. the Jaguars on Saturday. CEH was designated to return from IR and has been practicing this week, but he evidently needs a bit more time to recover from his November 20 high-ankle sprain. Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon will continue to handle the majority of backfield work for Kansas City this weekend, with Ronald Jones potentially sprinkling in.
Ravens OC Greg Roman announced Thursday via management firm AthletesFirst that he's "stepping away from the team to pursue other opportunities." Roman's offenses obviously leaned heavily on the run across his 4 years in Baltimore, which made plenty of sense with Lamar Jackson at QB. But Roman's rushing lean predated that stint. All 6 of the previous offense for which he served as OC -- 4 in San Francisco, then 2 in Buffalo -- ranked among the league's top 9 in rushing attempts. Across his 10 years as a coordinator, just 3 Roman offenses ranked lower than 3rd in carries. Only 1 of those 10 finished lower than 4th in rushing yards, and that came back in 2011, his 1st season at the post with the 49ers. We'll see where Roman lands and who the Ravens select to follow him. Of course, the status of Jackson for 2023 and beyond will likely matter even more for projecting both the player and the Ravens offense. Jackson is set to hit unrestricted free agency in March, but we'd be surprised if Baltimore lets him hit the open market. Baltimore's offense promises to be 1 of the more intriguing storylines to watch this offseason.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) practiced fully on Wednesday in advance of Sunday's Divisional Round matchup vs. the Bengals. This is great news considering McKenzie was inactive for the team's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins due to this injury. We'll see if this trend continues as the week unfolds. Be sure to check back for updates tomorrow.
Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion again on Wednesday ahead of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Eagles. Hodgins shared a photo on his Instagram story following the team's Wild Card win vs. the Vikings that shows how busted up his ankle is. We'll leave it up to you if you want to look it up and find the picture. The point is that it certainly doesn't look great, though he did manage to play through it this past Sunday. Check back tomorrow for updates regarding the young wideout's status.
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