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If anyone figured the 2018 NFL season would emulate 2017 Youth Jonathan Jones Jersey , they have positive proof through seven weeks that just isn't so.Sure, the Patriots are an AFC power, even though they aren't overpowering anybody, and the Chiefs again won their first five games before losing. The Giants and 49ers are dredging the bottom of the NFC once more.But take a look at the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. And the Jaguars.The Titans, the Falcons and the Bills.Don't take a long look, though, because it's pretty ugly.It's most unsightly in Jacksonville, where a locker room incident punctuated a third straight loss. The Jaguars, who led the Patriots in the fourth quarter of the AFC title game in January, are 3-4, and in the last three defeats are minus-8 in turnover differential. They're minus-12 on the season, the offense has disappeared and quarterback Blake Bortles was benched in a 20-7 home loss to division-rival Houston.Calais Campbell was seen holding back fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, a carry-over from the screaming, shouting and finger pointing after the latest flop."We've got to do something, but the first thing we've got to do is stop turning the damn ball over," exasperated coach Doug Marrone said. "Period. That would be the positive of how we can build."A defense that appeared ready to dominate this year has been inconsistent. Injuries have been a factor.And the psyche seems damaged."Frustration's a part of the game, and we're emotional people and this is an emotional game," Campbell said. "At the same time, I think these guys, this group of guys, we have a different kind of heart to us. At the same time, losing sucks, you know, especially losing three in a row. Stacking losses, that's not who we are, that's not what we want to be."But it is who we are 'cause that's what's going on right now. I do believe that we will get it fixed. We have no choice but to get it fixed."They'll set about it in London against the Eagles , who blew a 17-0 lead in the fourth quarter at home against Carolina. Another team with plenty of injuries Womens Trent Brown Jersey , the Eagles' resilient nature that carried them to the top is ebbing.Like the Jags, the Eagles recognize it. They simply can't get caught up in expectations."There's enough pressure," coach Doug Pederson said. "Just the game itself brings its own sort of pressure. We don't have to go force anything. We don't have to go looking for plays. Let the plays come to you and then make them when they come, and that's where we're at."Actually, where they are at is 3-4 — they lost only three times last season — trailing 4-2 Washington in a muddled NFC East. And now they head overseas."You just isolate this game in this week and move on to the next. You learn from it," quarterback Carson Wentz said. "I sound like a broken record every time we lose up here, but it's on to the next. There is no time to feel sorry for yourself, there is no time to be (ticked) about it. You have to learn from it quick and bounce back to next week."Tennessee showed some guts in going for a 2-point conversion in the final seconds, trailing 20-19 in London. It failed — twice, the first negated by a Chargers penalty.The Titans (3-4) have dropped three in a row, too. Their offense has been awful and the rush defense weak.They are hardly a lost cause, though. The Bills and Falcons probably are.We would gladly give Atlanta a break because no team has been ravaged by injuries the way the Falcons have. For the first month of the season, they lost a starter or more per game, especially on D. Top runner Devonta Freeman now is on injured reserve.No one gets a break in the NFL, however, and the fact star receiver Julio Jones has yet to find the end zone is emblematic of underachievement. At 2-4 in the highly competitive NFC South, the Falcons, who wasted away the 2016 championship with a second-half collapse in the Super Bowl, won't be participating in the big game they will host in February.Of all the struggling 2017 playoff qualifiers, the demise of the Bills was most predictable. From some strange roster decisions to the inability to replace key lost blockers to not building on potential momentum from their first postseason berth since the turn of the century, the Bills have been a mess. Like all of the teams discussed here, they've been struck by the injury bug. Unlike the others, they didn't have the talent base to compete from the outset.Turnover in the playoffs lineup happens each year in the NFL, of course. For every one of these disappointments thus far are the risers: the Bears, Ravens and Texans. Houston began the season with three defeats and now leads the AFC South."I think we started believing more," safety Tyrann Mathieu said. "We started the season 0-3. No one was negative. We all know we were really close to winning the game. We kept working and tuned out a lot of the outside noise."Anytime you win four games in a row you set a standard for yourself."Too bad some teams aren't approaching the standards they set by making the playoffs last season. Week 16 will decide most fantasy football championships — one weekend where owners will either feel the elation of a mission accomplished or fall short of a goal they’ve pursued since late summer.The slate has one potential must-stack affair, Steelers-Saints Youth Devin McCourty Jersey , and won’t be too hurt by the weather. If there is a theme to this week, it’s that several of the league’s top defenses collide with high-end offensive attacks.START: Drew Brees, QB, Saints: It’s fantasy blasphemy to consider sitting Brees, but he has been in a skid that has seen him average 175.5 yards in his last four games with a 6-4 TD-INT ratio. Brees has gone three straight games without throwing multiple touchdown passes but should return to his MVP-caliber self against a Steelers defense that is 21st in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Pittsburgh has allowed more than 900 passing yards in its last three games. Brees is too good to remain this bad, and with the Saints offense usually lethal at home, Brees has a great chance for redemption at the biggest moment of the fantasy season.SIT: Phillip Rivers, QB, Chargers: The Ravens pass defense has been in lockdown mode all season, allowing just three quarterbacks to eclipse 20 fantasy points. Rivers can’t be the fourth, as he will be without receiver Keenan Allen (hip pointer) in a high-stakes matchup against a Baltimore defense that is third in fewest net passing yards allowed and first in fewest yards per attempt. It’s hard to envision Rivers finishing Saturday night with more than 220 yards and a touchdown pass, numbers that won’t win many fantasy titles.START: Alshon Jeffrey, WR, Eagles: He’s been targeted 17 times in the last two games and comes off his best outing of the season, an eight-catch, 160-yard performance in the win at the Rams. Nick Foles was able to get Jeffery involved downfield in a manner that Carson Wentz couldn’t. The Texans defense has been lit up by T.Y. Hilton (Colts) and Robby Anderson (Jets) in the last two games. Houston is 27th in receiving yards allowed and has given up 24 touchdown passes. If Foles gets Jeffery in sync from the outset, starting Jeffery as a WR2 will lend to totals more suited for a WR1.SIT: David Johnson, RB, Cardinals: Johnson scored his first rushing touchdown in more than a month but managed just 33 yards on 11 carries in the loss to the Falcons. He’ll have little value in non-PPR formats even though the Rams are 21st against the run and are one of three teams (Patriots, Chiefs) that allow at least 5 yards per carry. Even in a PPR league, Johnson’s production will be limited as Los Angeles allows an average of just 30.4 receiving yards per game to opposing running backs, fifth-fewest overall. If there are better options on the roster, there’s no shame in sitting Johnson down.START: Marlon Mack, RB, Colts: Perhaps the biggest surprise of Week 15, Mack tore through the vaunted Cowboys run defense for 139 yards with a pair of scores and gets a great follow-up against the Giants, who are 28th against the run. Mack has three touchdowns in his last two games Youth James White Jersey , and even if he’s not much of a factor in the passing game, he should be good for his fourth game this season of at least 20 touches. If so, look for Mack to put up RB1-level numbers.SIT: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots: The Bills allow the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks and have held passers to less than 180 yards in eight of their last 10 games. Brady did throw for 324 yards against Buffalo in a Week 8 win but did not throw a touchdown. He has attempted at least 31 passes in all but one game this season, so the opportunities will be there for Brady. Still, it’s tough to do much damage to a Bills team that leads the league in fewest net passing yards allowed.START: Evan Engram, TE, Giants: Odell Beckham Jr. is likely done for the season, so Engram stands a great chance to at least approach the season-best 12 targets he had last week against the Titans. He’s had three straight games of at least 66 receiving yards, and while he hasn’t scored since Week 8, the high volume of opportunities works in Engram’s favor when he squares up against a Colts defense that leads the league in receiving yards per game allowed to opposing tight ends (72.6).SIT: Jaylen Samuels, RB/TE, Steelers: James Conner is expected to return to the lineup, but Samuels will still have a significant role in the offense. Either way, Samuels and Pittsburgh’s ground attack gets a bad draw against the Saints and their league-best run defense.START: Deshaun Watson, QB, Texans: With running back Lamar Miller’s status in question, Watson won’t have a problem putting the ball up frequently against the Eagles and their 31st-ranked pass defense. Watson hasn’t eclipsed the 300-yard mark since Week 5, but he’s completed better than 70 percent of his attempts in four straight games and his running skills bring an added element to a formula that should result in a huge afternoon.SIT: D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers: Taylor Heinicke makes his first career start, dropping the value of Moore coming off a Week 15 loss to the Saints that saw him manage only four touches. This shapes up for a heavy workload for running back Christian McCaffrey, as Heinicke won’t be expected to produce much against a Falcons defense that has allowed 28 touchdown passes and is 31st in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks.
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