Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Written by: James Burulcich
Edited by: Allie Fontana

Just when you thought you’ve seen everything that the NFL has to offer, it blesses us with new gifts for the holiday season. On Sunday, we watched five teams—the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans and New York Giants—achieve comeback victories of 12 or more points for the first time in the league’s history. The Denver Broncos seemingly walked on water in the fourth quarter and notched their sixth straight victory, this time over the Chicago Bears. Week 14 was certainly an incredible week of football. Here’s what I learned on Sunday:

1.  You Better Tebowlieve It!

Do you believe in Denver quarterback Tim Tebow? Or are you among the haters that like to dwell on his shortcomings? He’s 7-1 as starter and has led the Denver Broncos to six straight wins. Denver is only the third NFL team to start 2-5 and accomplish that feat. Sure, Tebow went 3-of-16 passing until the fourth quarter, and he didn’t complete a pass in either the second or third quarter. It also true that the Broncos defense continues to play lights out and their opponents seem to make mistakes at the most inopportune times. I say so what. Tebow turned it around in the fourth quarter to complete 18-of-24 passes including a touchdown. Quite simply, he made magic happen once again. Although I don’t think that he and the Broncos will beat the Patriots next Sunday, would you really be surprised if they did?

2.  Someone Missed Church on Sunday.

While some think that “God” favors Tim Tebow, he must also prey on players of the Broncos’ opponents to do his work. I have a feeling that Chicago Bears running back Marian Barber missed church or something, because he basically snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory, not one, but twice on Sunday. Blunder No. 1. With the Bears up 10-7 late in the fourth quarter, Barber took a sweep toward the sidelines and ran out of bounds instead of staying in bounds to run out the clock. Then in overtime,  Chicago received the ball first and were in field goal range when Barber—you guessed it—fumbled. Someone better get to a confession booth fast.

3.  MJD, Now in 4D!

Some of you may have watched the Sunday games on a 3D television, however if Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew looked blurry on your set, that’s because your TV doesn’t transmit in 4D. MJD delivered an incredible four touchdown performance good for 37 fantasy points (ESPN scoring) that no doubt help fantasy owners already in the playoffs or those needing a win to get in. You couldn’t ask for a better game from a running back and I don’t think there is one who deserves it more. In case you didn’t know, Jones-Drew drafted himself for his fantasy team, so I expect a great end to his season.

4. And the Gronk Continues…

I can’t believe how dominating New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is. He scored two more touchdowns in Week 14 and broke the record for the most single-season scores by a tight end and there are still three games left. Incredibly, he has six, multiple touchdown reception games in 2011. In my opinion, Gronkowski is giving Detroit’s Calvin Johnson a run for his money as the league’s best receiver. I might consider him in the second round next year, no joke.

5.  “When You’re a Jet…”

You’re a Jet and your season is never over quite yet. While they have a somewhat easier schedule to finish out the regular season, the New York Jets are doing exactly what they do every year—catch fire late. Since Rex Ryan took over as head coach, they have consistently gotten off to a slow start. Now, after thoroughly drubbing the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the Jets fully control their destiny. Win the final three games of the season and they secure a playoff spot. They sure got lots of help last Sunday. The Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders all lost.  And better yet, running back Shonn Greene is finally starting to produce like a starter these past two weeks and that’ll help them make another run in the playoffs.  Watch out AFC.

6.  Big Bad Ben.

Is there a tougher NFL quarterback than Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger? Big Ben suffered a brutal-looking, game-ending high ankle sprain in the second quarter of the Thursday night game versus the Cleveland Browns. Yet in a situation in which most quarterbacks would bench themselves, Roethlisberger limped back onto the field Willis Reed-style after halftime. He went on to complete 8-of-12 passes for 178 yards and threw a 79-yard bomb to Antonio Brown for a score. If you’re a Big Ben owner, don’t worry. He’ll be on the field in Week 15, even if his ankle is in a cast.

7.  Rivers to Gates Still Works.

Too little, too late maybe. The San Diego Chargers finally seem to be getting their offensive act together the last couple of weeks and quarterback Philip Rivers went back to old faithful this past Sunday.  The Chargers receiving wide receiver corps has been erratic on the whole—Vincent Jackson especially this season. It’s as if the light bulb went off and Rivers suddenly remembered that he has an exceptional tight end named Antonio Gates to throw to.  Gates scored two touchdowns on Sunday, his first multiple touchdown game since Week 4 of the 2010 season. He’s the only Charger receiver that I trust for what’s left of this season.

8.  Did You Get Vicked?

If Michael Vick was your first-round draft pick this season, and you made it to your league’s playoffs, then you probably felt obliged to start him in Week 14. No doubt Vick disappointed you. Despite the entire season being a forgettable one for Vick, a 10-point fantasy day for his owners just doesn’t cut it. In fact, you would have been better off starting such amazing quarterbacks as T.J. Yates, John Skelton, Joe Webb, Jake Locker and yes…even Blaine Gabbert. All of them outscored Vick this week, proving once again just how important your first pick of the draft can be.

9.  Yay For Yates.

That’s right a shout out to T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans. For the first time in their young history, the Texans clinched the AFC South Division title and their first double-digit winning season. They also managed to do it in dramatic “Tebow-esque” fashion led by Yates, their third-string quarterback and fifth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. In what was likely the biggest drive in the Texans history, Yates took the team 80 yards in just over two minutes and no timeouts left. He threw a touchdown pass to veteran wideout Kevin Walter with just two seconds left on the clock to give Houston a 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. While I don’t see them going deep in the playoffs, this victory gives them hope. 

10.  Giants Got Tebow Help?

While there were many impressive comebacks on the day, Eli Manning and the New York Giants pulled off their own miracle in the Big D on Sunday night. After a tipped pass that resulted in an interception, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo pushed a five point lead to 12 points with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Giants defense had played so poorly that at this point, I was already figuring out ways for the Giants to get better next season. But then unbelievably, Manning led back-to-back touchdown drives to give the Giants three straight victories in Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ new stadium. Manning was magnificent in this game and remember: you can’t spell “Elite” without Eli.