Doc’s Prescription Notes: NFL Week 12, 2025

Houston def Buffalo 23-19

Buffalo has some major issues that it may not be able to get past this season. They don’t have good run defense at all. Their offensive line has been very shaky protecting Josh Allen, and finally, they have no second receiver outside of Khalil Shakir. Unless these things all improve ASAP, it feels impossible that the Bills will make the Super Bowl this season. Houston’s defense is so much better than its offense. They sacked Josh Allen eight times and intercepted him twice. If they continue playing like this, they will have a shot at the playoffs, but they’re going to need their running game to get better, and they’re going to need a second receiver to step up. It was good to see Jayden Higgins, a rookie out of Iowa State, have nine targets and a touchdown.

Detroit def New York Giants 34-27 OT

This game was much closer than most people would have expected. Mike Kafka did a tremendous job of play-calling early in the game and kept the Giants close. In fact, the Giants were winning for much of this game until the Lions scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to come back and tie it. James Winston finished with 366 yards and two touchdowns, and Wan’dale Robinson had nine receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. The Giants were in this game to the very end, and once again, it was their defense that let them down. There may not be a more explosive player in all of fantasy football than Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs had 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns to go along with 11 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. The Lions have a huge game on Thanksgiving against Green Bay, and they’re going to have to play much better defensively if they want to win.

Kansas City def Indianapolis 23-20 OT

Kansas City kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a win at home in overtime. Patrick Mahomes did not throw a touchdown pass, but he threw for 352 yards and ran for another 30. His main target was Rashee Rice, who had eight receptions for 141 yards. The one player who really played exceptional football was Kareem Hunt, who had 30 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. This was the first game that the Chiefs ran the ball effectively, which was good to see. Indianapolis was winning this game throughout, pretty much because their defense was outstanding, sacking Patrick Mahomes four times and intercepting him another time. The big problem for Indianapolis was that they couldn’t run the ball effectively at all. Jonathan Taylor was only able to get 58 yards rushing, and when teams keep Taylor under a hundred yards, the Colts’ passing game just is too dependent on play action passing to come back.

Chicago def Pittsburgh 31-28

The Bears pulled out another close victory over Pittsburgh, and now they are 8-3 on the season. Caleb Williams scrambled effectively in the pocket and had 239 yards passing to go along with three touchdowns. DJ Moore was the offensive star with five receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns.  Two of Chicago’s offensive rookies played really well: Running back Kyle Monangai had 48 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Colston Loveland had 49 yards receiving and a touchdown. If they keep playing the way they did today, the Bears may have an impact on the NFC playoff race. Pittsburgh did the best they could after Aaron Rodgers was ruled out at the last minute. Mason Rudolph had 171 yards rushing and a touchdown, but DK Metcalf left the game with an injury (he returned) and only had five catches for 22 yards. Pittsburgh ran the football very effectively against the Bears, getting 186 yards and two touchdowns, but their defense, outside of one big play early in the game, only had one sack.

New England def Cincinnati 26-20

Drake Maye brought New England back from a 10-point deficit to extend New England’s winning streak to nine games. Maye finished with 294 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with 22 yards rushing. Hunter Henry was outstanding with seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, proving once again that the Bengals defense against opposing tight ends is borderline shameful. TreyVeon Henderson out-touched Rhamondre Stevenson 19- 7, but he was held back from scoring on a couple of close goal-line carries. It feels like it’s time for Cincinnati to move on from its head coach, Zac Taylor. They were just a lot of sketchy play calls, and the defense is atrocious. Tee Higgins left the game with a concussion, and he most likely will not be back in Week 13. Chase Brown was the only bright spot for Cincinnati’s offense as he ran for 107 yards and had two receptions for 23 yards. The bottom line is that Cincinnati’s defense is the worst in the league, and there’s no way they can compete with the way they play.

Baltimore def New York Jets 23-10

The Ravens won their fifth game in a row behind Derrick Henry, who ran for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore’s passing game was not very good at all, with Lamar Jackson only throwing for 153 yards. The Ravens defense continues to play at a high level, sacking Tyrod Taylor three times and keeping him under pressure for most of the game. Baltimore is going to have to figure out how to get their passing game in line if they want to continue to have a chance in the AFC playoff race. Even though the result was the same, the Jets looked better offensively than they have in weeks. Tyrod Taylor threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and Breece Hall had 119 yards from scrimmage. A bright spot was John Metchie III, who had six receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown and might emerge as the Jets WR2.

Seattle def Tennessee 30-24

If Jonathan Taylor doesn’t win MVP, then the other obvious contender is JSN. He had eight receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns and once again was the main cog in Seattle’s offense. Sam Darnold had 244 yards and two touchdowns passing and played efficiently. Tennessee played appreciably better on offense with Cam Ward throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown and running for 37 yards and another touchdown. The problem is that Tennessee has no receiver who is a difference maker. Chimere Dike had five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, as well as a big punt return for a touchdown, and is their best route runner. Rookie tight end Gunner Helm had six receptions for 51 yards and might be an interesting player to pick up in Dynasty leagues.

Green Bay def Minnesota 23-6

Green Bay was led by Emanuel Wilson’s 107 yards and two touchdowns as they beat Minnesota convincingly. Jordan Love only threw for 139 yards with no touchdowns, but it was the Packers defense that had five sacks and two interceptions that led the way. Green Bay has a big game on Thanksgiving against Detroit, and they’re going to have to play a whole lot better offensively in order to win. It’s time for Minnesota to go back to the drawing board because what they’re doing on offense is just not working. JJ McCarthy had 87 yards passing and two interceptions, which honestly is worse than Justin Fields if that’s even possible. Justin Jefferson has to be tremendously frustrated as he only had 48 yards receiving, and Jordan Addison didn’t even have a catch. It feels like the Vikings made a huge mistake by drafting McCarthy.

Jacksonville def Arizona 27-24 OT

Jacksonville squeaked out another close game despite Trevor Lawrence throwing 3 INTs. Lawrence did have 256 passing yards and 3 TDs and made the necessary throws when he had to. Travis Etienne took hold of the backfield, out-touching Bhayshul Tuten 18-7, and led the team with 86 rushing yards. TE Brenton Strange returned from the IR and led the team with 5 receptions for 93 yards. Strange will definitely have an impact down the stretch. Arizona had a massive comeback to get the game to OT, led by Jacoby Brissett, who threw for 317 yards and a TD. Michael Wilson was dominant with 10 catches for 118 yards, and it will be very interesting to see how involved he will be when Marvin Harrison returns. On that note, expect both Trey Benson and Harrison to play in Week 13, so the touches will be way less concentrated, which makes it extremely difficult for fantasy managers to predict.

Cleveland def Las Vegas 24-10

Shedeur Sanders won his first game as a rookie, leading Cleveland to the win with 209 passing yards and a TD. Sanders, unlike Dillon Gabriel, took some shots downfield, which was good to see. But it was the Cleveland defense that was really the star of the game, as they had 10 sacks. Normally, defenses are not weapons in fantasy football, but Myles Garrett and the Browns defense might be the exception. It’s really hard to watch Las Vegas as they can’t seem to do anything right. Geno Smith was under duress all game long and managed to throw for 285 yards and a TD. Brock Bowers did have 6 catches for 55 yards, but never made a real impact. Ashton Jeanty was an important part of the Raiders passing attack with 8 receptions, but was injured late in the game, although he seems like he can play next week.

Atlanta def New Orleans 24-10

Kirk Cousins’ 2 TD passes helped Atlanta get a divisional victory over hated rival New Orleans. Cousins threw for 199 yards and 2 TDs, including one to Darnell Mooney. Bijan Robinson had 107 total yards from scrimmage to lead the team. But once again, it was Atlanta’s relentless pass rush that was the real difference as they sacked Tyler Shough five times. Atlanta made a point to improve its pass rush in the offseason, and it has really worked thus far. Now they need to fix the secondary and the OL. At some point, New Orleans needs to ditch the Taysom Hill idea. Hill was completely ineffective as a runner and passer, as he had 10 carries for 17 yards. It also takes all the creativity out of the playcalling, as defensive coordinators know that he is getting the ball by the goal line. It will be interesting to see how much Kellen Moore decides to use Hill if Alvin Kamara misses time with his knee injury. Devin Neal should be the lead ball carrier, but New Orleans will likely give Hill touches too.

Dallas def Philadelphia 24-21

Give the Cowboys tons of credit for not giving up in this game after falling behind 21-0 in the first half. Dallas chipped away at the lead and played stellar defense in the second half, recovering two costly Eagles fumbles. Dak Prescott threw for 354 yards, and George Pickens had 9 catches for 146 yards and a TD. To the naked eye, Pickens looks way more locked in than CeeDee Lamb. If Dallas can pull off the upset on Thanksgiving against Kansas City, they might have a chance to get back into the playoff picture. Nick Sirianni is going to hear a ton of disgruntled Eagles fans this week, as the Eagles blew a game that they should have won. Philadelphia’s running game was nonexistent as Saquon Barkley ran for 22 yards on 10 carries. Philadelphia needs to figure out some continuity on the OL to make sure that Barkley has lanes to run.  A.J. Brown led the team with 8 catches for 110 yards and a TD, which should keep him from complaining (for now).

Los Angeles def Tampa Bay 34-7

Los Angeles looks like the team to beat in the NFC West as the Rams demolished Tampa Bay. Matthew Stafford threw for 273 yards and 3 TDs, including two TDs to Davante Adams. Adams’ yards per target is low, but his TD to catch percentage is incredibly high. Los Angeles knew exactly what it was doing when it signed Adams in free agency. Equally impressive has been the Rams DL, which had four more sacks in the game. Baker Mayfield left the game with a shoulder injury. X-rays were negative, and he is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday. Teddy Bridgewater replaced Mayfield, and if Mayfield misses any time with the injury, Tampa will struggle to move the ball, as Bridgewater’s best years were probably a decade ago. Sean Tucker seems to have secured the RB2 job as he out-touched Rachaad White 13-8. Expect Bucky Irving to return next week, with Tucker possibly remaining as the short-yardage back.

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