Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
The ProFootballDoc proprietary Field View and Injury Index is the best and quickest way to access injury information and identify matchup advantages broken down to run/pass and offense/defense.
Normally the grading scale goes from a typical school A thru F but it is notable that all the playoff teams don't have a "C" grade among them. Their health is likely a reason for their success.
(For the complete playoff picture, go to www.profootballdoc.com)
Los Angeles Rams vs. Green Bay Packers
ProFootballDoc game summary
The Rams will ride with Jared Goff this week as he recovers from his thumb injury, and Blake Bortles will likely become the backup as John Wolford deals with a neck issue. Cam Akers is clearly over his ankle injury, as he returned for 176 yards and a score last week, and Cooper Kupp is now over COVID-19 and Andrew Whitworth returned from an MCL injury from earlier in the year. This offense is trending upward, but one concern on defense is the status of Aaron Donald. Donald left the Wild Card game with a rib injury, and while there is a good chance he plays this week, it will warrant attention throughout the Rams’ playoff run.
Green Bay is doing relatively well healthwise at this point in the year, but there is one big concern here. Left tackle David Bakhtiari tore his ACL in practice ahead of Week 17, and they signed Jared Veldheer away from the Colts to fill in, but he has now tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be available this week. He would have been a solid plugin here, but they will now likely have to reshuffle the line, with natural guard Billy Turner kicking back outside to LT and Rick Wagner will now start at RT meaning Lucas Patrick will stay at LG.
ProFootballDoc is the official FanDuel Injury Expert and go to www.profootballdoc.com for free in-depth playoff analysis and use the interactive Field View to see full matchup details.
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills
ProFootballDoc game summary
The Bills are one of the healthiest teams in the playoffs, and despite the loss of Zack Moss to a high-ankle sprain last week they are in good shape. Devin Singletary will take the lion’s share of snaps, with T.J. Yeldon and Taiwan Jones sitting as depth. They’ve also signed Devonta Freeman away from the Giants. While there were questions in their wideout group, Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley all played last week. Their defense has navigated a tough season and this secondary is now in good health, and their dire shortage at linebacker earlier this year is long gone as Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds have regained their spots at starter.
Baltimore is in good health as they move to take on Buffalo. Though they obviously miss Ronnie Stanley at LT and are relying on UDFA Tyler Huntley as their backup quarterback, this offense is in good shape overall. Their defense has recovered nicely by this point in the year as well, and they are now only missing two depth corners in Tavon Young and Davontae Harris.
ProFootballDoc is the official FanDuel Injury Expert and go to www.profootballdoc.com for free in-depth playoff analysis and use the interactive Field View to see full matchup details.
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Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs
ProFootballDoc game summary
The Browns pulled off a historic upset in Pittsburgh last week, playing with a patchwork offensive line, a depleted defense and no head coach. Fortunately, a large portion of these losses were due to COVID-19, and they could well get HC Kevin Stefanski, G Joel Bitonio and CBs Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson back. Their returns would be a huge boost to the team that put up 48 points last week. They did however, pick up an injury as RT Jack Conklin pulled his hamstring, and there is a chance that he will not be able to play in the Divisional round.
The Chiefs come into their matchup versus Cleveland with a few question marks, largely on offense. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell are dealing with hip and knee injuries respectively and while they could both play, we’ll have to monitor their practice statuses. At wideout, Tyreek Hill will likely play after resting his hamstring in Week 17, though Sammy Watkins is a bit of a flight risk with a calf issue. Their line carries some issues, most notable at right tackle, where they’ve missed starter Mitchell Schwartz for the majority of this season. Their depth tackles are dealing with issues of their own, as Martinas Rankin (knee) and Mike Remmers (back) have missed significant time this year. They are also down two starters at guard, as Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out and Kelechi Osemele suffered rare bilateral knee tears.
ProFootballDoc is the official FanDuel Injury Expert and go to www.profootballdoc.com for free in depth playoff analysis and use the interactive Field View to see full matchup details.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints
ProFootballDoc game summary
The Buccaneers are hoping Ronald Jones will finally be able to return after missing the Wild Card game with a quad issue, coming after he missed a few weeks near the end of the season with a finger injury and COVID-19 issues (though he did play Week 17). Should he sit out, Leonard Fournette can fill in as he has done successfully before and Ke’Shawn Vaughn will see snaps as the second back, but it is worth noting that LeSean McCoy sat out last week as well. Mike Evans returned from a knee hyperextension injury in a big way, with 119 yards versus Washington, and should be a full go moving forward. The loss of Alex Cappa will hurt a line that is already compensating for the loss of A.Q. Shipley on the interior. Devin White has been activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and while this is a huge boon, Kevin Minter has now been placed on the list and will miss next week.
The Saints finally got Michael Thomas back after a rough year dealing with ankle and hamstring injuries. He had a good performance with 5 receptions for 73 yards and a score, but now Latavius Murray has popped up with an injury. The Saints’ power back hurt his thigh last week, and we’ll have to keep an eye on him. The defense is in okay shape, but they will have to hope that edge rusher Trey Hendrickson can return from a neck injury and slot corner Patrick Robinson from his thigh injury.
ProFootballDoc is the official FanDuel Injury Expert and go to www.profootballdoc.com for free in-depth playoff analysis and use the interactive Field View to see full matchup details.
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