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Houston will only have O.J. Howard and Jordan Akins (an elevation) active at tight end with TE Brevin Jordan (ankle) also ruled out on Friday. WR Tyler Johnson is active for the first time this season. Also inactive for the Texans are OL Austin Deculus (ankle), CB Isaac Yiadom (thigh), LB Jake Hansen, DL Michael Dwumfour, and DL Demone Harris.

He kicked off Houston’s offense by housing a middle-of-the-field target for 57 yards on their second play from scrimmage, then added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter on a goal-to-go target over the middle. Letting Nico Collins feast over the middle of the field, as it turns out, a good idea. It’s his first two-score game since last year’s Week 15 win over the Dolphins. Collins will be a WR1 in Week 16 against the Raiders.

Hollins made a few impressive grabs, including a crucial high-point catch on a second-and-long that was a truly impressive catch that helped set up a Patriots field goal. Still, for the Patriots to function as a strong offense, Hollins can’t be their primary passing game option, especially with the Bills missing their top cornerback, Christian Benford. The team will need more from Drake Maye and Stefon Diggs next week against the Ravens.

Vidal operated as the 1B option behind Omarion Hampton, who led the Chargers backfield with 15 rushes for 61 yards. Vidal, as he did last week against the Eagles, functioned as the team’s primary pass catching backs, running 21 routes to eight routes for Hampton, who was not targeted. Though he was inefficient in this one, Vidal remains an important part of a Chargers offense that has become one of the league’s run heaviest units over the past three weeks. Vidal will be a viable flex play in deeper leagues next week against Dallas. He should see 10-12 touches with upside to spare.

When C.J. Stroud has looked his best in 2023 and 2025, Schultz has been a key part of the reads. Today he was peppered with underneath targets as a rollout option and managed an improvisational score when Stroud broke the pocket in the red zone during the third quarter. Schultz will be on the TE1 line against the Raiders in Week 16.

Dowdle returned after missing a few plays and was immediately given the ball in scoring position. He powered through contact, punching in a four-yard touchdown. Dowdle does not appear to be limited by whatever bothered him initially. On the Panthers’ first drive, he rushed six times for 24 yards and one touchdown, adding a five-yard reception.

He added two catches for ... zero yards, managing just seven snaps. It was disappointing that Demercado was a clear backup to Michael Carter, but it’s possible the Cardinals wanted to bring him along slowly in his return from a high-ankle sprain. The Cardinals will never make this easy to understand, so Demercado is still a potential RB3/FLEX play against the Falcons next week despite this dud. We’d feel better starting him if we got some coach quotes about the injury limiting him ahead of next Sunday.

Stevenson started the game well, breaking three tackles on a 13-yard gain. In truth, he ran pretty well and also added 27 receiving yards on three catches. The only issue is that TreVeyon Henderson was electric and ripped off two big rushing touchdowns. Also, Stevenson was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for punching Matt Milano after a tackle, which may not have endeared him to head coach Mike Vrabel. We’d still expect this to be some form of committee next week against the Ravens.

It goes without saying that the first five-score day through the air of Lawrence’s career was also his first six-touchdown outing. Leveling up seemingly every week over the past month, Lawrence had his most emphatic improvement yet against the Jets’ bottom-basement defense. Directing the ball to whomever was open, Lawrence found four players for at least 50-plus receiving yards, and six for 20-plus. Travis Etienne led the way, with all three of his receptions ending up in the end zone, including a 45-yarder on a screen. Lawrence’s most impressive plays were improvisations, including his 15-yard rushing score. The pass was a 33-yard fadeaway jumper to Parker Washington. There was a scary moment in the first half where Lawrence banged his passing hand, but he never missed a snap and seemingly never missed a throw. Lawrence’s hot streak will be put to the toughest of Week 16 tests as the Jags venture on the road to Denver. Despite his hot play, he will remain outside the top 12 for that one.

Carter was nearly an every-down running back, playing 49-of-62 snaps after Zonovan Knight’s early exit. Emari Demercado played just seven snaps behind him and didn’t really look himself. Of course, it’s possible that next week Demercado gets a larger share of the load as he — in theory — recovers more from his high-ankle sprain. Whoever totes the head of the Arizona role has some real RB3/FLEX fantasy equity against the Falcons next week, and Carter comes out of this week’s game looking like he’ll have the best shot at the role after Demercado’s disappointing day.