Let’s hope Jonathan Stewart’s pilfering of two touchdowns from DeAngelo Williams doesn’t help my opponent steal a win from me.

The outcomes of both of my games this week are hinging on tonight’s Ravens-Browns game, and they really shouldn’t, considering my teams went up against two opponents that are a combined 5-13. The Thamesmen’s opponent didn’t even bother to swap out his kicker, who’s on a bye, and his tight end, who’s on a bye and out for the season. Thanks in large part to that, The Thamesmen are up by 20 and still have Ray Rice left. That may usually seem like enough, but when your opponent has the Ravens defense going up against a hapless Browns team, you just can’t be certain. I would be breathing easier had Vincent Jackson not inexplicably put up a meager one catch or had Julius Peppers actually managed to do anything. Big games by Tom Brady (375 yards, 3 TDs), Sidney Rice (204 receiving yards), and Adrian Peterson (133 yards, 2 TDs) made up for that.

The action is much tighter for my other team, the Outlaws of the Marsh, who actually find themselves trailing by six points but still have Rice and Derrick Mason on deck, while my opponent only had a defensive lineman, Trevor Pryce, remaining. But again, when you are playing against the Browns, Pryce probably has as good a chance as any to find the end zone for a defensive touchdown. It didn’t help that my opponent’s Panthers running back (Jonathan Stewart) stole two touchdowns from my Panthers running back (DeAngelo Williams).

Week 10 Highs and Lows

• Wait, has the world gone topsy-turvy? We got competent quarterback play from Marc Bulger (298 yards, 2 TDs, INT) and Jake Delhomme (195 yards, 2 TDs) on the same day?! They must’ve performed some sort of voodoo ritual and transferred their suckitude to Jay Cutler, who threw five interceptions Sunday and has thrown nine of his 17 INTs on the season in just two games (Weeks 1 and 10).

Joseph Addai keeps piling up TDs, but it hasn’t done me much good.

• It kills me that I can’t find a spot in my starting lineup for Joseph Addai. He got two more touchdowns Sunday night despite having only 10 carries and two receptions. But he’s stuck behind Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice, both of whom regularly get more touches but not necessarily more points, than Addai. And of course, the one time I’m going to get the guts to bench one of those guys for Addai will be the game where his touchdown streak ends.
• It used to be that 96 yards and two TDs would be a routine game for LaDainian Tomlinson, but now it’s a cause for celebration. The fact that it came against an Eagles defense that’s usually stout against the run makes it even more impressive. Too bad it won’t last.

Why am I showing a Mike Tolbert touchdown? Because I couldn’t find a picture of an Antonio Gates touchdown.

• Antonio Gates is looking like this year’s version of last year’s Owen Daniels — a tight end who makes a lot of catches and gets a good amount of yards, but just can’t get any love near the end zone. Gates is on pace for almost 90 catches and 1,200 yards, both of which would be career highs. But he hasn’t found the end zone outside of the two he scored in Week 4. In fantasy football, that makes him less valuable than many other tight ends (who were drafted much lower) who don’t get anywhere near the touches but are more frequently targeted in the red zone.
• The Titans continued to roll with Vince Young at the helm, and that has brought good tidings for their kicker, Rob Bironas, who was one of the top kickers in the league last year but had been hampered by his offense’s woeful performances in the first six weeks this season. But he has scored in double figures each of the last three weeks. In those three games, he has attempted eight field goals (compared to nine in the first six games) and 12 extra points (after kicking only seven in the first six weeks). He probably got dropped in a lot of leagues after the slow start, and it might be a good idea to snatch him up now as the Titans don’t have a particularly tough schedule the rest of the way.