Week 12 has come and gone. Sixteen NFL games brought joy, laughs and tears to football fans and, of course, fantasy football faithful.

Today, we’ll focus on the latter sadness and break down just how close some came to achieving fantasy football glory.

What follows is a breakdown of all the “Sheesh” moments from Week 12. I’ve watched every game and combed play-by-play data to help determine instances when:

  • Pass-catchers could have scored or picked up big yardage with a more accurate pass 
  • Pass-catchers did receive an accurate pass that should have resulted in a score or big gain, but the ball was dropped
  • Ball carriers or pass-catchers managed to get all the way to the one-yard line, but didn’t score
  • Players scored or picked up big yardage, but the play was nullified by a penalty
  • Other random shit found a way to tilt fantasy football managers of all shapes and sizes

First, let’s break down the Sheesh MVP of Week 12.

Diontae Johnson had a rough day at the office

Being named the MVP of pretty much anything is almost always a good thing.

But not today: The Steelers’ 27-year-old veteran coulda, shoulda, woulda caught a 15-yard TD down the seam, but unfortunately failed to maintain possession of the football through contact with the ground.

Here’s the thing: Gene Steratore said on the broadcast that this should have actually been a TD and was surprised the call wasn’t challenged. Chalk this up as example number 69,420 that nobody on this planet actually knows what a catch is.

Sadly, things only got worse for Johnson when he got caught napping while a live fumble was right next to him. Warranted “play harder” criticism aside, he probably just didn’t see the ball on a run play away from him. That said: Sheesh.

Tank Dell was ROBBED on multiple occasions

Not like in real life — that’d be bad — but on the football field.

Overall, there were two separate instances of Dell getting absolutely jobbed by the officials during the Texans’ Week 12 loss to the Jaguars. The first sheesh occurred on a TERRIFIC 62-yard catch that came off the board … because of the exact same motion that the Dolphins run roughly 50 times per game?

The argument here is that the penalty was actually on a different Texans receiver who maybe wasn’t quite all the way set when Dell went into motion. However, even a different view sure makes this look like a pretty ticky tack call from a group of officials who certainly didn’t earn the benefit of the doubt last Sunday.

There was also the time that Dell leaped up to snag what should have been a 20-yard drive-extending third-down conversion, but instead, the zebras ruled that he didn’t have possession of the football with both feet down inbounds.

Yes, both plays were close calls. Also yes, sheesh.

That’s right: Gabe Davis could have had an even bigger day

There were three separate opportunities for Davis to add another TD to his sterling 6-105-1 performance, but sadly things went awry on all three occasions for one reason or another:

  1. Davis got separation in the end zone on an out route for a potential 13-yard score, but Josh Allen’s intended pass sailed high and wide through the rainy Philadelphia sky.
  2. It looked like Davis would be the beneficiary of the Eagles leaving the middle of the field wide open for a 30-yard score; too bad Allen’s pass was low and hit the Eagles defender in the back.
  3. Most famously: Davis and Allen failed to be on the same page on what had the potential to be a game-winning 22-yard score.
Gabe Davis

Nov 26, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) catches touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (24) at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Tony Romo noted on the broadcast that it was really tough to say exactly who was at fault on the latter sheesh; either way, this box score was oh so close to being a helluva lot bigger.

You can’t say the Seahawks didn’t try to get D.K. Metcalf the ball

Air yards measure the distance that any given pass travels (wait for it) in the air. Subtracting yards after the catch from every player’s receiving yards total before taking the difference with total air yards helps us pinpoint exactly how much opportunity through the air a player failed to come down with for one reason or another.

Sometimes unrealized air yards are more akin to “prayer yards” because the pass wasn’t overly catchable in the first place, so grinding the ole film helps with identifying those sorts of situations.

Eight players racked up at least 75 unrealized air yards in Week 12 specifically:

  • Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (140)
  • Chargers WR Jalen Guyton (130)
  • Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (130)
  • Vikings WR Jordan Addison (119)
  • Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (118)
  • Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (102)
  • Bills WR Gabe Davis (89)
  • Browns WR Elijah Moore (88)
  • Cardinals WR Greg Dortch (77)

Unrelated note on Dortch: The 5-foot-7 WR caught a fade for the TD and proceeded to hit the “too small” celebration while down 29 points with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Absolutely electric moment.

Okay, anyway, moving on.

Did Evan Engram sleep with Mrs. End Zone?

Our previous section helped quantify the most missed opportunities through the air, but there were an additional handful of targets that I can’t help call out because it sure seemed like the following players could have put six points on the board with a bit more accurate pass.

For example, this was a fairly egregious miss by Trevor Lawrence on what should have been Evan Engram’s first score of the season. 

There were roughly 13 other instances where I subjectively believe pass-catchers didn’t receive catchable passes on what would have otherwise been TDs, although differing levels of openness, difficulty of throw and pressure hardly made all of these near misses of the layup variety.

As Benjamin Franklin once said: Not all sheesh is created equal.

  • Texans WR Tank Dell (76)
  • Saints WR Chris Olave (not sure this would have been a 66-yard TD with a perfect throw, but a better throw by Derek Carr could have at least prevented the contested-catch-turned-concussion from occurring)
  • Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (62)
  • Vikings WR Jordan Addison (52 – and this one was ROUGH)
  • Texans TE Dalton Schultz (46 but would have needed to break an arm tackle)
  • Packers WR Christian Watson (42, also arguably could have had a 75-yard house call with a perfect pass on his game-opening 53-yard snag)
  • Bills WR Gabe Davis (30, 22 and 13)
  • Cardinals WR Rondale Moore (25)
  • Jaguars TE Evan Engram (5)
  • Chargers WR Jalen Guyton (3)
  • Colts WR Josh Downs (2)
  • Jaguars TE Luke Farrell (1)

Would have been a lot cooler if James Cook caught this

Can I get a “Sheesh?”

Overall, there were roughly eight dropped TDs in Week 12, which sucks because, you know, football is pretty cool when players make great catches and score points:

  • Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley (30)
  • Bills RB James Cook (30)
  • Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (15)
  • Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (8)
  • Saints WR Rashid Shaheed (7 — chance he would have been down at the one-inch line)
  • Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (4)
  • Browns TE David Njoku (4)
  • Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (3, also didn't get two feet inbounds)

Also, note that Amari Cooper dropped what would have been a successful two-point conversion. Rumor has it that on-field microphones actually heard him mutter, “Sheesh!”

Travis Etienne was so close, yet so far away from a huge day

Getting all the way to the one-yard line but failing to score a TD is objectively a sheeshy feeling — particularly when fantasy managers are forced to watch someone else vulture away the score that was SO CLOSE to belonging to them.

Here’s the full list of Week 12’s players who managed to get the football within three feet of the goal line, but not quite across the plane, and ultimately didn’t score later on the same drive:

Also, note that Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco caught a pass and got down to the one-yard line on a play where it sure looked like he crossed the plane. Alas, the Chiefs simply handed it back to Pacheco the next play for the score. Fine enough outcome for Pacheco fantasy managers, but Patrick Mahomes probably would have had an extra passing TD to his total if Andy Reid had thrown the ole challenge flag.

“Not all interceptions are created equal.” — Mahatma Gandhi

While the box score doesn’t account for who to blame on any particular interception, Joshua Dobbs a rocket scientist isn’t always required to figure out that sometimes the QB wasn’t overly at fault.

Specifically:

Speaking of Dobbs: The “Passtronaut” tossed four separate interceptions during the Vikings' Monday night loss to the Bears, but the second one was due to a brutal Jordan Addison drop as opposed to anything the journeyman QB did wrong.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence’s only interception sure looked like it would have been catchable for TE Evan Engram if he wasn't grabbed by a Texans defender who had mistakenly tried to jump a screen route. Weird no-call in one of the more brutal officiated games you’ll ever see.

Colts QB Gardner Minshew and WR Josh Downs simply weren’t on the same page on an errant pass in the flat that saw the rookie receiver curl his route off instead of breaking out. It’s unclear who was exactly at fault on the choice route — I sort of lean Minshew — just realize this was more of a miscommunication issue than truly egregious decision or pass.

Finally, both Jets QB Tim Boyle and Chargers QB Justin Herbert had end-of-half Hail Mary attempts intercepted. Hilariously, Boyle’s was returned all the way back for the TD — I’m more upset with his tackle attempt than the actual throw (although let’s be real that wasn’t great either).

I think I speak for all of us when I say for one last time: Sheesh.

We’re on to Week 13.

Sheesh Report