Fantasy Football: The Things I Learned – Week 8, 2017

By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Below, check out my fantasy-centered recaps of key players from this week’s contests. For instance, did a player come back to earth after an aberrant breakout, or were they simply affected by something like game flow?

Vikings 33, Browns 16
This looked like an awful spot for the underwhelming Isaiah Crowell, but he played well against the Vikings’ tough run defense, as he rushed 11 times for 64 yards and a touchdown, plus caught 4-of-6 targets for 54 yards. He did lose a fumble, but the Browns went right back to him and he finished well. This game could be the start of something for Crowell, as his schedule after next week’s bye is pretty good, but he’s been more dud than stud this season.

Adam Thielen finally found the end zone this week, and if you are still on the fence about him, you are just wrong. Case Keenum is a decent backup, but for Thielen to still be a top-10 fantasy receiver with Keenum as his quarterback, is due to Thielen’s ability. This week, he caught 5-of-10 targets for 98 yards and a touchdown, and he has yet to have a game this season with fewer than five receptions.

Latavius Murray once again saw a big workload, but didn’t have nearly the success as he did last week, as he rushed 19 times for 39 yards and caught his one target for eight yards. His inability to gain yardage did help Jerick McKinnon get a goal-line carry later in the game, while McKinnon was again used extensively, as he rushed 14 times for 50 yards and his one-yard touchdown, plus caught 6-of-10 targets for 72 yards. Both backs are getting enough work to succeed in fantasy, but McKinnon has been the most consistent of the two in fantasy and should continue to be.

Bills 34, Raiders 14
Derek Carr completed 31-of-49 passes for 313 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He lived off the short pass and despite surpassing 300 yards, was certainly curtailed in relation to his huge game last week against Kansas City. Carr has yet to move on up to a fantasy play you can feel good about against average to good defenses.

The short-pass frenzy helped both Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington stay afloat in PPR leagues, with Richard catching 5-of-7 targets for 35 yards, alongside five rushing attempts for 21 yards, but Washington was the fantasy winner this week, as he caught 8-of-10 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown, while adding six rushes for 26 yards. Marshawn Lynch will be back next week against the Dolphins, but it appears Washington is probably the best fantasy asset after him.

Amari Cooper had a let-down game compared to last week, but if you compared his 5-of-9 receptions for 48 yards to the four games before last week, it would have been a big leap. Cooper needs big plays, and on this day, the dink-and-dunkers won.

The Bills relied on defense and LeSean McCoy this week, so Tyrod Taylor ended up only passing for 165 yards, but did throw a touchdown and rush for another. Andre Holmes was the receiving leader this week, as he took on his former team, but no receiver is doing anything consistently in Buffalo and should remain off the radar for fantasy.

McCoy once again had a huge game, as he totaled 173 yards and a touchdown. He gets the Jets next week, so keep riding that train.

Bengals 24, Colts 23
Frank Gore came back to life this week, rushing 16 times for 82 yards and catching all four of his targets for 19 more. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3, and his highest rushing output until now was also that week, with 57 yards on 25 carries. His upside is still low, but he’s not going away either.

Marlon Mack was disappointing on the ground with 11 carries for just 27 yards, but he did take a screen for a touchdown and caught 3-of-5 targets for 36 yards. He’ll continue to see usage, and his big-play ability makes him a viable flex play.

Jack Doyle was the big fantasy winner this week, as Jacoby Brissett targeted him two times more than any other receiver. Doyle caught 12-of-14 targets for 121 yards and a touchdown, while the Bengals hadn’t allowed any tight end to top 54 yards receiving and had only allowed one touchdown to the position all year. I bring this up because I told people he had a tough matchup and that he was a “sit,” and I was, oh, so very wrong.

The Bengals were 10-point favorites and won this game on a pick-six in the fourth quarter, so it wasn’t a dominating offensive performance in Cincinnati. Andy Dalton did throw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while also not turning the ball over, but his upside against this defense was much higher. The biggest spike in the wheel this week was A.J. Green being contained for 27 yards on eight targets. He did find the end zone, but for fantasy, this game should have been a smash for Green.

Joe Mixon looked good as a receiver, catching 3-of-3 targets for 91 yards, but rushed 11 times for just 18 yards and a fumble. He’s still a work in progress, but continues to lead the way in Cincinnati and should continue.

Patriots 21, Chargers 13
First off, why in the darn did Hunter Henry have just two targets? It is unacceptable, but also what happened. He’s still a TE1 moving forward, but closer to the back end until the Chargers get him more consistent targets.

Travis Benjamin led the Chargers with nine targets, catching five for 64 yards and a touchdown, and tacking on two carries for 14 more yards. He’s now caught a touchdown in his last two games, but has a bye week coming up and then faces the Jaguars’ shutdown secondary.

The Patriots’ backfield remains fruitful for receptions and yardage, but is also unpredictable, with four players vying for work. Dion Lewis led the way with 15 carries, but managed just 44 yards and added two receptions for 10 yards. James White led all of New England’s receivers with 85 yards on five receptions, while Rex Burkhead caught all seven of his targets for 68 yards. Mike Gillislee remained an afterthought, as he rushed 11 times for 34 yards. On any other team, this configuration in the backfield would just mean: stay away. The Patriots though give so much work and productive work to their backs that we’ll continue grasping at straws.

Chris Hogan caught 5-of-7 targets for 60 yards, but was injured at the end of the game when he took a hit under his shoulder. He was seen in a sling after the game. The Patriots have a bye next week, so he gets some extra time to heal.

Saints 20, Bears 12
Jordan Howard rushed 23 times for 102 yards and caught 3-of-5 targets for 19 yards, but also dropped a would-be touchdown and was then vultured by Tarik Cohen after the drop. Howard will remain a strong play because, as the Bears well know, he’s one of the only ways they can move the ball, but I would expect to see Cohen see more work in the passing game than he’s had of late.

Zach Miller had his knee dislocated after/as he caught a touchdown, which was then overruled as a drop, which was a crazy and a true insult to injury. Dion Sims will take over as the lead tight end, as Miller’s season is done, but Sims’ upside is about nil in this offense right now.

Mark Ingram led the way in fantasy for the Saints, as he ran the ball 18 times for 75 yards and a touchdown, plus added six receptions on six targets for 24 yards. He did dampen his big day with two lost fumbles late in the game.

Ingram’s backfield partner, Alvin Kamara, also had a nice game, as he rushed eight times for 28 yards and a touchdown, plus caught all three of his targets for 48 yards. He’s averaging 13.25 touches over his last four games, which appears to be enough for this talented back to keep putting up good fantasy production.

Willie Snead wasn’t even on the injury report, but ended up with zero targets this week. He looks like he’s lost his work to Ted Ginn Jr. and Brandon Coleman for the moment, so Snead is going to be tough to play until we see him get work. He’s droppable in most leagues now.

Falcons 25, Jets 20
Josh McCown continues to play well, and this week, he completed 26-of-33 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He’s now thrown multiple touchdowns in four straight games and has been a fantasy asset in the last three. Keep playing him in above-average matchups.

Robby Anderson has taken a step forward along with McCown and appears to be his top target now. This was Anderson’s breakout game for the season though, as he caught all six of his targets for 104 yards and a touchdown. With the Bills and Buccaneers on the docket, Anderson could continue putting up fantasy points.

Tevin Coleman actually out-touched Devonta Freeman this week, as he rushed 14 times for 82 yards and caught his lone pass for 22 yards, while Freeman ran the ball 12 times for 41 yards and caught 1-of-3 targets for 20 yards. Coleman had seen just 16 touches over his two previous games, so this might have been a way to get him back into the swing of things, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Eagles 33, 49ers 10
In a good matchup, Pierre Garcon caught 2-of-4 targets for 17 yards, but he also wasn’t on the field much in the second half after taking a late hit on the sidelines. If he had been on the field, it likely wouldn’t have mattered, as C.J. Beathard was not good all game.

Beathard had a tough matchup against the Eagles’ defensive line to be sure, but they can be thrown on and he was off all game. At this point, you have to just downgrade all 49ers fantasy players.

Carlos Hyde had an expectedly tough time running the ball, with 12 rushes for 25 yards, and despite nine targets, he ended up with just four receptions for 22 yards, while Matt Breida took a short pass for a touchdown and led the team in receiving with 39 yards! Hopefully Hyde gets traded, so he can possibly be on a team with a viable quarterback.

Carson Wentz completed 18-of-32 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, which was a down game for him, but a steady rain and no offense from San Francisco pushed his numbers down, as he sat out much of the fourth quarter with a big lead. Hopefully the weather will be better next week as the Eagles host the Broncos. If he can put up fantasy numbers in that spot, he’s going to be tough to beat by lesser defenses.

Panthers 17, Buccaneers 3
Jameis Winston’s setback to his throwing shoulder might have been more of a concern than we first thought, because he was not getting the ball where it needed to be. He completed 21-of-38 passes for 210 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, plus lost a fumble. His decision-making ability remains iffy as well, and that has nothing to do with an injury. Winston is just too inconsistent to feel strongly about in fantasy.

Doug Martin didn’t put up big fantasy numbers, but he was okay, rushing 18 times for 71 yards and adding a four-yard reception. Jacquizz Rodgers was the only other Tampa Bay back to touch the ball, and he had one carry and one reception. Martin is set up well in this offense and just needs a good matchup to turn in a strong fantasy day. That could happen next week against the Saints.

Cam Newton completed 18-of-32 passes for 154 yards, one touchdown and an interception, plus took 11 carries for 44 yards. It was a poor game against a bad defense, and his inaccuracy was again a problem.

Seahawks 41, Texans 38
Holy wow! What a game! If you like football, and I think you do, I hope you got to watch this game, because it was fun and had fantasy points dripping like sweat off a lineman’s arse. DeShaun Watson completed 19-of-30 passes for 402 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, plus added eight rushing attempts for 67 yards. It wasn’t all bread and roses of course, as he was pick-sixed by Earl Thomas and tossed two other interceptions, but his offensive numbers speak for themselves. He has now thrown three or more touchdowns in four straight games, making him the first ever rookie to do so. And I’m sure there are plenty of other rookie records just waiting to be broken by Watson, who did this against one of the best defenses in the league. He faces the Colts at home next week. R.I.P. Indy.

The fantasy stats were numerous in this one, with Will Fuller catching two touchdowns, giving him seven through his first four games of the season, and DeAndre Hopkins catching 8-of-11 targets for 224 yards and a touchdown, his seventh on the season, and Lamar Miller catching and running in touchdowns. All of Houston’s fantasy players went off in a huge way against the Seahawks, who gave up over 200 more yards than they usually do in a game to the Houston Texans, who without Watson, couldn’t move the ball a few feet at a time.

Amazingly, despite allowing 509 yards to the Texans, the Seahawks gained 479 and won the game on Russell Wilson’s last-minute heroics. Wilson completed 26-of-41 passes for 452 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while rushing four times for 30 yards. He was raining deep passes to Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson, and creating time for his receivers to get open, and stepped up in a big way. He’s put up huge numbers in his last two outings and should be able to continue his hot streak with Washington, at Arizona, Atlanta, at San Francisco and Philadelphia on the docket.

Cowboys 33, Redskins 19
Kirk Cousins completed 26-of-39 passes for 263 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and also lost a fumble, as he was being harassed much of the day. That harassment is due to three of his offensive lineman being out and losing another during the game. The wind and rain weren’t that helpful either.

Jordan Reed hurt his hamstring and didn’t return to this game, while Terrelle Pryor has been completely demoted into the “one target on 20 snaps” level of receiver hell. That left Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson, and Doctson ended the day with one reception for one yard; amazingly for his fantasy backers, that one yard was a touchdown reception.

Crowder was the big winner this week, as he caught 9-of-13 targets for 123 yards and rushed twice for 12 yards. He was the clear No. 1 in this game, and with Reed out, could easily continue that designation unless Doctson steps up big and fast.

Dak Prescott had his worst game of the season in terms of fantasy, as the weather was inhospitable to the passing game and the Cowboys were getting good yardage on the ground. He did his job this week, but next week, he should be back for fantasy, as he’ll be in likely better weather at home against Kansas City.

On this bad weather day, the Cowboys turned to the run game and gave Ezekiel Elliott a whopping 33 carries, which he took for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Elliot’s status moving forward is very much up in the air though, as he’ll be in New York on Monday to try to get a temporary injunction on his suspension.

Steelers 20, Lions 15
Matthew Stafford completed 27-of-45 passes for 423 yards. That’s it. No touchdowns, interceptions, fumbles, bee attacks, nothing. He’s now the only player to ever have two 400-yard passing games with zero touchdown passes. The Steelers were a sieve until the Lions got near the goal line, where they turned into something less-sieve like. Maybe a lid of some sort. But the only beneficiary of that was Matt Prater, who kicked five field goals and continued to look a lot like comedian Nick Swardson.

Ameer Abdullah is just too small and easy to tackle. He has the moves to get the edge and get by people, but they don’t have to do enough to get him down. Against the Steelers, he rushed 11 times for 27 yards and caught three passes for 11 yards. Theo Riddick rushed four times for 21 yards and caught two passes for 24 yards. Those aren’t apples-to-apples stats, but Abdullah needs to do more and I just don’t think he has it in him.

This was JuJu Smith Schuster’s night, as he caught 7-of-10 targets for 193 yards and a touchdown. He saw increased snaps with Martavis Bryant benched and came up big in the meantime. This game will keep him at the forefront of this offense and could make it more palatable for the Steelers to trade Bryant, but that is all speculation. Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell remain the core of this offense and will always keep the other players at bay in fantasy.

For more thoughts, check out Walt’s updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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