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?
Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6
Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott both went over 100 yards, with Elliott seeing a 67 percent snap share to Pollard’s 33 percent. Pollard shared work throughout but did see an uptick with a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter. We could see more Pollard moving forward, but I’d expect it will happen more often in games where the outcome is fairly certain.
Randall Cobb had a 70-yard touchdown called back due to offsetting penalties, which would have given him a big day for fantasy. He’s not going to see a ton of targets, but there will be games in which he is worth starting.
Both DeVante Parker and Preston Williams saw a big chunk of air yards, but they weren’t successful enough to convert on those opportunities. The opportunities are there, so I expect to see some intermittent games where these two will have fantasy value, but it will be tough to guess right as to when you should start them.
Kenyan Drake saw six targets, which is a season high and appears to have moved ahead of Kalen Ballage a little more with 18 looks to Ballage’s 11 looks and was more efficient, as Ballage has been awful and Drake has been not as awful. Even if Drake is traded, Ballage would still have little value due to the overall offense and his deficiencies as a football player.
Bills 21, Bengals 17
Josh Allen hasn’t been airing it out as much as last year due to winning game scripts to start the season. That has allowed Allen to target Cole Beasley and Dawson Knox more in a ball-control offense. John Brown is still getting No. 1 receiver work, but the volume will likely come when the Bills are losing, which we should see against the Patriots this week.
Frank Gore had a good game as the lead back with a lead against a bad run defense. He’ll be a recommended start if he sees a game like this one again, but I wouldn’t count on it happening too often unless Devin Singletary misses more time than he’s set to.
Joe Mixon put together a good game with 85 total yards despite the negative game script, which is the best we could hope for in this matchup. He’s still splitting work with Gio Bernard in the passing game, but the Bengals’ offense is more creative under Zac Taylor and I think Mixon will get things going at some point.
John Ross continues to see opportunities, but he remains a work in progress, as he fumbled and had yet another drop. He’ll remain boom or bust, but as long as he’s seeing the targets he’s had so far, he will remain a useful fantasy play.
Lions 27, Eagles 24
Kerryon Johnson had a 75 percent snap share, the highest of his career, and he rushed 20 times. Unfortunately, the Eagles stacked the box and held him to a measly 36 yards. He did run more routes than he has all season, but he ended up with just one target. Thankfully, he got into the end zone. No matter what, this was a good sign and I like his chances against the weak Kansas City defense as long as he’s still on the field for those passing downs.
Marvin Jones had his breakout game against Philadelphia, while Kenny Golladay saw good targets but had efficiency problems. Golladay is still the No. 1 receiver, but Jones isn’t going to be window dressing.
Miles Sanders fumbled twice on the same drive, losing the second one. That had him in the doghouse for a while and could hurt his outlook moving forward, as fumbling was an issue with him in college. He still got work later in the game and was fine, so he’s still going to get his chances, but his leash is much shorter and Jordan Howard got a goal-line touchdown before Sanders fumbled.
Patriots 30, Jets 14
Sony Michel ran the ball nine times for 11 yards in a game the Patriots had a 30-0 lead in the third quarter. He luckily got a goal-line touchdown to keep his day from being an utter disaster, but he has now broken one tackle all season, according to PFF, and Rex Burkhead has looked better and won more work. Burkhead did see an uptick in targets with James White out, so we can’t rely on those moving forward, but Burkhead appears to be in line for a good share of the workload in a committee.
Julian Edelman hurt his ribs in this game before he could put up huge numbers, but initial reports seem to be optimistic. Josh Gordon and Edelman are each on their way to big fantasy years, especially if Michel doesn’t have the ability to bury teams with the run.
The Jets totaled 105 yards and six first downs against the Patriots. That’s all you need to know until Sam Darnold returns after the bye.
Colts 27, Falcons 24
Marlon Mack came into this game a little banged up but still put together a good fantasy line of 16-74-1 with a couple of receptions. His injury status probably pushed Jacoby Brissett to throw a bit more along with the close game and helped Brissett put up good fantasy numbers, but he should continue to be a useful fantasy quarterback in good matchups.
T.Y. Hilton put together a good game but had to leave early with an injury. Nobody really stepped up as the No. 1 after him, as Brissett spread the ball around evenly. Hilton’s injury, if it keeps him out, probably won’t point us to a specific player to play instead of him.
Ito Smith suffered a concussion, and Devonta Freeman had his best game of the season with 16 rushing attempts for 88 yards and three receptions for seven yards. This was a great matchup for him, and he still didn’t do much outside some big gainers through wide holes up the gut. He’ll need to see more work as a receiver to put up consistent numbers, and that hasn’t happened.
Vikings 34, Raiders 14
Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs continue to get the bulk of the Vikings’ targets, but in games where they aren’t trailing, they will continue to be limited in their workload. Adam Thielen has gotten touchdowns, so people aren’t as ready to throw him to the wolves, but Diggs has been a dud. Both will have dud games on the horizon as long as Dalvin Cook and the defense are playing well.
Dalvin Cook rushed 16 times for 110 yards and a touchdown, adding four receptions for 33 more yards. He’s been amazing this season, and the Vikings are 100 percent committed to the run. His receiving usage is also good enough that even in games where his team trails, he should be able to cobble enough touches together for good fantasy points. He lost a touchdown to Adam Thielen on a one-yard sweep and to Alexander Mattison inside the 10-yard line. Cook’s upside is incredible in plus matchups and great in all other matchups.
Darren Waller is living the good fantasy life with Antonio Brown out of town, as he’s seen a whopping 30 percent target share and has caught 26-of-29 targets. He has yet to find the end zone but still ranks third in PPR points for tight ends. He may not get double-digit touchdown numbers, but he will get some sooner than later with all of those targets.
Chiefs 33, Ravens 28
Mahomes has been flawless through three weeks and just completed 27-for-37 passes for 374 and three touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the league without his best receiver. He truly is remarkable.
The receiving breakdown remained what we expected, but Sammy Watkins, despite still Kansas City’s No. 1 receiver, isn’t getting into the end zone like Mecole Hardman and DeMarcus Robinson. Touchdowns are fickle, so I’m not overly concerned.
Kansas City’s running back situation was odd, as Darrel Williams appeared to take on Damien Williams’ role with LeSean McCoy keeping the work he had before Damien Williams’ injury. McCoy got the coveted touchdowns, but Williams put up good yardage. You can make a case for any of these backs in such a strong offense, so if you have room grab any that are left, even the fourth-string back, Darwin Thompson.
Mark Ingram was the motor of the Ravens’ offense as the Chiefs did what they could to slow down Lamar Jackson. It kind of worked, as Kansas City won, but Ingram rushed for three touchdowns while Jackson rushed for another. Against a team with a lesser offense, that likely would have been a blowout, but Mahomes is otherworldly.
Packers 27, Broncos 16
Aaron Jones continues to start and get touches near the goal line, but Jamaal Williams is severely limiting Jones’ upside, as he out-touched, snapped and gained him against the Broncos. We can’t always count on two rushing touchdowns from Jones, so at the moment, we need to knock him down until we see him get the bulk of work.
Davante Adams once again had a tough matchup, this time against Chris Harris. In previous seasons, Aaron Rodgers would have had so many pass plays that no matter the matchup, Adams would see good targets and win enough to put up strong numbers. The pass attempts aren’t as high this season, and Rodgers is pickier about the matchups he chooses to target. After the game, Rodgers did say he needed to get Adams more looks, and I expect he will, but Adams will have trouble being as consistent as he has been.
The Broncos continue to split Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman’s workload, but this week, we saw Lindsay as the clear goal-line back, scoring two touchdowns. For the moment, that makes Lindsay the better play of the two, but it’s still a close committee.
Panthers 38, Cardinals 20
Kyle Allen threw just 26 passes against the Cardinals, but managed four touchdowns while the team went conservative, giving Christian McCaffrey 24 rushing attempts, which he turned into 153 yards and a touchdown. He won’t face an easier defense, but he does have the weapons to be successful in fantasy even if he doesn’t throw a ton.
Greg Olsen was the latest tight end to dismantle the Cardinals’ defense, as he caught 6-of-7 targets for 75 yards and two touchdowns. You’ll want to play all fantasy players against Arizona, especially the tight ends.
Kyler Murray finally ran this week, accumulating 69 yards on eight attempts. That’s nice to see for his floor, but he also threw underneath a ton, as his line doesn’t give him much time to throw. Murray is also taking a beating with eight sacks this week and 16 all-together. That kind of pressure doesn’t bode well for his upside.
Giants 32, Buccaneers 31
Daniel Jones was the spark the Giants needed for years now and they finally got it. How he does from here is anybody’s guess, but his rushing ability is something we can latch onto in fantasy to keep his floor higher.
Saquon Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain and looks like he’ll be out 6-8 weeks. It is a good thing running backs don’t matter! Wayne Gallman will take his place, which means we will likely see a bunch of Daniel Jones.
Mike Evans got going in a huge way by catching 8-of-15 targets for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Chris Godwin took a backseat this week, and O.J. Howard showed some life, but the good news is that there were enough fantasy points to go around, although Evans just hogged them all.
The Bucs gave up big numbers to the Giants, which is what we were hoping for in fantasy. Tampa Bay did start out the season playing strong defense and will likely be a little better under Todd Bowles than last year, but the team just doesn’t have the personnel to shut teams down. A poor defense and a strong passing offense is what we want out of the Bucs so we can play fantasy players against them while also getting points from their passing-game starters due to them trailing. This week was a good start to that idea.
Ronald Jones outplayed Peyton Barber easily, and it’s just a matter of time before he takes over the majority of work. Of course, Dare Ogunbowale will remain the third-down back and Barber will take a while to eliminate from the game plan, so the upside isn’t great in fantasy.
Saints 33, Seahawks 27
The Saints won this game somehow. I don’t think Teddy Bridgewater threw the ball past the line of scrimmage more than oncem but some help from his defense, special teams and Alvin Kamara did the trick.
Kamara was the offense in this game, as he played a career high in snaps and caught 9-of-10 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown while adding 69 yards and another touchdown on 16 carries. The Saints’ offense as a whole was bad, but Kamara was amazing. Bridgewater will need to get the ball to his other play-makers at some point though.
Seattle continues to use Russell Wilson as an emergency plan instead of the base plan for the offense. That would make sense if Josh Rosen was the Seahawks’ quarterback, but he isn’t. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when they were down by 20 points that they let Wilson loose, and as expected, he went off. In the fourth quarter alone, he ran for two touchdowns and threw for 211 yards and another touchdown. On the day, he hit 400 yards passing and totaled four touchdowns, so you’re lucky Seattle was trailing by 20 in the fourth quarter, I guess.
I don’t think we need to worry too much about Tyler Lockett’s usage. There will be games in which he doesn’t get as much work as he should, but he’s the no-doubt No. 1 receiver and Wilson and Lockett are extremely efficient together. This week, he caught 11-of-14 targets for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Chris Carson fumbled yet again, and t was returned for a touchdown this time. That got his butt planted on the bench, and C.J. Prosise saw a lot of work in comeback mode. Coach Carroll did say all the right things about Carson after the game, which, if you want to believe him, means Carson will remain the lead back. I can’t say I believe him completely, and if Rashaad Penny is back this week, I’ll have trouble recommending either as a smash start in a smash spot against Arizona.
Texans 27, Chargers 20
Deshaun Watson led his team to a come-from-behind victory, putting up 351 passing yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately for fantasy players, those three touchdowns went to two tight ends. And unless you are in a 20-team league, you likely don’t have Darren Fells or Jordan Akins rostered, let alone starting. Also unfortunate is that the two tight ends split snaps and aren’t worth adding in fantasy.
Kenny Stills led the wide receivers in receiving, which is good, but with DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller also there, it will be tough to count on Stills from week to week.
Carlos Hyde ran in a short touchdown, but he had just 10 carries for 19 yards on the day. He very much needs a lead to salt away to reach his upside.
Keenan Allen is a stud. Opponents know he’s going to see a ton of targets and still can’t stop him. This week, he caught 14-of-17 targets for 183 yards and two touchdowns. That huge number didn’t leave much for Mike Williams, but Williams should be healthy now and his usage should go up enough to have some consistency moving forward.
Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson didn’t get all the much going this week. Ekeler remains a target hog and the lead back, while Jackson has seen a slight increase in work. Against the Dolphins, I’d feel fine playing both.
49ers 24, Steelers 20
This game burned my eyeballs for the most part, but things did happen. Jeff Wilson is the 49ers’ goal-line back, as he scored two touchdowns. The trouble for Wilson is that Tevin Coleman could return as early as Week 5, after the 49ers’ bye, and Wilson would likely be the odd man out.
Matt Breida continues to look like the best runner in San Francisco, but just isn’t getting enough work to show his upside. He’ll remain a flex option because he can make a lot out of nothing.
James Conner saw an uptick in work, but he did little to nothing with it and lost a fumble. If he can’t put up 100 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals this week, his backers should worry, a lot.
Mason Rudolph and the Steelers’ play-calling were mostly bad. They did little to dissuade the 49ers’ defense from stacking the box and making Rudolph beat them, which he didn’t and was rarely given the chance to. Playing the Bengals this week might push this offense up a bit, but it would probably be temporary.
Rams 20, Browns 13
Cooper Kupp was the star on Sunday night, catching 11-of-12 targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He is now firmly ahead of Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods in targets with 31 to their 22 and 23 respectively. The good news for those other two is that their targets continue to have more yardage attached to them and both should be able to put up big games moving forward. Kupp does appear to be the preferred target though and should continue to see plenty of shorter and easier receptions to pad his PPR stats.
Todd Gurley isn’t getting many targets, and that may be one reason Kupp is getting such a glut of them. Gurley played bigger snaps than he has been, but still isn’t getting the touches we were used to in the past, especially as a receiver.
The Browns’ offense isn’t even the Browns offense of last season, despite being upgraded with one of the best wide receivers in the league. Play-calling has been a big problem, but the offensive line has Baker Mayfield seeing ghosts and running backward at the first sense of a breakdown isn’t good for moving the ball forward. Hopefully Cleveland gets it fixed, but Freddie Kitchens doesn’t want to hand play calling over to Todd Monken, who led the Buccaneers to one of the best passing offenses in the league last season.
Nick Chubb continues to see good usage and in the passing game as well. His fantasy outlook should remain strong even with the offense as a whole not living up to expectations.
Bears 31, Redskins 15
Taylor Gabriel went off for three touchdowns, but trying to get anything close to that out of him again is going to be a fool’s errand. Allen Robinson is the No. 1 receiver and is the only one who will be able to show any consistency in this offense.
Mitch Trubisky was saved by the Bears passing near the goal line instead of running, as he dinked and dunked his way to 231 passing yards on just 162 air yards on 31 attempts. The Bears’ defense won this game, and Trubisky will be lucky to throw for three touchdowns in any other game this year.
David Montgomery lost out due to the Bears throwing near the goal line, but that won’t happen each week. He’s not a player we can plug in and know is going to go off, but he’s getting the snaps of a starter and splitting routes with Tarik Cohen. The opportunity is there, and with the Bears defense still dominant, there will be games in which Montgomery gets a big workload.
Case Keenum is averaging 40 passing attempts per game and ranks ninth in quarterback fantasy points. Three interceptions against the Bears isn’t optimal of course, but it is the Bears. Dwayne Haskins likely will take over at some point, but until then Keenum is chucking the ball when trailing and Washington will likely trail a lot.
All that passing has helped rookie Terry McLaurin find great consistency, as he’s found the end zone and topped five receptions in each of his first three games. His ability and the lack of strong receivers around him should help him stay consistent as long as Washington doesn’t get out to an early lead and keep it by running Adrian Peterson.
Chris Thompson rushed seven times for 29 yards and caught 4-of-5 targets for 78 yards while beating Adrian Peterson in snap share due to a long time in comeback mode. This plus a touchdown is Thompson’s ceiling, and I expect him to hit it at some point, but things have to be just right for him. In PPR leagues, he should remain a good flex option.
