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?
Patriots 16, Bills 10
Tom Brady completed 18-of-39 passes for 150 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Bills’ defense is for real, so this isn’t a huge knock on Brady or this offense’s ability for the long term.
The Patriots couldn’t get anything going in the passing game, which led to James White leading the team in targets, receptions and yards, catching 8-of-10 for 57 yards. With Sony Michel not playing great and Rex Burkhead continually dealing with injuries and only seeing one touch this week, White may again rise to must-start status, but it remains to be seen.
Josh Allen had a bad game against this Patriots defense last season, and it got worse this week, as he completed 13-of-28 passes for 153 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He did find the end zone on the ground yet again, but that wasn’t enough to help him out of the fantasy graveyard with this performance. He also was knocked from the game late in the third quarter from a vicious Jonathan Jones hit.
Frank Gore continued to defy the wheel of time by rushing 17 times for 109 yards, but he had no receptions or touchdowns, which are fairly important in fantasy. Devin Singletary should return next week in Tennessee.
Cole Beasley was the target leader with 13, which he caught seven of for 75 yards. In games where the Bills are trailing, Beasley should remain a consistent full-PPR receiver, but the Bills’ defense is good enough to keep games close and the Bills in the lead against lesser opponents.
Titans 24, Falcons 10
Marcus Mariota only threw 27 passes, but he completed 18 for 227 yards and three touchdowns, as the Falcons’ defense put up no resistance. The loss of Keanu Neal is one part of that, but as a whole, they are lacking defensive play-makers as their best defensive back Desmond Trufant was dog-walked by Corey Davis and A.J. Brown.
A.J. Brown led the Titans in receiving yards and touchdowns with 94 and two on just three targets, while Corey Davis caught 5-of-6 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. Both are great receivers, but against better defenses, Mariota is going to have trouble getting the ball to them.
Derrick Henry wasn’t very efficient, as he rushed 27 times for 100 yards and caught 1-of-2 targets for eight yards. But that workload, wow. He doesn’t have anyone vulturing work away from him, and the team is committed to getting him going even in games where they trail. He was unlucky not to get into the end zone this week.
Matt Ryan threw for 397 yards and no touchdowns. That has only happened 10 times in the last 68 years! Trailing early pushed Ryan to throw 53 times and rack up all of the yards. He managed to not throw a pick or a touchdown and continues to put up big yardage, and we know the touchdowns will usually be there with Julio Jones leading the way.
Austin Hooper and Mohammed Sanu were the target and yardage hogs, as the Titans did well in containing Julio Jones all game. That won’t be the way it is every week, but Hooper is starting to look like a true target blocker for Calvin Ridley at this point.
Browns 40, Ravens 25
Nick Chubb won a lot of people their matchups this week, as he rushed 20 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns, including an 88-yard back-breaker to seal the win. He also caught 3-of-4 targets for 18 yards to push those PPR numbers up. He’s making it hard for Kareem Hunt to grab many touches once he returns.
Jarvis Landry was the non-Chubb to grab a few fantasy points, as he caught 8-of-10 targets for 167 yards. Those numbers could have been even better if Landry hadn’t suffered a concussion late in the third quarter. Marlon Humphrey shut Odell Beckham Jr. down, as he caught just 2-of-7 targets for 70 yards. It will usually be the other way around.
Demetrius Harris wasn’t targeted. Instead it was Ricky Seals-Jones who caught all three of his targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. Three targets aren’t all that worthwhile, but that was second on the team and he looks like the offensive tight end to own while David Njoku is out.
The Browns’ defense kept the Ravens out of rhythm all game and held Lamar Jackson down throughout. Jackson did manage to put together a good fantasy game with some help from garbage-time points and his usual rushing prowess and is sitting at fantasy QB2 before the last two games of the week. He’s a fantasy cheat code.
Mark Andrews led the Ravens in targets and scored a touchdown. He remains the safest of Baltimore’s pass-catchers to play each week and appears to be over his foot injury.
Mark Ingram had 71 yards rushing, but on just 12 carries, as he work was limited with the big deficit and he had just one target which he didn’t catch.
Chiefs 34, Lions 30
What if I told you Patrick Mahomes threw for 315 yards, had no turnovers and his team won 34-30? I’d be pretty dang jazzed if my fake team had him leading it, but no, NO! NO TDS FOR YOU! LeSean McCoy rushed for a touchdown, and Darrell Williams rushed for two more, as the Lions’ pass defense played well all game.
Darrell Williams had two rushing touchdowns and 13 yards on eight carries while catching 3-of-4 targets for 43 yards. LeSean McCoy rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries while catching 2-of-4 targets for 33 yards. All of that is to say they split work and both found the end zone, but McCoy did look better as a pure runner. When Damien Williams returns, he will likely take Darrel Williams’ touches in the committee.
Kenny Golladay had a touchdown questionably overturned, but he made up for it with two more touchdowns and 67 yards on five receptions. He’s still the lead receiver each week and has plenty of upside due to his ability, even when the Lions are mostly running the ball.
Matthew Stafford completed 21-of-34 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He still has it, but even in a close game with Kansas City, he only threw the ball 34 times while the team ran it 35 times.
Twenty-six of Detroit’s carries went to Kerryon Johnson, who put up 125 yards rushing and added 32 yards on two receptions. It was great to see him get the work of a true workhorse back, but unfortunately, he had a killer fumble at the goal line that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown. Thankfully, the Lions don’t have anyone who can remotely hang with Johnson as a lead back, so his role remains safe.
T.J. Hockenson caught a touchdown, but he had to be carted off after trying to hurdle defenders and being slammed hard to the ground. He will be in the concussion protocol this week.
Panthers 16, Texans 10
Kyle Allen came back to earth this week, as he lost three fumbles and didn’t throw a touchdown pass. He did manage to not throw an interception, but he was very lucky his team played great defense.
Christian McCaffrey remained the engine, the frame and all the oily car doo-hickies for the Panthers, as he rushed 27 times for 93 yards and a touchdown and caught 10 passes for 86 additional yards. He is taking on some real wear and tear, and his resale value, though high, isn’t what it was a couple games ago.
Deshaun Watson completed 21-of-33 passes for 160 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions, but did get in from one yard out for a rushing touchdown. The Panthers’ defense is for real, so Watson will be fine.
Carlos Hyde remained the lead back for the Texans, but Duke Johnson saw more snaps due to his team trailing. Johnson had an explosive 40-yard run that should have shown the coaching staff that he needs to be out there more, but Hyde was fine as he rushed 12 times for 58 yards. Hyde actually saw more targets than Johnson, as he caught four passes to Johnson’s two, but Johnson put up 22 yards on those receptions to Hyde’s six yards.
Kenny Stills left the game due to an injury in the second quarter. He pulled up after making a reception and looks like he will miss some time. Keke Coutee will take his slot job back while Stills is out.
Raiders 31, Colts 24
Derek Carr completed 21-of-31 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns and lost one fumble. A quick lead pushed the Raiders to run more, so Carr didn’t do much after his second touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Tyrell Williams caught Carr’s second touchdown pass, which was his fourth touchdown reception of the year. Williams is a strong red-zone target for Carr, and despite his low yardage total, he should remain a startable wide receiver each week.
Josh Jacobs totaled 108 yards on 19 touches but didn’t find the end zone. He had two receptions for 29 yards, but didn’t see many routes and Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington continue to see third-down reps. That means Jacobs is either going to need to win more passing-down snaps or the Raiders will need to lead for most of their games. I think you know the likelihood of the latter.
Jacoby Brissett completed 24-of-46 passes for 265 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and was plagued by multiple drops by his receivers. He also threw a pick-six late in the game, but there was no doubt he missed the sure hands of T.Y. Hilton in this one.
Marlon Mack rushed 11 times for 39 yards. It appears he saw a reduction in work due to his ankle injury and the bad game script, as the Colts trailed the whole time. He likely would have done better and had more work at full health, but he’s going to see lighter usage in games where his team trails.
Chargers 30, Dolphins 10
Philip Rivers completed 24-of-30 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns. It was an extremely efficient day, as the Dolphins took away the deep pass and Rivers was without Mike Williams and Travis Benjamin. Rivers remains a low-ceiling quarterback due to his team’s snail-like pace and affinity for the run, but in good game scripts, he can go off.
Austin Ekeler took his last chance as the lead back to put up big numbers in a cake matchup. He ran the ball 18 times for 60 yards and a touchdown, plus caught five passes for 62 yards and another touchdown. There was some concern that Melvin Gordon would take away some work, but he never stepped on the field. Unfortunately for Ekeler backers, Gordon will take over as the lead back moving forward. Ekeler remains a startable fantasy asset, but his consistency will take a hit.
Josh Rosen completed 17-of-24 passes for 180 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and while he looked good at times, he had trouble with pressure. Rosen is playing with the worst roster in the league, so it is difficult to evaluate his play, but he’s not elevating his team.
DeVante Parker had his best game of the season, as he caught all four of his targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. He’s the No. 1 receiver on a bad team, so he will need big plays to put up fantasy points and he got them this week. It won’t be consistent.
Giants 24, Redskins 3
Daniel Jones completed 23-of-31 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, plus racked up 33 yards on five rushing attempts. It wasn’t a great game, but against Washington, he didn’t need to do much. He was never going to consistently put up days like he did against Tampa Bay, but he does make the offense run better and gets the ball to his play-makers.
Wayne Gallman rushed 18 times for 63 yards and one touchdown, plus caught 6-of-7 targets for 55 yards and another touchdown. You can’t ask for much better than that from Gallman. His strong usage as a receiver is what we like to see in fantasy, as he can’t be scripted completely out of games. If you paid big FAAB or a No. 1 waiver slot, you should be pretty happy right now.
Case Keenum was awful to start this game, which then brought Dwayne Haskins in, who then wasn’t that much better. It was a bad situation to put Haskins in, as he was trailing and Terry McLaurin was out with an injury, but Haskins wasn’t up for the task as he threw three interceptions and completed 9-of-17 passes for 107 yards and no touchdowns. Washington gets to face the Patriots next week, unfortunately.
Seahawks 27, Cardinals 10
Russell Wilson completed 22-of-28 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown. As a fan of good quarterback play, I despise Brian Schottenheimer and his need to turn Wilson into a game manager, but this is the way it is. Seattle needs to be down by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Schottenheimer lets Wilson do his thing.
Chris Carson didn’t find the end zone, but he did control the running back touches and didn’t fumble on his way to 104 yards on 22 rushes and 41 yards on 4-of-4 receptions. Rashaad Penny’s hamstring injury came at the wrong time.
Kyler Murray got his first rushing touchdown, but he was again bottled up as he completed 22-of-32 passes for 241 yards and an interception while adding 27 rushing yards on five carries to go along with the touchdown. This offense is stuck in the mud due mainly to a terrible offensive line. It may help David Johnson’s PPR numbers, but that’s about it.
David Johnson caught 8-of-11 targets for 99 yards due to Arizona’s inability to keep a clean pocket and Murray not wanting to get hit over and over again.
Larry Fitzgerald passed Tony Gonzalez on the all-time receptions list and went into second place, where Jerry Rice is about two billion receptions ahead of him.
Christian Kirk had to leave this game late after getting his ankle/leg twisted. After Fitzgerald and Kirk, there isn’t a strong pecking order and I wouldn’t want to invest in another Cardinals receiver the way they are playing right now.
Buccaneers 55, Rams 40
Holy moly, what a scoring bonanza in L.A. The Rams’ pass defense had been lights out coming into this game, but Jameis Winston was having none of it, as he completed 28-of-41 passes for 385 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. This was a huge game for him, and now after a slow start, he’s gone off the last two games for 765 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He’ll take on a beatable Saints defense next week.
After Mike Evans went off last week and Chris Godwin only got half a practice in on Friday, Godwin goes absolutely bonkers in L.A. He caught 12-of-14 targets for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evans chipped in four receptions on seven targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. The Rams’ pass defense was burned and pillaged.
Peyton Barber got an early touchdown in this game but ended up rushing nine times for 19 yards, while Ronald Jones rushed 19 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Barber didn’t catch a pass. while Jones caught one for 12 yards. but Dare Ogunbowale remained the preferred passing-down back with three receptions for 16 yards. But in the end, I think we can say that Jones has passed Barber on the depth chart.
Jared Goff completed 45-of-68 passes for 517 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, which is good for fantasy, but in real life, he was the opposite of good.
Todd Gurley rushed five times for 16 yards and two touchdowns, plus caught 7-of-11 passes for 54. Those aren’t great rushing numbers, as Malcolm Brown had the same number, but the touchdowns are extremely nice to see. But the targets may be even better for his fantasy outlook, as he hasn’t been nearly as involved in the passing game as he was early on last season. It may have something to do with Goff throwing the ball 68 times, but it’s still a good sign.
Cooper Kupp continues to put up big numbers, and this week, he caught 9-of-15 targets for 121 yards and a touchdown. The insanity that this game was will drive up stats, but he still tied for the team lead in targets.
Kupp tied with Robert Woods in targets, but Woods caught more, as he reeled in 13-of-15 targets for 164 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, but after a slow start to the season, it’s good to see him put up big numbers like we know he can.
Bears 16, Vikings 6
Mitchell Trubisky went down early in this one and never returned. He has a left shoulder injury that we don’t know the extent of yet, but all signs point to him missing games.
Chase Daniel came in for Trubisky and completed 22-of-30 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. Daniel wasn’t anything special, but he was competent and did enough to kill some clock and score 16 points while his defense did the heavy lifting.
Allen Robinson was the best offensive player for Chicago, and Daniel targeted him as such. Robinson caught all seven of his targets for 77 yards, mostly in the first half, before the Bears went ultra conservative and gave the ball to David Montgomery so he could get his 2.5 yards per carry.
Montgomery ran the ball 21 times for 53 yards and caught 3-of-5 targets for an additional 14 yards. No touchdowns for the inefficient Montgomery doomed his fantasy day, even with 24 touches. The touches are good, but he’s yet to show he can do anything other than get what’s blocked for him.
Kirk Cousins completed 27-of-36 passes for 233 yards and took six sacks, fumbling twice. The Bears, even with a big chunk of their starting defense out, destroyed the Vikings. Cousins isn’t a great quarterback, but he didn’t have much to work with against this defense on the road.
Dalvin Cook managed to get into the end zone to save his day, but like the rest of the offensive players, he was stifled by the defense, as he rushed 14 times for 35 yards and caught 6-of-8 targets for 35 more yards. His touchdown and receptions made him the fantasy MVP for Minnesota.
With Cousins needing to throw more than usual, he did find Stefon Diggs on seven passes for 108 yards. Diggs did lose a fumble, but it was his best game of the year and good to see.
Jaguars 26, Broncos 24
Gardner Minshew completed 19-of-33 passes for 213 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as he led the Jaguars to a win in Denver. These aren’t numbers you’re winning your fantasy games with, but he’s helping the Jaguars move the ball and giving their offensive players a chance to succeed, which means fantasy points.
Leonard Fournette rushed 29 times for 225 yards and caught 2-of-3 targets for 20 yards, giving him a whopping 245 yards on the day. He didn’t get into the end zone, but I think we can give him a pass this week, especially after nearly going negative last Thursday night. His passing-game work wasn’t huge, but it has been much higher this year than last, and in games where his team trails, he’ll see more targets. His usage would make him elite if he can start getting into the end zone.
Joe Flacco, yes, that Joe Flacco, completed 22-of-38 passes for 303 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He wasn’t perfect, and the Jaguars were without Jalen Ramsey, but it was a strong game from the cement-shoed quarterback. He has the outings like this once in a while, but the likelihood of seeing them consistently is, as the Magic 8-ball says, “outlook not so good.”
Courtland Sutton was the big fantasy stud with two touchdown receptions and 62 yards on 6-of-9 receptions, while Emmanuel Sanders put up more yardage but no touchdowns while he caught 5-of-9 passes for 104 yards. Both have shown decent consistency this year. It might be tough for both to go off at the same time consistently, but they’re the go-to receivers and Denver’s defense hasn’t been pushing the offense to run the ball with leads.
Phillip Lindsay out-rushed Royce Freeman this week by putting up a 9/53 line to Freeman’s 6/16 line, but Freeman was the preferred receiving back, getting six targets which, he caught four for 34 yards while Lindsay saw one target. These two continue to split work fairly evenly, but if Freeman is the preferred receiving back, that will be useful information moving forward.
Saints 12, Cowboys 10
Teddy Bridgewater completed 23-of-30 passes for 193 yards and an interception on his way to “game managing” yet another win. He continues to use Michael Thomas 10 yards at a time to get most of his passes that go past the line of scrimmage and then short passes to Alvin Kamara in the hope that he’ll break them, like last week, but not this week.
Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are the offense right now, and neither could find the end zone as Will Lutz accounted for all of New Orleans’ points in a win. Drew Brees will need to return before we can feel good about even these two studs.
Dak Prescott completed 22-of-33 passes for 223 yards and an interception. The Saints’ pass defense has been poor this season, so Prescott’s performance is a bit shocking. Last week, he wasn’t great, but he made plays here and there that showed what he’s capable of, but this week was a dink-and-dunk affair that fizzled.
Ezekiel Elliott ran 18 times for 35 yards and a touchdown and caught 6-of-7 targets for 30 yards. Much like Dalvin Cook, Elliott managed to not get shut out due to his every-down work, giving him a goal-line touchdown and plenty of receptions despite not accumulating many yards. That’s why he gets the big bucks, I guess.
