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?
Packers 42, Raiders 24
Aaron Rodgers didn’t need Davante Adams this week to put up 429 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions on 25-of-31 passing, adding another touchdown on the ground. The Packers have played more conservatively this year with a better defense and running game, but Rodgers took over this week and showed that he’s still got it.
Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams both scored touchdowns, but after Williams out-touched Jones last week, Jones reasserted himself with 16 touches for 83 yards and a touchdown to Williams’ seven touches for 31 yards and a touchdown. This backfield will remain volatile with a split in work, but as long as Jones doesn’t fumble and drop touchdown passes, he’ll remain the lead back.
The Raiders were pummeled, but they did put up some fantasy points as they tried to come back. Derek Carr completed 22-of-28 passes for 293 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and also lost a critical fumble at the pylon. All-in-all, it was a good passing day against a tough pass defense.
With Tyrell Williams out, the Oakland offense once again ran through Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller. Jacobs totaled 134 yards on 24 touches while Waller hoarded the touchdowns, as he caught 7-of-8 targets for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Waller’s touchdown luck was much better this week than it has been this season, as he had zero touchdowns despite his huge reception numbers.
Bills 31, Dolphins 21
Josh Allen completed 16-of-26 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushed four times for 32 yards and scored a two-point conversion. It took Allen a half before he got things going at home against the worst defense in the league, but he did finally start to play like an NFL quarterback. He’s just too inconsistent to feel good about in fantasy, but his upside remains great in good matchups.
Once Josh Allen got things going, it was in part to him targeting John Brown, who caught 5-of-6 targets for 83 yards and one touchdown. Allen’s inability to throw accurately will continue to hurt Brown’s upside, but they will continue to hook up for some strong games, as Brown is the no-doubt No. 1 wide receiver and good.
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 22-of-34 passes for 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus ran for another touchdown. It was apparent that he makes the Dolphins’ offensive players better for fantasy as both Preston Williams and DeVante Parker put up usable fantasy lines.
Mark Walton led the running backs with 13 carries for 66 yards and caught a pass for negative eight yards, but Kalen Ballage again got the goal-line work and scored a touchdown while Kenyan Drake worked behind Walton. If Drake were to be traded, Walton would be more useful in fantasy, but still on a bad offense.
49ers 9, Redskins 0
Jimmy Garoppolo completed 12-of-21 passes for 151 yards and an interception. This game was played in a swamp, so some of his troubles can be put on the weather, but the 49ers’ defense is winning games right now in spite of Garoppolo.
Nobody did much of anything for San Francisco offensively in a sloppy game. Tevin Coleman saw a big workload with Matt Breida missing time due to a head injury, but Coleman turned his 20 rushing attempts into just 62 yards and caught two passes for negative one yard. Breida was cleared to return and will remain in a timeshare with Coleman.
Washington established the run, giving Adrian Peterson 20 carries, which he turned into 81 scoreless yards. Washington predictably scored zero points.
Case Keenum completed 9-of-12 passes for 77 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, so he did exactly what was asked of him.
Terry McLaurin saw just two targets, catching one for 11 yards. When you target your best player just twice in a game, you deserve to get shut out.
Jaguars 27, Bengals 17
Gardner Minshew completed 15-of-32 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown while rushing nine times for 48 yards. Completing under 50 percent of passes against the Bengals is not remotely close to good, and he got lucky on an interception drop as well. Minshew has taken a step back over his last two games, and this one was against an awful defense.
Leonard Fournette again had a huge usage day, rushing 29 times for 131 yards and catching both his targets for 14 yards, but again didn’t get into the end zone. He’s a safe play each week with his usage, but the single touchdown on the season is annoying.
Dede Westbrook was a game-time decision with a shoulder injury, but he ended up playing and got off to a hot start. He ended the day catching 6-of-9 targets for 103 yards and is seeing more targets than D.J. Chark.
Andy Dalton completed 22-of-43 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions while rushing four times for 33 yards and another touchdown. Dalton was awful and probably should be replaced by Ryan Finley to see what he can do.
Joe Mixon rushed 10 times for two yards and caught 1-of-2 targets for a two-yard touchdown. That’s not good. The touchdown at least keeps him from being awful, but he was. Well, the offensive line is super awful, so that doesn’t help Mixon, but there’s no way he’s an automatic start in any league right now.
Alex Erickson managed to go off, as he caught 8-of-14 targets for 137 yards. At halftime, he and Joe Mixon were the only Bengals with receptions. Cincinnati will continue to trail and throw the ball often, so there is some hope for fantasy points, but any consistency from Cincinnati’s receivers looks like a tall order right now.
Rams 37, Falcons 10
Jared Goff completed 22-of-37 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and also ran in a touchdown to give him a good fantasy day. He missed plenty of passes though, and he should have been able to put up bigger numbers against the Falcons’ swiss cheese defense.
Gerald Everett ended up with the best fantasy day other than Goff, as he caught 4-of-10 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown. Overall, it was an ugly day for the Rams’ fantasy players due to the matchup, but I guess it’s better than last week’s atrocity.
Todd Gurley caught a touchdown pass! Gurley’s 13-yard touchdown catch was a nice pass and catch and probably the highlight of the Rams’ offense in Week 7. On the ground Gurley and Darrell Henderson couldn’t get much going as both averaged under three yards per carry, but Henderson continues to show flashes that Gurley can’t.
Matt Ryan completed 16-of-27 passes for 159 yards and an interception, plus lost a fumble when Aaron Donald sacked him and pushed him from the game with an ankle injury. Ryan wasn’t coming back with the game out of hand, but he was also wearing a boot afterward. He won’t be rushed back, so there is a chance he misses next week against Seattle, but we’ll need to learn more about the severity of his injury.
Devonta Freeman was carried around like a small child by Aaron Donald in a scrum, and then Freeman punched Donald’s facemask and was ejected. Ito Smith had to leave earlier with a concussion, so Brian Hill took over as the lead back and did next to nothing.
Julio Jones caught a nice 6-of-9 targets for 93 yards and was undoubtedly the best player for the Falcons, getting the best of Jalen Ramsey more than once. Jones is still quite good.
Vikings 42, Lions 30
Kirk Cousins completed 24-of-34 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns and has finally been released from purgatory. Cousins isn’t a great quarterback, as he has awful games and can’t win big games against strong opponents, but he is a more than capable quarterback with a good team and deserves to throw the ball more than the Vikings were earlier in the season and he’s proving it at the moment.
Adam Thielen caught a 25-yard touchdown before leaving the game ahead of halftime with a hamstring injury. Amazingly, Thielen’s absence didn’t slow Cousins, who completed touchdowns to some unfamiliar names for the end zone, Olabisi Johnson, Kyle Rudolph and C.J. Ham.
Dalvin Cook went off even though Cousins went off, and Cook only caught one pass. He rushed 25 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns against the soft Detroit run defense, reasserting himself after a down game last week.
With Thielen out, Stefon Diggs continued his strong play, catching 7-of-8 targets for 142 yards, but missed a touchdown after hoarding them last week. If Thielen can’t go next week against Washington, Diggs should be a hit commodity in DFS and the like.
Marvin Jones caught four touchdowns in a single game, yet his team lost by 12 points. I guess that’s the price you pay when taking on the great Kirk Cousins! But wow, this was Jones’ second four-touchdown game. You really do have to be pretty darn good to do that and twice; well, Jones is good. Unfortunately, his huge game came at the expense of Kenny Golladay, who saw just two targets, catching one for 21 yards after never seeing fewer than eight targets in a game this year. We’ll just have to shake this one off and reap the rewards next week against the Giants.
Matthew Stafford threw all four of those touchdowns and added 364 yards and an interception on his way to becoming the fastest quarterback to 40,000 yards despite starting his career with two season-ending injuries! Even though the Lions’ offense wants to run the ball, they’ve adjusted and are taking deep shots and picking up the pace. Stafford is inconsistent due to game script, but he has the weapons to put up big numbers.
Kerryon Johnson left this game with a knee injury. Ty Johnson took over as the lead back, but J.D. McKissic was more efficient. If Johnson misses any time, those two would likely continue splitting work and the team would rely more on the pass.
Colts 30, Texans 23
Jacoby Brissett completed 26-of-39 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns as he dismantled the Texans’ pass defense despite them getting healthier this week. For the Colts, it all starts with their excellent offensive line and Frank Reich’s play calling, but Brissett still has to make the throws, which he has consistently. He has now thrown multiple touchdowns in every game except the Kansas City game in which the Colts went run heavy throughout.
T.Y. Hilton continued his assault on the Texans, catching 6-of-11 targets for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Pascal did the most damage, hauling in 6-of-7 targets for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Pascal is the clear No. 2 to Hilton at this point and probably needs a higher ownership percentage.
Eric Ebron made a couple of insanely good catches, including an amazing one-handed touchdown grab, which is jolting after last week’s drop parade. That’s Ebron, an enigma wrapped in a fumbled touchdown.
Deshaun Watson completed 23-of-34 passes for 308 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, adding three carries for 32 yards. It was a mixed bag for Watson, who made some bad throws and some spectacular plays. He had one touchdown called back due to being called in the grasp; a touchdown that likely would have set the offense on a different course, but those are the breaks. Watson will have huge upside against the Raiders’ defense next week.
DeAndre Hopkins finally did what he used to do consistently, go over 100 yards and catch a touchdown. Will Fuller left this game quickly with a hamstring injury, Hopkins Nuk was fed 12 targets, of which he caught nine of for 106 yards and the touchdown. If Fuller is out again next week, Hopkins should get force fed again.
Cardinals 27, Giants 21
Chase Edmonds rushed 27 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns and caught two receptions for 24 yards. Well, that was unexpected. David Johnson got the start, but he looked gimpy and Edmonds took over from there. Kliff Kingsbury said that the plan was for Edmonds to lead and Johnson to be the backup if he was needed, but then why did Johnson get the first carry? I think Johnson is hurting worse than the Cardinals are leading on and Edmond, of course, needs to be rostered across the board.
Kyler Murray completed 14-of-21 passes for 104 yards and ran the ball 10 times for 28 yards. The rushing game took over with an early lead, and the Cardinals didn’t ask Murray to do much, which he didn’t. With the Saints and 49ers up next, we can’t count on strong fantasy numbers from Murray.
Daniel Jones completed 22-of-35 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He dinked and dunked his way to an Eli-esque game, and if Jones can’t put up decent fantasy numbers at home against Arizona, he doesn’t need to be started in fantasy until he shows he has learned a thing or two.
Saquon Barkley rushed 18 times for 72 yards and one touchdown and caught 3-of-5 targets for eight yards. We expect more but for his first game back, he did well and in comparison, to the rest of the offense, he looked liked Gale Sayers on ‘roids.
Evan Engram did not follow suit with the other tight ends who have faced the Cardinals, as he caught just 1-of-5 targets for six yards. Rhett Ellison did get a touchdown to keep the tight end stats piling up on Arizona, but Engram fell victim to Daniel Jones-itis.
Titans 23, Chargers 20
Ryan Tannehill completed 23-of-29 passes for 312 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and looked great compared to Marcus Mariota. Tannehill isn’t going to become a different quarterback overnight, but he is an upgrade over Mariota right now and is on a team that doesn’t need great quarterback play to win games. He may stick for a while and put up a few usable fantasy games in the process, starting with Tampa Bay next week maybe?
Derrick Henry continues to score touchdowns, especially at home, as he rushed 22 times for 90 yards and one touchdown and 18 yards on one reception. The presence of Tannehill could really help Henry not get into bad game scripts and keep him running downhill.
Corey Davis appreciated Tannehill, as he caught 6-of-7 targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. We can’t rely on Davis now, but the odds of him showing some consistency are higher with Tannehill.
Philip Rivers completed 24-of-38 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns on his way to yet another insane Chargers loss. The Chargers have a stink on them that will not wash off.
Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler had no luck running the ball, but Ekeler continued to show his ability as a receiver, as he caught 7-of-8 targets for 118 yards and a touchdown, just missing another touchdown. That missed touchdown ended up on the one-yard line and then into a Melvin Gordon fumble to lose the game. The Chargers always find a way.
Hunter Henry has now put up back-to-back big games, as he caught 6-of-8 targets for 97 yards. He’s a must-start each week no matter the matchup.
Saints 36, Bears 25
Teddy Bridgewater completed 23-of-38 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns in Chicago against a defense that had been playing great until its London game against the Raiders. He didn’t have to put the Saints on his shoulders with the run game going well, but there’s no doubt that he played a hell of a game in a tough spot. Drew Brees will be back sooner than later, but Bridgewater has earned himself plenty of praise while Brees has been out.
Latavius Murray showed that the Saints were correct in grabbing him this offseason, as he rushed 27 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 31 yards. Alvin Kamara will return, but with the Saints’ bye coming up after their next game against an overall poor Arizona team, they could rest Kamara and give him three weeks overall to heal.
Mitchell Trubisky completed 34-of-54 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. His line doesn’t look nearly as awful as he played due to some garbage-time points. He’s bad, and he makes the Bears bad.
Allen Robinson caught 10-of-16 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown, as he continues to be followed around by the ghost of Blake Bortles. Robinson is great, and if he had a competent quarterback, he could be consistently great.
Ravens 30, Seahawks 16
Lamar Jackson completed 9-of-20 passes for 143 yards and rushed 14 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. The passing stats are bad, but the awfulness doesn’t fall on Jackson, as his best target so far this year, Mark Andrews, dropped three passes and his receivers dropped two more, which is significant when you only throw 20 passes! The rain was a factor, so I think we’ll give his receivers a re-do against the Patriots next week.
Jackson accounted for most of the Baltimore offense, as he was unstoppable as a runner. Hopefully, he can get Marquise Brown back to help in the passing game.
Russell Wilson completed just 20-of-41 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus rushed three times for 27 yards. Wilson threw his first interception of the season, which was returned for a touchdown, and generally had a bad day in the rain. He’s in store for a big bounce-back game against the Falcons next week.
Tyler Lockett was the only Seahawks player to get into the end zone, as their offense stalled out over and over, giving Jason Meyers four field goals under 35 yards. Lockett caught 5-of-7 targets for 61 yards and one touchdown and continues to show consistency. If he doesn’t go for 100 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta next week, I will be severely disappointed.
Cowboys 37, Eagles 10
Dak Prescott completed 21-of-27 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception, adding a rushing touchdown and 30 yards on five carries. This wasn’t a huge game, but one that Prescott needed after some down games of late. He’ll get a shot at a blow-up game after next week’s bye when the Cowboys face the Giants’ awful pass defense.
Ezekiel Elliott rushed 22 times for 111 yards and a touchdown and caught 6-of-7 targets for 36 yards. With a comfortable lead for most of the game, Elliott saw his upside in touches and made good on them despite facing a strong Philadelphia run defense. He’s going to lose some touchdowns to Prescott, but his consistency behind the strong Dallas line remains fantasy gold.
Amari Cooper caught all five of his targets for 106 yards after looking extremely iffy to play this week. He makes Prescott much better, and with a bye coming up, Cooper should be able to get as healthy as possible.
Carson Wentz completed 16-of-26 passes for 191 yards, one touchdown and one interception, adding 12 rushing yards on four carries. He also lost two fumbles, putting his team in tough positions. He wasn’t good, and it’s apparent that the Eagles need DeSean Jackson back quickly.
Dallas Goedert caught all four of his targets for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Ertz caught 2-of-5 targets for 38 yards. Goedert did lose a fumble, so it wasn’t all good, but he’s seen good usage of late as the Eagles try to get their passing game going.
