What an eventful Sunday!
We know not to overreact to the small sample size that is just one week, but it’d be silly to not react at all.
Let’s run through a quick recap of the good and the bad from each game of the main slate.
Cowboys @ Falcons
The Good
Ezekiel Elliott took advantage of the porous Falcons defense to put up another huge game. He’s proving himself to be a legitimate dual-threat back.
Julio Jones scored for the third straight game and has now gone over 100 yards receiving in five straight. People were actually fading him this offseason.
The Bad
Dak Prescott somewhat salvaged the day with a rushing touchdown, but he continues to be a non-factor for fantasy.
The Falcons still don’t know how to use their running backs under Steve Sarkisian, rendering them completely unpredictable on a weekly basis.
Panthers @ Lions
The Good
The D.J. Moore explosion finally happened. Predictably, it was when most people had him out of their lineups.
What an eventful Sunday!
We know not to overreact to the small sample size that is just one week, but it’d be silly to not react at all.
Let’s run through a quick recap of the good and the bad from each game of the main slate.
Cowboys @ Falcons
The Good
Ezekiel Elliott took advantage of the porous Falcons defense to put up another huge game. He’s proving himself to be a legitimate dual-threat back.
Julio Jones scored for the third straight game and has now gone over 100 yards receiving in five straight. People were actually fading him this offseason.
The Bad
Dak Prescott somewhat salvaged the day with a rushing touchdown, but he continues to be a non-factor for fantasy.
The Falcons still don’t know how to use their running backs under Steve Sarkisian, rendering them completely unpredictable on a weekly basis.
Panthers @ Lions
The Good
The D.J. Moore explosion finally happened. Predictably, it was when most people had him out of their lineups.
Kenny Golladay was a chalk DFS play with Marvin Jones out and he did not disappoint, coming through with a massive 38% target share.
The Bad
Matt Stafford continues to struggle, throwing for only 220 yards on 37 attempts.
Titans @ Colts
The Good
We had glimpses of Andrew Luck being back, but there’s no doubting it now.
T.Y. Hilton is the biggest beneficiary of Luck’s resurgence, hauling all nine of his targets for a whopping 155 yards and two touchdowns. I hope you didn’t sell low on him.
The Bad
Marcus Mariota’s injury-plagued season continues with him leaving just before the half with an elbow injury.
Corey Davis’s breakout was short lived. He wasn’t doing much even with Mariota at quarterback.
Marlon Mack saved the day with a one-yard touchdown, but what a poor showing in a perfect matchup.
Buccaneers @ Giants
The Good
Saquon Barkley was supposed to explode against the awful Buccaneers defense and he did not disappoint, ending up with 152 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.
Odell Beckham Jr. showed off his hands with a fourth quarter touchdown, his fourth in the past four games.
Mike Evans is doing his best to stay afloat with the QB carousel in Tampa, hauling in 120 yards and a score. He also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a second score.
The Bad
Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched in the third quarter. Jameis Winston came in and had a solid game, but we’ve been down this road before. Both quarterbacks can put up some big numbers but they are better left on the waiver wire. There’s no telling how short the leash is.
Texans @ Redskins
The Good
Adrian Peterson keeps scoring. Even if he’s not all that great in the real game anymore, he’s still a solid RB2 for ours.
Keke Coutee’s hamstring injury seems to be behind him, seeing a team-high nine targets.
The Bad
Alex Smith wasn’t doing great, but his gruesome injury will end his season. It’s a downgrade for all pass catchers in Washington.
Demaryius Thomas saw one single target. He’s completely unreliable to start at this point.
Steelers @ Jaguars
The Good
I might have been able to play better than Ben Roethlisberger did in the first half of this game, but he turned it on in the second half. The counting numbers were there for him and his receivers and that’s all that matters.
Leonard Fournette is a volume machine and gets the goal line work. Now that he’s healthy he’s an RB1.
The Bad
James Conner’s let down game finally arrived. With the whole offense in a funk early, he was game scripted out.
Blake Bortles. I know we can list him in the bad column every week, but he deserves it extra this week.
Bengals @ Ravens
The Good
I had Alex Collins in every DFS lineup, so why wouldn’t it be Gus Edwards who breaks out? 115 yards and a score on 17 carries means we’ll definitely see more of him next week.
Lamar Jackson’s rushing floor is insane. 117 yards is fantastic and the 27 rushes is the most for a QB in NFL history.
The Bad
Jackson is not very good at throwing the football, severely capping his upside and every Ravens receiver.
The Bengals offense was horribly inefficient today, but we weren’t expecting much anyways. The Ravens at home are a tough draw.
Raiders @ Cardinals
The Good
David Johnson continues to rack up the yards. The receiving stats were down, but Rosen didn’t throw much. Leftwich is clearly a positive for Johnson.
Christian Kirk showed off his big play ability. He’ll be a boom-or-bust WR3 going forward.
The Bad
Both quarterbacks were awful. Rosen likely has a bright future in this league, but they’re both unusable in fantasy this season.
The Raiders backfield distribution is a mess. Jalen Richard (11), Doug Martin (10), and DeAndre Washington (12) all saw double digit carries. It’s anyone’s guess as to how it shakes out next week.
Broncos @ Chargers
The Good
Phillip Lindsay ceded some touches to Royce Freeman but he’s clearly the best option in the Broncos backfield, going off for 96 total yards and two scores.
Phillip Rivers is as steady as we could ever hope a fantasy QB to be.
Melvin Gordon is the most underrated elite back in the league.
The Bad
Case Keenum’s offseason contract continues to be proven a mistake.
Tyrell Williams showed why chasing points is a bad idea, coming down with only two catches for 22 yards on six targets.
Eagles @ Saints
The Good
The Saints offense should probably be under “The Great” but we’re not going there. Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas each got theirs from Drew Brees.
Tre’Quan Smith showed back up in a huge way (10/157/1 on 13 targets) after not seeing a target last week.
Josh Adams got by far the most work of the Eagles backfield, but there wasn’t much to go around after the game got out of hand.
The Bad
Carson Wentz will want to forget this game, and, as a result, so will Zach Ertz and the rest of the Eagles offense.
The Eagles defense led them to a Super Bowl win last February, but it just goes to show how quickly things change. They’re extremely vulnerable.
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Be sure to check back in over the next few days for a more in-depth look at all the waiver options and injury notes that came from today’s games.
