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.
Bears @ Bills
The Good
The Bears defense did exactly what everyone expected them to do – dominate the Nathan Peterman led bills, racking up 28 fantasy points.
Jordan Howard took advantage of a good game script, even if he was extremely inefficient.
The Bad
Nathan Peterman is one of the worst NFL quarterbacks we’ve ever seen get significant playing time.
Mitch Trubisky continues to be mediocre. The fantasy stats have been there, but when a quarterback is bad in real life, the numbers are going to be volatile.
Chiefs @ Browns
The Good
The entire Chiefs offense. Seriously. The Browns are bad, but it doesn’t look like anyone can stop these skill players.
A Duke Johnson sighting! The game script was perfect, but it still takes a game plan and a quarterback willing to throw the ball to him. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.
The Bad
Jarvis Landry continues to be thoroughly unimpressive with his many targets.
Mayfield’s stats ended well, but this is an entirely bland and unreliable offense.
Jets @ Dolphins
The Good
Well… let’s just go to the bad, shall we?
The Bad
The lack of offensive weapons is clearly killing Sam Darnold’s progression. It’s really not fair what the Jets are doing to him.
Adam Gase is, to put it kindly, a disaster. Why he lets a geriatric Frank Gore run into defenders 20 times for a paltry 2.7 yards per carry is beyond me.
As a result of the above, Kenyan Drake falls back to the “unreliable” pile. How disappointing.
Lions @ Vikings
The Good
Even Adam Thielen’s bad games are okay as he keeps finding the end zone.
Though it was a timeshare, Dalvin Cook looked healthy and explosive on his 70-yard run.
The Bad
The Lions offensive line couldn’t block anything, letting Matt Stafford get sacked a whopping 10 times. He’s gone over 220 passing yards in just one of his last four games.
The Kenny Golladay hype train came to a screeching halt. Pegged for plenty of extra work following the Golden Tate trade, the young receiver only saw four targets.
Falcons @ Redskins
The Good
Julio. Jones. Touchdown.
If the Falcons sneak into the back end of the playoffs, Matt Ryan should win MVP. The guy is playing out of his mind.
Tevin Coleman finally delivered on the upside he presented after Devonta Freeman went down.
The Bad
Jordan Reed got out-targeted and ended up benched. Prior to the season, I thought only his injury concerns could hold him back. That was clearly very, very wrong.
Adrian Peterson has deservedly gotten a lot of praise this season, but he continues to show he’s a one-dimensional back that needs the right situation to be fantasy relevant.
Buccaneers @ Panthers
The Good
I don’t know when Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to come back down to earth, but I’m riding him until we crash.
Christian McCaffrey was an absolute beast all day and has now found the end zone in two straight weeks.
The Bad
Come on, Mike Evans! How do you even turn 10 targets into just one catch for 16 yards?
Like Kenny Golladay above, the D.J. Moore hype train came off the rails.
Despite the offense as a whole being good, the Buccaneers running game is worthless.
Steelers @ Ravens
The Good
James Conner should be a top three draft pick next season while Le’veon Bell will be off my board for where he will be drafted. The Steelers offense is a gold mine for running backs.
Antonio Brown has now scored in seven of eight games this season. He’s a machine.
The Bad
Joe Flacco is definitely not elite. Despite his receivers getting plenty of targets, they’re completely unreliable.
Alex Collins scored, but the rest of his game was mediocre. On the plus side, he was the only running back to get more than one carry.
Texans @ Broncos
The Good
I went against the consensus and had DeAndre Hopkins as my WR5 going into the season and, while the four I had ahead of them are doing well, I owe him an apology. He is a truly elite, matchup proof, WR1.
Jeff Heuerman had a great game, but don’t go chasing points. He’s not here to stay.
The Bad
Lamar Miller continues to be the definition of mediocre and this time he got out-touched by Alfred Blue.
Case Keenum brings down the entire Broncos offense.
Chargers @ Seahawks
The Good
Keenan Allen has been the subject of many “buy low” articles and he finally delivered a solid game, racking up 152 yards from scrimmage.
Melvin Gordon continues his tear. He might not be as flashy as the Barkleys or the Kamaras, but he’s every bit as valuable in our game.
The Bad
Doug Baldwin’s target share is continually worrying. I don’t know how much he would fetch in a trade, but I’d love to move on if I could.
Chris Carson’s hip is clearly a problem. When he’s healthy he’s the lead guy, but it’s a committee until that point.
Rams @ Saints
The Good
Drew Brees is the most underrated quarterback of all time. The conversation always is Rodgers vs Brady vs Manning, and Brees absolutely belongs.
The Rams usage tree continues to be narrow. Almost all the points go to the wide receiver trio and Gurley. They’re a fantasy gold mine.
The Bad
Mark Ingram didn’t do much with his opportunity and then lost a fumble. Luckily, he got some late-game work so clearly, Sean Payton isn’t holding it against him.
It’s crazy that we’re considering 79 yards and a touchdown “bad”, but that’s how good Gurley has been this season. He should be back to the top running back option next week.
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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.
