Every Monday of the NFL regular season we look at breakout performances from the weekend and analyze their potential for sustained success. We will rank these performances from 1-5 based on whether we believe they are momentary or long-term options for your fantasy teams.
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Fantasy Football Heat Index
Quarterback
Stats: 18-of-24, 133 passing yards, 1 TD, 3 rush attempts, 30 rushing yards
Position Rank (pre-MNF): QB19 (12.32 points)
Analysis: Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott had a season-low 133 yards and picked up a pair of injuries in Sunday’s 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He scored 12.32 fantasy points and is the current QB19 on the week.
While Dallas wasn’t overly concerned with Prescott’s hand injury after the game, the opposite can be said about his hamstring. Prescott will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but both the quarterback and the Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones seemed worried about his short-term availability.
Even if Prescott avoided major damage, he’s only rosterable in superflex or dynasty formats; he’s eclipsed 20 fantasy points only once all season and has finished as a QB2 or worse in six of eight contests. Not to mention, if wide receiver CeeDee Lamb‘s shoulder injury is more serious than anticipated, Prescott’s season-long outlook gets even bleaker.
Heat Index: 2
Running Back
Stats: 27 rush attempts, 120 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 1 TD
Position Rank (pre-MNF): RB5 (24.2 points)
Analysis: With fellow committee back Zack Moss out with a neck injury, Bengals running back Chase Brown assumed a bell-cow role in Week Nine. He responded with the single-best fantasy outing of his young career.
Brown scored a career-high 24.2 fantasy points and is the current RB5 on the week after racking up 157 total yards and a touchdown reception on Sunday. His 32 opportunities (27 rush attempts + 5 receptions) are the most for a Bengals running back since Joe Mixon‘s 34 touches way back in Week 1 of the 2022 regular season.
Even if Moss returns this week, Brown should be locked into starting lineups for the foreseeable future. He was already taking on more of a workload before Moss’ injury, so this performance should only reinforce that to Cincinnati’s coaching staff.
Heat Index: 4
Wide Receiver
Stats: 8 receptions, 105 receiving yards
Position Rank (pre-MNF): WR16 (14.5 points)
Analysis: Since returning from a two-week absence, Las Vegas wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is back on the fantasy football radar. All it took was getting healthy and losing former teammate Davante Adams to the New York Jets.
After scoring 14+ half-point PPR fantasy points in both contests since Adams’ departure, Meyers has jumped back into WR3/Flex consideration. While tight end Brock Bowers is the defacto top target in Las Vegas, Meyers is the unquestioned second option in that passing offense.
The Las Vegas quarterback room is the greatest threat to Meyers’ fantasy value. Opening Day starter Gardner Minshew struggled enough to get benched for Aidan O’Connell, only to be reinserted as starting quarterback after O’Connell picked up an injury. Minshew was benched again this week for former Falcons starter Desmond Ridder and it remains to be seen who Las Vegas trots out there after their bye week.
Heat Index: 3
Tight End
Stats: 5 receptions, 100 receiving yards, 2 TD
Position Rank (pre-MNF): TE1 (24.5 points)
Analysis: With wide receiver Tee Higgins sidelined again on Sunday with a quad injury, the Cincinnati offense needed one of their secondary playmakers to step up and replace his production. WR3 Andrei Iosivas performed admirably in that role earlier this season, but tight end Mike Gesicki has benefited the most from Higgins’ current absence.
One week after racking up eight receptions and 73 yards against Philadelphia, Gesicki was even better in Cincinnati’s 41-24 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. He finished with 100 yards and two touchdown receptions. He scored 24.5 fantasy points and is the overwhelming TE1 on the week.
While your natural inclination would be to slide Gesicki into your starting lineup next week, you might want to check Higgins’ injury designation beforehand. The tight end has averaged a respectable 8.9 half-point PPR points when Higgins is inactive, but that number drops to 2.22 points per game when fully healthy.
Heat Index: 3
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