Before we look forward, we must look back. The NFL season builds upon itself each week and offers up its share of highs and lows. This is on a cumulative basis but DFS gives us a fresh start each week. The key is to take everything as a learning experience while not overreacting in either direction.
Each week we will take a look at both positive and negative situations that transpired from the week prior and what it means going forward. Let’s keep in mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg and throughout the week we will go into further detail about other players that deserve our attention for the coming slate of games. That is why you need to stick with us throughout the week.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? As a preview of what you can expect, let’s get started in New York as Joe Judge picked up his first career victory. The Giants had come close but could not get all of the way there until they capitalized on playing a weak Washington squad. Daniel Jones had an unexpectedly good DFS day as he picked up 74 yards on seven carries. We need to be clear not to expect that again but it was a quiet passing day for Jones as he completed just 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Darius Slayton played through an injury and caught a touchdown but overall it was a boring game from a DFS perspective. This is your lesson though not to ignore anything that takes place throughout the week as in a losing effort Terry McLaurin did catch seven passes for 74 yards.
Subscribers can now expect us to continue our trip around the league to take a closer look at some other players that stood out from a busy week of football. So, keep on going and take a look at what we have to offer.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, and it could be just that the majority of my players across both DFS and seasonal leagues failed to excite, but it was a boring week. That will be a theme here as the next contestant up is Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater took a step back this week but we have to remember that it was against a tough Chicago defense who has been shutting down opposing quarterbacks all season. The bad news is that Bridgewater threw for just 216 yards and two interceptions without a touchdown pass but he did salvage the afternoon with 48 rushing yards. If you are looking for a positive, both D.J. Moore (five receptions for 93 yards) and Robby Anderson(four receptions for 77 yards) still had solid games. Across the field David Montgomery got the work (19 carries and four receptions) but he turned it into just 58 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards as he left us wanting more in what should have been a good matchup.
The good news is that Joe Burrow got back to the 300-yard mark (313) but he failed to throw for a touchdown. More importantly we had an A.J Green sighting as the veteran caught eight passes for 96 yards which gives us something to keep an eye on moving forward. It also becoming clear though that there is chemistry between Burrow and rookie receiver Tee Higgins who caught six passes for 125 yards as he continues to emerge. After Cincinnati got off to a big lead, no real thanks to Joe Mixon who battled an injury and failed to stand out (54 rushing yards) although he did score a touchdown, Philip Rivers got to play catch up. It was a balanced receiving effort for the Colts as Rivers threw for 371 yards and three touchdown passes in leading the Colts to a comeback victory.
Sometimes blowouts don’t go according to plan. This was certainly the case for those who rostered Matthew Stafford as while Detroit held up their end of the bargain, he had a quiet afternoon with just 223 passing yards and a touchdown. Adrian Peterson will continue to be a factor as he carried the ball 15 times for 40 yards and a touchdown but it appears that the time is coming for D’Andre Swift’s emergence. The rookie carried the ball 14 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns while adding three receptions for seven yards. This is what we expected from Swift when Detroit drafted him so his performance last week shouldn’t have taken us by surprise. For Jacksonville, James Robinson struggled on the rushing end gaining just 29 yards but he did catch four passes for 24 yards and a touchdown while Keelan Cole was the star of the day with six receptions for 143 yards.
It’s about time. Apparently all it took for Atlanta to get going was a new head coach as Matt Ryancompleted 30 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns as things really couldn’t have gone any better for their passing offense. Ryan spread the wealth but Julio Jones led the way with eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdown passes. From a DFS perspective garbage time worked out pretty well for Kirk Cousins as he threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns (along with three interceptions). I’m not ready to fully jump in on Cousins but he is at least making me think about it. With just three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown Adam Thielen disappointed while Justin Jefferson made some DFS owners pretty happy with nine receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Now I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I’m going to do it anyway. Game script didn’t work in his favor but Alexander Mattison was just bad with 10 carries for 26 yards.
We saw another quiet passing day from Lamar Jackson (186 yards and one touchdown) but he turned in solid performance as a running back with nine carries for 108 yards and a second touchdown. Someone has to have success on the ground for Baltimore as their three actual running backs combined for just 74 rushing yards. On the other side Miles Sanders had another interesting game. It’s hard to argue with nine carries for 118 yards but Sanders came close to a touchdown after a long run while also dropping what could have been a second touchdown. At this point it is to be determined if Sanders will take the field on Thursday but Travis Fulgham continued to have success with six receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown as he makes us take note of him.
Entering the week Baker Mayfield was battling an injury and it would have been better off if he didn’t suit up at all for Cleveland. The Browns couldn’t get anything going offensively as Mayfield threw for just 119 yards with Austin Hooper the leading receiver catching five passes for 52 yards. Kareem Hunt rushed for just 40 yards as part of a disastrous effort but those who rostered JuJu Smith-Schuster will disagree about who wore it worse. At this point I certainly have my doubts about Smith-Schuster as he caught just two passes for six yards. Granted the game was in hand pretty early on for Pittsburgh as they had just 162 passing yards as a whole but Chase Claypool was a factor once again with four receptions for 74 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Now we get to the exciting part of the day. One of the better matchups of the week was an overtime affair between Tennessee and Houston with Derrick Henry taking the day. Henry carried the ball 22 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns which included a 94-yard run. On the receiving side A.J. Brown caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns as he is becoming a legitimate option while ensuring there won’t be a sophomore slump. A player to watch will be Anthony Firkser if there is a lasting injury to Jonnu Smith as he caught eight passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. For Houston, Deshaun Watson got his work done despite the loss throwing for 335 yards and four touchdowns. For as long as he is healthy Will Fuller is a force to be reckoned with as he caught six passes for 123 yards and a touchdown pass. It is also a good sign that Brandin Cooks built on last week’s success with six receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
It was an all-around ugly game in New England, but with Melvin Gordon sidelined we did see Phillip Lindsay return and rush for 101 yards on 23 carries. Tim Patrick continued to be a key part of Denver’s passing game with four receptions for 101 yards while Cam Newton threw for just 157 yards overall with two interceptions. Of course he did rush for 76 yards while scoring a touchdown with James White leading the team with eight receptions for 65 yards. It was another week of ignore any other New England running backs as Damien Harris returned to carry the ball six times for a whopping 19 yards.
When it comes to the Jets we have nothing but it should be noted that while Jamison Crowder was once again a key part of New York’s passing attack with seven receptions he gained just 48 yards. Breshad Perriman did return and caught four passes for 62 yards but the Jets’ offense is just bad. In a blowout effort it shouldn’t be surprising that Myles Gaskin carried the ball 18 times for 91 yards as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 191 yards with three more touchdowns.
Talk about a letdown. Aaron Rodgers was just terrible for Green Bay as he threw for only 160 yards along with two interceptions. In what was supposed to be a prolific offensive affair Tom Bradywasn’t that much better with just 166 yards although he did through two touchdown passes. One of those touchdowns was a turn back the clock affair to Rob Gronkowski as he caught five passes for 78 yards as he works toward a potential path of fantasy relevance. The day really belonged to Ronald Jones as he continued his recent success with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
What is going on with the Rams? After grabbing our interest last week, Cam Akers was on the field for just one snap this week while Darrell Henderson carried the ball 14 times for 88 yards. On the San Francisco side George Kittle did what he always does catching seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. A good sign though was seeing Deebo Samuel not missing a beat with six receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.
It was another rough game for Patrick Mahomes but he did what was needed to secure the victory for Kansas City as he completed 21 of 25 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those touchdowns went to Travis Kelce as he continues to be the go-to receiver for Mahomes but it was troubling to see Tyreek Hill catching three passes for 20 yards. With weather being an issue Kansas City stuck to the ground game and Clyde Edwards-Helaire carried the ball 26 times for 161 yards and a touchdown as he reminded us how good he can be. From a Buffalo perspective, for the second straight week do we need to be concerned with their offense and Josh Allen as he threw for just 122 yards and two touchdowns? I’m thinking yes at least for next week.
Three fumbles. Do we need to say anything more about Ezekiel Elliot and the Cowboys this week? Dallas was a mess in every facet of the game and Arizona fully dominated the evening. From a Kyler Murray perspective it was exactly what we have become accustomed to as he completed just nine passes but they went for 188 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly Murray rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown while Kenyan Drake had his best game of the season with 164 yards and touchdowns in the performance we have been waiting for all season. Before I fully buy in on Drake I need to see more but he’s not fully off my radar.
