Learn From yesterday, Live for today, hope for tomorrow. 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. We are here to make hoping for tomorrow a little more palatable.
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 Tennessee as the Steelers handed the Titans their first loss of the season. The Steelers used a well rounded passing attack, and a little late luck to win this one. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have a great DFS, day passing for just 268 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. His receivers however did just fine. Diontae Johnson in particular had a nice day with nine catches, 80 yards and two touchdowns. On the Titans side of the ball, Ryan Tannehill didn’t wow anyone, but when he was successful it was to A.J. Brown who had 153 yards on six receptions, and a touchdown which was good for 70 percent of the Titans passing attack.
Well, it is safe to say if you played Ezekiel Elliott this week you were disappointed. The expectation was that with Dak Prescott out, that Elliott would see a high workload. However, that didn’t work out. Elliott had just 45 yards in 12 carries, and one reception for six yards, and no touchdowns. The only productive player for the Cowboys was Amari Cooper who had seven receptions for seventy yards. Taking a look at Washington, we saw a nice game from Antonio Gibson, who had 20 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown, and Terry McLaurin continues to get it done with seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
At Metlife Stadium, the Bills won an ugly one against the woeful Jets. Josh Allen wasn’t terrible, despite the Bills not scoring a single touchdown. Allen accumulated 306 yards through the air and another 61 on the ground. Cole Beasley was the only other productive member of the Bills eleven receptions for 112 yards. The real winner here was the Bills defence who had two interceptions, and six sacks on the day while only giving up ten points. The Jets offence wasn’t effective at all with just 120 yards through the air and 99 yards on the ground. At this point, it will be tough to see much DFS value in them, especially when playing good defence like the Bills.
Heading down south to New Orleans, the Saints beat the Panthers late. Drew Brees was the DFS star in this one. Brees had 287 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added another touchdown rushing. Alvin Kamara continues to be a consistent two-way threat each week, accumulating 83 yards on 14 carries, and eight receptions for another 65 yards. For the Panthers, D.J. Moore was the only player who provided any real value, catching four balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
The Packers went into Houston and lit up the Texans. Led by a 196 yard, two touchdown days from Davante Adams, the Packers scored 35 points on the way to victory. Aaron Rodgers had 283 passing yards, and four touchdowns, and Jamaal Williams was one of the better value plays on the day stepping in for the injured Aaron Jones. Williams had 77 yards and a touchdown on the ground and caught four passes for 37 yards. Quietly on the other side of the ball, Deshaun Watson had 309 yards through the air and two touchdowns to go along with 38 yards on the ground. Randall Cobbwas the Texans leading receiver, with eight receptions for 96 yards.
The battle of Ohio, quickly proved itself to be the battle of the pass offence. Joe Burrow was good for 406 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception, 34 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Not to be outdone, Baker Mayfield had 297 passing yards, five touchdowns, and an interception. The Browns saw productive days from Kareem Hunt (76 rushing yards, three receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown), Rashard Higgins (six receptions for 110 yards), andHarrison Bryant (four receptions for 56 yards, and two touchdowns). For the Bengals, we saw nice performances from Tyler Boyd (11 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown), Tee Higgins (five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown), and Giovani Bernard (37 rushing yards, 59 receiving yards, and a touchdown) who stepped in nicely for the injured Joe Mixon.
After a week that looked like a new head coach would be the spark the Falcons needed, they went home and didn’t look great against the Lions. That being said, several Falcons still had productive days. Matt Ryan threw for 338 yards and a touchdown, Todd Gurley rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 19 yards. Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley had 97 yards, and 69 yards respectively, with Ridley adding a touchdown. The Lions offence continues to be a bit of an enigma, outside of Kenny Golladay. Matthew Stafford threw for 340 yards, but just one touchdown, D’Andre Swift after having a big day last week contributed just 27 yards on the ground and a touchdown to go along with four receptions for 21 yards. The aforementioned Golladay caught six passes for 114 yards.
The ageless wonder, Tom Brady, continues to get it down. The Bucs went into Vegas and put up 45 points on the Raiders. Brady led the way with 369 yards and four touchdowns. Other notable Bucs contributors include Scott Miller who had 109 yards and a touchdown, Chris Godwin, with 9 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, and Leonard Fornette rushed for 50 yards, and caught six passes for another 47 yards. Nelson Agholor was the only Raider to have a notable day catching five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
It’s hard to believe that Justin Herbert wasn’t the starter for the Chargers at the start of the year. This week versus the Jaguars, he threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns and added 66 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Keenan Allan continues to be Herbert’s primary target, catching ten passes for 125 yards, Jalen Guyton also contributed a long touchdown 70-yard touchdown for the Chargers. As for the Jaguars, James Robinson was the player to own. He had 119 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and 4 receptions for 18 yards and another touchdown in the air.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It wasn’t long ago that the Patriots felt like a lock to win a game at home no matter who they would play. That is no longer the case. The 49ers came into Foxborough and dominated the Patriots. Jeff Wilson ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns before getting hurt, and Brandon Aiyuk caught six passes for 115 yards as well. The 49ers defence also contributed four interceptions and a sack, while giving up just six points. The Patriots, however, didn’t have a single player of value this week.
There is a good chance that if you saw that Patrick Mahomes threw for just 200 yards, and the Chiefs didn’t have a 100-yard rusher you wouldn’t think they scored many points. Not this week. The offence didn’t have a huge day, but the defence forced four turnovers, and the Chiefs scored 43 points, while not having a player that helped your DFS squad. For the Broncos, Melvin Gordonrushed for 68 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 12 yards, and Phillip Lindsay added 79 rushing yards as well.
Lastly, the Sunday night game features two of the best quarterbacks in the league with Russell Wilson of the Seahawks going against Kyler Murray on the Cardinals, and they did not disappoint. Wilson put up 388 passing yards, with three touchdowns, and three interceptions, and rushed for 84 more yards. This primary target of the night was Tyler Lockett. Lockett alone if you played him in DFS might have gotten you into the money. He had 200 yards and three touchdowns. Carlos Hydeadded 68 rushing yards and added a touchdown for the Seahawks as well. Murray added 360 passing yards, and three touchdown passes, to go along with his 67 rushing yards and a touchdown run as well. DeAndre Hopkins caught ten passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Chase Edmondsrushed for 58 yards and caught seven passes for 87 yards to have a nice day as well.
