Week One Fantasy Reactions: Saquon is back!
It feels really good to finally be looking at box scores and replays of NFL games, am I right? After a LONG 218 days of no NFL football, we can sit back, relax and sip on an ice-cold beer while watching our favorite teams score touchdowns. Unless you’re a Cowboys or Jets fan…Regardless, football is back, and you know what that means. Fantasy football is in full swing!
I’m going to go through the NFL games and recap the action while also taking a look at the players and their fantasy scores, discussing what players we should be panicking about and what players will continue to be successful.
With that being said, let’s dive head first into the recap!
Bills vs Rams
This game went in a completely different direction than I was anticipating. The reigning NFL champions only scored 10 points? That’s not ideal. Stafford looked rough. He threw three interceptions, was hyper-targeting Cooper Kupp, and leaving Allen Robinson in the dust. Spread the ball around Matty! Cam Akers never showed up to the game, getting 3 rushes for 0 yards. On the other side of the field, Josh Allen dominated. Stefon Diggs is on pace for 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns! (just hyperbole) Devin Singletary seems to be the running back you want for fantasy, but he didn’t have the best night on Thursday night football. How about Gabe Davis?! The first touchdown of the NFL season, and he catches a 26-yard TD! He just might break out this season.
Don’t panic: Matthew Stafford – Stafford will be fine if you ask me. First-game jitters are real, and his line has some wrinkles to iron out. Stafford has been a top 15 fantasy QB in 9 of the 14 years he’s been in the league. Don’t panic.
Luck or Trend: Gabe Davis – Trend. I sense we are going to see Gabe Davis have solid fantasy scores week to week. He saw five targets and had 88 yards and a touchdown. That’s a solid week for a fantasy WR who isn’t the best guy on his team. In a pass-heavy offense, Davis is going to see production.
Saints vs. Falcons
Don’t panic: Alvin Kamara/Kyle Pitts – I highly doubt we see Kamara scoring 7.6 points and Pitts scoring 3.9 very often. They are too talented, and their respective teams will get them involved as the season progresses. I would not be panicking about these two players.
Luck or Trend: I have two here. Taysom Hill, I believe, was a bit lucky. He had 15 fantasy points, and almost 6 of those points were on one run out of the wildcat formation. Without that play, he is sub 10 points this week. I’m not sure if that will continue. My second one is Drake London. I feel as though Drake London will be a trend. He looked natural on the field, and Mariota seemed to find him plenty as he targeted London 7 times, which was tied with Kyle Pitts for the most on the team.
Bears vs. 49ers
When it rains, it pours! I’m not kidding. It was a monsoon if you didn’t see any of this game! They were squeegeeing the field in pregame. Post-game, the Bears were having some fun; click here if you want to see how much fun they were having. While this game was fun, the gameplay itself was sub-par. Both Trey Lance and Justin Fields threw for less than 170 yards. Neither team had a good day running the ball. Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel each had just over 50 yards rushing, but that’s not great. David Montgomery had 17 carries for 26 yards (1.5 yards per play), which is not good. The Bears’ defense seems to have an identity this year with their new defensive-minded head coach, Matt Eberflus. I think Trey Lance has a hill to climb, but he will probably blossom as the season progresses. Hard to tell in a game with such horrible weather.
Don’t panic: Bears pass catchers – Even though Cole Kmet & Darnell Mooney had horrible days in fantasy, I don’t think we need to jump ship on them. The game script was horrid from start to finish due to the weather. I’m not saying the Bears’ offense will be pure gold in good weather. But I HIGHLY doubt Mooney & Kmet have weeks similar to their week one scores moving forward.
Luck or Trend: Khalil Herbert – Khalil Herbert has sprouted into a great backup to David Montgomery. David Montgomery will most likely control the backfield, but I still think the Bears will sprinkle Khalil Herbert into the mix as the season progresses. Herbert saw all of the goal line opportunities in week 1, which gives him a chance to score double-digit points on a weekly basis following his 11 points this week.
Bengals vs. Steelers
I truly did not expect this to be a game like it was. Nobody expected an overtime kicker saga, but these two fought it out. Burrow threw the 2nd most pass attempts in his career thus far (53), for 338 yds and two touchdowns. What was unexpected were the four interceptions. I’m not going to lie; Burrow looked as if the pressure of being in the Super Bowl last season and having high expectations going into this season got to him at the beginning of this game. However, as the game progressed, he was locked in. Brought them back and almost got the win late in the fourth. Unfortunately, Zac Taylor failed to challenge an OBVIOUS play (assuming it was challengeable?) If the Bengals challenge that, they probably get the score and PAT (which they actually did miss later in the game) and then have to hold the Steelers for two and a half minutes. I think it would have come down to a deep Chris Boswell FG. Just like it did in OT.
As you can see, this was the game on TV at the bar. So I saw most of this game unfold. I’m going to rifle through the boxscore here. Joe Mixon, 27 carries for 82 yards and 7 catches for 63 yards. Had himself a wonderful day and scored 21 fantasy points WITHOUT a touchdown. If he would have added a TD, he has the second most points by an RB in week 1. Ja’Marr nearly had 30 points. Freiermuth was the most successful pass catcher for fantasy on the Steelers. I had a feeling Mitch was going to like throwing to Muth. Diontae led the Steelers in targets, real shock there. I can’t wait for these two teams to faceoff again.
Don’t panic: Najee Harris/Tee Higgins – These two will be okay. Tee Higgins is in concussion protocol; chances are he will miss at most one game. Play the waiver wire hard if you need to. Najee Harris is banged up, but if he is on the field, he will be productive. Go pick up Jaylen Warren if you need to.
Luck or Trend: Pat Freiermuth will probably be a trusted asset for Trubisky. Plus, he is a redzone threat. I see a good season for Freirmuth in his future.
Quick Links
Eagles vs. Lions
This was another week one thriller! Beasts of the east vs. the Hardknocks darlings. Safe to say that the Jalen Hurts → A.J. Brown connection is going to be awesome. Hurts targeted Brown 13 times! DeVonta Smith was absent, though, not sure what happened there. Luckily, Miles Sanders showed up. Nearly 100 yards and logged a touchdown. Jalen himself had 90 yards rushing with 240 pass yards. Solid day for the 3rd year QB. The Lions fought; they fought hard. No signs of giving up from that team. It’s amazing football to watch. D’Andre Swift gathered 144 yards and had multiple big-time plays. Jamaal Williams got two touchdowns on the day! Amon-Ra St. Brown is going to be a PPR machine. Eight catches for 64 yards (led the team) and a touchdown on 12 targets. Just a great game to watch. I kept peeping at it while I was watching my Dolphins. The best part about this game is that the Lions were down 38-21 to start the fourth quarter. They didn’t give up a single point for 17 minutes of the second half. Just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to get to the finish line, coming up short 38-35. I’m eager to see the Lions’ season.
Don’t panic: DeVonta Smith – Yes, 0 catches, 0 yards, and no touchdown is a bad week. On top of a measly four targets. BUT. I think assuming he’s toast is an overreaction right now. The game script didn’t favor passing this week. The Eagles were up two scores for a large portion of the game. Not favorable for a wide receiver.
Luck or Trend: Jamaal Williams – Yeah, he scored 16 fantasy points, but 12 of them were literally from touchdowns. I’m willing to bet Jamaal Williams doesn’t score two touchdowns very often this season, if at all again. Smells fishy!
Ravens vs. Jets
I will say, the Jets didn’t back down to the challenge. They simply could not get in the endzone. Joe Flacco had 300 yards passing and no touchdowns. Such a bummer. I’ll tell you what I don’t like. Breece Hall being out-touched and producing less than Michael Carter. Lots of people heavily invested in Breece. I will say he had ten targets from Flacco, so that’s a good thing. Hopefully, the Jets were just easing him into the regular season. Elijah Moore was one penalty call away from a solid day. Corey Davis showed up surprisingly! This game is so hard to assess because Flacco had 59 pass attempts. I don’t think that is going to be a weekly thing. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens basically just took care of business. Devin Duvernay had a great day with 54 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Rashod Bateman saved his day by hauling in a deep ball for a touchdown. Without that, he would have been toast in fantasy. Lamar had an okay day. If he posted the same stat line in a loss, it would be a sub-par day. Just over 200 passing yards and only 17 rush yards. Uncharacteristic of Lamar. This game was honestly kind of boring. Hate to say it because I like watching the Ravens, but it was a rather plain game.
Don’t panic: Breece Hall – Why? Well, for one, it’s just one game. Second, the game script didn’t favor a ground-and-pound offense. As you saw by the 59 passing attempts. Breece Hall put up 10 points in his first game with no touchdowns scored by the team. Don’t panic.
Luck or Trend: Devin Duvernay – Another player I’m willing to bet doesn’t wind up scoring two touchdowns in a game again this season. Without those, he scored nine fantasy points. He had 21 this week, but the two deep balls carried him.
Commanders vs. Jaguars
This was another game that probably was better than most were anticipating. So many uncertainties on both offenses. Carson Wentz was spreading the ball around. Curtis Samuel had 11 targets, Antonio Gibson had 8, Logan Thomas had six and Jahan Dotson had 5. The ball was spread all over. Terry McLaurin was late to the party. He hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass that saved his fantasy score. Without that, he has less than 3 points. Regardless, he showed up. It’s clear Antonio Gibson is going to handle the bulk of the carries. He had 14, and the next closest was 4 (Curtis Samuel).
Carson Wentz led the offense with 300 pass yards and four touchdowns. Oh, and two interceptions because, of course. For Jacksonville, I think all signs are pointing towards success. Trevor Lawrence had an okay day. 260 pass yards and a touchdown. Luckily, the rushing attack worked for them as we saw James Robinson score twice, once on the ground and once in the air. The story of the day is Christian Kirk. That man showed the Jaguars he was worth the money (thus far). Kirk logged a 6-catch, 117-yard day but no touchdown to complement it. I would love to see that continue. I think James Robinson and Travis Etienne are both going to be fantasy relevant. Like I mentioned, this game was a fun one. Curious to see how Washington’s targets shake out as the season continues.
Don’t panic: Terry McLaurin – I’m not sure that Terry McLaurin only being targeted 4 times is going to happen very often. McLaurin is too good at getting open for that to be the case. I think the Washington receivers will be a revolving door for who has the most targets week to week.
Luck or Trend: Christian Kirk – Yeah, this man is going to be Lawrence’s darling. He will be peppered with targets throughout the season. I have a good chunk of Kirk shares in dynasty, and I am very happy with it.
***Bonus: Curtis Samuel was mentioned in our Week 2 Wavier Wire Article
Browns vs. Panthers
The Baker Mayfield revenge game. Except, not really. Baker stunk. He only threw for 235 yards and one touchdown. When you say the things Baker does, you ought to back them up. Jacoby Brissett didn’t look very good either. Both of these teams could be calling for Jimmy G in a few weeks if things don’t get better. Cleveland is going to waste Nick Chubb and their defense if they don’t turn it around right now. The roster is so strong; they need to make the playoffs, in my opinion. Nick Chubb led with 141 yards, and Kareem tailed his production by scoring two touchdowns. Both Browns running backs are fantasy cheat codes; who woulda thunk? Donovan Peoples-Jones led the Browns with six catches for 60 yards on 11 targets. I will be adding DPJ in my leagues. For Carolina, I’m really glad CMC is back. I think Baker needs to learn to just give it to CMC. Let the superstar do his thing. Don’t be a hero. A Robbie Anderson random deep ball is not the answer to your offense. Anderson was really the only receiver that had a good fantasy day. Other than him, CMC ended up with 15.7, and that was the only other double-digit scorer on Carolina. This game was very interesting, and I hope both of these offenses figure it out.
Don’t panic: D.J. Moore – Yeah, he didn’t have a great day. But the Panthers’ offense didn’t have an identity, and it wasn’t going through CMC as much as it should have if you ask me. They will adjust. D.J. Moore will be fine.
Luck or Trend: Kareem Hunt – I said it in the preseason, I would be happy with Kareem Hunt as my RB2 this season. He gets tons of work, and Jacoby Brissett loves to dump it to the shorter routes, which is where Kareem Hunt thrives.
Colts vs Texans
Jonathan Taylor is such a dog! 31 carries to start the season. Even Matt Ryan had a nice game. 351 passing yards with a touchdown to Pittman Jr who had nine catches for 131 yards on 13 targets. Michael Pittman Jr SZN is upon us. I love Nyheim Hines for fantasy. He will see plenty of passing game work. PPR gold for a backup RB. He had six catches for 50 yards. I hope the Colts can find the endzone going forward. Touchdowns hold so much value for fantasy. For the Texans, I’m so confused why they announced Dameon Pierce as the starter but then gave Rex Burkhead most of the work. Were the Texans trying to play chess, not checkers? If so, they forgot the rules. I’m curious to see how the coaching staff handles that situation going forward. Go figure, Brandin Cooks is QB-proof. Dude is a solid WR2 EVERY. YEAR. Stop fading this dude. O.J. Howard racked up two touchdowns. It was also on two receptions, and his only targets were those. That’s a red flag, ladies & gentlemen; beware. Davis Mills looked alright, he has a ways to go, but he could get there.
Don’t panic: Dameon Pierce – I’m not sure the Texans will see the lack of rushing production and decide NOT to give Dameon more work. He won the starting job; they will figure it out. It would take 3 or 4 weeks of a lack of production for me to get worried. He’s a rookie!
Luck or Trend: O.J. Howard – While he may be worth picking up because he is the starting tight end, it would utterly shock me if he had another week with two touchdowns. Be cautious with him. Don’t heave up a haul of FAAB.
Giants vs. Titans
Yet another game decided by such a small margin. The Giants wound up winning this one in dramatic fashion. Brian Daboll went for two after scoring to bring it to 20-19. Instead of tie-ing it, he went for two and got it! Used a shovel pass to Saquon. Speaking of Saquon…He’s baaaaaaack! Nearly 200 yards of offense! He scored 33 fantasy points! Sorry, I’m excited. Despite Daniel Jones being a bad quarterback, Sterling Shepard was able to put together a 15-point week. Sterling being healthy is a good thing for your fantasy team. He is usually a PPR machine because he is a route-running craftsman, which is ironic because he only had 2 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. I don’t think that will be the norm for him. Richie James had himself a nice day. He caught five passes for 59 yards. He might be a sneaky PPR flex play in the coming weeks. For the Titans, they had a weird day. They’re getting used to their new-look offense for sure. Henry had a decent day, 21 carries for 82 yards. Dontrell Hilliard was the RB who had the best day. 2 receiving touchdowns for him. We also saw the rookie tandem of Kyle Phillips and Treylon Burks put together a solid performance. I hope that continues. The Titans better figure things out; it’s their division to lose if you ask me.
Don’t panic: Robert Woods – He is a trusty vet; Tannehill will begin to rely on him as the offense needs it. At least, I think so. With a new-look offense, week 1 is just a week to figure out what works best, then adjust from there. I think Woods will be more involved going forward.
Luck or Trend: Sterling Shepard – I truly believe as long as he is healthy, Shepard will be a solid fantasy asset. He has done it in the past, and you know what they say, history repeats itself!
Packers vs Vikings
What an atrocious start for the Packers. Rookie Christian Watson dropped a pass and lost Rodgers’ trust forever. No other WR stepped up for the Packers. Truly sad. I blame the front office. Luckily, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon was the diamond in the rough. Especially A.J. Dillon. Most fantasy points on the Packers by far with 20. As for the Vikings, Justin Jefferson is going to dominate in fantasy. He scored 39.4 points! The next closest Viking was Dalvin Cook with 13 points. I’m not sure that anyone else on the Vikings will be fantasy relevant outside of Dalvin Cook. Maybe Captain Kirk! This recap is really short because this game was basically the Packers punting and the Vikings throwing it to the best wide receiver in the league, Jefferson.
Don’t panic: Aaron Rodgers – The Packers did this last year. Came out slow, then went on a playoff run. I understand Davante Adams was part of the team last year, but Aaron Rodgers was a back-to-back MVP, he will figure it out.
Luck or Trend: A.J. Dillon – This is a trend. They said it all off-season. Dillon is going to be utilized plenty. He is a beast in the backfield. He may not see season-long passing work, but he sure did this week. I’m trying to trade for him.
Chiefs vs. Cardinals
Don’t panic: Kyler Murray – He could go and score 40 points next week because he’s so talented. He managed to score 20 despite a bad day. All signs point towards fantasy success the rest of the way.
Luck or Trend: Isaiah Pacheco – The more efficient he is, the more Andy Reid will utilize him. Reid goes off of trust a lot. As long as Pacheco doesn’t fumble, he’ll be scoring fantasy points.
Chargers vs. Raiders
Both of these QBs showed out! Herbert had just under 300 yards and three touchdowns and Carr had 300 yards, two touchdowns and sadly, three interceptions. Josh Jacob and Austin Ekeler had sub-par days. Jacobs only scored 8.3 points and Austin Ekeler, who was going in the top 5 picks of drafts, scored 11.2 points. Not ideal from an elite fantasy player. Get Ekeler the ball LA! Davante Adams went out and put on a show in his Raiders debut. He caught ten passes from his college teammate for 141 yards and a score. Fantasy cheat code! The Chargers were sharing the love. Keenan had 4 for 66, but he got hurt in the game. After that, it was a bunch of players with 2/3/4 catches for a chunk of yards. Kind of weird for the Chargers, but they got the W regardless. They have to play on Thursday night against the Chiefs with no Keenan Allen most likely, good luck Chargers!
Don’t panic: Austin Ekeler – c’mon, we’re talking about air guitar legend, touchdown scoring superstar! He will be fine. Don’t overreact here.
Luck or Trend: Brandon Bolden – It’s simple, he came from New England with Josh McDaniels. They liked to sprinkle in all of their running backs. Keep an eye on him going forward.
Bucs vs Cowboys
This game was ugly. Field goal after field goal. Finally, with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, the Bucs scored a touchdown. To none other than Mike Evans. Evans, Fournette, and Julio were the only fantasy-relevant assets for the Bucs. Even Tom only had 10. Godwin looked so good until he tweaked his hamstring. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Fournette racked up 127 yards. He owns that backfield. Now we need him to get into the endzone. For Dallas, it was even worse. There was really no one who was fantasy relevant. Dalton Schultz was, but outside of that, it was a wasteland. Dak got hurt; he is out for at least a month or two. This is very bad for Cowboys’ fantasy assets. Hopefully, CeeDee Lamb can thrive with Cooper Rush under center. If not, it is going to be a long, long month for Cowboys fans.
Don’t panic: CeeDee Lamb – yes, not having his star quarterback is bad. But, if we are thinking glass half full, there is a world where CeeDee is being hyper-targeted by Cooper Rush. We have seen backup QBs do it before with star receivers.
Luck or Trend: Julio Jones – It is very clear now that as long as Julio is healthy, he can still produce! With Godwin hurt again, he is the WR2 with the GOAT throwing the ball to him. If, for some reason, he is on your league waivers, pick him up!
Seahawks vs. Broncos
Russell Wilson’s Bronco debut did not go quite as planned. He did have 340 yards passing, and it seemed like the offense was showing signs of potential success. Javonte Williams looked great in his season debut, but Melvin Gordon won the battle of carries having 12 to Javonte’s 7. I liked how much work Javonte was getting in the passing game, however. Hopefully, that continues; Jerry Jeudy had himself a nice week. Just over 100 yards and a score! If you had KJ Hamler stashed, you can drop him. He won’t have much success in this offense as it stands. For the Seahawks, Geno Smith looked alright. It wasn’t great, but the Broncos’ defense was playing rather well. I liked that D.K. Metcalf caught every ball thrown his way; he will be fine; he just needs to find the endzone. Rashaad Penny is clearly the lead back; curious to see how Kenneth Walker is sprinkled in when he is healthy. Not much else to talk about because there was not much scoring.
Don’t panic: Javonte – I still think we are going to see Javonte have a great year, just wasn’t the best start against the Seattle defense. Javonte to the moon!
Luck or Trend: Jerry Jeudy – I don’t think Jerry Jeudy having 100 yards and a score will be uncommon this year. He is a solid player and just needs to be on the field to succeed.
