Week 4 NFL Fantasy Reactions
Well, week four began atrociously. My Dolphins lost to the Bengals on Thursday night, and Tua Tagovailoa suffered a serious head injury. Praying Tua has a full recovery and that the Dolphins did not make any shady moves throughout his concussion protocol following the week three incident. We will find out, as there is an ongoing investigation. If the Dolphins did shady things again, I’m going to be so disappointed with this organization…I digress.
Let’s talk about something exciting. The first London game! Andy Dalton got the start for the Saints, and Kirk Cousins led the Vikings in a nail-biter to the end. It came down to a Will Lutz 61-yard field goal, and it bounced off the field goal post twice! Double-doink. Unreal.
The Falcons beat the Browns with seven pass completions. SEVEN. Insane. The Cowboys easily beat the Commanders 25-10. Seahawks and Lions played a thriller of a game, with the Seahawks and QB1 Geno Smith winning 48-45. The Titans beat the Colts 24-17 in a somewhat boring game. The Giants beat the Bears to move to 3-1. Brian Daboll is off to a solid start. The Eagles started slow, but came back and beat the Jaguars 29-21; Trevor Lawrence must’ve eaten popcorn before the game. He had four fumbles.
The Jets beat the Steelers even though Kenny Pickett took over in the second half. Kenny Pickett looked okay! Looking forward to seeing him start! Bills edged out the Ravens, which is unfortunate because us Dolphins fans could have used that extra loss for the Bills! Chargers handled business against the Texans. Cardinals same deal and handled business against the Panthers. Matt Rhule has to be on the hot seat. Or at least the warming up seat.
The Packers sweated it out against a 3rd string QB. Ultimately, the Pack got the win. Raiders finally got a win, and that is definitely due to Josh Jacobs being used as a workhorse. Would love to see more of that going forward. The Chiefs dominated the Bucs. It was a great game, don’t get me wrong, but scoring 41 against any team is dominating. Weird how the Chiefs can go lose to the Colts and then a week later beat Tom Brady and the Bucs so handsomely. Finally, the 49ers hosted the Rams, only to win yet again. McVay must be Shanahan’s little brother, always loses to him.
Let’s see how the rest of the action unfolded in week 4!
Quick Links
Dolphins vs. Bengals
This game was shaping up to be a great one in the first half. It was a one-score game for most of the game, and then Tua Tagovailoa suffered a gruesome head injury. I hope he recovers fully. He was seeming to be putting it all together on the field. Teddy Bridgewater did his best to keep the Dolphins in the game but came up short. Tyreek wound up catching ten catches for 160 yards, but no score. Waddle had a quiet day with two catches for 39 yards. Chase Edmonds would have had a solid start to the game had he caught the fade thrown his way in the end zone. He was wide open… Anyways, Miami struggled for most of the game with Bridgewater, and the Bengals had the lead the whole way. Good win for the Bengals. Burrow had a decent night, 287 yards and two touchdowns. The star of the night was Tee Higgins. He scored 25 fantasy points on seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase was 4 for 81, and Mixon ran for 61 yards. Bengals move to 2-2, and Dolphins suffer their first loss, but more importantly, suffer the loss of their starting QB for what will most likely be a few weeks. I am dead inside. Let’s go Teddy!
Vikings vs. Saints
We go across the pond to watch Kirk Cousins & Justin Jefferson to face off against Andy Dalton and…Mark Ingram? I should just say Chris Olave because he was the star of the offense for the Saints. Olave had 4 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown! Good day for the rookie. He needed to step up with Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Jameis Winston out. It wasn’t enough, Dalton did what he could, but the kicker left them just shy. Will Lutz nailed a 60-yarder to tie the game at 25, then the Vikings hit a field goal to go up 3. The Saints got in position for a deep field goal to tie it at the end. 61 yards out, and Lutz doinked it off the uprights twice. What a bummer. This game was a great one to watch, though. Especially since I rolled out of bed and turned it on! I very much enjoy London football.
Commanders vs. Cowboys
It seems as though Carson Wentz from week 1 and 2 was a fluke. 170 cards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He stinks again. Antonio Gibson got shut down. 63 total yards. Jahan Dotson managed to get three catches for 43 yards and a score. McLaurin logged 2 for 15 yards. Tough day for the Commanders offense. Cooper Rush had a better day for the Cowboys. 223 yards and 2 TDs, one of them to CeeDee Lamb who had six catches for 97 yards and a 30-yard TD reception. Zeke put up 81 scrimmage yards but did not find the endzone. Michael Gallup scored in his first game back! Happy to see him on the field. Heck, Brett Maher was the third-highest scorer for the Cowboys! Weird game, Cowboys get the win, and Cooper Rush is undefeated as a starter. 4-0! Dak who?
Seahawks vs. Lions
I’ll tell you what, I’m betting the ‘Over’ on every Lions game from here on out. They were missing their top two offensive weapons and still scored 45 points. They also gave up 48 points, but from a fantasy perspective who cares?! That’s an awesome game. Jared Goff scored 30 fantasy points! That’s not all; T.J. Hockenson put up 39. Hell of a day. Jamaal Williams reached 25 from 102 yards and 2 RD’s filling in for Swift, and Josh Reynolds had 21. No matter what team, the Lions make it one hell of a game. I think they should have won this but missing those crucial players on offense hurts. Geno Smith had a big day. 320 passing yards and two touchdowns for 31.7 points! Go Geno, Go! Rashaad Penny had a nice day at work. 151 yards and two touchdowns. DK Metcalf caught seven passes for 149 yards but no score; still a great day. Oh look, a Noah Fant sighting! He scored a touchdown, but that was his only catch. Regardless, this game was a thriller to the last minute.
Steelers vs. Jets
This game got off to a slow start. Like, molasses slow. The Steelers couldn’t move the ball, both teams kept turning the ball over, and lots of other mistakes. I watched this game with my Steelers buddy and it was painful. The emotions I watched him go through from the crappy first half, to the blissful feeling of watching their 1st round draft pick, Kenny Pickett, get his chance in the second half, to then right back to sadness when the Jets went down and scored with 10 seconds left in the game to take the lead. Noteworthy fantasy scores from the Steelers included: George Pickens (16.2), Pat Freiermuth (15.5), and Pickett (12.3, only in 2 quarters). The Jets had similar fantasy days. Zach Wilson had 18 in his return, Corey Davis had 18 as well, and Breece Hall topped 15, almost 16. The key thing to take away from this game is that the Steelers may have some life put into their offense if Pickett remains the starter. Jets get the W. Steelers have things to figure out.
Browns vs. Falcons
Here we are again. Talking about Nick Chubb reaching 100 yards rushing. Plus a touchdown. Hell of a day. Kareem also had 49 with two catches. Amari Cooper took the week off; go figure. The inconsistency will always follow him. Jacoby Brissett also had a weird day. He had no passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. 234 passing yards to go with it. The leading scorer for the Falcons? Caleb Huntley, because of course! He had 56 rush yards and a touchdown. Corderralle Patterson had 38 rush yards and a score. Tyler Allgeier had a solid day. Averaged 8.4 yards per carry on ten touches (84 yards). Not bad from the rookie. The Browns had their chance at the end but pissed it away, per usual. Browns fall to 2-2. Falcons move to 2-2.
Titans vs. Colts
This was the most AFC South-type game ever. The Titans went up 14 to nothing early. Then it sort of swayed towards an even game in the 2nd. The 3rd quarter rolled around, and the Colts were the only one to score, and that was it for the entire game. It was a boring game to say the least. The small bright spot in this game was Derrick Henry and his 114 yards rushing with one touchdown. No one else on the Titans had a good game. I guess Chigoziem Okonkwo should get a shoutout for his first touchdown! Way to go, guy. The Colts didn’t have much to flaunt, either. Mo Alie-Cox had six catches for 85 yards and two scores; he had the best day with 26.5 fantasy points. Matt Ryan did have 356 passing yards, but only enough to get 18 fantasy points. Boring game, Colts lose in a gross fashion, and the Titans move to 2-2.
Bears vs. Giants
Another game, another stat sheet with less than 200 passing yards for Justin Fields. It’s embarrassing that the Bears cannot figure out how to make him thrive. Doesn’t help he’s throwing to minimal talent. Fields didn’t have any touchdowns, Khalil Herbert starting at RB only logged 77 rush yards, and no receivers scored a touchdown. Bad day for Bears fantasy players. Darnell Mooney led the team with 13 points. Hey, at least he had a good week? On the other side of the ball, Daniel Jones had even less passing yards than Fields, with 71. Jones almost had more rush yards than pass yards. Daniel Jones also hawked two touchdowns from Saquon, TWO! However, Saquon still put up 18 fantasy points thanks to his 146 rush yards and handful of catches. This game was a barn burner. So weird to think the Giants are off to a 3-1 start.
Jaguars vs. Eagles
Bills vs. Ravens
I don’t root for the Ravens often, but I was today. I enjoy watching the Bills lose. However, the Bills demonstrated how good they are coming back and winning this game by a last-second field goal. Lamar had a very Justin Fields-like game. Only 144 yards passing and led the Ravens in rush yards. I was very excited to see J.K. Dobbins did his thing and scored two touchdowns! Now let’s see him thrive in the open field. Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews took the day off, apparently. Those two didn’t do much. Probably why the Ravens wound up losing. The Bills got the win, it was a sweat, but they got it. Josh Allen led the way with 23.5 fantasy points. 213 pass yards and 70 rushing yards. One touchdown in the air and another running. Outside Allen, no one had a fantasy-relevant game that people would have been starting. Stefon Diggs got 10 points, better than nothing, but that’s unusual for him. Devin Singletary scored what we’re used to seeing out of him, and Isaiah McKenzie had a solid start to the day getting a touchdown, but then he got hurt. Gabe Davis ghosted y’all. I say y’all because I avoided drafting him in my leagues.
Chargers vs. Texans
Look at that! Austin Ekeler is back. 34.9 points and three touchdowns later the air guitar hero is here to stay. 110 scrimmage yards later and six catches on top of that. Not only did he have a great day, so did Dameon Pierce on the other side of the field. He logged 131 rush yards with a touchdown. He also caught six passes, but it was only for 8 yards, so that was a free 6 points in PPR. Mike Williams caught seven passes for 120 yards, great day for Mike with Keenan Allen injured again. Gerald Everett is continuing to be a fantasy asset, scoring 17 points this week. Brandin Cooks also did his normal, scoring 18 points off 7-57-1. I didn’t get to watch much of this game, but it seems like this was a good game for the most part. I imagine the Chargers are going to be in close games if they keep having stars missing time. Bosa is out for a few weeks now, and Keenan can’t get over the injury bug right now. Hoping he heals up soon.
Cardinals vs. Panthers
I think I have said this 3 out of 4 weeks, but the Cardinals are simply not enjoyable football to watch. Add that to a matchup vs. the Panthers who are also not enjoyable to watch; this game was a snoozefest. The Panthers only touchdowns were a pass to McCaffrey and a pick-6. McCaffrey led the Panthers in rush yards and receiving yards. 27 rush yards and 81 receiving yards off nine catches. Looks like Matt Rhule finally learned how to use his ace of spades, CMC. A few weeks too late. Baker has to go, I don’t know who will play QB, but it needs to be someone completing more than 54% of their passes. Terrible. Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz both had solid days. Brown scored 20.8 fantasy points (WR9), and Ertz topped 15 points with 16.7, finishing as the TE5 on the week. As I said, this game truly was not thrilling. If he is activated, I would love to see the Panthers move on to Darnold.
Packers vs. Patriots
When I turned this game on, I didn’t realize we would get the Zappe breakout game! I’m just kidding; he had 99 passing yards and a touchdown. Not that exciting, but hey, he gave the team some life. It was a good football game. Fantasy, not as much. High scorer on the Patriots was big bro Damien Harris (15.4 pts). Rhamondre was second highest (12.9 pts). Packers had a couple of fantasy-relevant players; Allen Lazard scored 17.6 on six catches for 116 yards. Solid day in the office. Aaron Jones reached 110 yards but only scored 14.5 points. I don’t mean “only scored” as if it’s a bad score; 14.5 is great. What I meant was when RB gets 110 yards; usually, they also find the end zone, and that 15 points game becomes a 20-point game. That’s all. Aaron Jones simply didn’t find the end zone this week. He will. He’s a stud. Rodgers had 16 pts for the third straight week. At least he’s consistent. Romeo Doubs is establishing a good connection with Rodgers. On Sunday, he had 5 catches for 47 yards and a score. Plus, he barely dropped a second touchdown reception after slamming on the ground from a spectacular catch. In due time, Romeo will catch those. He finished with 13.7 points, but man do I wish he finished that catch. Would have been a 20+ pt day! Oh well, maybe next week in London.
Raiders vs. Broncos
The Raiders are in the win column! Josh McDaniel records his first win as the Raiders head coach. Do you know why? (Or at least why I feel they won) Is because they FED Josh Jacobs. 28 carries, 144 yards, and two touchdowns. He was the RB2 this week with 34.5 points. Hell of a week from the workhorse. Carr didn’t have to do much, thank goodness, because he only threw for 188 yards, no touchdowns. 11.5 points. Oof. Davante Adams always produces. The man is unguardable. 9 catches for 110 yards. Just no touchdowns, unfortunately. I don’t think that’ll be much of an issue. He scored once every game until this week. He will be back in the end zone. This week was simply the Josh Jacobs show. The Broncos put up a good fight. Especially for how bad that have looked in their weird 2-1 start. Russell Wilson showed up this week. 237 pass yards and 2 TD’s with some rush yards, and a rushing touchdown. 250+ yards with three TD’s is a good game. The Broncos could not get the ground game going, Russ led them in rush yards, and Javonte Williams got hurt…he tore his ACL, and it was even more than just that, but I forget the specifics. I feel so bad for him. He was so promising for this season. I hope he has a speedy recovery. Courtland Sutton had a solid day. 5 for 52 and a touchdown (16.2 points). As did Jerry Jeudy with 4 for 53 and a touchdown (15.3 points). Curious to see how the Broncos look without Javonte in the back field.
Chiefs vs. Buccaneers
What a thrilling game. Think about both these teams in week 3. They stunk! Week 4? Dynamite. There were a total of 9 touchdowns scored in this game. Mike Evans had two of them. Hell of a day from the veteran. Eight catches for 103 yards on top of those touchdowns. 30 points for Mike. Leonard Fournette scored 18 thanks to some garbage time points. He caught the ball seven times for 57 yards and a touchdown late in the 4th. Rashaad White had a breakout game for his rookie campaign. 14.6 points is a solid day for the rook! Godwin got just over 12, first game back from injury; that’s encouraging going forwards. So are the ten targets. Love to see TB12 putting up 385 yards and three TDs. Pat Mahomes had a good night too. 249 passing yards and three touchdowns. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Caught a wild touchdown pass (or I guess flip?) from Mahomes on the goal line. Plus, it was cool to see Isiah Pacheco make some plays. He seems promising. 63 rush yards, not too shabby. Travis Kelce dominated with nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. 24 fantasy points. The man is a cheat code. JuJu Smith-Schuster had an okay night, just shy of double digits. Throw in the occasional touchdown, and he’s an auto-flex play.
Rams vs. 49ers
This game started off rather quickly; after the first two drives it was 7-3, 49ers. Then it was back and forth with punts for a while, and then in the second quarter, Deebo Samuel caught a ball and scored on a 57-yard catch and score. Big night for Deebo. He wound up with six catches for 115 yards and a score. After that 57-yard scamper, there were no more touchdowns. Just an exchange of field goals UNTIL Matt Stafford threw a pick-six on a screenplay…you can’t do that Matty! The 49ers defense showed up in a big way. The Rams were held touchdown-less. Despite that, Cooper Kupp had a big night with 26 points on 14 catches for 122 yards. PPR machine. Tyler Higbee scored 17 from his ten catches for 73 yards in another impressive week. He had 14 targets! Crazy. Outside of Deebo, the 49ers didn’t have much fantasy production. Jeff Wilson Jr. did have a solid night, but the bulk of his 13 points came from one touchdown run. 13 points is great, but that was early in the game; he disappeared after that. In the end, the 49ers still have the Rams number. San Fransisco moves to 2-2, and the Rams fall to 2-2.
