NFL Fantasy Recap
I don’t know about you, but my fantasy leagues had some low, low scores across the board. There were a few teams who put up numbers like Montgomery, A.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs, and Derrick Henry managers. But there were lots of mediocre scores throughout the league. The Bills showed the Dolphins the AFC East is in fact not theirs. Winning by 4 touchdowns. The Lions showed the Packers who big brother is. The Bengals forgot how to score. The Browns clearly need Deshaun Watson. The Jags took care of business in London. The Texans embarrassed the Steelers. The Vikings won a gritty game in Carolina. The Colts almost came back down 3 scores and took it to overtime but came up short. The Bucs dominated the Saints. The Commanders went toe-to-toe with the Eagles all the way to OT. The Bears were winning by multiple touchdowns at one point, but the Broncos came back and won.
Lions vs Packers
When halftime rolled around for this game, I figured I would be able to go to bed and not miss anything but the Packers did fight in the second half. Jordan Love threw for 246 yards and a TD. Also had 2 picks, which isn’t helpful. He scored 17.6 points but that wasn’t enough to get the job done. Romeo Doubs was the only other Packer who was relevant for fantasy. Doubs caught 9 passes for 95 yards. A solid 18.5-point week for the sophomore receiver. Christian Watson returned to the field this game. He caught 2 passes for 25 yards and a TD. 10.5 points for him and I think he’s a great buy-low guy right now.
The Lions got off to a quick start. Scoring 2 touchdowns in the first quarter. David Montgomery was the big story in this one. Montgomery ran the ball 32 times for 121 yards and scored 3 touchdowns! A missive 43-point week for the veteran back. Jahmyr Gibbs stans are grinding their teeth right now. He was only given 8 carries, but did catch 4 passes. It’s just not the workload you’d think a first-round pick would get but whatever. Amon-Ra had a solid week. He scored 16.6 points off his 5 catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. In terms of fantasy, that’s really the only production out of Lions players. Goff had 11 but after him, it was a fall-off. Great win for the Lions, though!
Jaguars vs Falcons
How did Atlanta even win a game? Their offense is miserable to watch. It’s either a Bijan handoff or it’s a Ridder pass that MIGHT not be in the dirt or tipped by a defender. He was 19 of 31 for 195 yards (6.2 points). His touchdown went to Drake London, in London. It was meant to be. Hell, he almost had two. London scored 11.8 this week. Bijan was clearly the leading scorer. 14 carries for 105 yards as well as 5 catches for 32 yards. No endzone for Bijan this week, but he will find it soon. Falcons fall to .500 (2-2).
The Jaguars, who have a two-week stint in London, emerged victorious. Calvin Ridley got back in the action, scoring a touchdown early in the game, but that was one of his 2 receptions. 2 catches for 38 yards and the TD (11.8 pts). We need to get Ridley the ball more. Trevor Lawrence was the high-scoring player for the Jags. 207 pass yards, a TD, and 4 rushing yards – good for 16.5 points. Not his best week. Christian Kirk led the receivers with 16.4 points off his 8 catches for 84 yards. Evan Engram continues to be a solid weekly play, scoring 12.9 this week on 7 catches for 59 yards. I was very in on the Jags from a fantasy standpoint going into this season so I am curious to see how their season pans out. They face the Bills in London next week. Should be a fun game!
Broncos vs Bears
You know, going into this game, it was supposed to be terrible. And if you are a Broncos fan, it was terrible for the first half. The Bears came out firing. Scored 21 points in the 2nd quarter and were up 14 thanks to Justin Fields and D.J. Moore. Fields had a crazy week. 27.9 points and he threw for 335 yards and 4 TDs. Unusual to see him only have 25 rush yards! D.J. Moore also had a crazy week. 8 catches for 131 yards and a score. Good for 27.1 points. Love to see that out of him. KEEP DOING THAT CHICAGO. Cole Kmet also went nuts. 7 for 85 and TWO touchdowns – he scored 27.6. We even got a big week from Khalil Herbert! 18 rushes for 103 yards and he added 4 catches for 19 yards and a TD (22.2 pts). Khalil Herbert managers have been waiting for this!
The Broncos got the last laugh, however. they came back from down 21 points to win this by a field goal. Led by none other than the chef, Russell Wilson. 223 passing yards and 3 TDs for the veteran on Sunday. 22.2 points for those who played him. 22.2 sitting on my bench with Burrow as my starter was not fun to watch unfold. Javonte Williams left this game with an injury to his hip/groin. I have not heard the severity other than it is not as bad as they thought it could have been. Possibly out a few weeks. Jaleel McLaughlin, who you should pick up this week, ran for 72 yards and caught 3 passes for 32 and a TD in Wiliams’s absence (19.4 pts). Somehow the Broncos pass catchers didn’t have big weeks despite the comeback. Courtland Sutton led with 11.7 and most of that was from his TD catch. 3 catches for 27 yards other than that. Not ideal.
Browns vs Ravens
There’s not too much to talk about with the Browns this week. No Watson on top of not having Chubb sucks. Dorian Thompson-Robinson had to make his rookie debut versus a solid division rival. Not ideal. Bad game for him. 121 yards and 3 interceptions. 1.24 points for those interested. David Njoku finally scored double digits, but who knows if that will stick when Watson is back. Amari Cooper didn’t do much, only logging 1 catch for 16 yards. Tough. Jerome Ford was able to scrounge together 9.5 points, but it was not a good week for Browns players as a whole.
The Ravens made out much better. Getting a much-needed division win and helping out fantasy footballers everywhere. Lamar threw for 186 yards and 2 TDs. Both of which went to Mark Andrews. Lamar scored 2 rushing touchdowns as well. Big day for him, scoring 28 points. Andrews finished with 5 catches for 80 yards and the touchdowns I mentioned. 25 points for him. TE2 on the week! After those two, it was not great. Zay Flowers was the third highest-scorer with 8 points. Not great. Good win for the Ravens, though.
Bengals vs Titans
The Bengals got the ball first, drove down the length of the field, and got a field goal. At that moment, I thought to myself, “Well, this could be ugly for the Titans.” Which is exactly why you don’t react to first drives. The Bengals didn’t sniff the endzone again. They got smacked 27-2 by the struggling Titans, nonetheless. Burrow was ice cold, in a bad way, with only 165 passing yards. Not ideal. Mixon had 67 rushing yards (8.6 pts) but no touchdowns this week. Ja’Marr Chase caught 7 balls for 73 yards (14.3 pts). Not sure why he was whining after the game. Most targets on the team and yards? Weird reaction from him, but he is probably just frustrated the team hasn’t gotten their act together. Tee Higgins injured his ribs this weekend, so see if Tyler Boyd is on your waivers! Back week for the Bengals.
The Titans, who were very much in need of a get-right game, came out and dominated. They had their backs to the wall in the beginning but fought back and won this handsomely. Ryan Tannehill had a decent game throwing for 240 yards and a score (12.7 points). Even Derrick Henry threw a touchdown pass! Henry had himself a day. 122 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, and one passing. He led the Titans’ by far in fantasy points with 24. The next closest was Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with 16. He caught 5 passes for 51 yards and a TD. DeAndre Hopkins managed to score double digits (10.3 pts) but has yet to get the ball rolling on his season. Good win for the Titans.
Dolphins vs Bills
Tough reality check for us Dolphins fans. After an electric start to the season, the Dolphins took a hit to the division-rival Bills. Josh Allen really does own the Dolphins. He’s never lost to them in Buffalo. Tua played fine. 282 yards passing and a TD. One interception as well. 13.9 points from him. De’Von Achane continues to impress, as he had another 100+ yards rushing this week as well as another 2 touchdowns. He was the Dolphins high scorer with 27 points. Braxton Berrios was the high-scoring WR (17.4 pts), I bet you didn’t see that coming. Tyreek barely scored 10 and Jaylen Waddle had a TD but it got called back. Raheem Mostert also came back down to earth, scoring 5.5 this week. On to next week…
The Bills had a great day, putting up almost 50 points at home. Josh Allen feasted. 320 passing yards and 4 TDs in the air and one on the ground. 36.5 from Allen. Stefon Diggs was the recipient of 3 of Allen’s TD passes. Diggs also feasted. 6 catches for 120 yards and three TDs. Gabe Davis made his presence known logging 3 catches for 61 yards and a TD as well. 15 points for him this week. James Cook continues to provide as a fantasy asset, he had 77 total yards and a score. Not a bad week. Bills get a well-earned victory as Miami looks for revenge in week 18.
Rams vs Colts
I’ll tell ya what. Before the season, if you would have told me this one would be a thrilling watch I’d have said you were a liar. No Kupp and no JT, this one didn’t seem like much. Stafford and Richardson had something to say about that. In the end, the Colts took the loss but Richardson had yet another good game. 200 passing yards and 2 TDs in the air with one on the ground as well. Even tacked on 56 rushing yards. 29.6 points for the rookie in his return from the concussion. Michael Pittman Jr. did not have a great game, only scoring 4.5 points for his managers this week. Tough blow. Drew Ogletree (13.8 pts) and Mo Alie-Cox (10.5 pts) were the high scorers on offense.
The Rams and Puka are taking the league by storm. Puka had a 31-point week. 9 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. Kyren Williams also had an amazing day. 27.7 points from the sophomore running back. He logged 103 rush yards, 2 TDs, and 3 catches for 24 yards. Safe to say, if you are a running back and you are efficient, Sean McVay is going to use the shit out of you. A 25-carry week for Williams. Stafford threw for 316 yards and a TD, but that was all he had so he wound up with 16 points. Good win in OT for the Rams.
Bucs vs Saints
The fact that the score was 3-0 until damn near halftime is sad. These offenses are better than that but I guess the defenses showed up. Granted, the Bucs did end up going into the half up 14-3 so the wheels got moving near halftime. The Saints couldn’t get anything going. Besides Alvin Kamara and his 13 catches (yes, 13 catches and 21.4 fantasy points) no one else was really productive. Michael Thomas did scrape together a 9.3-point performance but there’s absolutely nothing sexy about that. And where was Chris Olave?? 1.4 points? He was targeted 6 times and caught one for 4 yards. Weird.
Baker keeps on doing his thing and getting wins. The Bucs are 3-1 now! Watch out! Could be the 2023 version of the 2022 Seahawks…Baker had a solid game. Scored 23 points thanks to 246 yards and 3 TDs. Chris Godwin put together a decent outing. He caught 8 passes for 114 yards. No touchdown, but that’s alright he got 19.4 points. Deven Thompkins, rookie out of Utah State, had 4 catches for 45 yards and a TD. 15 points sitting on everyone’s waiver wires! Rachaad White did manage to score 10 points, but we need some more out of him going forward. 10 points isn’t enough! Mike Evans got hurt during this game, so he only had 7 points. I’m excited to see where the Bucs go the rest of the season.
Commanders vs Eagles
Yet another OT thriller in this division rivalry. I had a feeling Washington would give Philly the business. Took the Eagles all the way to OT. Sam Howell led the Commanders with 290 passing yards and a TD. 19.6 points for Howell and his buddy “Scary” Terry McLaurin dropped 22 points this week. McLaurin caught 8 balls for 86 yards and also landed on a fumble in the endzone for a TD. Love to see that! Brian Robinson didn’t have the best day but he did enough to make his team stay in the game. 45 yards and a TD for BRob (13 points). Curtis Samuel had a big day scoring 18 points. He caught 7 passes for 51 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Jahan Dotson sighting! 4 catches for 27 yards and a TD good for 12.7 points. Good to see you, Dotson!
The Eagles had to fight hard for it but they came away victorious. Led by Jalen Hurts, who scored, 24 points off 319 passing yards and 2 TDs. Swift had a decent game. Ran for 56 yards and a score. Also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (17.9 points). The story of the day was A.J. Brown and his 9 receptions for 175 yards and 2 TDs. WR1 on the week, scoring 38.5 points. Fantasy managers are very thankful for that. DeVonta Smith may not have scored a touchdown or nearly 40 points, but he caught 7 balls for 78 yards (14.8 points), hard to be upset about that! Good win for the Eagles in this matchup.
Vikings vs Panthers
Carolina can’t seem to get a win. No matter what they do, they come up short. They picked Kirk Cousins off twice and held him to 139 yards. Bryce Young threw for 204 yards and no touchdowns. That’s the biggest issue. He needs to be more efficient. Adam Thielen is the best fantasy asset in Carolina. 7 catches for 76 yards got you 15.2 points. The most on the team. The only touchdown scored by the Panthers was a pick-6. Terrace Marshall sighting! 9 catches for 56 yards. Interesting tidbit from this game, Chuba Hubbard had more carries than Miles Sanders…
The Vikings got their first win of the season, but it was not easy by any means. Justin Jefferson put together a solid game in a low-scoring affair. 6 catches for 95 yards and 2 TDs! 26.5 points from the league’s best receiver. The production from Vikings’ players falls off after that. 10.8 points from Alexander Mattison was the next highest score. Kirk Cousins didn’t even score 10 points this week. Rough week for Captain Kirk. T.J. Hockenson didn’t score much this week, not even scoring 5 points. Hate to see it.
Steelers vs Texans
Matt Canada needed to be gone three weeks ago but here we are, the day after the Steelers not scoring a touchdown again and he is still employed. How?? Pickett had 114 yards before getting hurt. Mitch had 18 yards after taking over at QB. Disgusting. Najee somehow had his best week yet, scoring 11.3 points. Jaylen Warrne barely outproduced him. Najee had 11.3 and Warren had 11.5 points. No one had a good week other than those two and “good” is being used loosely. Steelers have a lot to figure out.
The Texans faired much better this week. C.J. Stroud continues to impress football fans. 1,200 yards in his first four weeks is something special! Stroud put up 306 yards and 2 TDs this week. 21.8 points for the rookie. He FED Nico Collins. Nico caught 7 balls for 168 yards and 2 TDs. 35.8 points and a top-5 finish this week for Nico. Dalton Schultz found paydirt this week. Caught 3 passes for 42 yards (13.2 pts). Dameon Pierce had another 10+ point week. He is good at those. The problem is, that they are always sub-15 points which is mid. Watch out for the Texans in the AFC South!
Raiders vs Chargers
The Raiders came up just short in this one. They had the Chargers pinned back in their own territory late in the game but Herbert came up clutch on 3rd & long to win the game. Josh Jacobs’ managers can breathe a sigh of relief after a 28-point week from Jacobs. Rejoice! Davante Adams had an injury scare, but came back in the game and wound up scoring 15.5 points. He had 8 catches for 75 yards. Josh Jacobs also had 8 catches himself! After those two, there were no fantasy-relevant players.
The Chargers miss Austin Ekeler, that is for sure. Joshua Kelley and his 3.8 yards per carry didn’t move the needle for me this game. Keenan Allen came back down to earth this week. Catching 3 passes for 32 yards and a TD. Still managed to score 12 points despite only having 3 catches. Herbert led all Chargers with 167 yards and a TD. He scored 23.3 points thanks to two goal-line rushing touchdowns. Solid day from Herbert! But man they tried really hard to lose this one…
Patriots vs Cowboys
Well, the Patriots didn’t show up for this game. Mac Jones had 150 yards and 3 interceptions. He got benched for Bailey Zappe. The Patriots had no fantasy-relevant players in this game. Technically, Hunter Henry had an okay game in terms of tight ends. But that was it. Rhamondre Stevenson had 30 rush yards and the leading receiver had 6.5 points (Demario Douglas).
The Cowboys had more production out of their players, but not much. The leading scorer was CeeDee Lamb with 14.8 points. 4 catches for 36 yards and a TD for Lamb. The rookie Jake Ferguson had a breakout game. He caught 7 passes for 77 yards (14.7 pts). Pollard had a quiet week. Only 47 yards for him but 3 catches as well. Dak had 14.3 points but that’s super average and not that great. Michael Gallup snuck into the double digits this week, getting 11. The Cowboys’ defense was the real MVP. They scored 26 points this week. Their second 25+ point week this season!
Cardinals vs 49ers
I’ll tell ya what. There’s not a single team that should feel comfortable playing the Cardinals. They can compete with anyone. They kept the 49ers, Cowboys, and Giants in BATTLES. Joshua Dobbs had a solid day at the office. 265 yards and 2 TDs as well as 48 rushing yards (23.4 pts). James Conner has been a boss running the ball lately but only put up 52 yards this week. He ran hard though, you could see it in each carry. Hollywood Brown put together a solid performance despite no touchdown. 7 receptions for 96 yards (16.6 points). Rookie receiver, Michael Wilson, was the hot commodity on Sunday. He caught 7 passes for 76 yards and 2 TDs. Massive 26.6-point game for the rook. Love to see it.
The 49ers were in a close one here but prevailed in the second half. Quite possibly one of the most spectacular fantasy performances of the season, Christian McCaffrey scored 48.7 points. 106 rush yards, 71 receiving yards, and 4 total touchdowns. Brock led the Niners with 283 yards and a TD. He also scored a TD on a QB sneak. 21.3 points for him this week. Brandon Aiyuk had yet another big game, he caught 6 passes for 148 yards. No touchdown but 20.8 points is more than fine. The funny thing is, after those three there is a massive drop-off in fantasy production. Get this, Deebo and Kittle had 2.5 points combined! Weird, weird week.
Chiefs vs Jets
I don’t know about you, but I had Chiefs -7.5 so I was pretty salty when Mahomes slid at the 1-yard line instead of scoring. Whatever, it was a small bet. I don’t think the Chiefs were expecting this to be such a tight matchup. The Jets looked almost impressive from the get go. More like after the second quarter started but same difference. Zach Wilson put together a 19-point week. 245 yards and 2 TDs. One to Lazard (15.1 pts) and one to C.J. Uzomah. The run game was non-existent. Breece Hall had 56 yards. Garrett Wilson didn’t win you weeks, but he didn’t lose them either. 9 catches for 60 yards (15 points).
The Chiefs were shell-shocked that Mahomes was throwing interceptions. Was it the Taylor Swift effect? The people are asking. Pacheco avoided the Taylor Swift effect. He racked up 115 rushing yards and 43 receiving yards and also ran in a TD (24.8 pts). Thank goodness their run game showed up because Mahomes only had 203 yards. 1 TD to Noah Gray as well. Kelce did not find the endzone. He caught 6 passes for 60 yards but not the week you wanted out of him.
Seahawks vs Giants
Well, the Giants looked miserable yet again. I don’t know what the answer is but hopefully, it is Saquon, because they miss his presence. They literally can’t score a touchdown in a primetime game. That is very boring to watch. There’s hardly anything to recap fantasy-wise for the Giants. Matt Breida was the high-scorer with 12.8 points. I will say, Wan’Dale Robinson looks better and better as the weeks go on. Might want to stash him! Darren Waller may as well be on the side of a milk carton, he had 5.1 points. What happened to all of the hype for Waller??? Daniel Jones can’t get it together, he threw 2 picks and no touchdowns. I did win money on his rushing Over/Under so that was fun.
The Seahawks had better scores, but not much. Kenneth Walker scored 13.9 points off 79 rushing yards and a TD. D.K. Metcalf was the fortunate recipient of Geno’s passing TD. Lockett managed to score 9.4 points, which isn’t great but it’s not zero. What happened to Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Are they not using him like they ought to be or is was he hyped up too much? People are asking… Good win for the Seahawks, but man was it a boring game in terms of fantasy football.
