The beautiful thing about Fantasy Football is that it doesn’t matter if there aren’t many interesting games during the day. We are still going to watch, because fantasy football is about individual players. Nobody kneeled during the National Anthem for the noon games! #KneelGate may be over and I couldn’t be more relieved, the arguments have been exhausting. There are always conflicting reports, but it sounds like the desired result of hurting the revenue of the NFL wasn’t as damaging as Trump was hoping. But, in the end he gets his way and I’m sure he will take credit for it just like he is about the reopening of the JFK files. Let’s talk happy things! Football!
Carolina Panthers Vs. Chicago Bears
I almost got ballsy a couple of weeks ago and began recommending the Chicago Bears’ D/St. I never worked up the courage to do it because I had concerns about the play of the secondary. I didn’t rank them high at all this past week as to not overreact to Cam Newton’s struggles against the Eagles. Well, it looks like the Bears’ defense is not only good, but Cam Newton is also a bad fantasy option. Cam Newton is always going to take unique planning week to week from opposing coaching staffs, but as far as a week to week start, he has become too inconsistent. The struggles in the run game continue to plague the Panthers as well. On the Bears side of the ball, Cohen made a huge play but continued to see his snaps dwindle. Jordan Howard managed just 65 yards.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs. Buffalo Bills
The Buccaneers have a lot of problems, but those are mainly on defense which is actually beneficial for owners of Jameis Winston, Cameron Brate, Mike Evans, and Desean Jackson. I thought that the shoulder injury was going to bother Jameis a lot more than it did, but he had a hell of a game. His throws had more touch this week and if it weren’t for a holding penalty, he would’ve finally connected with Desean Jackson for the long 55-yard downfield completion that we’ve been waiting for.
O.J. Howard is going to be popular amongst waiver wire pick-ups this week for his breakout performance on Sunday. I fear that his performance was game plan based for the most part and Cameron Brate owners shouldn’t lose any sleep. Howard was left wide open quite a few times in Buffalo and he took full advantage. Could he be having his Hunter Henry-like breakout? Sure! Also, there have been situations where two tight ends on the same team can be fantasy relevant. Those situations are hard to come by, so to me, O.J. Howard is a gamble. Lesean McCoy finally found the end zone! Deonte Thompson had himself a nice day with over 100 yards on 4 catches and Nick O’Leary also had himself almost 60 yards on a couple of catches. Figuring out who is going to catch the ball in Buffalo week to week isn’t something that I recommend trying, similar to the Browns. My only pass catching recommendation is at TE with Nick O’Leary until Charles Clay returns.
Arizona Cardinals Vs. Los Angeles Rams
Jared Goff rushing touchdown? Watching Goff split two defenders to fall into the end zone is quite the sight to behold. If you were desperate and had to start Goff this week, you didn’t suffer all that much. Sammy Watkins saw 5 targets and caught 3 of them for 42 yards. It’s still not what we’re looking for, but Robert Woods continues to be on the verge of relevant. He certainly looks like one of Goff’s two favorite targets, along with Cooper Kupp. Adrian Peterson aged forward to 32 years old again after looking 28 years old last Sunday. The Arizona offense is going to be ugly going forward and I feel bad for Larry Fitzgerald owners. If only there was a viable QB who remains unsigned while Carson Palmer recovers from his injury.
New Orleans Saints Vs. Green Bay Packers
Aaron Jones is paying dividends for fantasy owners who didn’t drop him at the sight of Ty Montgomery putting his game jersey back on last week. Trust me, I saw it happen with my own eyes in one of my leagues. The New Orleans defense is good now, I know that it’s a tough concept to grasp. I’m continuing to not panic about Jordy Nelson and Devante Adams. Drew Brees threw for 331 yards and although it wasn’t his best day, he didn’t murder your QB spot despite playing on grass. Ted Ginn Jr. is becoming a favorite target of Brees and he had his 2nd big game in a row. Alvin Kamara totaled over 100 yards but of course, Mark Ingram was the only running back for the Saints to find the end zone. Mark Ingram is never a sexy draft pick, but he sure is hell has been profitable the last few seasons.
Tennessee Titans Vs. Cleveland Browns
This game was ugly. There weren’t any useful pieces for your fantasy team in this one. It is interesting to note that Delanie Walker left with an injury. Also, Deshone Kizer was benched again during the same week where head coach Hue Jackson said he was going to let Kizer work through the good and the bad. A true man of his word. His days in Cleveland are numbered.
Jacksonville Jaguars Vs. Indianapolis Colts
Chris Ivory scored a touchdown but we were hoping for more yards. T.J. Yeldon was the back who ended up having the big day for the Jaguars backfield with 122 yards and a touchdown. It seems like Marlon Mack was the one bright side of a horrible offensive performance from the Colts. Hopefully we continue to see him get more touches and Frank Gore fades into the background.
New York Jets Vs. Miami Dolphins
Jay Cutler might have some broken ribs and could probably care less. Miami fans benefitted and got the hero that they were clamoring for in…. Matt Moore. He filled in nicely as he threw for a couple touchdowns in a 4th quarter comeback against the Jets. Jay Ajayi had another ineffective performance, averaging just 2.2 yards per carry. Austin Seferian-Jenkins is making a habit of scoring a touchdown every week. That one meme of the two Spidermans pointing at each other is exactly what I thought of when I saw the final stats for Bilal Powell and Matt Forte. I laughed to myself.
Dallas Cowboys Vs. San Fransisco 49ers
It looked like Ezekiel Elliott was feeling the pressure of padding his stats as much as possible as his fate for the rest of the 2017 season will likely be determined on October 30th. Elliott piled up over 200 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns as the Cowboys blew out the 49ers. When Elliott wasn’t on the field, Rod Smith saw some snaps, so definitely keep an eye on the Dallas backfield next week in case it’s Elliott’s last game. Dak Prescott had 4 total touchdowns and one of them was a late pass to Dez Bryant. It would have really been a disappointing fantasy day for Dez if he would’ve been unable to find the end zone in such an easy match up. Marquis Goodwin had another nice game gaining 80 yards. Also, Carlos Hyde out touched Matt Breida 18 to 3, so it looks like Hyde is gaining back control of the job.
Denver Broncos Vs. Los Angeles Chargers
An estimated 70%-30% ratio of in favor of the Broncos, as far as fans in attendance is concerned, watched the Chargers shut out the Broncos at “home”. Melvin Gordon and C.J. Anderson were both ineffective, but I’m willing to guess that if C.J. Anderson got 4 chances to punch the ball in from the 1 yard line, he would have at least been able to punch one in, unlike Melvin Gordon. Did you start Travis Benjamin? Me neither.
Cincinnati Bengals Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Bengals lost a must-win game as Joe Mixon only touched the ball 10 times all game. What does he have to do to see more touches? You’re killing me, Marvin Lewis. Tyler Kroft is still a nice option if you are struggling at the tight end position. So much for getting Martavis Bryant involved! He’s going to have a big game sometime this year, but it will most likely be on our benches or the waiver wire.
Baltimore Ravens Vs. Minnesota Vikings
Who should you own going forward, Latavious Murray or Jerrick McKinnon? I DON’T KNOW THIS IS ALL SO CONFUSING. Apparently, Sunday was Murray’s day as he went for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Thielen and Rudolph led the way with 5 catches a piece in a pretty underwhelming passing performance for the Vikings. It wasn’t much different on the other side of the ball. I guess that it’s worth noting that Alex Collins once again touched the ball more than Javorious Allen.
Seattle Seahawks Vs. New York Giants
I saw this as a big bouce back game for Russell Wilson and it was one of my better calls of the week. I think I had him ranked 5th highest amongst quarterbacks. Doug Baldwin, welcome back, sir! I’m not yet ready to live in a world where Orleans Darkwa is a starting running back for the rest of the season. Get it together, Wayne Gallman. Evan Engram is really becoming one of the premier tight end options in fantasy football, if only out of pure necessity of gaining yards for the Giants offense. And yet again, we have another Spiderman meme for Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls!
Follow Matt on twitter.
