Thursday Night Football, Week 7: Ballin’ Like Juwan

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Thank you, football gods! Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit called so many touchdowns last night that there might not be enough on-air material left for the remainder of the season. That’s what the youths call Herb-Al medication. Luckily for us, that provides a lot of cargo to unpack from the Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football. Andy Dalton had his highs and lows, but the real stars were Juwan Johnson and Eno Benjamin, of course, just as we all saw in the tea leaves. Of course, it would be a crime not to mention the impressive return of DeAndre Hopkins, who immediately received 14 targets and converted that into 10 catches for 103 yards. Here’s what else I saw on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. NFL Thursday Night Football.

The Stage NFL Thursday Night Football

Matchup: New Orleans Saints (2-4) at Arizona Cardinals (2-4)

Line: ARI (-2.5)

What Happened: Fueled in part by pick-sixes thrown on back-to-back drives by Saints QB Andy Dalton, the Cardinals held off a late comeback to come away with the 42-34 victory. The story of the night was the return of DeAndre Hopkins, who saw 14 targets and finished with over 100 yards receiving, while Eno Benjamin filled in for the injured James Conner with 110-plus total yards and a score.

Saints Pregame Outcome vs. Projections (Half-PPR) NFL Thursday Night Football

Cardinals Pregame Projections vs. Outcome (Half-PPR) NFL Thursday Night Football

QB Kyler Murray – 17.1 (PROJ 19.1)

RB Eno Bejmain – 21.3 (PROJ 12.7)

WR DeAndre Hopkins – 15.3 (PROJ 11.3)

TE Zach Ertz – 5.1 (PROJ 9.7)

WR Rondale Moore – 3.6 (PROJ 9.1)

WR A.J. Green – 0.0 (PROJ 5.5)

RB Keaontay Ingram – 10.7 (PROJ 5.2)

WR Robbie Anderson – 0.0 (PROJ 4.0)

TE Tyler McBride – 0.0 (PROJ 0.4)

Greg Dortch – 7.1 (PROJ 0.1)

Fantasy Studs

1. Eno Benjamin – 12 carries, 92 yards, 1 TD; 4 receptions (5 targets), 21 yards. Filling in for the injured James Conner (ribs), Benjamin garnered 16 touches and turned that into 21.3 half-PPR points. Nearly half of his rushing yards came on one carry, but he proved he could be relied upon as a fantasy starter in Conner’s absence. However, Conner has a chance to return against the Vikings in Week 8.

2. Andy Dalton – 30-for-47, 361 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs; 4 carries, 21 yards. Much of Dalton’s strong fantasy outing is largely due to his role in putting New Orleans behind in the first place, as the Saints were forced into a pass-heavy game script for much of the second half. But along with his three interceptions came four touchdown passes to three different receivers and over 350 yards passing. Dalton is most likely off the fantasy radar moving forward with the likely return of Jameis Winston in Week 8.

3. Juwan Johnson – 5 receptions (5 targets), 32 yards, 2 TDs. Johnson caught all five of his targets and found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to deliver 17.7 half-PPR points for the 3% of fantasy owners that roster him. He’s a hit-or-miss option, but TE-needy teams should strongly consider taking a flier on him.

Fantasy Duds

1. Zach Ertz and Rondale Moore – Ertz caught two of four targets for 21 yards, while Moore hauled in just one of two targets for 31 yards. Neither receiver got much going despite a 42-point performance from Arizona. Hopkins led the way with 14 targets, but beyond that, no other Cardinals receiver saw more than Benjamin’s five.

What We Learned

1. DeAndre Hopkins is back and is instantly a weekly WR1.

2. You can’t start any other Cardinals pass catchers in confidence.

3. Juwan Johnson should be strongly considered in weekly lineups any time Adam Trautman is out.

4. Robbie Anderson cannot be started until he provides a strong fantasy outing in Arizona. He played just 11 snaps in his first game.

5. Eno Benjamin can be inserted into lineups in place of James Conner (when out) and is a worthwhile handcuff.

Lingering Question

1. Can Kyler Murray take off and lead owners to a fantasy championship in the second half?

That’s all for this week, Razzball fam! As always, I’m happy to take this conversation into the comments section or on Twitter, where you can find me @WorldOfHobbs.