Week 9 in the NFL produced plenty of high-scoring affairs, as a season-high three teams topped the 40-point mark through Sunday’s slate of games. That includes a Saints-49ers matchup that was on pace to set the NFL record for most total yards at halftime, and doesn’t count a Cowboys squad that could have easily surpassed the big 4-0 for the first time since 2014 if they’d needed to against the hapless Browns. Despite the uptick in offense across the league, there were still several fantasy football stars who failed to live up to lofty expectations this week. Sunday Night Football featured an excellent battle between the Raiders and Broncos, a game whose participants accounted for three of the nine spots on this week’s All-Bust fantasy lineup.
Note: All projected point totals were pulled Sunday morning from Yahoo’s standard scoring system. Skill players must be owned in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and could not have been injured during the game to qualify for All-Bust “honors.”
QB: Derek Carr, Raiders
Projected points (position rank): 17.9 (15th)
Actual points (position rank): 7.7 (25th)
Carr followed up his record-setting Week 8 performance against Tampa Bay (40-of-59, 513 yards, four touchdowns) with a scoreless, 184-yard day versus the Broncos.
Oakland decided not to challenge Denver’s talented secondary too often. The result was a turnover-free outing for Carr that satisfied Raiders fans and left the quarterback’s fantasy owners wanting more.
RB1: Devontae Booker, Broncos
Projected points: 14.6 (4th)
Actual points: 3.0 (T-40th)
Booker was a hot waiver pickup once C.J. Anderson went down a couple weeks ago, but he’s disappointed for two consecutive games now as the Broncos starting tailback.
Booker picked up 22 yards on 10 rushes, and the rookie’s averaging a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry on the season. Will Kapri Bibbs, who produced Denver’s most explosive play on the night via a 69-yard touchdown reception, cut into Booker’s load going forward?
RB2: Terrance West, Ravens
Projected points: 11.1 (12th)
Actual points: 2.7 (42nd)
West gained just 21 yards on 15 carries against the rival Steelers on Sunday. It marked the second straight game he averaged less than two yards per carry, despite West being fresh off a bye coming into Week 9.
Even worse for his long-term fantasy production, rookie Kenneth Dixon significantly cut into West’s workload. West out-snapped Dixon by a rather slim 30-20 margin, out-touching him 16-11.
WR1: Jarvis Landry, Dolphins
Projected points: 12.1 (7th)
Actual points: 3.3 (T-55th)
Landry has just one touchdown in 2016, but he was unlucky to not register another Sunday. One of his three receptions came up just a yard short of the goal line.
The emergence of Jay Ajayi and Miami’s bolstered rushing attack has also capped Landry’s ceiling. He’s been targeted 6.5 times per game in Miami’s last four contests after drawing 11.3 targets per game during Weeks 1-4.
WR2: Dez Bryant, Cowboys
Projected points: 10.6 (12th)
Actual points: 1.9 (T-70th)
Bryant was the only Cowboys star to not post gaudy numbers against the overmatched Browns on Sunday. He hauled in 1-of-4 targets for 19 yards.
The 28-year-old is likely one of the only people in Dallas right now who’d favor a return to the starting lineup for Tony Romo. He’s struggled to build chemistry with the quarterbacks who have replaced Romo while both have been injured for large chunks of the last two seasons.
TE: Dennis Pitta, Ravens
Projected points: 6.6 (5th)
Actual points: 1.4 (T-36th)
Pitta has been an incredibly frustrating player to own in non-PPR leagues. He leads the Ravens in receptions, but has yet to score and has only topped 60 yards once.
Baltimore’s divisional clash against the Pittsburgh was the low point for Pitta, as he recorded season lows in targets (3), receptions (2) and yards (14).
FLEX: DeVante Parker, Dolphins
Projected points: 10.2 (14th)
Actual points: 0.8 (T-84th)
Here’s another Dolphins wideout who’s struggled to assert himself in Miami’s era of Ajayi.
Parker tallied two catches for eight yards against the Jets, and has totaled 10 receptions for 56 yards in the three games since Ajayi’s stunning breakout against the Steelers in Week 6.
D/ST: Denver Broncos
Projected points: 6.5 (16th)
Actual points: 1.0 (T-19th)
Oddly enough, the same defense that caused Carr to occupy the QB slot of this week’s All-Bust lineup is represented here.
That’s because the Broncos didn’t force a turnover for the first time this year, their 30 points allowed were a season high and their one-point output in standard Yahoo leagues was their worst of 2016.
The problem was the run defense, which allowed a combined 176 yards on 28 carries by Oakland backs Latavius Murray and Jalen Richard. Murray punched in a career-best three touchdowns, exposing the underbelly of a unit that’s missing the talented linebackers it lost in free agency last spring (and some key contributors who were injured Sunday night).
Kicker: Blair Walsh, Vikings
Projected points: 8.8 (7th)
Actual points: 4.0 (T-18th)
In a game that Minnesota lost in overtime on its opponent’s first possession, Walsh’s missed extra point and blocked field goal against the Lions loomed large.
Walsh has now missed three extra points this year, but don’t mention it to him if you see him around town.
