Sometimes, fantasy football just isn’t very fun.
That’s what happens when some of the best quarterbacks of the week only had success because they were forced to sling it in garbage time.
Blake Bortles finished with 337 yards and three touchdowns after being down 27-0. Carson Palmer also had three touchdowns while throwing for 363 yards after being down 30-7.
Kirk Cousins threw for 458 yards because his game went to overtime. The same can be said for Dak Prescott and Derek Carr as they both added yards and a touchdown in OT.
And then there’s Cam Newton and Russell Wilson, two of the highest rated quarterbacks going into the season, doing almost nothing.
You win some, you lose some?
Those that thought Jamison Crowder would be the Redskins best wide receiver are definitely winning. As for DeAndre Hopkins owners, there is no answers.
People that started Rob Kelley are looking smart. Those that thought Mark Ingram would get more than five touches, not so much.
At the least, there were some positives from the week. Carr finally broke out for 513 yards and four touchdowns.
Tom Brady is still Tom Brady.
Tyler Eifert returned, and it was a good day for anyone that started him.
And for those that thought Tyrell Williams was usable against the Broncos, he is not matchup proof.
Everything looks golden for Aaron Rodgers at the moment, but as I said a couple weeks ago, after this nice run of games, he could easily go back to early-season form. Fantasy playoff games against the Seahawks and Vikings are also worrisome for anyone that hopes to win a fantasy championship.
Backup or bust
Backup running backs have taken over fantasy football, and it’s not just Robert Kelley, who put in 87 yards and a touchdown.
Mark Ingram was benched for fumbling early in the game so Sean Payton turned to Tim Hightower (who has had fumbling issues his entire career) 26 times to the tune of 102 yards.
Philadelphia’s carousel continues as Darren Sproles got 11 more carries than Ryan Mathews. Conveniently, Mathews had 11 more carries than Sproles the previous week.
Bilal Powell was a top-15 running back with only seven touches as Matt Forte’s backup.
The same goes for Derrick Henry, who was even better as he racked up numbers with the Titans winning big.
Fantasy football is fun, right?
For the upcoming week, six more teams are on bye. But with the Patriots, Redskins, Bengals and Cardinals all on break, more fantasy owners will be searching for help.
As a bonus, we don’t have to deal with a London game again.
26 September 2016: Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan (2) looks to pass during a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Icon Sportswire)
The defense (Buccaneers) that just let Derek Carr go wild, gets to face Matt Ryan on Thursday night, who will be looking for revenge from Week 1. With Julio Jones beat up, consider Mohamed Sanu as a cheap daily play and Austin Hooper at tight end, who caught all five of his targets last game.
The Jaguars are reeling and their rush defense continues to have issues. They play the Chiefs this week and Charcandrick West could be ready for a bigger role. And like I said a week ago, Tyreek Hill needs to be added in 12-team leagues. His snap count will only rise as he makes more and more plays.
It’s doubtful Jay Ajayi will post another 200-yard game against the Jets defensive line. However, they have been beat, so don’t completely bench Ajayi.
It appears that every Saints receiver has value right now, and that’ll be the case against the 49ers. The only worry is that they’ll run too much for every receiver to produce.
Ezekiel Elliott is going against the Browns. Similar to Henry and Powell last week, don’t be surprised if Alfred Morris gets more touches late in the game due to a lead against a bad defense.
The Colts are terrible at defending short passes and again have multiple secondary injuries, so another 10 receptions can be expected for Davante Adams and anyone else that plays for the Packers.
The Broncos and Raiders are both 6-2 and face off on Sunday night. This may not be a great game for fantasy purposes, but may be a fun night game to watch.
As a note, the Raiders defense has looked improved in recent weeks and I wouldn’t be confident in backing Trevor Siemian for anyone that wants to use him on the bye week.
And after watching Monday’s game, I’d sell any stock in Vikings players for when Shaun Hill has to come in for an injured Sam Bradford. Although that ship has probably already set sail.
