Fantasy Recap: Week 6 Early Slate 1

  • Final score: Falcons 28, 49ers 14 (Falcons covered +3.5, U 44.5)

    *All fantasy points are based on 0.5 PPR

    Key Postgame Stories

    In a week with a number of road upsets, this is perhaps one that was the most telegraphed considering the slew of injuries the Niners came in with already before suffering even more during the game. RT Mike McGlinchey (calf) leaving weakened an offensive line already missing LT Trent Williams, while newcomer CB Charvarius Ward (groin) was among the last men standing in a completely thinned out secondary. While QB Jimmy Garoppolo incredibly didn’t absorb any sacks without McGlinchey, the remaining defensive back group did allow Marcus Mariota to complete a mind-boggling 92% of his passes. One of those passes was an end zone strike to TE Kyle Pitts that snapped a staggering 16-game scoreless streak.

     

    Top Performers

    QB Marcus Mariota

    129-2-0 passing, 6-50-1 rushing, 24.1 total fantasy points

    It was a strange box score for the Falcons considering it was a two-score blowout upset win, but no Atlanta rusher or receiver topped 60 yards on the day, and it was actually Mariota himself who was the lone fantasy standout. The former second-overall pick failed to top 148 passing yards for the third straight game, but did his best Jalen Hurts impression with a solid ground game that accounted for nearly half of his fantasy points. That low passing floor has made Mariota tough to peg even as a spot starter in fantasy, but he’s now averaged 55.5 rushing yards over his past two games. If he can keep that up, he’ll be a low-end QB2 fill-in option in the thick of bye weeks.

     

    WR Brandon Aiyuk

    8-83-2 receiving, 11 targets, 24.3 total fantasy points

    A normally run-dependent Niners offense struggled to run the ball and instead found success through the air with their top-three pass-catchers. In fact, Aiyuk, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel actually combined to account for 82% of Garoppolo’s passing yards. It was the preseason darling Aiyuk who had his first true breakout game of the season though, as he caught both of Garoppolo’s aerial scores. Aiyuk had been flashing a decent PPR floor of late, but low touchdown equity was capping his ceiling. His 20% target share entering this game made it hard to imagine this kind of point output was possible, but he’s now racked up eight-plus targets in three of his past five games. The gameplan should remain pass-heavy next week against the Chiefs, so Aiyuk has a chance to keep things rolling.

     

    Biggest Busts

    WR Drake London

    3-40-0 receiving, four targets, 5.5 total fantasy points

    That’s now three straight games that the rookie from USC has failed to top 5.5 points. It’s not a coincidence that it overlaps with four straight games of extremely low passing volume with no more than 14 completions from Mariota. Despite missing veteran RB Cordarrelle Patterson, it seems like Falcons OC Dave Ragone will continue to draw up among the top-three run-heaviest playbooks in the league. London is certainly capable of getting back to the glory days of his first three weeks in the pros in which he averaged 14.4 fantasy points per game, but Atlanta’s upcoming schedule (Panthers twice, Bears, Commanders and Steelers before the bye) is unlikely to flip the game script in London’s favor.

     

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    Final score: Patriots 38, Browns 15 (Pats covered +3, O 43.5)

     

    Key Postgame Stories

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