Dolphins 17 @ 49ers 33 (49ers covered -4, Over 46.5)

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The Dolphins were without both their starting tackles and that did prevent them from being able to get anything going on the ground against the best run-stopping defense in the league, while their inability to run negatively impacted the passing game, with Tua Tagovailoa struggling to get to 295 yards through the air.

While we were so focused on the offensive vs. defensive line battle with the Dolphins O and the Niners D, the major storyline of the game came when Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending injury even though there is hope that he could return in the late rounds of the playoffs if the 49ers are still alive at that point. Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy came into the game and got the job done with some very nice reads, as he relied on his pass-catching backs for the majority of the contest. The Niners moved to 8-4 on the season while the Dolphins have the same record out in the AFC.

Top Performers

WR Tyreek Hill

On a day when the Dolphins had very little going on offense, Hill was still able to deliver a monster performance with 9-of-14 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. He’s an absolute no-brainer, must-start option across all formats regardless of matchup. Trent Sherfield started out the game with a banger as he scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game for Miami, but we can just chalk that up to the revenge narrative that he had going up against his former squad. Sherfield is nothing more than a DFS dart-throw while Hill and Waddle are the players to continue to deliver for fantasy purposes even though the latter finds himself on the Biggest Busts section this week.

RB Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey carried the Niners offense as he supplemented a relatively poor rushing day (3.9 yards per carry for 66 yards) with 8-of-10 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The inexperienced Purdy targeted FB Kyle Juszczyk and McCaffrey a combined 13 times and both the full back and McCaffrey scored the team’s only offensive touchdowns on the day. McCaffrey should continue to be trusted as a low-end RB1 with all the weapons San Francisco possesses, while Jordan Mason impressed with his eight carries, taking them for 51 yards (6.4 yards per attempt). Mason is a desperate low-end flex option in the hopes that he can find the end zone and Sunday’s performance definitely inspired confidence in his ability moving forward.

49ers D/ST

The Niners crushed it on the defensive side of the ball on Sunday, picking off Tua twice and sacking him three times on the day. They also intercepted Skylar Thompson on his only throw of the day while Dre Greenlaw took Tua’s lone fumble of the day to the house to boost their final fantasy output. We can continue to start this unit with the utmost confidence against a very different Tom Brady-led Buccaneers team than we saw during their Superbowl run a couple seasons ago.

Biggest Busts

WR Jaylen Waddle

While Hill was able to deliver despite the poor showing from the Dolphins offense vs. this very stout Niners defense, Waddle was only able to catch 1-of-5 targets for nine yards on the day. Chalk this one up to a very bad showing and fantasy managers with Waddle can feel comfortable sliding him back into starting units for a pivotal SNF matchup vs. the Chargers this week.

WRs Brandon Aiyuk & Deebo Samuel, TE George Kittle

Both Samuel and Aiyuk struggled to deliver on Sunday, but that should have been expected as soon as Jimmy G. was lost on their first drive of the game. Purdy was much better on shorter routes which is to be expected from an inexperienced young QB who is forced to come midway into a crucial game. Aiyuk likely sees the biggest drop-off with Purdy under centers since Deebo can be utilized as a dual-threat with his rushing ability even if he could only muster five yards on four attempts this past weekend. Kittle also struggled to get much going with the rookie QB, finishing with just 2-of-3 receptions for 22 yards. The only thing he has going for him is that he plays at one of the scarcest positions in fantasy football. Purdy is definitely a downgrade for the veteran TE, however.

RB Jeff Wilson Jr.

Revenge-game narrative, anyone? Well, the answer to that was a resounding no as Wilson surprisingly had just one carry for three yards while Raheem Mostert finished with seven carries for 30 yards. The Dolphins (nor any other NFL team) is going to have a chance to win a game when they can only muster 33 total yards on the ground. Wilson did receive the only targets (2) out of the backfield, but both backs belong on benches unless they are looking at a very forgiving defense that surrenders a lot of yards to opposing backs. The question of who is the lead back is back with Miami and that makes it difficult to trust even in a plus-matchup.

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Seahawks 27 @ Rams 23 (Rams covered +7, O 40.5)

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