Seahawks 31, Cardinals 21 (Seahawks covered +2, O49.5)

Key Postgame Stories

Sunday’s contest was much more exciting and fantasy relevant than the first matchup between these two division rivals back in Week 6. The Seahawks confirmed to the entire NFL that they are for real and with the win on Sunday, moved up to third place in the NFC and have a two-game lead over the 49ers for the division title.  Meanwhile, the Cardinals dropped to 3-6 on the year and have a one-game cushion over the Panthers for last place in the conference. The Seahawks were clearly the better of the two teams from start to finish, but with the teams trading scores throughout the game, there were a number of strong fantasy finishes on both sides of the ball.  Both Geno Smith and Kyler Murray had decent outings and were able to finish in the top-8, thanks in large part to the six teams on bye week.  Neither player had a ceiling game for fantasy scoring, as they both only had two touchdown passes and one turnover.  As far as the pass-catchers, there were a handful of players that performed admirably for their fantasy GMs and will be covered more in depth below. 

Top Performers

Ken Walker:  Once again Walker had a massive game for the Seahawks, leading the way to their victory.  He now has seven touchdowns over his past five games, including two-of-three games with a pair of scores.  He rushed for 109 yards on 26 attempts, finding the endzone twice.  Walker is currently the RB2 in Week 9 and is paying off in a massive way for the fantasy GMs that either stashed him during their draft or were able to pick him up off waivers.  Walker has been the RB5 since taking over in Week 5. 

Tyler Lockett & D.K. Metcalf: The dynamic duo of Seahawks receivers were able to both produce strong fantasy outings on Sunday.  Lockett, the current WR12 in Week 9, finished the game with 67 yards and one score, hauling in all five of his targets.  Metcalf was also able to find the endzone against the Cards, grabbing 5-of-6 targets for 37 yards.  Although neither player had a week-winning performance, both were strong plays in PPR formats and their fantasy GMs should be pleased with their continued success. Lockett is now the WR9 on the year, while Metcalf slides up to the 17th-best WR on the season. 

Noah Fant: Fant was able to produce his best fantasy game of the season on Sunday against the Cardinals’ bottom-dwelling defense against TEs. He nearly eclipsed the 100-yard mark, something he has not done since Week 13 of the 2019 season, racking up 96 yards on five receptions.  Fant has struggled with inconsistent play this year.  He has five games with at least four targets, but four games with less than two receptions.  He is, at best, a boom-or-bust option at the shaky TE position, but this week he was able to turn in a TE7 finish with the third-highest yardage total at the position. 

Zach Ertz:  Much like Fant, Ertz was able to beat up on a poor defense against the fantasy TE.  He hauled in 5-of-8 targets for 40 yards and a score, currently sitting as the TE6 on the week. Ertz has been great for his fantasy GMs this season and is the TE3 in PPR formats on the season. There were concerns that Ertz would not be as productive with the return of DeAndre Hopkins, but he has back-to-back games with at least 13 fantasy points. 

Rondale Moore:  Much like Ertz, the production for Moore was expected to take a dip after Hopkins returned from suspension.  He led the Cardinals in all receiving categories against the Seahawks, hauling in 8-of-10 targets for 69 yards. He now has back-to-back games with at least 14 fantasy points and continues to be a focal point of the offense.  Currently he ranks as the WR16 on the week. 

Biggest Busts

James Conner: The return of James Conner was very welcomed by the Cardinals, as the RB had missed the previous three games due to a rib injury.  Although the expectations were not too high for him, unfortunately he was not able to be even remotely productive in this contest. He finished with only 12 combined touches, totaling 64 yards.  Going forward, the expectation for fantasy GMs will be that Conner retains his work-horse role and he will have his touches slowly ramp back up to where it was before the injury.  

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Rams 13, Buccaneers 16 (Push, U42.5)

Key Postgame Stories

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