Every week I will do a quick drive thru of the all the games and cover the relevant fantasy points.  I will look at things that might be fluky or here to stay and try and point everyone in the right direction for the future.  We never want to overreact to a small-sample size, but sometimes getting in too early is still better than missing the boat entirely.

Ravens 35 – Bengals 34

This must of been the greatest TNF game of all-time.  Ja’Marr Chase won people their fantasy matchup by himself and anyone with a Joe Burrow/Chase stack could almost bench the rest of their players.  The Ravens worst fears about their secondary came true as Chase went for 264 yards, three TDs and 11 catches.  There wasn’t much else for anyone to contribute, but Burrow had 428 yards and four TDs and only the other Chase, Chase brown got involved with nine grabs and 52 yards, plus a score on the ground.  The Ravens weren’t so one-dimensional as Lamar Jackson threw for four TDs, but only ran for 33 while Derrick Henry was muted with only 68 yards plus a score.  It was out-of-nowhere sensation Tylan Wallace who exploded for 115 yards on three grabs, with one of them being an 84 yard score. He’s not a pickup.  Zay Flowers did nothing as well as Diontae Johnson, while it was Rashod Bateman who kept his value alive along with Mark Andrews, who is officially back as a top-five TE.  Andrews now has four touchdown grabs on 17 catches over the past four games and those 17 receptions have come on 18 targets.

Pickup of the game: None 

Panthers 20 – Giants 17

This game as in Germany and it showed as everyone seemed half asleep except the running backs.  Tyrone Tracy rushed for over 100 yards, but had the game-costing fumble on the first play of OT.  Malik Nabers was playing hurt, but started to heat up on the final drive before OT.  Daniel Jones might be cooked, for real this time.  If you can’t light up the Panthers, you can’t light up anyone.  Speaking of the Panthers, they are on a two-game winning streak, and Bryce Young almost looked competent.  Chuba Hubbard just keeps chugging and he is going to win leagues if he keeps this up.  No sign of Jonathan Brooks and possibly there won’t be one this season.  The WRs are untrustworthy, but Xavier Legette is a solid stash.  There are only three players worth rostering from this game, Nabers, Hubbard and Tracy.

Pickup of the game –WR Xavier Legette – Priority Low

Chiefs 16 – Broncos 14

The Chiefs can’t seem to lose and each week they find another miraculous way to escape with a win  This time it was the old faces as Travis Kelce scored and looks like a new man in the second half of the season.  Kareem Hunt was held in check on the ground, but racked up seven grabs and 65 yards through the air.  He’s got a clock on him, but he’s a top-five wavier wire of the year candidate.  DeAndre Hopkins wasn’t quite as great as his breakout last week, but he’s still going to get it done most weeks.  Kelce and Hunt got 22 of the 42 targets, so Pat Mahomes wasn’t spreading it around as they played catchup.  He did hit 10 different receivers, but it was the defense who held DEN without a point in the second half who were the heroes.  Bo Nix was solid, but got negative yards on the ground and couldn’t get anything going in the second half.  He’s got low-end QB1 appeal in the right week.  The real story is Audric Estime, who got 14 carries to Javonte Williams one and might be the new RB1 in Denver.  Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but he’s worth a hard waiver look this week.  Courtland Sutton reminded everyone why we keep starting him, but this was a bad matchup on both sides.  This is only to remind you that Sutton somehow leads the NFL in air yards this season.

Pickup of the game – RB – Audric Estime – Priority High

Steelers 28 – Commanders 27

This might of been the best game of the day and George Pickens looks revitalized with Russell Wilson.  He had five grabs, 91 yards and a score that was highlight worthy and he’s a must-start WR1 the rest of the season.  On the other side was Terry McLaurin, who actually outplayed Pickens with five grabs and 113 yards, but no score.  Both started slow this season, but are peaking at the right time.  The Steelers were content to grind this game down and rushed the ball 43 times for 140 yards, with Jaylen Warren earning 14 of those carries and earning himself back onto rosters as a stash.  Najee Harris is still the RB1 and had 21 carries, but Warren is healthy and might not be wearing down in a similar fashion to Harris.  I’d pick up Warren if I were you.  Wilson had three TDs and is showing signs of life, but I can’t start him in 1QB leagues since he doesn’t run anymore.  Jayden Daniels can and will run, but he only had five yards vs. a terrifying PIT defense.  Austin Ekeler scored twice with Brian Robinson out, and he’s must-start anytime that happens and could explode if Robinson has to miss more time.

Pickup of the Game – RB Jaylen Warren  – Priority Med

Vikings 12 – Jaguars 7

This game was a dud and the Vikings controlled the clock the entire game.  The Jags only had 40 plays and the Vikings ran the ball 43 times even though Aaron Jones got hurt and could be looking at missing time.  Cam Akers got the RB2 work instead of Ty Chandler, but Chandler is clearly the better back.  Hard to tell which to stash.  TJ Hockenson is back and he ate while Justin Jefferson had the rare off game.  Yes, they are correlated.  Hock tied JJ with nine targets and while JJ is still the best WR in football, he’s not guaranteed 100 yards with this offense finally healthy.  Sam Darnold had zero TDs and three INTs and that’s something to monitor as he could be turning back into a pumpkin.  Travis Etienne played and was terrible as all most RBs vs. MIN, but Mac Jones was even worse with 111 passing yards and two INTs.  Even Engram, Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis are all taking a massive hit with Jones and might not be startable in certain leagues.

Pickup of the game – RB Ty Chandler – Priority Low

Saints 20 – Falcons 17

This should have been a shootout, but instead there was no points scored in the first of fourth quarters.  Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr both looked great even though Cousins had zero TDs, but over 300 yards.  The Falcons are a complete offensive team and prefer to lean on the ground game as Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 176 rushing yards and two TDs with Robinson doing most of the leg work.  Drake London and Darnell Mooney each had nearly 100 yards receiving, but the no passing TDs hurt their overall lines.  I would sell-high on the ATL skill players if I could as the schedule is about to get rough.  The Saints are still a mess, but got the dead coach bounce as most teams do.  Carr was solid without any reliable pass-catchers and made newcomer Marquez Valdes-Scantiling look reborn with 109 yards and two TDs.  Alvin Kamara led the team in targets and had over 100 all-purpose yards, but make no mistake, this NO team is broken from the inside-out.

Pickup of the game –  WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Priority Med

Niners 23 – Buccs 20

Baker Mayfield finally laid and an egg and had zero TDs and only 116 passing yards.  As a result, Cade Otton finally had a bad game, but the RBs kept beasting as they accounted for nine of the 18 completions and each managed to score.  Bucky Irving and Rachaad White continue to get better and are must-starts the rest of the way.  Mayfield should be better as the schedule gets really easy over the next three games.  I wouldn’t start anyone outside of Mayfield, Otton and the RBs for TB.  The Niners are getting healthy and scary as Christian McCaffrey had over 100 all-purpose yards and this will be the worst he plays all season.  He only averaged 3.0 YPC, but he caught six balls and looked spry and bursty in the open field.  Jordan Mason is back to stash and Jauan Jennings is an WR3 again while Ricky Pearsall is also making the leap.  The Niners are deadly, but with so many weapons, it’s hard to know who to start each week.  George Kittle might finally start getting phased out and really it’s CMC and Brock Purdy who you can really trust each week while obviously still starting Kittle.

Pickup of the game – WR Ricky Pearsall – Priority Low

Bills 30 – Colts 23

Josh Allen threw for zero TDs and two INTs and the Bills still won easily.  He did run for 50 yards and a score, but the BUF receiving core is banged up and Keon Coleman is already ruled out with Dalton Kincaid also nursing a knee injury.  Hopefully, Amari Cooper can return and start to gel, but the Bills need a healthy squad if they are going to go toe-to-toe with KC this week.  James Cook is going to have to do the heavy lifting and while Khalil Shakir is reliable, Mack Hollins has emerged out of the darkness as a nice lottery ticket if the other weapons don’t get healthy soon.  Joe Flacco isn’t looking like anyone’s savior and while he had two TDs, he also had three INTs.  He might be better than Anthony Richardson, but if the Colts aren’t winning, what is the point?  Jonathan Taylor is unstoppable and he rumbled all game and did everything except score.  He’s a in the RB1 conversation.  Alec Pierce did more with less as Josh Downs led the team in targets, but both are must-start players with Flacco in and Michael Pittman out.

Pickup of the game –  WR Alec Pierce – Priority Med

Pats 19 – Bears 3 

The Bears are in trouble because if you can’t score a TD vs. this NE defense, something has gone terribly wrong.  Caleb Williams isn’t a bust, but he’s playing the worst out of all the rookie QBs and someone is going to take the fall.  My bet is the head coach, update it was the OC.  Keenan Allen isn’t the same, DJ Moore is unhappy and Rome Odunze isn’t quite ready for primetime.  D’Andre Swift is solid, but he can’t bear the burden of the entire offense and it all comes back to Williams, who did nothing except take nine sacks.  The Pats are on the other hand are rejuvenated with Drake Maye and while his numbers weren’t great, they didn’t have to be.  The running game got back on track and Maye did enough to secure the win as the Pats are sneakily surging.  The receiving core can’t be trusted as Maye is still developing, but DeMario Douglas could explode in the right matchup.  Both these teams are fantasy stayaways if you can afford it.

Pickup of the game – WR DeMario Douglas – Priority Med

Chargers 27 – Titans 17

The Chargers are for real and while their games aren’t aesthetically pleasing, winning ugly is the same as winning pretty.  Justin Herbert only threw 18 passes as the Chargers ran it 39 times for 145 yards.  Herbert since Week 6 has the NFL’s fourth most passing yards on the eight most drop backs.  Gus Edward is eating in JK Dobbins’ workload and it’s looking like a timeshare for now.  The Chargers run enough to support two RBs and Edwards shouldn’t be on the wire.  Ladd McConkey got phased out with only two targets, but it’s not like Josh Palmer or Quentin Johnston were any better.  This was the perfect LAC game, so don’t expect much to change week-to-week, but all three WRs have upside in the right matchup, which could be this week vs. CIN.  The Titans are toast and got some garbage time production to make Calvin Ridley’s line look better.  Will Levis is bad and while his line isn’t terrible, the game tells another story.  Tony Pollard is banged up and clearly not at 100% and might get game scripted out more and more as this season spirals downward. Ridley will continue to eat as he’s the only viable option, but it’s ugly in Tennessee.

Pickup of the game – RB Gus Edwards – Priority Med

Eagles 34 – Cowboys 6

This game was over before it started and the Eagles are playing the best football in the NFL.  The defense has turned the corner and is truly elite and the offense is humming.  Jalen Hurts was great and didn’t even have to get in third gear and Saquon Barkley left it in first all game.  The Cowboys truly suck.  AJ Brown got loose after getting hurt last week and now it’s DeVonta Smith’s turn to nurse an injury.  Watch out for his availability this week. The Eagles are about to go on a run.  The Cowboys can’t even crawl as Cooper Rush had 45 passing yards and Trey Lance was even worse.  The biggest hit is CeeDee Lamb, who you still have to start, but his ceiling is capped and his floor isn’t even that high.  It’s really, really bad and not going to get better.  This team is a pure fire sale and get out while you can.

Pickup of the Week – QB Trey Lance – If you’re in Superflex and desperate

Cardinals 31 – Jets 6

The Cardinals play two good games and one bad and I seem to always back them on the bad.  Kyler Murray was great this week and you can usually tell which Kyler you are getting early.  When he does that little hesitation and sets his feet sideways before he throws, you know he’s locked in.  He was doing that all day as the Jets might have given up.  James Connor showed his dual-threat ability as he had 80 yards in the air and only 33 on the ground.  Trey McBride is the alpha in this offense, but he doesn’t score enough.  Marvin Harrison Jr. is lowkey having a solid season as he scored and was five for five with 54 yards.  The Jets look broken like so many other teams and nobody showed up for this one.  Breece Hall has too many bad games to trust him next season and Garrett Wilson ended a dominant stretch with only 41 yards.  Aaron Rodgers looked his age and couldn’t get it going in what should have been a great matchup.  Davante Adams over the past two weeks has 24 targets, more than anyone not named Ja’Marr Chase, but they are mostly before the sticks. The Jets are one loss away from throwing in the towel and it didn’t look encouraging in this one.  I would sell-high on everyone.

Pickup of the Week – RB Braelon Allen – Priority Med

Lions 26 – Texans 23

This game was bonkers as there was an INT every other play in the first half.  Jared Goff showed why the home/road splits will never leave him, but did enough in the end to secure the win.  Goff’s 6.6 percent TD rate trails only Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield on the season.  The Lions have no quit in them and are getting more powerful by the week.  Jameson Williams is a true WR2 and Amon-Ra St. Brown scores every week.  Sam LaPorta has woken up too and the only problem in Detroit is that they have too many weapons.  Jahmyr Gibbs is the RB1 and David Montgomery is still scoring in goal-to-goal, but it’s Gibbs who they turn to when they need a play.  This team won’t lose at home again this season, but are also 5-0 on the road.  The Texans thought they were getting Nico Collins back and many GMs had him slotted him with no recourse when he didn’t play.  Tank Dell was supposed to step up and did, but CJ Stroud missed him when he was open by a mile in the end zone.  It ended up being a pick and is in the conversation for worst throw of the season.  Joe Mixon ran into a wall all game and is definitely hurting after 25 carries for 46 yards.  He still scored though.  John Metchie III looked great, but he’s going to lose when Collins returns, which should be this week.  The Texans should have won, but alas, they get the key to the offense back and it should be smooth sailing now.

Pickup of the Week – WR John Metchie III – Priority Low

Dolphins 23 – Rams 15

This game was brutal to watch as while there were only seven sacks, it felt like 17.  Neither QB was great and while Matt Stafford had nearly 300 yards, most of it was late trying to catchup.  Cooper Kupp was solid as was Puka Nacua, but Tyreek Hill again, no showed.  You have to wonder if he’s turned the page on being a WR1.  No more excuses.  MIA saved their season with a win, but Raheem Mostert saw zero carries, which is alarming De’Von Achane was held mostly in check.  I thought this game would be all fireworks and it was all FGs.  Even Kyren Williams failed to score or do anything.  This game had lots of fantasy stars and if you were relying on any of them to win your week, you probably lost.  The Rams look poised to make a run though and have a nice schedule over the next stretch.  I would buy everyone.

Pickup of the Week – None

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