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-Scantiling – Priority Med

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