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.

 

Rams 30 – Vikings 20

The Rams got healthy overnight and with the use of their bye week.  Adding Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back into the fold might have saved their season and while everyone loves to talk about Kupp being Stafford’s guy, it’s Nacua who operates as the deep threat.  Kupp is the guy in the red zone, but Nacua more than doubled Kupp’s yards and for fantasy, Nacua is the better player.  The real winner is Matt Stafford, who threw for four TDs as everyone gets easier looks with the two superstar WRs in the game.  Kyren Williams scored as he does every game and really battered the MIN rush d that had been stout all season.  Stafford is back to QB1 territory if the matchup is right and every WR other Kupp and Nacua should be dropped, Demarcus Robinson and his two TDs notwithstanding.  The Vikings looked mortal as they should and Aaron Jones was held in check as most RBs are on short weeks.  Justin Jefferson went off, but failed to score, but eight grabs and 115 yards is still great.  He is the best in game.  TJ Hockenson should be back next game, but he’s still a stash and Jordan Addison is still streaky to trust.

Pickup of the game: QB Matt Stafford – Priority Medium

 

Texans 23 – Colts 20

I think this was the only early game that didn’t go over it’s total and it could be because Anthony Richardson bet the under.  He is no longer a viable QB for real games or fantasy.  He was 2/15 at half and is destroying this solid IND team from the inside.  He might get there, but they need a change and Joe Flacco is the only player who should be throwing passes.  Josh Downs managed to thrive despite only 10 completions in the game and he had four of them.  He had made the leap and is the WR1 on the Colts while Michael Pittman continues to play banged up.  With Flacco, I would start both and maybe even Alec Pierce, without him, Downs is the only player I would semi-trust.  Jonathan Taylor returned and was great with 20 carries for 105 yards plus a score.  That’s almost the floor for him when he’s healthy.  IND is 4-4 and have an existential crisis.  The Texans are 6-2 and in a similar position.  CJ Stroud is the future, but the play calling indicates that he needs to be protected and the end result is the opposite.  Joe Mixon is solid and he scored with over 130 all-purpose yards, but there is something wrong on the offensive end for HOU.  Stefon Diggs got hurt and we are awaiting news, but he was solid with 81 yards on five grabs and the Tank Dell explosion might never come.  Nico Collins will be back for Week 10 to save all fantasy teams.  Stroud was taken as a top-five fantasy QB, but I wouldn’t start him in 1QB leagues without Collins.

Pickup of the game – QB Joe Flacco – Priority Med

 

Browns 29 – Ravens 24

What a shocker as Jamesis Winston led the charge vs. a BAL pass d that is begging to be picked apart.  The Ravens are the best team in the league in almost every metric, but the pass d is so bad it might sink their season.  Winston threw for 334 yards and three TDs without an INT.  The Browns traded their best WR and lost thier franchise QB to injury and now are playing the best ball of the season.  Make it make sense.  Nick Chubb was never going to go off in this game, but he’s a must-start rest of the season.  The Cedric Tillman ride got a sequel and he could end up as the waiver wire scoop of the season.  Make sure he wasn’t left on the wire after left week.  Jerry Jeudy was brought back to life and even Elijah Moore was decent as the WR.  If you didn’t get Tillman, take the consolation prize with Moore.  David Njoku could finish as a top-five TE if Winston is throwing the ball like this.  The Browns might be back, but they are still a joke.  Lamar Jackson tried to bring them back and win this game and he went the whole field in barely a blip late in the fourth quarter.  Derrick Henry was held mostly in check, but he scored late and kept his RB1 value alive.  Zay Flowers showed no ill effects from his ankle injury and he’s got WR2 value all season especially with the Ravens playing in shootouts every week.  Mark Andrews I guess is finally healthy because he’s turned back into a TD machine and he’s a must-start player again.  Andrews has four touchdowns on his last 13 targets.  Rashod Bateman fell off, but he’s earned enough trust to start him again after one dude, two and we can re-evaluate.

Pickup of the game – WR Cedric Tillman – Priority High

 

Cardinals 28 – Dolphins 27

This was supposed to be the game where MIA got back on track with Tua Tagovailoa returning, but instead Kyler Murray threw for over 300 yards and the Cardinals snuck out a victory.  MIA is now on life support, but for fantasy purposes, Tyreek Hill, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert are all must-start players again.  The Hill experience has been brutal this season and while he wasn’t great in this game, he should be ready to explode over the next stretch.  Hill led the Dolphins with a 49 percent air yards share and a 24 percent target share against the Cardinals.  Jaylen Waddle is consistently the odd man out and he’s a tough start every week with so many players eating before him.  Achane and Mostert split carries, but Achane is much more versatile in the passing game while Mostert gets the goal line work.  Both are solid starts with Achane more of an RB1 and Mostert an RB2.  The Cardinals are the bizzaro team and whenever you want to back them, they disappoint and vice versa, but we got peak Kyler in this one and he shredded MIA all game.  James Connor wasn’t great, but he scored and Trey McBride led the team in yards and targets, but was one of the few TEs not to score.  Marvin Harrison Jr. was great which means he is probably due for another dud or two next couple of games.  This ARI team is infuriating.

Pickup of the Game – WR Michael Wilson – Priority Low

 

Falcons 31 – Buccs 25

I’m not going to life, I left the Buccs as all but dead after losing Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.  Baker Mayfield has no quit in him and he still threw for three TDs as well as two INTs.  He is almost WR proof which is a wild thing to say, but the Buccs are great for fantasy because they score a lot and give up even more.  Mayfield has thrown a touchdown on 7.6 percent of his attempts over the past four games.  Cade Otton is a top-five TE rest of the season and the RBs are being used as WRs, which is great for PPR leagues.  Bucky Irving and and Rachaad White weren’t great on the ground, but they combined for 12 catches 78 yards.  Both are quality flex plays each week and potential RB2s in the right matchup.  Irving has 12 carries inside-the-10 carries rank ninth among backs, though he has a mere three scores on those rushes.  Jalen McMillian saw seven targets, but he was fifth in yards and we should give it one more game before maybe any declarations.  If the Falcons played the Buccs every game, Kirk Cousins would be the best QB in NFL history.  This week he only had 275 yards, but four TDs and no INTs.  The running game wasn’t great as Bijan Robinson only had 13 carries, but seven grabs and a TD in the air.  Darnell Mooney is a candidate for best late-round pick of the fantasy season and Kyle Pitts is making any GMs who dropped him after his zero catch game look like idiots.  Drake London wasn’t great, but he has been all season and the ATL offense is finally what we hoped it would be the last two seasons.

Pickup of the game – WR Rakim Jarrett – Priority Low

 

Lions 52 – Titans 14

The Lions are ready to roar and the game was bonkers.  Jared Goff only had 85 yards passing, but also three TDs.  He’s making all the right plays and doing more with less every week.  It’s scary how good this team is on offense.  Both RBs scored, but Jahmyr Gibbs is taking over while David Montgomery is simply a passenger.  The Amon-Ra St. Brown letdown year that I may have started has legs again, but he still scored.  This game was a throwaway, but at least Sam LaPorta looked good.  He needs Jameson Williams to be on the sidelines to beast and we get at least one more game of that.  The Lions had 35 points at half time, so nothing can really be gleamed from this game except they are an offensive powerhouse.  The Titans are the opposite and while Mason Rudolph looked good early, the Titans didn’t score in the second half and other than Calvin Ridley, they don’t have even an average receiving threat.  Only three players have piled up more air yards than Ridley since Week 5.  Ridley went nuts with Deandre Hopkins being shipped out, but he’s hard to trust even if they had a competent QB.  Tony Pollard is the only player I would start each week and he was able to play well vs. an elite DET rush d.

Pickup of the game –WR Kalif Raymond  – Priority Low

 

Packers 30 – Jaguars 27

The Packers were running away with this game and then just like every other early game, it became a massive sweat.  Jordan Love hurt his groin, but is day-to-day and Malik Willis showed that he might be a top-five backup in the league.  The receiving core on GB continues to confound everyone as it appeared that Jayden Reed was the WR1, but back-to-back duds have re-opened the debate.  Romeo Doubs has thrown his hat in the ring and the one guy I thought would step up, Christian Watson is fighting for scraps.  Watson did tie for the team league in targets, but there are too mouths to feed to fully trust anyone.  It was the TE Tucker Kraft who led the team in yards and was the only receiver to score.  His 17.7 yards per reception ranks first among all tight ends over that span, as does his yards after catch per reception  It’s a good problem to have for GB and a terrible one for fantasy GMs.  Josh Jacobs has no competition and crushed the Jags on the ground and he’s now TD machine after barely scoring in the first portion of the season.  The Jags are messy and the only thing I know for sure is that Tank Bigsby is better than Travis Etienne.  Brian Thomas Jr. got hurt and is likely looking at missed time and Christian Kirk is going to be out for the season.  It’s going to be a heavy dose of Evan Engram from here on out and even Gabe Davis might be forced into a bigger role.  With BTJ out, expect a lot of double TE sets with Brenton Strange, but he’s not trustworthy for fantasy.

Pickup of the game – WR Gabe Davis – Priority Medium

 

Eagles 37 – Bengals 17

The Eagles are back to being a superpower and they crushed CIN after going scoreless in the first quarter.  Saquon Barkley just keeps chugging for 100 yards games and Jalen Hurts scored three TDs on the ground with only 37 yards.  AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith were awesome with 169 yards combined and the offense looks like it’s humming even without Dallas Goedert.  The Eagles are 5-2 and have four games upcoming against bad def ensues.  Hurts, Barkley, Brown and Smith are all great players to target in trades.  The Bengals had been playing well, but this game got away from them and without Tee Higgins, they are just too predictable.  Chase had 11 targets, but only 54 yards and the running game continues to provide nothing.  Chase Brown scored, but only averaged 2.7 YPC and it’s all on Joe Burrow’s shoulders.  Mike Gesicki was cooking with Higgins out, but he’s more trick than treat each game.

Pickup of the game –  None

 

Pats 25 – Jets 22 

Drake Maye was supposed to be the savior, but he only lasted six passes before getting a concussion.  He did run for 46 yards and a score and he’s got real potential to be a fantasy football stud, but he will likely miss one game and that means more of Jacoby Brissett.  Brissett means a downgrade to everyone on the Pats, especially the WRs and Hunter Henry.  Rhamondre Stevenson will get more work, but he’s been terrible lately and is a low-end flex play at best.  Antonio Gibson isn’t much better and it’s a miracle the Pats won this game.  The only team headed in a worse direction than the Pats is the Jets, who lost their fifth game in a row.  Aaron Rodgers is playing well, but not great and while he didn’t have any INTs this game, he’s just not the same guy.  Only six quarterbacks have more passing yards than Rodgers over the past four weeks, but the TDs have eluded him.  Garrett Wilson has been unlocked though and he’s back to a WR1 the rest of the season.  Davante Adams though looks old and he probably isn’t 100%.  He’s a WR3 at best, but living off his name more than his current talent.  Breece Hall is tough and go which isn’t what you want from a top-three pick, but what can you do on a team that can’t get out of it’s own way.  Who knows if they turn this season around, but if they do, it will be on the back of Hall.

Pickup of the game – None

Chargers 26 – Saints 8

The Saints are marching off a cliff and while they should get Derek Carr back, he’s not good enough to right the ship.  Alvin Kamara is playing hurt and getting worse each game although he did have 100 all-purpose yards.  He is someone I would try and trade before it gets any worse.  Chris Olave returned and was a beast and hopefully him and Carr can get back on track.  Olave is a solid buy-low, but Juwan Johnson got a concussion and even Bub Means has a high-ankle sprain.  Taysom Hill returned and he’s a fun boom-or-bust player, but when NO only scores eight points, there isn’t much to boom about.  I think the Saints are going to go on a run at some point, but that doesn’t mean playoffs and their margin for error is tiny.  The Chargers are getting better each game and Justin Herbert looks healthy and dangerous again.  He was slinging the ball as well as running it and he’s got this team moving the chains.  JK Dobbins is breaking down and not nearly as explosive as he was earlier in the season, but that’s fine because Ladd McConkey is making the leap into a legit WR1 in real life, not fantasy.  McConkey’s 20 percent target share against the Saints wasn’t exactly dominating, nor were his 73 air yards.  We saw signs of life from Josh Palmer, but you can’t start him yet, but if Herbert is going to return to form, he’s not a terrible stash.

Pickup of the game – None

 

Bills 31 – Seahawks 10

This game was a downer as the Bills went up early and cruised to a win.  Newcomer Amari Cooper wasn’t involved although he was second on the team (behind Keon Coleman) in air yards over his two games, but this was also a rainy game and the Bills simply used James Cook to wear down the defense.  Cook looks to be cemented as the RB1 for the Bills despite Ray Davis, but that could change at any moment.  No need to panic, just stay apprised of a potential timeshare.  Josh Allen looks like the MVP and he’s still getting used to his new toys.  Once it all clicks, this offense will be unstoppable, congrats if you got a piece.  Khalil Shakir is probably the WR to roster, but Cooper has the highest upside and Dalton Kincaid might fall back a rung or two.  Keon Coleman is getting better every game, but there will be a learning curve.  Seattle looked rattled be the rain and could never get anything going.  Kenneth Walker is capable of some terrible duds, but his upside is still juicy, but nine carries for 12 yards is as bad as it gets.  Geno Smith had his worst game of the season and it’s no coincidence that DK Metcalf was out, but at least we got to see Jaxon Smith-Njigba leading the team in targets.  Smith and his 2.6 percent touchdown rate is the third lowest in the NFL and well below his 4.5 percent rate over the past two seasons.  They have to find a way for everyone to co-exist at the same time.  I still believe in SEA from a fantasy perspective.

Pickup of the Week – WR Keon Coleman – Priority Low

 

Commanders 18 – Bears 15

Jayden Daniels hail Mary aside, this game was a dud as Caleb Williams was awful and there was way too many FGs.  D’Andre Swift looks legit and keeps getting better after a terrible start and three-headed WR core can’t do much if the QB only throws for 131 yards.  It’s hard to trust any of them right now, but also hard to bench all three.  Daniels wasn’t supposed to play and then had one of his best games of the season against an elite pass defense.  Who knew?  He’s back to must-start and simply a marvel, but Terry McLaurin is right there as his WR1 and is also picking up the pace.  It’s a sneaky stack that will win leagues.  Brian Robinson was solid, but didn’t score.  At least he’s getting most of the running work as Austin Ekeler is taking a backseat and no longer a viable flex play.  Don’t drop him though.

Pickup of the Week – None

 

Broncos 28 – Panthers 14

The Broncos are rolling and even though the Panthers are a dumpster fire, a win is a win.  DEN is 5-3 and Bo Nix is looking more and more polished each game.  It’s more of a mirage than an oasis, but at least DEN finally has a QB.  They still WRs as Courtland Sutton won’t play CAR every week and Adam Trautman isn’t reliable.  Javonte Williams was held in check after having b2b solid weeks and instead Jaleel McLaughlin looked like the better back.  You can’t extract anything when teams play CAR, so it’s just a throwaway, but Nix is a solid QB for Superflex leagues.  He keeps running for TDs and while he only had four yards this week, there was no reason to run.  The Panthers are getting worse and planning on trading Diontae Johnson.  That could make Xavier Legette decent when Andy Dalton comes back, but man it’s ugly out there.

Pickup of the Week – RB Jaleel McLaughlin – Priority Low

Chiefs 27 – Raiders 20

The Chiefs are undefeated and still haven’t played a great game all season.  The defense is doing the leg work, while Pat Mahomes throws an INT every game.  Travis Kelce looks like near-peak form and he’s shaken off a slow start and DeAndre Hopkins is going to get ramped up fast.  It’s hard to trust any WRs on KC, but with Mahomes, in theory they should all get a bump.  Xaiver Worthy scored, but his volume is low, the margin is nil.  Kareen Hunt has emerged as the most reliable Chief this season and while he wasn’t great, he found the end zone.  The Raiders hung around in this game because of Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers.  Both are must-starts because volume is king.  Alexander Mattison was always a pumpkin and I wouldn’t start him unless I had a gun to my head and Gardner Minshew is simply running out the clock. The Raiders are bad, but frisky and might steal a few games down the road.  Bowers is a beast and I still like Meyers because he has no competition.

Pickup of the Week – None

Niners 30 – Cowboys 24

This game was a wrap until CeeDee Lamb hit the NoS and scored and two TDs in the fourth quarter.  Dallas is a joke and everyone should be fired, but they still have talent.  Dak Prescott looks confused most of the time, but as long as he targets Lamb, it should work out.  The running game is a sad joke and outside of Lamb, Jalen Tolbert and Jake Ferguson are looking more and more like desperate options.  The Dallas season is on life support.  The Niners though, look pretty good considering all their injuries and are getting Christian McCaffrey back after their Week 9 bye.  The Jordan Mason run ended with a whimper and while you can’t drop him, don’t play him again.  Deebo Samuel looked good considering he was in the hospital earlier in the week and George Kittle has the TE belt.  He looks great every game and it’s a wonder the Niners haven’t used him like this all along.  Brock Purdy is becoming a legit dual-threat QB and he’s such a great fantasy start each week.  The rushing yards might decrease with CMC back, but the TDs might go up.  Isaac Guerendo was the man in this one, but he’s a short-term fix at best, but a possible stash if CMC isn’t quite healthy.  Time will tell.

Pickup of the Week – RB Isaac Guerendo – Priority Med

Steelers 26 – Giants 18

This game had fireworks considering the total was 36.5  Russell Wilson still has some gas left in the tank and he showed up by hitting George Pickens all game.  Pickens is a legit WR2 the rest of the season and he should have had two TDs in this one.  Najee Harris has woken up and he’s now playing the best ball of his career.  Jaylen Warren is fine, but this is Harris’ backfield as he looks explosive.  I still wouldn’t start Wilson unless I had to, but he’s opened up the offense and everyone gets a bump.  The Giants are back to looking terrible even though Tyrone Tracy had a monster run before getting hurt and Malik Nabers was a beast.  The ceiling is capped with Daniel Jones and he even looked competent, but the sacks are brutal and always at the worst time.  They have three legit WRs with Darius Slayton playing well and Wan’Dale Robinson is a fringe flex player in PPR leagues only.

Pickup of the Week – WR Darius Slayton – Priority Low

 

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