Taking a quick rundown of the Sunday NFL games with a fantasy perspective.
Sunday Snippets
NO 36, CHI 25
Yet another head-scratcher conjured up by HC Matt Nagy who abandoned the run during the drive to the stadium. The Bears only ran the ball five times between Tarik Cohen (3-10) and David Montgomery (2-6). The score was 12-10 at the half but Montgomery had only one rush. Mitchell Trubisky threw for 251 yards and two scores but had 54 passing attempts. Allen Robinson (10-87, TD) was the only notable receiver and fielded 16 targets. Anthony Miller (5-64) was the next best and no one else gained more than 24 yards. Nagy played this one like the Bears entered the game down by two touchdowns. The rumor is that Montgomery is learning magic so he can entertain his teammates on the sidelines. It’s not like he’s playing football anymore.
Teddy Bridgewater is now 5-0 as a starter and passed for 281 yards and two scores. Naturally, Michael Thomas led the team with 131 yards on nine catches. No other receiver gained more than 48 yards. Alvin Kamara was out so Latavius Murray rose to the challenge with 27 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns, plus 31 yards on five catches. The Saints played like they already had a 14 point lead. They posted 23 straight points in the second half before the Bears scored in the final three minutes. Apparently, the Saints do not need Drew Brees or Alvin Kamara. That says a lot about this team.
LAR 37, ATL 10
Can HC Dan Quinn possibly make it to the end of the season? The Falcons dropped their last five games and were not competitive in this homestand. Devonta Freeman ran for 19 yards on seven carries and was ejected for throwing a punch at Aaron Donald (which alone is cause to worry about Freeman’s decision-making skills). Matt Ryan threw for 159 yards and one interception before leaving with an ankle injury. Matt Schaub threw 6-of-6 for 65 yards and a score at the end of the game. Julio Jones (6-92) and Austin Hooper (4-46, TD) were the only Falcons with any fantasy value.
Todd Gurley only gained 41 yards on 18 runs but scored on his only catch of the game. Jared Goff passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns and ran in a score as well. Robert Woods (5-80), Brandin Cooks (4-59) and Cooper Kupp (6-50) faced arguably the worst secondary in the NFL but none had more than a moderate performance. The Rams defense scored on a fumble recovery and looked as good as was expected at the first of the season but this was by far their best effort of the year. The Rams scored 37 points and yet no players had a big game.
MIA 21, BUF 31
The ending may have been a foregone conclusion but at least there were far more points than expected. Mark Walton (14-66) is laying claim to being the primary rusher and one that actually turns in yardage. Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 282 yards and one score to Devante Parker (5-55, TD) while Preston Williams led the team with six catches for 82 yards. Walton could figure in as a fantasy starter in the future and Williams has been remarkable considering the team around him. But the Fins continue their journey to 0-16.
The Bills actually trailed 14-9 at halftime so, yeah, maybe didn’t take this as seriously as they should have. But three second-half touchdowns were more than enough. Frank Gore only ran 11 times for 55 yards while Devin Singletary was held to seven runs for 26 yards. Only gaining 81 rushing yards against the Fins defense (at home no less) was a disappointment. Josh Allen passed for 202 yards and two scores but John Brown (5-83, TD) was the only Bill with more than 27 yards. The Fins tried an offside kick after their lone touchdown but Michael Hyde caught the pop-up and squirted through the Dolphins for the rare touchdown return.
JAC 27, CIN 17
The Bengals just fell to a perfect 0-7 but at least Andy Dalton passed for 276 yards and a score. He also tossed three interceptions. Alex Erickson posted a career-best 137 yards on eight catches which were more than the 109 total yards he had on the season. Auden Tate (3-65) and Tyler Boyd (5-55) were only marginally productive. Joe Mixon only gained two yards on ten carries but caught one two-yard pass for a touchdown to prevent hanging a big, fat zero fantasy points while playing an entire game. This is a rebuilding year with a new head coach but the offensive line just gets worse.
Gardner Minshew threw for 255 yards and one score and ran for 48 yards. Dede Westbrook was no lock to play which meant he would lead the team with 103 yards on six catches. DJ Chark settled for 53 yards on three catches while Chris Conley (3-83) turned in the odd productive performance. Leonard Fournette ran for 131 yards on 29 runs and added 14 yards on two catches for a good day that somehow missed scoring a touchdown. The Jaguars also returned an interception for a touchdown to help. This was a standard sort of game for the Jaguars and, sadly, the standard for the Bengals.
OAK 24, GB 42
Derek Carr made this look like a game even if it was really mostly during the lengthy trash time. He passed for 293 yards and two scores that both ended up with Darren Waller. Undrafted free agent rookie Keelan Doss was next best with only three catches for 54 yards. Josh Jacobs ran for 124 yards but only gained 10 yards on three catches. The Raiders led 10-7 in the second quarter before folding their tents and leaving. With Tyrell Williams out, the Raiders simply have no receiver aside from the tight end Waller that remotely matters. Which is great for the Waller owners.
Welcome to Aaron Rodgers, circa 2005-2018. The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback finally broke the two-touchdown barrier for the first time this season when he passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns. For once, every Packer receiver was a great start. Marquez Valdes-Scantling( 2-133, TD), Jimmy Graham (4-65, TD), Jake Kumerow (2-54, TD), Aaron Jones (4-33, TD) and even Jamaal Williams (4-26, TD) all scored. Rodgers even ran in a touchdown. Aaron Jones only rushed for 50 yards because the Packers finally reverted to being a passing machine, if only for this one game.
HOU 23, IND 30
It was the game that forgot to run the ball. Carlos Hyde settled for only 35 yards on 12 carries while Duke Johnson (7-34) was no better. Deshaun Watson passed for 308 yards and one score to DeAndre Hopkins (9-106, TD) who finally played to expectations. Will Fuller was lost to a hamstring injury but Kenny Stills (4-105) proved again to be a very prudent acquisition. No other receivers gained more than 27 yards. The Texans drew as close as 23-28 with over six minutes left to play but the entire offense revolved around just Hopkins and Stills.
The Colts had no better time rushing with Marlon Mack only rushing for 44 yards on 18 carries. But Jacoby Brissett passed for 326 yards and four touchdowns. Zach Pascal had a career-best performance with six receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. T.Y. Hilton scored once on his six catches for 74 yards. Even Eric Ebron ended with four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Colts also intercepted two passes to kill Texans’ drives. Brissett was at his best with no turnovers and a QB rating of 126.7. This was exactly how the passing offense is supposed to work but almost never does.
ARI 27, NYG 21
Okay, so that one hurt. David Johnson was a game-time decision but suited up and was active. He also took the first carry of the game. And then sat out the rest. Chase Edmonds would run for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries that controlled the game. Kyler Murray only completed 14-of-21 for 104 yards and ran for 28 more. None of the Cardinals’ receivers gained more than 29 yards. This was very encouraging for the Cardinals who can be confident that they can handle missing David Johnson.
Daniel Jones passed for just 223 yards and one score with Golden Tate (6-80) as the only receiver with more than 35 yards. The shock of the game was that Evan Engram faced the No. 32 defense versus tight ends and yet only caught one pass for six yards. Saquon Barkley is back and ran for 72 yards and one touchdown while adding three catches for eight yards. The game looked closer because the Giant recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in the second quarter. Jones looks like just another rookie quarterback by this point.
SF 9, WAS 0
There was a drenching rain for the entire afternoon and that depressed both offenses. Jimmy Garoppolo only passed for 151 yards and one interception. George Kittle only managed three catches for 38 yards but there were only 21 passes thrown by the 49ers. No receiver was better than Kendrick Bourne (3-69) which was his first effort of the year over 24 yards. Tevin Coleman ran for 62 yards and added two catches for a net one-yard loss. It was a sloppy, wet game that the 49ers won with three field goals – all of them under 30 yards because they couldn’t punch in a touchdown in the red zone.
Case Keenum only threw twelve passes and completed nine for 77 yards. Adrian Peterson ran for 81 yards on 20 carries as the only effective component of the offense. He lost a fumble but the entire game only served up two turnovers despite the conditions. It was down performance for all the fantasy players though only Kittle was a must-start fantasy option.
LAC 20, TEN 23
Yeah, Melvin Gordon is back. That will help everything. Except for when he only runs for 32 yards on 16 carries and then at the goal line with seconds left to play, he loses a fumble and loses the game. Philip Rivers threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns between Austin Ekeler (7-118, TD) and Gordon (2-(-3), TD). Hunter Henry again shined with 97 yards on six catches while Keenan Allen (4-61) was held in check by the Titans. The Chargers haven’t had any sign of a rushing game since… since… well. Since Gordon showed up. Hard to see how he is making any team think they want to break the bank on him, much less the Chargers.
Ryan Tannehill passed for 312 yards and two scores, so he was everything that Marcus Mariota wasn’t. Corey Davis led the team with six catches for 80 yards and a score while A.J. Brown (6-64) improved his average. That was exactly what the Titans have missed with Mariota – involving the wide receivers. The second score was caught by Tajae Sharpe (2-19, TD). Derrick Henry ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on his 22 runs and caught an 18-yard pass. The offense looked better with Tannehill under center even though the Chargers feature a Top-10 secondary.
BAL 30, SEA 16
The Ravens won this in the fourth quarter. The score was tied at 13-13 during halftime but the Ravens made it 30-13 before the Seahawks finally kicked a field goal with under two minutes to play. Lamar Jackson only passed for 142 yards but rushed for 116 yards and one score on 14 runs. Mark Ingram only ran for 46 yards on 12 carries and the only receiver of any note was Miles Boykin (2-55) because he caught a 50-yard pass. The secret to winning is to return an interception for a touchdown and then add a fumble return for another score. The Seahawks beat themselves and the Ravens were happy to oblige.
Russell Wilson only threw for 241 yards and one score. He was enjoying the best QB rating in the NFL but only managed a 65.2 this week. Tyler Lockett (5-61, TD), Jaron Brown (3-60), and DK Metcalf (4-53) were not enough to stay in the game. Chris Carson ran for 65 yards on 21 carries but the Seahawks could never get going. It was a rare off-game and happened at home.
PHI 10, DAL 37
Well. The Cowboys showed up. Not so much for the Eagles that fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter after losing two fumbles. Carson Wentz passed for 191 yards and one score and one interception. Dallas Goedert (4-69, TD) was the only notable receiver and Alshon Jeffery (2-38) and Zach Ertz (2-38) were the next best receivers. Jordan Howard ran for 50 yards on 11 carries while Boston Scott gained 32 yards on seven runs since he replaces Darren Sproles and the Eagles were almost always in pass formation. Miles Sanders was held to only 32 total yards. The Eagles were unusually lethargic and sloppy.
The Cowboys ended their three-game losing streak in a big way. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 111 yards and a score plus added six catches for 36 yards. Tavon Austin even ran in a 20-yard touchdown on his only carry. Dak Prescott threw for 239 yards and one score. Amari Cooper was active and ended as the top receiver with 106 yards on five receptions. Michael Gallup was held to only 34 yards but the Cowboys ran the ball and enjoyed great field position. The Cowboys head into their bye with a win instead of a four-game losing streak.
The Game-o-the-Week
MIN 42, DET 30
So much for the Black-and-Blue division.
The Lions lost Kerryon Johnson early on and Ty Johnson covered for him but only gained 29 yards on ten carries. The Lions were forced to throw 45 passes to catch up and ended with 30 completions for 364 yards and four touchdowns by Matt Stafford. Danny Amendola caught eight passes for 105 yards while Marvin Jones had a career-best four touchdowns on his ten catches for 93 yards. No other receivers mattered including Kenny Golladay (1-21). The score was tied 21-21 at the half but the Lions could only manage a field goal in the second half until finally scoring a touchdown with only three minutes left to play.
Kirk Cousins is back with a vengeance in the last few weeks. He passed for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Stefon Diggs (7-142) was the top receiver but Kyle Rudolph (5-58, TD), Olabisi Johnson (4-40, TD), Adam Thielen (1-25, TD) and even C.J. Ham (1-5, TD) all scored. Dalvin Cook rolled up 142 yards and two scores on 25 runs. Cook controlled the game while Cousins had a surprisingly easy time throwing touchdowns even after Thielen left injured. Every normal fantasy start for the Vikings had a good to a great game.
And anytime teams combine for 701 passing yards and ten touchdowns is a very good day.
