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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
David Dorey

Tunnel Vision of Week 7

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Joe Burrow 481-20 4
 Andy Dalton 361-21 4
 Patrick Mahomes 423-0 3
 Daniel Jones 202-107 2
 Justin Herbert 293-22 2
Running Backs Yards TD
Josh Jacobs 20-143
3-12
3
Kenneth Walker 23-168 2
Austin Ekeler 9-31
12-96
2
Travis Etienne 14-114
1-5
1
Aaron Jones 8-23
9-53
2
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Ja’Marr Chase 8-130 2
Tyler Boyd 8-155 1
Mecole Hardman 4-32
2-28
3
JuJu Smith-Schuster 7-124 1
Parris Campbell 10-70 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
George Kittle 6-98 1
Juwan Johnson 5-32 2
Travis Kelce 6-98 0
David Njoku 7-71 0
Gerald Everett 5-63 0
Placekickers XP FG
Jason Meyers 4 3
Robbie Gould 2 3
Randy Bullock 1 4
Justin Tucker 2 3
Greg Zuerlein 1 3
Defense Sack – TO TD
Cowboys 5-5 0
Titans 3-3 1
Cardinals 0-3 2
Chiefs 5-2 0
Raiders 1-1 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Ryan Tannehill (TEN) – Ankle
RB Chuba Hubbard (CAR) – Ankle
RB Breece Hall (NYJ) – ACL
RB Mike Boone (DEN) – Ankle
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET) – Concussion
WR Corey Davis (NYJ) – Knee
WR Allen Lazard (GB) – Shoulder
WR DK Metcalf (SEA) – Knee
WR Nico Collins (HOU) – Groin
WR Mike Williams (LAC) – Ankle
WR Russell Gage (TB) – Hamstring
TE Daniel Bellinger (NYG) – Eye
TE David Njoku (CLE) – Ankle

Chasing Ambulances

QB Ryan Tannehill (TEN) – Injured his ankle and wore a walking boot after the game. He admitted it didn’t “feel great” but that he would try to be available for the trip to Houston for Sunday.  This could be a good time for the Titans to roll out third-round rookie Malik Willis. The Titans are atop the AFC South, so they’ll likely stick with Tannehill if possible, but depending on how the week goes, they may not have a choice.

RB Chuba Hubbard (CAR) – Injured his ankle, but it was considered minor and is not expected to be an issue this week.

RB Breece Hall (NYJ) – This is a heartbreaker. The talented rookie rusher is thought to have torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the season. When they “think” it may be an ACL on Sunday, it’s about 100% going to be an ACL. Michael Carter will become the No. 1 back again.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET) – Was hard hit in the loss to the Cowboys, staggered a little when he tried to stand up and was sent to the blue medical tent. He was reported to be concussed which is made even worse with  DJ Chark out and Josh Reynolds playing through a knee injury.

WR Corey Davis (NYJ) – Left in the first half with a knee injury, he was cleared to return but was held out as a precaution. He’s expected to be fine.

WR Allen Lazard (GB) – The Packers’ best receiver suffered a shoulder injury and his status for the matchup at the Bills isn’t yet known. Lazard has been the only consistently productive receiver for the Packers and his loss would be  just another step down for the offense.

WR DK Metcalf (SEA) – The wideout was injured in the first quarter of the win over the Chargers and ruled out. X-Rays came back negative but an MRI today will determine if there is any soft-tissue damage. He was in good spirits after the game, which is encouraging but the tests will determine if he needs to miss any time.

WR Mike Williams (LAC) – Sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Seahawks and wore a walking boot after the game. He had problems putting any weight onto his leg and needed help to get to the treatment room. He’ll have tests on Monday to determine the severity of the injury but the Seahawks are already relying on Tyler Lockett who is playing through his hamstring injury.

TE David Njoku (CLE) – He already had seven catches for 71 yards but left with an ankle injury. Njoku was in a walking boot and on crutches after the game. He was reported to only have a sprained ankle but he’ll have an MRI on Monday to determine if there is any damage.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

QB Malik Willis (TEN) – If Ryan Tannehill’s ankle keeps him out this week, Willis will take the start. He was an effective passer at Liberty with up to 27 touchdowns in a season, but he was also a dangerous runner with around 900 yards and 13 scores as a runner in both of his seasons as the starter. The Titans play at the Texans next.

RB Michael Carter (NYJ) – He becomes the No. 1 running back for the Jets with the injury to Breece Hall. Ty Johnson is the only other back on the active roster. Zonovan Knight is on the practice squad. If Hall is gone, don’t rule out the Jets trading for another back. The backfield needs a veteran and the offense needs someone more than Carter to rely on.

WR Kalif Raymond (DET) – Replaced DJ Chark who is on injured reserve and led the Lions with  five catches for 75 yards in the loss to the Cowboys.  Amon-Ra St. Brown has a concussion, Josh Reynolds is playing with a knee injury, and the Lions face the visiting Dolphins and Packers next. Raymond was the most targeted (6) receiver on Sunday.

WR Marquise Goodwin (SEA) – With DK Metcalf injured in the first quarter, Goodwin stepped up to lead the Seahawks with four catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Chargers. Tyler Lockett caught seven short passes as he played through a hamstring injury. Goodwin’s worth owning if Metcalf misses time and they face the Giants this week.

RB D’Onta Foreman (CAR) – Chuba Hubbard took the start in Carolina for the first game after the Christian McCaffrey trade, but Foreman was the lead back with 118 yards on 15 carries and two catches for 27 yards. Hubbard was also involved with nine runs for 63 yards and a score, plus two catches for ten yards. It’s more touches (28) than what McCaffrey would normally handle. But this is going to be a committee with plenty of both runners. That will cut into each others production in games that do not go as well as the Buccaneers upset did.

WR DeAndre Hopkins (ARI) – First game off suspension and he led the Cardinals with ten catches for 103 yards. No other receiver caught more than two passes. Sadly, Marquise Brown is gone.

RB Gus Edwards (BAL) – Tore up his knee in the summer of 2021 and never played until Sunday. By all accounts, he was to be eased into playing again in light of his extensive knee injury and recovery. J.K. Dobbins landed on injured reserve from his own “still a problem” knee injury. But Edwards started the game and took over the backfield. He ran for 66 yards and two scores on 16 rushes. Kenyan Drake only gained five yards on his eleven rushes.

WR D.J. Moore (CAR) – The Panthers stripped the offense of Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson and was down to P.J. Walker at quarterback. Facing the Buccaneers, or at least what passes for the Buccaneers these days, Moore logged a season-high seven catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. No other receiver caught more than two passes. Maybe the offense needs to remove all talent so that only Moore remains. It was nice to see him displaying his talent again.

QB Dak Prescott (DAL) – Returned from his thumb surgery and showed mild rustiness, especially at the first of the game. He only threw for 207 yards and one touchdown in the win over the Lions. It seemed like an opportunity missed with a mediocre performance, but he connected with CeeDee Lamb (4-70) and Dalton Schultz (5-49).  The Cowboys have a home game against the Bears that may play out much the same on Sunday, but at least Schultz was again a factor when playing with Prescott.

RB Travis Etienne (JAC) – It was a positive to see him run 14 times for 114 yards and one score (almost two). But it was even more notable that James Robinson never had a touch. Etienne handled every carry and the one catch from the Jaguars’ backfield.

WR Parris Campbell (IND) – The often-injured receiver that’s never met his expectations scored a touchdown and caught seven passes for 57 yards in Week 6. That was easily explained as just one of those blips in an otherwise mediocre season. But Campbell led the Colts with ten catches for 70 yards and a score in the loss to the Titans. He led the team with 12 targets. Michael Pittman (6-58) was the next best but two scoring weeks in a row for Campbell has to be noted. Playing at home against the Commanders this week would be a decent situation for a three-in-a-row for Campbell.

WR Terry McLaurin (WAS) – He hadn’t scored since Week 1 and wasn’t very productive in recent weeks. His first game with Taylor Heinicke as the starter gave him a healthy five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Packers. His score was over the top of CB Jaire Alexander. McLaurin caught 58 passes for 919 yards and seven scores over the 14 games he shared with Heinicke last year.

RB Isiah Pacheco (KC) – He was reported to be the starter over Clyde Edwards-Helaire and caused a free-agent frenzy and plenty of lineup swapping before the early-game kickoffs on Sunday. It was exactly what every fantasy owner who overpaid for the hype monster this summer wanted to hear. But… he only ran eight times for 43 yards. And Edwards-Helaire gained 32 yards on six carries that included a 16-yard run for a touchdown. The Chiefs are not only a committee backfield, but even all combined doesn’t often call for more than 15 rushes.

RB Christian McCaffrey (SF) – The 49ers immediately made up a set of plays for McCaffrey, who ran for a team-high eight carries for 38 yards and two catches for 24 yards.  His workload will ramp up when he learns the offense better, but brings to light the question – does McCaffrey add to the offense, or just take away touches  from others?  He’s not needed to be the center of the offense as he was in Carolina. But his presence will render Jeff Wilson outside of fantasy relevancy and will cut into the other receivers’ workload at least a bit.

Huddle player of the week

RB Kenneth Walker III (SEA) –  He wasn’t quite the highest-scoring fantasy player this week but he was close and in the second start of his career. The rookie ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Chargers. His second score was on a 74-yard run midway through the fourth quarter that helped put the game away. With Breece Hall potentially gone, Walker can work his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation if he keeps up the production.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Andy Dalton 382 4 QB Lamar Jackson 179 0
RB Gus Edwards 66 2 RB Leonard Fournette 26 0
RB D’Onta Foreman 135 0 RB Christian McCaffrey 62 0
WR Mecole Hardman 60 3 WR DK Metcalf 12 0
WR Parris Campbell 70 1 WR Deebo Samuel 44 0
WR Marquise Goodman 67 2 WR Amon-Ran St. Brown 4 0
TE Juwan Johnson 32 2 TE Mark Andrews 4 0
PK Jason Meyers  4 XP   3 FG PK Ryan Succop   1 FG
Huddle Fantasy Points = 157 Huddle Fantasy Points = 24

Now get back to work…

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