Dallas Cowboys def New York Giants 40-37
In one of the craziest games of the day, Dallas forced overtime with a 64-yard field goal and then went on to win with a 46-yard field goal in overtime. Dak Prescott threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns, including one to George Pickens, who had 68 yards and a touchdown. CeeDee Lamb didn’t have an issue with drops this week, catching 9 passes on 11 targets for 112 yards. Javonte Williams looked strong, running for 97 yards and a touchdown. The big problem is that the Cowboys secondary is awful, and they were only able to muster 2 sacks in the entire game.
Russell Wilson might be the offensive player of the week, leading the Giants with 450 passing yards and three touchdowns. Malik Nabers was outstanding with 9 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and Wan’Dale Robinson had eight receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. What was highly confusing was that the Giants rotated Jaxson Dart into the game a few times at QB, which seemed to make no sense. Rookie Cam Skattebo got an offensive touchdown and earned way more touches than Tyrone Tracy, who was primarily used in the passing game.
Los Angeles Rams def Tennessee Titans 33-19
Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rams to the road victory. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams combined for 14 receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown. The Rams did not run the ball very well, but their defense was very sharp once again, with five sacks.
Cam Ward did his best against a swarming defense. Tony Pollard had 92 yards rushing, but the player to watch in Tennessee is Elic Ayomanor, who had four receptions on six targets with 56 yards receiving and a touchdown. He looks like someone who needs to be picked up on this week’s waiver wire.
Cincinnati Bengals def Jacksonville 31-27
The big story in this game is that Joe Burrow left in the first half with an injury that is said to be turf toe. He was given an MRI and will likely miss a few games. Jake Browning came off the bench and threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase had 14 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown, and Tee Higgins had 56 yards receiving and a touchdown. Once again, Chase Brown did not have a great running day, only averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
Jacksonville will look back on this game and realize that they should have won it easily. They must have had five drops for surefire touchdowns, including Dyami Brown, who dropped an easy reception in the end zone. Trevor Lawrence seems to be throwing the ball way too high, and it was obvious that Liam Coen was getting annoyed with him on the sidelines. Brian Thomas Jr only had 49 yards receiving, but rookie Bhayshul Tuten had 42 yards rushing as well as 2 receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown, and he looks firmly entrenched as the RB2 for Jacksonville.
Baltimore def Cleveland 41-17
Lamar Jackson threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Ravens to victory. Zay Flowers led the team with 11 targets and had seven receptions for 75 yards. Second-year player Devontez Walker had two receptions for 26 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s someone to watch as he was very highly regarded when he was at North Carolina. The biggest issue for the Ravens was their lack of a running game as Derek Henry only had 11 carries for 23 yards. They’re going to need to improve that dramatically in the coming weeks.
Cleveland’s lack of offense was on display as Joe Flacco only threw for 199 yards and one touchdown. Quinshon Judkins returned to the team and ran for 61 yards on 10 carries and looked good. Rookie Harold Fannin Jr had five receptions for 48 yards, and Jerry Jeudy had eight targets to lead the team. Cleveland is going to struggle most of the year, considering they just don’t have enough on offense to compete.
Buffalo def New York Jets 30-10
This was a very underwhelming game as the Jets fell behind early and never competed. James Cook dominated with 21 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns as the Jets could not stop him. As a team, Buffalo ran 43 times for 224 yards for a 5.2 average, which is an incredible output. Josh Allen appeared to have broken his nose and only threw for 148 yards and ran for 59.
Justin Fields left the game with a concussion after throwing for 27 yards and running for 49. The Jets had no offense to speak of as they only completed 10 passes on the day. Garrett Wilson had four receptions for 50 yards, but no other Jet receiver made an impact. Breece Hall only had 10 carries for 29 yards, which was disappointing considering Buffalo was without their best run stopper in Ed Oliver.
New England def Miami 33-27
In one of the craziest games of the day, Miami scored a punt return touchdown, which was then followed by a New England kickoff return for a touchdown. Drake Maye had 230 yards passing and two touchdowns to go along with 31 yards rushing and a touchdown. New England ran for 122 yards on the day and looked effective. New TreyVeon Henderson was barely used as Rhamondre Stevenson out-touched him 16 to 5.
Miami played much better this week offensively, but Tua Tagovailoa had a critical interception late in the game and took way too many sacks. He did have 315 yards passing and two touchdowns, and Tyreek Hill had 6 receptions for 109 yards. De’Von Achane was outstanding with eight receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Miami really shows nothing on the defensive side, and it looks like they will barely win four to five games this season.
San Francisco def New Orleans 26-21
Mac Jones had his first start as a 49er and looked terrific, throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns. He found Christian McCaffrey for a touchdown as well as Jauan Jennings, who returned from injury. San Francisco’s defense played well, with three sacks and brought the pressure all game long to Spencer Rattler.
Even though the Saints lost the game, they were still in it till the very end as Alvin Kamara led the team with 99 yards rushing. Juwan Johnson had five receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown, but Chris Olave was held to 54 yards. When Olave plays well, the Saints have a better shot to win, and they need to get him more involved.
Detroit def Chicago 52-21
After looking so bad last week, the Lions came out at home and really drilled the Bears. Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and 5 touchdowns, including three to Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown had 9 receptions for 115 yards and three touchdowns, and Jameson Williams had two receptions for 108 yards and one touchdown. The Lions also ran 30 times for 177 yards and dominated the game completely.
Once again, Chicago struggled offensively as Caleb Williams only threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Rome Odunze was spectacular with 7 receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and DJ Moore was the next best receiver with only 46 yards receiving. When Chicago can’t diversify their offense, it makes them very predictable. D’Andre Swift ran well with 12 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, but they were playing from behind all game long and didn’t really have an opportunity to run Ben Johnson’s offense.
Seattle def Pittsburgh 31-17
After an underwhelming performance in week 1, Kenneth Walker came back this week with 13 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers really had no answer for him. Jaxson Smith-Njigba was outstanding with eight receptions for 103 yards, and Seattle was very aggressive on defense as they had three sacks and two interceptions.
The Steelers struggled on offense as Aaron Rodgers threw for 203 yards and had two interceptions. Jalen Warren led the team with 86 yards receiving as well as 48 yards rushing, but no other Steeler had any type of impact. The biggest problem with the Steelers is that their run defense seems to be suffering greatly, and they just don’t have any offensive players who can make big plays. It’s very difficult to win in the NFL with a dink and dunk strategy.
Indianapolis def Denver 29-28
Indianapolis got very lucky in that there was a penalty called on a game-winning 60-yard field goal, so the Colts were able to kick it again and made the field goal this time to pull out the victory. Daniel Jones was fantastic, throwing for 316 yards and a touchdown and rushing for a touchdown as well. But the player of the game was Jonathan Taylor, who had 25 carries for 165 yards to go along with two receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. Taylor’s speed made a huge difference and challenged the Broncos linebackers who were short Dre Greeenlaw.
Bo Nix played well for Denver, throwing for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and JK Dobbins ran for 76 yards on a touchdown, but the Colts did a good job of taking Courtland Sutton out of the game. Troy Franklin had eight receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Franklin is a definite waiver wire pickup and a possible start during the bye weeks.
Arizona def Carolina 27-22
Arizona took a commanding lead and then took their foot off the gas, just barely squeaking out the five-point victory at home. Kyler Murray threw for 220 yards and a touchdown as well as ran for 32 yards. James Conner did not look very effective only having 52 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Once again it was Trey McBride who separated himself from the pack with six receptions for 78 yards. The improved Cardinals defense had three sacks and an interception and pressured Bryce Young all game long.
Considering he was under siege for most of the game, Bryce Young threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns. There were a lot of bad play calls as Carolina was running in situations that Arizona was expecting it. Tetairoa McMillan had 6 receptions for 100 yards, and running back Hunter Renfrow had 7 receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Panthers. The Panthers just need some serious help on the offensive line because every time Young goes back to pass, he’s feeling the pressure.
Philadelphia def Kansas City 20-17
In an offensively underwhelming performance, Philadelphia beat Kansas City on the road. Jalen Hurts only threw for 101 yards and ran for 15 yards and a touchdown. Saquon Barkley paced the Eagles with 88 yards rushing in a touchdown. The Eagles played stifling defense and held Patrick Mahomes to only 187 yards passing. But if the Eagles can’t improve their own passing attack, they’re not going to advance very far this season. Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown combined for 9 receptions for 80 yards, which is just not good enough. Neither player looks startable in fantasy for the time being.
Mahomes looked off all game long as he was better with his legs than he was with his arm. This team is desperately needing Xavier Worthy back on the field and certainly Rashee Rice when he returns from suspension. Isaiah Pacheco only ran for 22 yards rushing as Kareem Hunt paced the team with 31 yards. The only real bright spot was Travis Kelce, who had four receptions for 61 yards.
Atlanta def Minnesota 22-6
Atlanta came into this season committed to improving its pass rush. Against a very competent Minnesota offensive line, the Falcons had 6 sacks and two interceptions. If they can continue to play like this on defense, they will have a real chance to compete for the NFC South championship. The Falcons had 39 rushing attempts for 218 yards limiting Michael Penix, Jr. to only 21 passing attempts. That is the way Atlanta wants to win football games, and they achieved it on Sunday night.
After an incredible comeback win on Monday, Minnesota returned home and was unable to find the same inspiration in the second half as JJ McCarthy only completed 11 passes for 158 yards and was intercepted twice. Even worse was that the Vikings were only able to rush for 78 yards. Concerning fantasy football managers is that T.J. Hockenson, who was expected to be a top-five tight end, finished with one catch for 12 yards on three targets. If the Vikings can’t get him involved, they’re going to be in big trouble.