This was one of the worst weeks I can remember in fantasy football. There were so many low scores and injuries. 11 out of the 24 teams threw for under 200 passing yards, which is an incredible statistic. Hopefully, this week didn’t bury too many rosters, and we live to fight onward.
This was a contest in which Denver dominated the game from the onset. They ran for 225 yards at an incredible 6.4 Y PC. Bo Nix only threw for 164 yards, but he rushed for 75. Keep a close eye on Troy Franklin, who had six targets, and tight end Lucas Krull, who had four targets, as they may start to get a lot of playing time moving forward.
The Saints had nothing. Alvin Kamara was only able to rush for 10 yards on seven carries. Cedric Wilson led the receivers with six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. Spencer Rattler looked rattled by the Denver defense only throwing for 172 yards and no touchdowns. Rashid Shaheed is out for the year, which means there’ll be an opportunity for a few of these receivers to step up. The Saints desperately need Taysom Hill to return and I think there’s a good chance that might happen in Week 8.
New England got off to a good start, leading in this game, but then, in the second half, they looked horrible on defense. Drake Maye threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, but most of that was done in garbage time. Demario Douglas dealt with an injury, and Polk left the game with an injury. Hunter Henry led the team with eight receptions for 92 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson was only able to get seven carries for 18 yards. His value is in the toilet at this point.
I thought that Doug Peterson might have gotten fired had Jacksonville lost this game, but he was able to save his job with the win. Tank Bigsby had 26 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns, solidifying his hold on at least 50% of the carries in this offense. Brian Thomas Jr. looked fantastic, with five receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Christian Kirk was only able to get one catch for 24 yards but he did miss a touchdown in the end zone that was a very close play. Don’t give up hope on him just yet.
Tennessee started out well, and at halftime, there was hope that they could keep this game close, but in the second half, they got destroyed. Tony Pollard played well, getting 61 rushing yards, but no receiver had more than 50 yards. So long as they don’t have a quarterback of an NFL caliber, they will be in big trouble. I’m not even sure Calvin Ridley is startable at this point anymore, and certainly, neither is DeAndre Hopkins, who only had one catch for -2 yards.
Bills’ fans need to be excited as Josh Allen threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns, including a touchdown to new Bill Amari Cooper, who had four catches for 66 yards and looks like he’s going to be a perfect fit in this offense. Khalil Shakir had 7 catches for 65 yards, and rookie Keon Coleman had four receptions for 125 yards, including a 57-yard reception. What’s even more exciting about the Bills is that Ray Davis looks like a perfect complement to James Cook, as they both ran for touchdowns.
This was a fun game to watch, even though the Texans were anemic on offense. The offensive line allowed Green Bay to get 4 sacks, and they pressured CJ Stroud all day. Stroud finished with only 86 passing yards, which is the lowest of his career. Only Joe Mixon stood out with 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Tank Dell dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone, and Stefon Diggs was only able to amass 23 receiving yards, which shows you how difficult this day was for Houston.
If we all had to draft over today, I think Jordan Love would be a top-three quarterback. While he only threw for 220 passing yards, he also had three touchdowns to three different receivers, including Josh Jacobs, who had the first receiving touchdown of his career. Jacobs also ran for 76 yards on the ground. Romeo Doubs led the team in targets with 10. I guess between his complaining and Jayden Reed’s slight ankle twist, the tide has turned to Doubs as the WR1 for Green Bay right now.
When we look back on this game, we must think about two things: 1. This was the ultimate revenge game for Saquon Barkley. Barkley had 176 rushing yards and a touchdown and looked sensational. 2. The Eagles had eight sacks, which should not be completely shocking, considering the Giants best offensive lineman, Andrew Thomas, is out for the year. A.J. Brown had a great day with five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Giants fans have to be frustrated with what they watched on Sunday. Daniel Jones completed 14 passes for 99 yards, which is showing that he just cannot get the ball downfield. Stud receiver Malik Nabers was complaining after the game that he was open all game long (which he probably was), and he was only able to get four receptions for 41 yards. Tracy has earned a timeshare with Singletary, and I expect to see that in Week 8. One more note I think it’s possible that Daniel Jones could lose his job–need to watch that carefully.
In what was certainly the game of the week, the Lions came back to pull off a huge road victory against the Vikings. Jared Goff had 280 yards passing and two touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs was sensational running the football, with 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Gibbs also caught four receptions for 44 yards. This was a statement game by the Lions and shows that they are, without a doubt, a top contender to win the Super Bowl.
Minnesota played well, however, they just weren’t able to muster enough offense when they needed to at the end of the game. Sam Darnold had 259 yards passing and one touchdown, but it felt like he should have had more. Aaron Jones was able to find some holes early in the game and had 93 yards rushing and a touchdown. Justin Jefferson led the way for the Vikings receivers with seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully, the Vikings will have TJ Hockenson back soon, and then the offense will be complete.
Congratulations to Seattle for playing such a well-rounded football game. Geno Smith threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and led the offense on sustained drives. Kenneth Walker had 69 yards rushing and a touchdown, as well as two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown. DK Metcalf was having a fantastic game with 99 yards and a touchdown until he injured his leg in the second half. That is something that will absolutely need to be monitored. Jake Bobo could become a starter if Metcalf is out.
The Falcons lost this game because they fell too in love with the running game and forgot how to throw the football when they needed to. They ran for 155 yards against Seattle’s defense, but when they needed to complete a big pass, they couldn’t. Kyle Pitts played very well, catching 7 passes for 65 yards, and Drake London had 6 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. The other big problem for the Falcons is that they cannot pressure the quarterback. They were only able to get one sack and had no interceptions. If their defense doesn’t step up, they’re not going to win the big games.
Cincinnati played well enough to win, but they weren’t spectacular. Their defense had four sacks and two interceptions, which certainly helped the cause. Tee Higgins led the way with four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Chase Brown out-carried Zach Moss 15 to 6.
Sadly, Deshaun Watson left the game with a horrific Achilles injury and is expected to be out for the year. Although I never root for any type of injury, I do think that this will re-energize the Cleveland offense and help its receivers out, as Watson was having the worst season of his career. David Njoku had 10 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, and Cedric Tillman had eight catches for 81 yards. I mentioned Tillman as a player to watch in our FAAB report as well as on the radio, and Heat Override was talking him up on his Bring the Pain Podcast! Where else can you get that kind of insight?!
Miami so desperately misses Tua that his return is the only thing that can salvage the season. Tyler Huntley once again was horrible throwing for 87 yards and left the game with an injury in the second half. The only two bright spots were De’Von Achane, who had 15 carries for 77 yards, and Jonnu Smith, who had seven receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. I’m really questioning what Mike McDaniel is doing on offense, as he’s giving the ball to a fullback in critical situations when he has all these playmakers. He’s trying to be too cutesy, and it’s not working.
Anthony Richardson single-handedly kills the value of his entire team. Richardson threw for 129 yards on 10 completions and had no touchdowns. Michael Pittman had 63 yards, and Josh Downs only had three yards. The only fantasy bright spot was Tyler Goodson who had 51 yards rushing in a touchdown.
Carolina was never in this game from the opening minute. Andy Dalton only threw for 93 yards, and the Panthers could not get any offense going. Even Diontae Johnson only had one catch for 17 yards against the awful Commanders secondary! It was the most pathetic display of the weekend.
The big news for Washington was that Jayden Daniels left the game with a rib injury. He did not return to the game after rushing for 50 yards. There’s a chance that he misses Week 8, so we will have to monitor that closely. Marcus Mariota looked fantastic throwing for 205 yards and two touchdowns but it’s hard to know whether that was because he looked good or Carolina was so bad. Zach Ertz had four catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Shout out to Johnny Danger, who mentioned him on the Sunday morning Discord show.
Aidan O’Connell left the game with a thumb injury, and it’s hard to know whether he will be returning next week or anytime soon. Gardner Minshew came in and threw for 154 yards and three interceptions. The biggest bright spot for Las Vegas is Brock Bowers, who had 10 receptions for 93 yards and is clearly the number one tight end in fantasy football.
Two things of note with the Rams: Cooper Kupp missed this game even though it looked like he was going to be activated. I expect that he will play in week eight. Kyren Williams had 21 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns, but it looks like Blake Corum is the RB2 and needs to be rostered in every format in case of a Williams injury.
This was an uglier game than most people would have expected and looked nothing like last year’s Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes threw for 154 yards and had two interceptions. He did score a rushing touchdown and had 39 yards rushing. Kareem Hunt was fantastic, with 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Noah Gray and Travis Kelce both had four receptions each and Xavier Worthy had eight targets but only had 19 yards receiving. The Chiefs passing attack is in real trouble, and I think they’re going to have to find somebody quickly before the trade deadline.
Brandon Aiyuk left the game with what is feared to be a torn ACL. Brock Purdy threw for three interceptions and only 212 yards and the 49ers just look in complete disarray. It was good to see Ricky Pearsall in the game, and I would also keep an eye on Jacob Cowing, who I think has potential. George Kittle led the team with six receptions for 92 yards, once again proving that Kansas City is awful against opposing tight ends.
I feel badly for Jets fans because I think they were so excited after the Davante Adams trade but this is a team that’s in real trouble. With only two wins in the first seven weeks and with a defense that’s only able to put up one sack and no interceptions I’m just not sure how they’re going to win football games. Breece Hall was fantastic getting over 100 yards receiving as well as 38 yards rushing.
All the credit in the world needs to go to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who boldly benched Justin Fields for Russell Wilson. Wilson started out poorly, with most of the fans in the stadium screaming for him to be removed from the game, but then he finally settled down and threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns. George Pickens was fantastic, catching 5 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, and Najee Harris had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown. What Wilson does that Fields does not do is that he gives the passing attack a real chance to make plays.
