Fantasy Fallout 15.25

A quick-hit recap of what really mattered from Thursday through Sunday. We skip the obvious studs and instead focus on usage trends, injuries, and key shifts that actually impact your lineup decisions.

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. 

We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start Jahmyr Gibbs right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams for the coming week and beyond.

FALCONS @ BUCS

• Kyle Pitts had the game of his life, and one of the best games from a TE in a while, catching 11 of 12 targets for a massive 166-3 receiving line in the Falcons comeback win over the Bucs. Pitts remains a strong weekly starting option, but these were just his second, third, and fourth TD grabs of the season.
• Both Mike Evans (8-132) and Jalen McMillan (2-38) returned to the Tampa Bay lineup after extended injury absences, rounding out one of the deepest and most talented WR rooms in the league.
• Bucky Irving was afforded 19 of the team’s 25 RB opportunities but had just 71 scoreless scrimmage yards. The usage was great, there should be better fantasy scores to come.

RAVENS @ BENGALS

• The frigid temperatures and a dominant defensive performance left the Ravens offense operating in a very conservative manner in their convincing victory and running only 41 offensive plays. The result was pedestrian outings for Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers – while everyone else didn’t put up any sort of usable fantasy production.
• Ja’Marr Chase had an outstanding game, but the rest of the Bengals pass catchers were a mess without Tee Higgins on the field.
• Chase Brown and Samaje Perine worked in a 60-40 timeshare yet again.

RAIDERS @ EAGLES

• The Raiders offense was atrocious, as expected, in a road game against an elite defense with a lot to play for. Things don’t get easier next week when they travel to play the Texans.
• The Eagles only threw the ball 18 times and scored touchdowns on three of those passes in an efficient outing that came at just the right time. Start all your Eagles next week in their matchup with the Commanders.

CARDINALS @ TEXANS

• Jacoby Brissett continues to thrive in trailing game scripts and had another big fantasy outing while Trey McBride went nuclear. Michael Wilson also had a strong game as the Cardinals reminded us all that volume trumps matchup for fantasy football.
• Cardinals running back Bam Knight suffered an injury on the first play of the game and did not return. This resulted in a full-time role for RB Michael Carter, who will be a strong option next week against the Falcons if Knight remains out.
• Texans RB Nick Chubb was inactive and rookie RB Woody Marks was on his way to a great day before a knee injury took him out for the last 2.5 quarters. This is a situation to monitor heading into a terrific matchup against the Raiders.

CHARGERS @ CHIEFS