Sunday Recap

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills:

Tom Brady is quickly trying to make a play to be a top 10 quarterback again. I am still skeptical but I will say you should ride this hot streak while it lasts. Patriots lost Stevan Ridley to a torn ACL in the game and it was Brandon Bolden receiving the majority of the carries after the injury and not Shane Vereen. Bolden might be worth a stash in deeper leagues but this just mucks up an already difficult backfield to read. Brandon LaFell had another strong outing and is worthy of a pick up in most leagues. Other than LaFell, Gronkowski and Edelman no receiver or running back saw more than 3 targets.

Great games out of Robert Woods and Scott Chandler but I think a lot of that had to do with Sammy Watkins being on Revis Island. I need to see another strong game out of Woods to consider adding him in leagues. CJ Spiller is drop worthy in all leagues he isn’t even a good bye week fill in if you are desperate.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans:

Blake Bortles was asked to throw the ball 46 times this week. That’s difficult when you have no effectiveness in the run game to bring people into the box. Bortles has been very serviceable as a rookie which is a good thing. Cecil Shorts had his best game of the year, Clay Harbor is looking like a nice bye week tight end fill-in. Allen Robinson is also turning in a nice rookie campaign and I can see him being added in PPR Leagues. As for the RB situation, Storm Johnson started, scored but didn’t finish out as the lead back. Denard Robinson took over near the end of the game but I think that is more because Robinson is better as a receiver. I am willing to give Storm another chance next week he is a young guy on a team that needs to get the run game going.

Charlie Whitehurst did what you want from any back up QB and not turn the ball over. Sankey looked no difference than Shonn Greene when he is healthy, so if Greene is back next week expect him to get the start. Delanie Walker saw 8 targets but didn’t produce any big results, Justin Hunter had another nice game and this was a nice matchup for him. Next week the Titans play at Washington, if you were waiting for Hunter to get it going now is the time, if you don’t use him I would sell high after next week.

Baltimore Ravens @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Joe Flacco was quietly putting together a nice fantasy season until this weekend. Its not so quiet anymore. Flacco threw 5 first half TDs and 4 in the first quarter. Torrey Smith finally got it going as well. Forsett and Pierce had almost identical carries but Forsett eclipsed the 100 mark.

Louis Murphy is starting to get hot and becoming the 2^nd favorite target for Mike Glennon who PPR leagues might want to take a look at. Vincent Jackson saw 13 targets but only hauled in 4 receptions. Mike Evans returned to action and got into the endzone. They had to abandon the run game early so nothing much to say about Doug Martin or Bobby Rainey.

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings:

Matthew Stafford in games without Calvin Johnson is averaging less than 13 fantasy points a game. Golden Tate saw 12 targets hauled in 7 of them but only had 44 yards to show for all of it. The nice surprise was Theo Riddick (who got hurt) put together a very strong outing with the absence of Reggie Bush. Joique Bell had a nice game but I think he (like Reggie last week) didn’t do anything that makes you think he’ll takeover this backfield.

Ugly game all around for the Vikings offense, the only good to come from this game is that it looks like Jerrick Mckinnon is now the starter he had 82 total yards on 17 touches not bad considering the defense he did it against has been one of the toughest to opposing RBs.

Carolina Panthers @ Cincinnati Bengals:

You knew it was only a matter of time until Cam Newton felt his ankles were healthy enough to begin running again. Cam put up the most fantasy points for quarterbacks this week as he ran for 100 yards and a touchdown and threw for 2 more. Greg Olsen continues to play at a top 3 tight end level and Kelvin Benjamin almost had two touchdowns if it wasn’t for an offensive pass interference call. No running backs are worth owning.

Mohamed Sanu turned in a great game with AJ Green being out and early reports are saying Green will be out again next week. Jermaine Gresham also turned in a nice game this week and could be viewed as a Jimmy Graham replacement if he has to miss next week. Giovani Bernard had a great game but did get banged up, he left briefly and shows the importance of having Jeremy Hill on your team.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns:

There is not a lot to say about the Steelers in this game all your guys that you started had pretty decent games just happened to be a game in which none of them got into the endzone. Markus Wheaton saw 11 targets and didn’t do much with them he is still worth a stash if you have a deep bench.

Brian Hoyer only completed 8 passes so there isn’t much to talk about receiving wise other than the touchdown you got from Jordan Cameron who saw 5 targets and led the team. Isaiah Crowell had a very nice game 11 carries for 77 yards and TD but he fumbled twice losing one of them. Ben Tate had two scores and 78 yards but it took 25 carries to get there. If Tate can stay healthy he has great matchups all the way up to week 12. Some might say sell high but with this schedule (Jaguars, Raiders, Buccaneers, Bengals, Texans and Falcons) I am trusting he is going to stay healthy and keep producing.

Green Bay Packers @ Miami Dolphins:

For those who read my rankings I was one of the lowest on Eddie Lacy ranking him outside my top 15 and even that wasn’t low enough. He is a barely a top 15 play and it is matchup dependent, tough to say about a guy who most people spent a top 5 pick on but I don’t see a strong difference between him and Trent Richardson. The biggest surprise to some was Davante Adams having a big game. I ranked him as a low end WR4 but he clearly needs to be in the WR3 discussion from here on out.

I said on twitter before this weekend’s game that Jarvis Landry would have a big day, I have been high on this guy for awhile now and he final produced with Brandon Gibson out. He has WR3 potential the rest of this season and I would rank him ahead of preseason favorite Cordarelle Patterson right now. The only other thing that the boxscore won’t tell you is that Moreno opened the 2^nd half as the starting running back. I think the Dolphins truly think he is their guy and will mix Miller in if Moreno struggles.

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders:

Philip Rivers is a top 5 QB this year and some could argue he is a top 3 and I would have a tough time trying to prove them wrong. Brandon Oliver saw 30 touches and did very well with them averaging just over 4 yards per touch and scoring a TD. Ryan Matthews is still the guy when he comes back but Oliver will remain with a significant role. Keenan Allen continues to disappoint in his sophomore season but I am not ready to dump him just yet. I am clearly not starting him though.

Andre Holmes is here to stay and while most will continue to like James Jones as the Raiders top receiver, Holmes has the biggest upside. Derek Carr had his best game of the season and it’ll probably be his best one the remainder of the year as well. Jones is still a WR3 to me but Holmes has the potential to be a WR2 if Carr continues at this level. Raiders backfield is still to muddy to say whether Murray is ever going to get a shot but he is worth stashing in deep leagues just in case.

Chicago Bears @ Atlanta Falcons:

I truly thought this game was going to be a shootout but the Bears took control of this game and never let go. Not a lot to say here most people came away happy with all their Bears fantasy wise and we are starting to see the typical dip in Bennett’s play but he is still a top 10 player at the position.

Matt Ryan is normally huge at home but these offensive line injuries are clearly hurting this team. The only positive is Antone Smith did it again and consider me on the #freeantonesmith hashtage bandwagon.

Dallas Cowboys @ Seattle Seahawks:

DeMarco Murray is the best RB in the league right now but I will say this, he is on pace for a 450 carries (the record is 416) and that doesn’t include his heavy usage in the passing game. Continue to use him while he is healthy but all Murray owners should own Randle as well. Every other Cowboy had typical games this season, Dez was a little quiet but that was to be expected.

This was one of Russell Wilson’s worst games as a pro completing just 50% of his passes, no recording a TD and throwing an INT. He was able to run for a score which salvaged his day a little. Marshawn Lynch looked very good but it seemed as though the Seahawks did not want to use him much as he saw just 10 carries for 61 yards.

Washington Redskins @ Arizona Cardinals:

Kirk Cousins is going to throw for a million yards if given the chance but he is going to make a ton of mistakes that’ll make you scratch your head as well. Pierre Garcon salvaged his day with a late TD but clearly doesn’t have the same chemistry with Cousins as he does with RGIII. Desean Jackson is the better receiver to own as of right now. Jordan Reed returned and looked like the top 10 tight end that he has been before the injury.

Great game all around for the Cardinals. Fun fact of the day is that the Cardinals continue to be the only team in the league to not throw an interception this season. For those down on Ellington’s season he is still top 10 in points per game amongst running backs that have played in more than 4 games. Sell high on Larry Fitzgerald while you can.

Denver Broncos @ New York Jets:

Ronnie Hillman looked very good replacing Monte Ball and with another strong game like this may takeover as the starter. Emmanuel Sanders had a tough game as did Wes Welker who had just the one catch. Juwan Thompson is clearly the backup right now with CJ Anderson being #3.

Eric Decker when healthy needs to be a starter and Jace Amaro clearly a top target for Geno Smith as of late and could be a top 12 TE the remainder of the season with some of the disappointing players at that position as of late.

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles:

Biggest news of the game was Victor Cruz tearing his patella Tendon. He is done for the year which means Rueben Randle’s and Odell Beckam Jr.’s roles just increased dramatically. I like Beckam and think he could turned into a WR2 with WR1 upside. Donnell disappointed again but I wouldn’t drop him now that Cruz is hurt his targets should rise again. Williams had a tough game but so did the entire Giants offense.

Eagles found their run game again with McCoy going off for over 140 yards. I wouldn’t take anything from Maclin having a poor game Prince has been shutting down a lot of very good receivers this season for the Giants. Sproles sprained his MCL but with the bye week next week he should be able to recover in time for week 8.