What a roller coaster ride so far in Week 3. Things got started with a bang on Thursday night and the excitement continued through Sunday with several surprising performances. Let’s take a look at the biggest fantasy takeaways from each of the 14 games on the NFL Sunday slate.
Baltimore @ Jacksonville
Marcedes Lewis is not worth adding this week.
Congratulations if you started him, but fantasy players shouldn’t run out to the waiver wire to grab Lewis after his massive Week 3 performance. Yes, he leads led all tight ends in scoring for the week thanks to his three touchdown grabs, but it’s not as if Lewis was a relative unknown. He’s been in the league since 2006 and was really only a fantasy relevant option for one season over that span – he posted 10 scores in 2010. Otherwise, he’s proven to be a low-volume option who isn’t capable of consistent fantasy production. Keep him on waivers.
Denver @ Buffalo
Trevor Siemian came back to earth.
On Friday we recommended fading Siemian, and that turned out to be sound advice. Siemian had ample opportunity to rack up numbers with the Broncos passing on 71 percent of their snaps, but he managed just 259 yards and no scores through the air. This isn’t necessarily a sign of things to come for Siemian, but it is an indication that he isn’t a trustworthy fantasy option on a weekly basis. He should continue to be considered a QB2 option. It’s also another strong outing from the Bills defense who still hasn’t surrendered a passing score this season.
Pittsburgh @ Chicago
Jordan Howard is back.
We got the Siemian call right, but whiffed on Howard. Despite playing with a sprained AC joint, Howard went off for 138 yards and two scores on 23 carries to go along with five catches for 26 yards. Howard racked up an insane 10 forced missed tackles as a runner and looked every bit of the player fantasy owners came to love last year. He’s back in our good graces and should be an every-week starter going forward.
Atlanta @ Detroit
Devonta Freeman keeps rolling.
There were a number of duds in this contest, but Freeman wasn’t one of them. Following his strong performance in Week 2, Freeman compiled 106 yards and a score on 21 carries and added 32 yards on three targets. He had three carries inside the 5-yard line and two runs of 15-plus yards. Perhaps most importantly, he out-touched Tevin Coleman 24-9. Freeman is locked in as a borderline elite fantasy running back.
Cleveland @ Indianapolis
Jacoby Brissett and DeShone Kizer put up numbers.
Few if anyone in the fantasy world predicted that both Brissett and Kizer would finish the weekend as top-10 fantasy quarterbacks, but that’s exactly what happened. Brissett flashed his ability as a runner, scoring twice on the ground. He also threw for a solid 259 yards and a score. That score was to T.Y. Hilton, who returned to fantasy relevance with 153 yards and the 61-yard score on seven catches. Kizer also got in the end zone as a runner and tossed two scores despite his receivers racking up eight drops. While the performance from both players was encouraging, keep in mind that each faced poor defenses.
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota
Case Keenum did what?
This was one of the most surprising contests of the week, with the Viking hammering Tampa thanks to Keenum’s huge day. The journeyman backup notched 369 yards and three scores through the air and currently sits as the No. 3 fantasy quarterback for the week. He took advantage of a banged-up Bucs defense that was without Brent Grimes and Kwon Alexander and helped propel Stefon Diggs to the most fantasy points for the week among wide receivers. While we shouldn’t rush out to pick up Keenum, this is at least a positive sign for Diggs and Adam Thielen if Sam Bradford continues to miss time.
Houston @ New England
Deshaun Watson finishes as a QB1.
Here’s another one we got right on Friday. We recommended Watson as a punt play who wasn’t for the faint of heart. Watson ended up posting 301 passing yards and two scores to go along with an additional 41 yards on the ground. It’s an encouraging performance from the rookie signal caller, but the bigger takeaway is that we need to start all quarterbacks against the Patriots until they show that they can stop one.
Miami @ NY Jets
Miami’s offense was a no-show.
This one was tough across the board for fantasy owners of the Dolphins skill position players. The only one who managed a decent fantasy day was DeVante Parker, and that was only because of a garbage-time touchdown on the last play of the game. While this outcome looks very bad for Jay Cutler and company, they do have the Saints up next on their schedule.
NY Giants @ Philadelphia
Odell Beckham Jr. is back.
Week 2 was just a mirage, as Beckham looked like his old self and demolished a soft matchup against the Eagles. It wasn’t a huge yardage day for the Giants receiver, but OBJ found the end zone twice, including an incredible one-handed grab on his second score. Beckham’s ankle injury looks like it’s now just a distant memory.
New Orleans @ Carolina
The Panthers offense continues to sputter.
This was supposed to be the week Carolina broke out of the funk. It was a dream matchup against arguably the league’s worst secondary. Well, for all intents and purposes the Saints shut down Carolina and Cam Newton finished the weekend as the No. 25 fantasy quarterback. To be fair, he did lose his top receiving target in Kevlin Benjamin early in the game and was playing without Greg Olsen, but this is a bad sign for Newton going forward. It’s going to be tough to trust him until he shows that he can consistently produce.
Seattle @ Tennessee
After all of that DeMarco Murray was just fine.
Many fantasy players, including yours truly, fired up Derrick Henry following the news that he would see an expanded role with Murray banged up. Well, his role was “expanded” in that there was a nearly 50-50 split in touches between Murray and Henry. But Murray managed the much bigger fantasy day with 14 carries for 115 yards and a score. Murray remains an RB1 with Henry still more of a premium handcuff. Also, this is the second week in a row the where the Seahawks gave up a 100-yard rushing game.
Cincinnati @ Green Bay
A.J. Green comes through.
After a rough start to the season, Green showed that he’s still an elite fantasy option with a big stat line on Sunday. He took advantage of this soft matchup with 10 catches for 111 yards and a score. This is a good sign for Green going forward and also shows us that we can continue targeting the Packers secondary with our wide receivers.
Kansas City @ LA Chargers
Kareem Hunt is ELITE.
Let it be said. Let it be written. Let it be true. Kareem Hunt should now be considered and elite fantasy running back after his third straight big week. The Chiefs didn’t lean heavily on Hunt throughout this contest, but he finished out with an exclamation point on a 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Oakland @ Washington
The Raiders offense struggles.
This wasn’t what we expected at all. Derek Carr managed just 118 passing yards and was uncharacteristically off-point with two picks. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree came back to earth – Crabtree was also injured in the fourth quarter. And Marshawn Lynch carried the ball just 6 times for 18 yards. The only bright spot was Jared Cook, who scored and had 42 yards on four catches. If you have a piece of this offense, don’t panic just yet. But this was certainly a concerning performance from the Raiders.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.