Patriots v. Raiders
In the early slot of games, New England faced off against Las Vegas. Patriots running back James White was inactive for this game, following the death of his father. The Patriots rolled out their stable of backs, with Sony Michel as their featured back. Michel had 117 yards on 9 attempts, with 2 receptions for 23 yards on the day, but he wasn’t the prize horse in this game. Veteran Rex Burkhead had a remarkable day for fantasy. Burkhead was used primarily as the receiving and redzone back during this game. His yardages are not overwhelming, but his touchdowns catapulted him as one of the top scorers on the day. Burkhead rushed the ball 6 times for a meager 49 yards, while finding the end zone twice, and even adding 7 receptions for 49 yards through the air with an additional touchdown. In PPR leagues Burkhead tallied 34.80 points, which many, myself included, did not see coming. As for the quarterback, Cam Newton had a pedestrian day compared to his previous weeks. Newton was 17 of 28 throwing for 162 yards and a touchdown, and an interception. However, Newton failed to distribute the ball to his wide receivers this week, which was not great for fantasy. N’keal Harry looked to be the target to add after last weeks barn burner versus the Seahawks, but with 2 receptions on 4 targets and only 34 yards this seems like a pick up and stash scenario. I still feel like Harry could be the number one target in New England once Newton becomes more confident in this system, but until then this team seems like the place to add a running back. The hard part is knowing which one to start.
As for the Las Vegas Raiders, the running game looked primed to have a big day with Josh Jacobs getting 16 rushes for 71 yards and 3 receptions for 12 yards. But overall this team did not look the same without rookie Henry Ruggs III. The rookie speedster was out this game due to injury, and his speed was gravely missed. Ruggs’ ability to stretch a defense allows for Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs to have more room to work, and in this game without that threat the Patriots played more underneath. The Patriots did what they are known for and took out the opposing team’s best player, as Waller was nearly blanked from this stat sheet. There are still pieces that need to be on rosters from the Raiders. Wide Receiver Hunter Renfrow was a pleasant surprise in this game. Derek Carr looked to Renfrow on 9 occasions, which resulted in 6 receptions for 84 yards, and a touchdown. Renfrow may not be a world class athlete or a must start in all leagues, however in deeper leagues that are struggling to find waiver additions, I highly suggest Renfrow. The connection between Carr and Renfrow seems to be strong and one that could net some points. A deeper sleeper to keep an eye on is rookie Bryan Edwards, who could compete for more playing time as the season progresses. Edwards was targeted 3 times and hauled in 2 for 48 yards. I am not mandating people to add him, but I am suggesting that you at least monitor his play and production week to week.
Steelers v. Texans
The other early slated game feature the Watt Bowl, as the Texan’s J.J. Watt faced off against his brothers T.J. and Derek. Now this game featured a hungry defense against a weak offensive line and boy was it ugly. The Steelers got their run game going early and often in this game, as James Connor did what ever he wanted to the horrendous defense of the Texans. Connor ran for 109 yards with a touchdown, and caught 4 passes for 40 yards ending the day with 24.90 points in PPR formats. Surprising in this game was who the Steelers used to give Connor a break. No it was not Benny Snell Jr. or Jaylen Samuels, but rather rookie running back Anthony McFarland Jr. McFarland adds a different dimension at the running back position for the Steelers. He has speed, quickness, and very good change of direction that compliments Connor’s power running style. McFarland finished his day with 42 yards on 7 rushing attempts. If you are looking to add the “handcuff” for Connor, you have to consider adding McFarland. In the passing game Big Ben was back to his gunslinging ways. He looked to Juju Smith-Schuster constantly, who caught 4 passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Ben also looked to Eric Ebron, who was the big offseason addition this year. Ebron caught 5 of his 7 targets for 52 yards, while also adding a touchdown.
On the other side of this game, Deshaun Watson was under fire the entire game. The horrible line for the Texans did nothing to help as Watson was scrambling for his life. He was sacked 5 times, and the constant pressure led to his interception. Watson ended the day with 264 yards and 2 touchdowns, but did have an interception. Although, this game showed that Will Fuller V is the top target for the Texans with Randall Cobb providing support as the number two. The team seemed to believe that Fuller could be the number one target going forward, and the ability is there if he could stay healthy and become more consistent. Cobb is a player on this team that should be considered. Cobb is a consistent player and one that will provide a nice security blanket for Watson, as Cobb is well versed in the scramble drill. A player that got the short end of the stick in this game was veteran running back David Johnson. Johnson was not able to get going in this game, and that is of not fault of his own, but again due to the poor play of the Texans’ offensive line. Johnson showed flashes throughout this game, and on a short run for a touchdown his vision and agility were on display. Going forward I wouldn’t throw away Johnson but do be cautious if he is playing against a strong defense.
Seahawks v. Cowboys
Nothing is more Mike McCarthy than losing to the Seahawks. Russell Wilson had himself a day against the Cowboys defense throwing for 315 yards with 5 touchdowns. The identity of this Seahawks offense has drastically changed from last year. This season the team has it all on Wilson’s shoulders, and he has not wavered at all. Early on in this game it seemed as if D.K. Metcalf was going to have a monster day. He was a recipient of an early bomb from Wilson, but instead of going full speed he slowed up and, what do you know, the cornerback caught up to him and punched the ball out. From this point on Wilson looked to Tyler Lockett, who had a great day. Lockett caught 9 passes for 109 yards and 3 touchdowns, which gave him 37.90 points in PPR formats. Lockett was the player Wilson looked to as the game went on, but Metcalf did get chances to be involved. Metcalf ended the day with 4 receptions for 110 yards and 1 touchdown, which still is a very good day if you had him in your lineups. In this game starting running back Chris Carson was injured on a suspect tackle by Trysten Hill, so do monitor the injury reports surrounding Carson. If it looks as if Carson will be out for some time, adding either Travis Homer or Carlos Hyde is highly suggested.
The Cowboys in this game looked to take advantage of the Seahawks’ weak pass defense. Dak Prescott had another huge game through the air with 472 yards, 3 touchdowns, but he did throw 2 interceptions during the contest. This game saw 5 players with 5 or more receptions, with surprise contributor Cedrick Wilson having a good day. Wilson caught 5 passes for 107 yards, and 2 touchdowns on the day giving him 27.70 points in PPR formats. Now I don’t foresee Wilson having this impact every game, but keeping an eye on this young player is definitely a good idea. Sunday’s game saw Michael Gallup finally make a serious impact on the stat line, and on your fantasy rosters. Gallup caught 6 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Star wide receiver Amari Cooper was still the go to target for Prescott on the day, even though he lacked the yards and touchdowns the other receivers got. Cooper is the most consistent of the wide receivers on the team and even on days such as this he still produces, as his 9 receptions for 86 yards displayed giving 17.60 points. As for Ezekiel Elliot, the Seahawks run defense was out to stop him, and they succeeded by holding him to 34 yards on 14 attempts. If it had not been for a one yard touchdown and 6 receptions, Elliot would have been a severe disappointment. An overall theme that was obvious in this game was the lack of pass defense on either side. Both teams got absolutely gashed through the air. I would take full advantage of this trend going forward.
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