NFL final scores
Only NE, BUF, BAL, and KC are undefeated in the AFC. Of those teams, NE and BAL each got the luxury of facing MIA who look like one of the most awful teams ever assembled. Meanwhile, the NFC West boasts three undefeated teams. LAR rolled NO to a relatively easy win. SF looked great traveling to the east coast in consecutive weeks. SEA has hung on for two wins despite have a razor thin +3 point points for/against margin.
Anybody really think DEN, CAR, PIT, and JAX would start out 0-2?
Sunday:
BAL 23 ARI 17
DET 13 LAC 10
IND 19 TEN 17
SF 41 CIN 17
HOU 13 JAX 12
GB 21 MIN 16
DAL 31 WAS 21
SEA 28 PIT 26
BUF 28 NYG 14
NE 43 MIA 0
KC 28 OAK 10
LAR 27 NO 9
CHI 16 DEN 14
ATL 24 PHI 20
Top Fantasy Performances from Sunday
25+ Fantasy Point QBs
Patrick Mahomes-35.62
Lamar Jackson-33.88
Dak Prescott-28.66
Russell Wilson-28.20
Matt Ryan-25.10
20+ Fantasy Point RBs
Dalvin Cook-31.10
Aaron Jones-28.00
Saquon Barkley-25.50
Austin Ekeler-24.30
Raheem Mostert-24.10
Ezekiel Elliott-23.00
25+ Point WRs
Demarcus Robinson-38.20
Julio Jones-30.6
Emmanuel Sanders-28.80
Kenny Golladay-28.70
Nelson Agholor-27.70
Calvin Ridley-27.50
Tyler Boyd-25.20
20+ Fantasy Point TEs
Mark Andrews-28.20
Travis Kelce-26.70
Vance McDonald-22.80
Will Dissly-22.0
15+ Fantasy Point Def
New England-37.00
You would have had a $1 million lineup if you stacked Patrick Mahomes with Travis Kelce and Demarcus Robinson and then added Dalvin Cook, Austin Ekeler, Julio Jones, Emmanuel Sanders, Mark Andrews, and NE Defense. It's so simple right?!
Impactful Injuries
There's a lot to pull from, but we'll start with Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben was knocked out of the game with an injury to his elbow. Turns out the elbow requires surgery which ends Roethlisberger's season. Mason Rudolph stepped in and performed well vs SEA, but this is a huge blow to PIT's skill position players. Rudolph is only worth and add in 2-QB or superflex leagues. Keep an eye on WR James Washington. Rudolph and Washington played together in college and had a connection in the preseason. With Donte Moncrief looking like a pile-of-ass, the door is open for Washington.
Drew Brees smashed his hand into Aaron Donald's hand. That's always a losing proposition. Brees damaged the UCL in his thumb and will be out around 6 weeks. Teddy Bridgewater will spell him, but this is a huge blow to the Saints and all of the skill position players including Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. Expect NO to run a bit more than they usually do. We may see Latavius Murray get more work than we were expecting.
Michael Gallup was having a break out year with the DAL revitalized offense, but he sustained an injury to his knee requiring a surgical procedure. He should be back this year, but will need a few weeks off. Keep an eye on Devin Smith. Injuries have plaqued his young career, but he was a stud prospect drafted in the Second Round by the NYJ.
PHI ran into some bad luck with injuries to DeSean Jackson, Dallas Goedert, and Alshon Jeffery. The extent of those injuries isn't known. We're still not sure if or how many games those players will miss. If one of the WRs does miss time, this may be an opportunity for JJ Arcega-Whiteside to get some extra snaps.
Notable Trends
Cam Newton: What's up with Cam Newton. He hasn't looked good and leads the league with uncatchable throws...by a lot. Maybe his shoulder isn't back yet? Maybe is shoulder is fine, but CAR is making a concerted effort to protect him? Either way, this team is going nowhere fast. I'm not yet giving up on Newton, but if he's on one of my fantasy teams, I'm trying to stream QBs until Newton is back.
Jameis Winston: I'm not giving up on Cam, but I am giving up on Winston. Despite being blessed with some of the best receivers in the game, Winston just sucks. He has happy feet in the pocket, he's not accurate, and he's still a turnover machine. Winston was sort of a sleeper QB so his struggles aren't a complete surprise, but he's bringing Mike Evans and OJ Howard down with him.
Deshaun Watson: He didn't have a good game against Jacksonville, but I'm not surprised. He was beat to a pulp in Week 1 by NO. I'm guessing he's going to need a few weeks to get right. Give him some slack.
Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson: Both of these guys are tearing it up. We expected it from Patrick Mahomes, but these guys have been a real nice surprise.
John Ross: The CIN offense has been a bit up and down, but Ross continues to get targets. Does it really matter if they come in garbage time or shootouts? No. No is the answer for fantasy.
Vance McDonald: Raise your hand if you played him Week 1 and benched him Week 2 (Raising my hand). I was worried the PIT offense would take a step back with AB gone and Roethlisberger one year older, but it's been a train wreck. Maybe Rudolph will force the offense to adjust. Maybe McDonald can keep this up?
Minnesota offense: We knew they wanted to run, but sometimes you have to have a passing attack too right? Dalvin Cook has been amazing, Adam Thielen does his thing, but Kirk Cousins and Stefon Diggs need to be able to connect when game-flow dictates. I know questionable referee calls didn't help, but this offense needs to get better.
Miles Sanders, Devin Singletary, David Montgomery: These were all promising RBs headed for committees. They have all looked good, but are still struggling for touches. I expect these guys to push for more and more carries as the season progresses. ***Singletary did suffer what appeared to be a non-contact hamstring injury late in the game vs NYG(This from my non-medically trained eyes). Keep an eye on him.