Panthers QB Bryce Young had his best game of the season by many metrics in Week 8. He undoubtedly had his worst game of the season in Week 9. The rookie completed 24 of 39 passes (62%) for just 173 yards (4.4 YPA), one TD, and three INTs in a 27-13 loss to the Colts. Two of Young's INTs were returned for TDs by CB Kenny Moore. Young seemed to struggle to decipher Indianapolis' coverages all game. And the Panthers had nothing working downfield. Outside of TE Hayden Hurst's 48-yarder on a busted coverage, the team's longest completion went for just 11 yards. Up-and-down play is not a surprise for a rookie QB. But it'll make Young pretty much impossible to trust as a QB1 going forward.
Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson set season highs Sunday in targets (10), receptions (7), and receiving yards (91) in the loss to the Eagles. He also scored his third TD of the season, from 4 yards out. Ferguson has seen his usage increase vs. the beginning of the year, including running a route on 88.7% of QB Dak Prescott's dropbacks in Philly. He trailed only WR CeeDee Lamb in routes among Cowboys on Sunday. Ferguson took advantage of a positive matchup with the Eagles defense. Week 10 holds the Giants, who have been sixth-toughest on TE scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed and rank ninth in TE-coverage DVOA. Carolina in Week 11 looks similar by fantasy scoring but sits just 22nd in TE coverage. Ferguson totaled 7 receptions over the previous three games -- before Sunday -- so he's not quite in every-week starter territory for fantasy teams yet.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb racked up 191 yards on 11 receptions among 16 targets in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He drew 36.4% of Prescott's total pass attempts in the game, tallied 37.9% of the team's receptions, and collected 51.1% of the receiving yards. That followed a 12-158-2 receiving line coming out of the Week 7 bye and gives Lamb three straight games with at least 117 receiving yards. If you were worried about Lamb at all after three straight outings of limited production weeks 3-5, he has clearly put that to rest.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott threw for 374 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He nearly added another TD pass to rookie TE Luke Schoonmaker in the fourth quarter, but Schoonmaker's knee came down just before the ball reached the goal line on a fourth-and-goal play. That makes two straight games of 300+ yards and 3+ TD passes for Prescott coming out of the bye. Week 10 holds a Giants defense that has been fifth-toughest on QB scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. But the Giants also allowed an Aidan O'Connell led Raiders offense to tally 334 yards and 30 points Sunday. Expect to find Prescott comfortably inside starter territory in our Week 10 QB rankings.
The Cowboys racked up 406 total yards in Sunday's narrow loss to the Eagles. But RB Tony Pollard failed to benefit once again. He did take his 12 carries for a decent 51 yards (4.3 per rush) against the league's No. 1 run defense in DVOA. But he added just 3 receptions for 12 yards among 5 targets and failed to find the end zone for the seventh straight game. Pollard did actually cross the goal line from the Philadelphia 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, but an illegal-formation penalty negated that TD. He got one other carry inside the 10 but gained just 3 yards from the 7-yard line. Red-zone opportunities and overall carry share haven't been problems for Pollard. Efficiency has. Just 3 non-QB carries went to Dallas teammates on Sunday, and only 1 other target went to a RB (FB Hunter Luepke). Pollard's workload and the strength of the Dallas offense should keep him OK for fantasy, at least. And the next two weeks hold positive matchups with the Giants and Panthers.
Rams WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua combined for only 5 catches (14 targets) for 70 yards against the Packers. Kupp’s now tallied 98 yards over his past three games. We’re pretty much throwing out this one, though. With Matt Stafford (thumb) sidelined, Brett Rypien stepped in and threw for 130 yards (4.64 YPA). The Rams ran only 55 plays, limiting Rypien’s volume (28 attempts). Here’s the good news: Stafford has a real chance to return following a Week 10 bye. And Los Angeles' short-term schedule looks fine with upcoming matchups vs. Seattle and Arizona. We wouldn't be looking to sell-low here.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave notched his first career TD in Week 9. The rookie’s score resulted from a well-designed play and marked one of two 20+ yard gains. In total, Musgrave led the Packers with 51 yards on a 15.3% target share (tied for second-highest on Green Bay). Week 10 brings a matchup with a Steelers squad that might remain without S Minkah Fitzpatrick. After that comes a pair of favorable draws vs. the Chargers and Lions.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport hears that the Giants believe QB Daniel Jones suffered a “significant knee injury -- potentially a torn ACL" in Sunday's loss to the Raiders. He’s scheduled for an MRI to get a better look at the damage. With QB Tyrod Taylor on IR with the rib injury he suffered last week, the Giants will be down to QB Tommy DeVito. He was better vs. Las Vegas than last week, completing 15 of 20 passes for 175 yards, one TD, and two INTs. The Giants also have QB Matt Barkley on the practice squad.
Commanders QB Sam Howell threw for 325 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in Sunday's win over the Patriots. He also took a more-reasonable-than-usual 3 sacks in the game. It marks the second straight week of at least 325 yards for Howell, who gets a plus matchup with the Seahawks in Week 10 as well. A home date with the Giants in Week 11 looks trickier. They've been the fifth-toughest scoring matchup for QBs on the season, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed. And the Giants just held Washington to 7 points while sacking Howell six times in their Week 7 meeting. Another positive outing for Howell in Week 10, however, could make him tough to leave out of the top 12 for that week. After that sit a negative matchup with Dallas and a positive spot vs. Miami before a Week 14 bye.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson reached 5 receptions for the second straight game Sunday. He caught all 5 of his targets for 42 yards in the victory over New England. QB Sam Howell's 45 pass attempts obviously helped. Gibson's 10 targets over the past two weeks accounted for 10.3% of Howell's total pass attempts. That's enough to lead the backfield, but it would also equate to about 3.9 targets on Howell's season average of 39.2 pass attempts per game. It's nice to get some fantasy relevance from Gibson, but he's not yet close to being a starting candidate for common-sized leagues.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert suffered an apparent right forearm injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys. He immediately headed back to the locker room with trainers. We'll update Goedert's status when we know more.
Update: Goedert is officially questionable to return.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson drew 8 targets to lead the team in Sunday's win at New England. It marked the first time since Week 1 that he led the team in that category. He hauled in four of those targets for 69 yards and the team's lone TD reception, from 33 yards out. Dotson has averaged 5.7 receptions and 73.3 yards over the past three games (with 2 TDs) vs. just 2.8 receptions and 23.3 yards (1 TD) over the first six contests. WR Curtis Samuel's toe injury has helped, knocking him out of Week 8 early and keeping him out for Week 9. Samuel didn't practice at all ahead of the New England game, so his status looks at least iffy for Week 10 as well. Dotson will probably crack our top 36 at WR across formats for a Week 10 meeting with Seattle. The Seahawks entered Sunday as the third-best scoring matchup for WRs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. We'll see about Dotson's progression and how soon Samuel can return. WR Terry McLaurin, meanwhile, remained fine with a 5-73 receiving line on 7 targets against the Patriots.
Bucs RB Rachaad White compiled 119 total yards and two TDs in the 39-37 Week 9 loss to the Texans. White turned 20 carries into 73 yards for a subpar 3.7 yards per carry. But he popped in a pair of one-yard rushing scores. And he was effective in the passing game, hauling in all four of his targets for 46 yards. White garnered 24 of Tampa Bay's 33 RB opportunities for a strong 73% share. The rushing has remained mostly inefficient, but White has now racked up 17 catches for 181 yards over his last three games. He's finished as a top-12 PPR RB in all three. White has brutal rushing matchups the next two weeks against the Titans and 49ers, but his passing-game usage should keep him in most fantasy lineups. He gets plus matchups vs. the Colts and Panthers in Weeks 12 and 13.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. tallied 63 yards and a TD on 18 carries in Sunday's victory over the Patriots. His 3.5 yards per carry weren't remarkable, but the 18 attempts were his most since Week 2. Robinson had averaged just 9.7 rushes per game since then, a stretch that saw the Commanders go 1-5. Robinson's high of 14 carries in that stretch came in an OT loss at Philly that Washington led most of the way. Sunday did mark the fifth game among the past six in which Robinson averaged 3.5 yards per rush or less. And he's likely to continue seeing game flow significantly impact his touch counts. Robinson drew just 2 targets against New England, his fourth straight game with 2 or fewer. He has exceeded 2 in a game just twice all year and caught more than two passes in a game only once. A Week 10 meeting with Seattle -- which struggled mightily at Baltimore on Sunday -- looks fairly neutral for Robinson. A Week 11 date with the Giants looks good. Matchups with the Cowboys and Dolphins the following two weeks don't look favorable and precede a Week 14 bye. Look for worthwhile opportunities to sell Robinson over these next few weeks, if you have him.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield was not the best QB on the field in the Week 9 shootout loss to the Texans -- but he played well. Mayfield completed 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 265 yards (8.8 YPA), two TDs, and 0 INTs. He connected with TE Cade Otton for a 14-yard TD with less than a minute to go to give the Bucs a short-lived lead that QB C.J. Stroud would eventually erase. But it was another solid showing from Mayfield in what's been a generally solid season. He's now tossed multiple TDs in four of eight games. Week 10 brings a Titans defense that entered this week ranked eighth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs. But Tennessee sits 25th in pass defense DVOA (vs. second in run defense DVOA). It’s a matchup that’ll have Mayfield on the spot-start radar.
Bucs TE Cade Otton tallied a 6-70-2 line in the 39-37 Week 9 loss to the Texans. The second TD was a particularly tough catch in tight coverage to give Tampa Bay a short-lived lead with less than one minute to go. Otton's nine targets in this one led the team and were a big 30% share. This will very likely go down as the best game of Otton’s season (maybe his career). But he’d totaled nine catches on 12 targets over the previous two games, so his role might be growing. Otton might be worth adding in deeper fantasy leagues, although the next two weeks bring negative matchups against the Bucs and 49ers. Otton does still get positive draws vs. the Colts (Week 12) and Falcons (Week 14).
Texans TE Dalton Schultz caught 10 balls for 130 yards and a TD in the 39-37 Week 9 win over the Bucs. The catches and yards were both career highs. Schultz tied for the team lead with 11 targets (26% share). This will very likely go down as Schultz's best game of the season. But he's now found the end zone in four of Houston's last five games while averaging 7.2 targets per game. The Texans gave Schultz a one-year, $6.25 million deal in free agency, so it's not a major surprise that he's emerged as a big part of this passing game. Schultz looks like a weekly TE1 going forward. There's nothing scary on the upcoming schedule, with games against the Bengals, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Broncos.
Seahawks rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the team with 6 receptions and 63 yards in Sunday's loss to the Ravens. His 7 targets trailed only WR Tyler Lockett's 8. Seattle kept three WRs on the field more than usual in a game that found the Seahawks down 17-3 at the half and 30-3 by the end of the third quarter. Four of JSN's receptions came after Baltimore had pushed the lead to 30-3. The rookie has seen more usage since the Week 5 bye, but this game likely elevated that further with such negative game script for Seattle. JSN still shouldn't be in starting consideration for most leagues going forward, though he's closer since the bye than he was before. A Week 10 matchup with Washington adds upside to everyone in the passing game.
Texans WR Tank Dell hauled in six balls for 114 yards and two scores in the 39-37 Week 9 win over the Bucs. The rookie came up clutch on the game-winning drive, catching a 26-yarder to get the Texans down to Tampa's 15-yard line -- and then securing a 15-yard TD on the very next play. Dell tied TE Dalton Schultz with a team-high 11 targets and also carried twice. It was a strong bounce-back effort from Dell, who'd been mostly quiet since posting 7-72-1 and 5-145-1 lines in Weeks 2 and 3. We'll still need to check on Dell's playing time once WR Robert Woods returns from his foot injury. Dell played behind Woods and WR Noah Brown back in Week 1. But it'd be malpractice for the Texans to cut Dell's snaps considering how explosive he's been this season. The upcoming schedule is favorable: Bengals, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Broncos.
We didn't expect Seahawks QB Geno Smith to have a good game against the Ravens on Sunday. But he was bad enough that we might need to worry about Smith even in better matchups. He completed just 13 of 28 attempts at Baltimore, taking 4 sacks, tossing 1 INT and losing a fumble. Smith's 157 yards marked his third game this season with less than 200. And he how has 6 INTs vs. just 4 TD passes over the past four games. Smith's next two matchups look positive, including a Week 10 spot against Washington, which entered Sunday as the second-best scoring matchup for QBs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Don't be surprised if Smith still doesn't get into the top 12 when we update our Week 10 rankings Tuesday. But fantasy teams will be losing Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, and Tua Tagovailoa to byes. So Smith might actually make sense as your starter in plenty of cases.
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