The most common text I sent this Sunday was “this is by far the ugliest week of football of the year” and I don’t think that’s even up for debate right now. From top to bottom, from Thursday night to Sunday night, nearly every game had some serious flaws. In a weird sort of way, that actually makes analyzing the games a little easier despite the real-life frustration of having to sit through some god awful football. That being said, there were still some interesting outcomes from Sunday’s slate that are more than worthy of discussion.

Obviously the biggest news to come out of week seven was the devastating injury to Houston running back Arian Foster. Arguments about whether or not the Texans starters should have been playing that late in a blowout aside, you have to feel bad for Foster even if you don’t own him in fantasy. Just as a football fan it’s hard to see a player of his caliber struggle with so many injuries, especially for someone who is so well liked by his peers and the media. We’re not here for sentiment though, so let’s talk about the fantasy implications of his injury.

The torn Achilles for Foster ends his season after missing the first few games with a separate groin injury. That leaves us right back where we started in a two-headed monster with Alfred Blue and Chris Polk. Blue had emerged as the more reliable back but you should absolutely expect Polk to eat into that workload. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Texans decide to bring in another running back to add some depth at the position. There are still guys like Pierre Thomas and Bryce Brown out there who could be utilized in some capacity. Still, Blue is the top guy worth adding right now but don’t expect him to be much more than an RB3/flex play barring an unexpected breakout. He’ll be ok, and perhaps that’s all you need since drafting Foster was icing on the cake anyway. Regardless, the injury is a fantasy buzzkill so hopefully you’ll be able to weather the storm as we inch closer to the fantasy playoffs.

 

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers

The immediate takeaway from this game is that Marshawn Lynch finally started living up to his “Beast Mode” moniker after struggling to start the year due to injury. It looks safe to say that after his 122-yard showing with a touchdown on Thursday night, Lynch is fully back and should continue to be a top five or six fantasy running back for the rest of the season. Tight end Jimmy Graham remains inconsistent so I should reemphasize that he’s just another hit-or-miss player at the position who is far removed from the superstar status he once held in New Orleans.

The San Francisco 49ers offense pretty much is what it is at this point. You’re going to get some highly inconsistent play out of running back Carlos Hyde while the entire passing game struggles to find any level of reliable production. There’s been some murmuring about a potential change at quarterback, which pretty much renders Colin Kaepernick droppable in most fantasy formats if he wasn’t already. He’s had some decent outings thus far but has proved to be highly matchup dependent and shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a bye week fill-in in deeper leagues. Besides, that assumes he’s even still the starter a few weeks from now.

 

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars

This was another one of those weird London games that featured a Buffalo Bills team that was simply decimated by injuries. The most notable absentees were wide receivers Percy Harvin and Sammy Watkins and quarterback Tyrod Taylor. E.J. Manuel filled in for Taylor and played one of the ugliest professional football games by a quarterback in recent memory. You would have thought tight end Charles Clay would be more involved considering the lack of weapons this week but he was virtually nowhere to be found. It doesn’t appear as if Clay is going to be usable until Taylor returns from injury so you should look elsewhere if you’ve been streaming tight ends. The last little tidbit in regard to the Bills is that LeSean McCoy looks healthy enough to be reinserted back into the top-12 fantasy RB discussion. He ran well and could have easily scored a touchdown if he hadn’t fumbled on a vicious hit inside the five-yard line. Start him if you got him.

Jacksonville wide receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns continue to be usable on a weekly basis with both players ending up with a touchdown in this game. Robinson was the more productive receiver finishing with six receptions for 98 yards on top of a score while Hurns only had two receptions for 53. Certainly Robinson is the more reliable option but as long as Hurns stays involved in the offense he too is worth starting consideration any given week. Running back T.J. Yeldon continues to improve for the Jaguars and could turn out to be a serviceable RB2, especially considering the fact that he’s the only productive back on the roster. Toby Gerhart had four shots at a goal-line touchdown and couldn’t punch it in so I can’t imagine anyone considerably eating into Yeldon’s workload.

 

Atlanta Falcons @ Tennessee Titans

This was a surprisingly low-scoring affair for the Atlanta Falcons although it should be noted that Matt Ryan does tend to struggle on the road more than you think. Nevertheless, running back Devonta Freeman picked up the slack and furthered his dominance as a top-five fantasy running back. This offense has shown it can utilize multiple fantasy weapons at once so don’t sweat the lackluster day through the air here. Leonard Hankerson got banged up in this game but I still think he’ll remain the number two receiver given Roddy White’s age and struggles. Teams that are hurting at the wide receiver position should hang onto Hankerson as long as roster spots aren’t scarce.

Zach Mettenberger filled in for the injured Marcus Mariota here and struggled mightily. Mettenberger was viewed as one of the more reliable backup quarterbacks heading into this season but it just never really materialized against Atlanta on Sunday. Kendall Wright caught Tennessee’s sole touchdown in this game but it was tight end Delanie Walker who led the team in receptions with seven for 55 yards. Walker remains one of the more reliable fantasy options at the tight end position so once Mariota returns his production should take an even greater upswing. Running back Antonio Andrews led the Titans in rushing attempts with 10 for 57 yards while Bishop Sankey didn’t record a single carry. Andrews might be a tempting short-term add but keep in mind that rookie David Cobb will be returning from injury soon so he might be player worth stashing if you’re desperate for a running back.

 

New Orleans Saints @ Indianapolis Colts

What on Earth has happened to the Indianapolis Colts? They look dreadful this year and this game in particular had the makings of a blowout before Indy was able to make a game out of it in the second half. Luckily for fantasy owners (no pun intended), Andrew Luck salvaged his outing with 333 yards and three touchdowns despite throwing two interceptions. Even more reassuring was the fact that T.Y. Hilton finally broke big plays for 150 yards and two scores of his own. I had been saying all season that Hilton was bound to become more involved in the offense, especially as Luck inched closer back to full health so it was nice to see those sentiments materialize. Hilton won’t be as reliable as some of his top-10 counterparts but he has the playmaking ability to win you a week at any time.

On the Saints side of things quarterback Drew Brees continues to spread the ball extremely thin amongst his pass-catchers. For a few weeks it looked as if Wille Snead was emerging as the primary wide receiver but now it appears as if the team will revert right back to what is essentially a timeshare. As someone who traded away Brandin Cooks weeks ago, I can’t imagine trusting any New Orleans wide receiver on a weekly basis. As far as the ground game is concerned, Mark Ingram had a fantastic game here that could have actually been even better if it weren’t for pesky Khiry Robinson. Ingram totaled 143 yards on the ground with a touchdown and if not for Robinson, could have even had two more. Either way, Ingram is locked in as a top-12 fantasy running back and should be treated as such the rest of the way.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs

If you didn’t know any better and simply looked at Pittsburgh’s stat line you would have thought Ben Roethlisberger made his triumphant return in this game but alas it was Landry Jones who got the call under center. Even with three turnovers in a losing effort, Jones was able to get Antonio Brown back involved in the offense to the tune of six receptions for 124 yards. Throw in yet another touchdown to Martavis Bryant and it was clear that Jones was much more suited for this passing offense than Michael Vick ever was. With Ben Roethlisberger a virtual lock to return next week against the Bengals, the Steelers will once again be one of the more reliable and explosive offensives in fantasy.

Kansas City running back Charcandrick West lived up to the post-Jamaal Charles hype in this game with 110 yards and a touchdown on 22 rushes. Those rushing attempts are a clear indicator that the Chiefs view West as their new workhorse going forward, especially when you consider the fact that Knile Davis only had one carry of his own. I’m not quite ready to declare West as a must start but perhaps he just needed a week or two to get up to speed in the offense. Between how heavily Kansas City likes to utilize the run and the playmaking ability West showed us against a solid Pittsburgh run defense, he’s already in the RB2 discussion. This is simply a matter of it depending on what your other options are. I wouldn’t start him over someone like Justin Forsett but I’d certainly throw him in my lineup instead of LeGarrette Blount.

 

Cleveland Browns @ St. Louis Rams

This Gary Barnidge thing continues to be absolutely ridiculous as the tight end had another big day here with six receptions for 101 yards. I don’t know how it’s even possible that the Cleveland Browns of all teams have managed to turn a 30-year old tight end into one of the most consistent fantasy plays in the league but somehow they’ve done it. If you were lucky enough to scoop Barnidge off of waivers you just have to keep rolling with him as he’s by far the most reliable pass-catcher on the Browns. Speaking of this team’s pass-catchers, running back Duke Johnson is developing into a PPR machine, ending the day with seven receptions for 73 yards. He’s clearly the running back you want to own in Cleveland and even though his rushing totals won’t be all that high, you’ll take the production any way you can get it. He’s absolutely worth flex consideration any given week and should be viewed as an RB2 in PPR formats for the rest of the season.

There really isn’t much to report on the St. Louis side of the ball other than the fact that Todd Gurley is a superstar in the making. He’s been an absolute machine so far this season and has shown no signs of slowing down. You can’t start anyone else on the Rams with any confidence so it’s basically just Todd Gurley and a bunch of players you can avoid although Tavon Austin is at least worth owning in some capacity.

 

Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins

Not to beat a dead horse here but it’s conceivable that Joe Philbin was one of the worst coaches in football of the last decade given how easily the Dolphins have turned their season around under Dan Campbell. Campbell has breathed new life into this offense as evidenced by quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Lamar Miller absolutely annihilating the Houston Texans on Sunday. Tannehill tossed four touchdowns in this game, two of which went to Jarvis Landry. Landry is clearly the team’s top receiver but Rishard Matthews continues to be productive as well. More importantly, the production out of Miller since the coaching change has been phenomenal. Not only is he finally living up to his hype as a third round draft pick in fantasy but the Dolphins are actually giving him touches. Who knew that’s all it took? I believe he's a top-10 fantasy RB in this new system, even after just two games with Campbell running the offense.

We already talked about the heartbreaking injury to Arian Foster so let’s just focus on Houston’s passing game here. It was wide receiver Nate Washington who benefited from garbage time, ending the day with 127 yards and two touchdowns. To that I say, whatever. Washington’s breakout isn’t anything more than a one-time deal in a game that was severely out of reach. DeAndre Hopkins should still be a target monster in this offense, especially now that their star running back is injured again. This was a team that was throwing the ball like crazy before Foster returned from his groin injury so you should expect a much more pass-heavy offense going forward.

 

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions

Welcome to fantasy stardom, Stefon Diggs. Diggs was a trendy fantasy add last week and he proved the doubters wrong with a spectacular touchdown reception to cap off his 108-yard day. As seen as recently as last year with Odell Beckham Jr, you don’t need to play all 16 games to be a superstar fantasy wide receiver so I’m willing to state that after seeing three big performances out of Diggs, he’s already locked in as a WR2 for the year. Having said that, I’m obviously not comparing him to OBJ in terms of talent or even fantasy production. I’m simply stating that it’s not uncommon for a guy to come out of nowhere and be a consistent fantasy contributor even after missing some time to start the year.

As for the Lions, the Calvin Johnson bounce back continued here with Megatron finishing with five receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. I had previously pointed out that Detroit has an extremely favorable schedule coming up so you should expect this trend to continue with Calvin. Tight end Eric Ebron has emerged as a legit fantasy option at the position, reeling in another five receptions for 89 yards and a score in this game. Like we’ve established several times now, tight end is a very fluky position so you have to take the production wherever you can get it. If you whiffed on players like Owen Daniels and Heath Miller, it’s possible Ebron is someone who is still available in your league. I should also note that Detroit fired their offensive coordinator on Monday, which could potentially mean better days are ahead for this team’s backfield. I had advocated abandoning ship in regard to this ground game so we’ll have wait a few weeks to see if this coaching change can spark something positive in Ameer Abdullah and Joique Bell.

 

New York Jets @ New England Patriots

In what was seemingly the only entertaining four-quarter contest this week, the New York Jets held their own against a New England Patriots team that just decided “eh, we don’t really need to run the ball today.” By now you’ve probably heard that quarterback Tom Brady was the team’s leading rusher on Sunday, rendering LeGarrette Blount completely useless. That was a real shame considering the fact that fellow running back Dion Lewis was held out with an abdominal injury. Head coach Bill Belichick is notorious for rotating running backs at will so this was likely the plan all along; throw the ball as often as possible against the Jets and let Tom Brady win you a football game. One fo the main beneficiaries of that strategy was wide receiver Danny Amendola. I know Amendola has been productive as of late and his 86 yards with a touchdown reinforced that sentiment but the knock on him as always been related to health. I don’t think a guy with his injury history is worth an add let alone a start. He’s always been one hit away from a season ending injury so it’s best to just let someone else deal with that potential frustration. Throw in the fact that Brandon LaFell returned to action this week and Amendola is going to end up being the fourth passing option at best.

For weeks I’ve been saying that the New York Jets have the most underrated offense in all of football and that held true on Sunday albeit to a much smaller degree. Chris Ivory was banged up for a majority of this game so Zac Stacy saw more work than usual while Ryan Fitzpatrick was left to throw the ball 39 times. Two of those passing attempts were for touchdowns to the aforementioned Ivory and wide receiver Jeremy Kerley. In fact, if Brandon Marshall doesn’t drop a sure touchdown pass, we might even be talking about a Jets upset instead of a seven-point Patriot win. Don’t expect Stacy and Kerley to stay as key contributors; Ivory, Marshall, and Eric Decker are the reliable fantasy assets to utilize in New York.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Redskins

Thanks to quarterback Kirk Cousins, an unexpected Redskins comeback has yielded one of the most-watched Vines of the season. If Cousins was talking about tight end Jordan Reed when he exclaimed “you like that?!?” to a locker room camera, the answer is an astounding “yes we do.” This is a Washington team that leans heavily on its tight end so a healthy Jordan Reed should be locked in to finish the year in the top eight at the position. Eleven receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns certainly strengthen that stance so if Reed is available in your league, scoop him up as soon as possible. Aside than Reed, this offense continues to struggle on the ground with Matt Jones receiving the bulk of the work. Jones out-touched and outplayed Alfred Morris and was used as the pass-catching back with Chris Thompson out. He remains the back you want to own in Washington and you can safely drop Alfred Morris if you haven’t already. Not only is Jones the better running back at this point but Morris isn’t even getting enough work to justify owning anymore.

It would appear as if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the bye week to try and figure out their passing game as they finally realized they have a potent wide receiver waiting to breakout in Mike Evans. Evans exploded for 164 yards and a score here which gave fantasy owners a massive sigh of relief. I’ve been preaching patience over panic in regard to Evans so hopefully you listened and were treated to this top-notch performance. Vincent Jackson did leave this game with an injury so we’ll have to see how that turns out but regardless, Evans should use this outing to catapult him back up to being a top-12 fantasy wide receiver for the rest of the year. As far as the ground game is concerned, I think we might actually be looking at a return to form for Doug Martin going forward. He now has three consecutive games of at least 100 yards and as we saw in his rookie year, he’s shown he gets better as the season progresses. This might be the last opportunity you have to buy low on him. This looks to be legit and with so many banged up and struggling running backs, it’s time to go all-in on the Muscle Hamster aka Dougernaut.

 

Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers

In a surprising upset, the Oakland Raiders relied heavily on wide receiver Amari Cooper to outlast the San Diego Chargers. Cooper continues a recent trend of rookie wide receivers becoming key fantasy contributors right away and his 133-yard outing hammered that point home. If Cooper wasn’t already threatening to finish the year as a top-10 fantasy wide receiver, he is now. Fellow receiver Michael Crabtree continues to be usable in the WR3/flex range as he too reeled in a touchdown of his own. The Raiders have managed to accumulate some seriously sneaky fantasy value across the board between their two wide receivers and reliable running back Latavius Murray. Murray and Crabtree might not get the same kind of attention as their superstar counterpart in Cooper but they are every bit as useful given their current offensive production.

The Chargers offense was extremely banged up in this game, leaving Philip Rivers to pretty much carry the load all by himself. Rivers is on pace for a career year thus far and his 58 passing attempts certainly helped. He tossed three touchdowns in this game, two of which went to PPR machine Danny Woodhead. Woodhead has always been the pass-catching back to own in San Diego but with Melvin Gordon banged up, it was Branden Oliver who led the team in carries. Honestly, I don’t think you can start Gordon on a weekly basis anyway so Woodhead is the only back worth using on the Chargers. As far as their other weapons are concerned, Ladarius Green filled in nicely for the injured Antonio Gates but expect this to continue to be an offense that spreads the ball around heavily. Having said that, Rivers is throwing the ball so much that Keenan Allen and Gates (when healthy) should absolutely maintain the level of production they’ve put up thus far.

 

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

The Christine Michael hype train came to a screeching halt once Darren McFadden entered the game for the injured Joseph Randle. McFadden ran extremely well against the Giants on Sunday, finishing with 152 yards and a score in a game in which he racked up a crazy 29 carries. That was never what anyone envisioned when Lance Dunbar went down as the expectation was that McFadden would turn into the pass-catching back in Dallas. Nevertheless, the injury to Randle forced the team’s hand and we’re left with an interesting committee going forward. McFadden is obviously going to be the week’s top pickup and should get the bulk of the workload even after Randle returns but just know what you’re getting yourself into with him. McFadden is inevitably going to get hurt so don’t sell the farm if you’re in a league that determines waivers by auction. The passing game struggled under Matt Cassel with only Jason Witten having a decent outing. Until Tony Romo comes back, Witten is the only pass-catcher worth starting.

Despite winning this game and scoring 27 points, the Giants had a pretty atrocious fantasy day. Eli Manning only totaled 170 yards while Odell Beckham Jr finished with just four receptions for 35 yards of his own. The ground game wasn’t much better either as Orleans Darkwa of all people was the most productive runner, ending the day with 48 yards and a score on eight attempts. I suppose he’s worth adding in deeper leagues but between Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen, and Andre Williams, this is a Giants team that is going to utilize a plethora of backs so I don’t think you can feel great about starting any of them. It’s best to just chalk this outing up to being a total mystery, even in a win.

 

Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers

The Philadelphia Eagles continue to be completely sporadic in regard to fantasy production as it was running back Ryan Mathews who had the most useful outing this week. I honestly don’t know what else to say about this team. Chip Kelly is determined to ruin the lives of fantasy owners everywhere by being completely random in terms of which players get the most touches. I truly believe we’re at the point where only DeMarco Murray is worth starting each week while everyone else is simply a matter of “how lucky do you feel?” It’s a guessing game in Philly and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.

The big breakout game for Jonathan Stewart finally came here with the running back finishing the day with 125 yards on the ground. Unfortunately, the primary options near the goal line will continue to be Mike Tolbert and quarterback Cam Newton so the hope is that Stewart simply turns into a volume play. Still, with 24 carries and so many teams with worse running back situations than Carolina, Stewart is back to being a solid RB2 candidate. I actually think he’s the perfect buy-low candidate since he’s not the most popular name, won't cost a lot to acquire, and should be able to maintain this level of volume and production for the rest of the year. Passing wise, this was a dud for the Carolina offense so as frustrating as it was for Cam newton and Greg Olsen owners, try to shrug it off and look ahead to the weeks ahead.

 

NFL & Fantasy Football Chat Room