Fantasy Football Advice: NFC Week One Recap

In this piece, RotoBaller Chris Lacey recaps all the matchups with NFC teams from this past Sunday.  He breaks down all the fantasy relevant stats you need to stay on top of to win your league!

Vikings vs. Lions

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) rankings
• Quarterback (QB) rankings
• Tight end (TE) rankings
• Defense (D/ST) rankings
• Kicker (K) rankings
• FLEX rankings
• Dynasty rankings

The Lions emerged the victor in an early NFC North division matchup, winning 34-24 over the Vikings. The standout in the game was Lions QB Matthew Stafford, who was 28-for-43 with 357 and two TDs.

What was shocking was that the RB who put his imprint on the game was not AP, but rather Reggie Bush, who totaled 191 yards of offense with a TD, and was a threat in both the running and passing games.

Vikings wideout Jerome Simpson had a great game with seven catches for 140 yards and Adrian Peterson had a good game with 95 yards on the ground in 18 carries with two TDs.

Christian Ponder was picked off three times and it appears that Peterson will need to get more touches as the season continues.

Bears vs. Bengals

The Bears barely managed to earn a win over the Bengals with a 24-21 victory on Sunday. Jay Cutler managed the game well, throwing for 242 yards with two TDs and one INT.

Brandon Marshall is definitely his favorite receiver, catching eight passes for 104 yards and one TD.

Andy Dalton threw the football well, completing 26 of 33 passes for 282 yards and two TDs. He will have to cut down on his interceptions, as he was picked off twice.

A.J. Green is establishing himself as one of the best fantasy receivers with nine catches and 162 yards, including two TDs.

Packers vs. Niners

The Niners rallied to defeat the Packers by a score of 34-28 during their Week 1 contest. Colin Kaepernick had a tremendous game by completing 27 passes and throwing for 412 yards with three TDs.

Anquan Boldin made a great first impression with his new team by catching 13 passes for 208 yards with one TD, and not to be outdone, Vernon Davis hauled in six catches for 98 yards and two TDs.

Aaron Rodgers had a good game, completing 21 of 37 passes for 333 yards and three TDs. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb each caught seven balls, for 130 and 108 yards, respectively, and each scored a TD.

Buccaneers vs. Jets

The circus that is NY Jets football continued, as the Jets pulled out an improbable 18-17 victory with Nick Folk kicking a game-winning 48-yard field goal with two seconds left to stun the Buccaneers.

Geno Smith had a good debut, throwing for 256 yards and one TD with one INT. He also ran for 47 yards on six carries.

Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman was average, completing 15 of 31 passes for 210 yards and one TD. Vincent Jackson had a good game with seven catches and 154 yards.

Seahawks vs. Panthers

The Seahawks rallied to beat Carolina on Sunday with a 12-7 victory. Russell Wilson made strides against those who think he was a one-hit wonder, by throwing for 320 passing yards and one TD. Doug Baldwin was also good with 91 yards on seven catches.

Cam Newton only had 125 yards through the air with his receivers struggling to find any room against a suffocating Seattle defense. DeAngelo Williams had a decent game, rushing for 76 yards on 16 carries.

Falcons vs. Saints

The Saints defense held on and allowed head coach Sean Peyton to win his first game back from a season-long suspension at a score of 23-17 over the Falcons.

Drew Brees was solid, throwing for 357 yards including two TDs and one INT. Darren Sproles was great, as well, with 88 receiving yards and another 22 yards on the ground.

Matt Ryan had a nice game, with 304 passing yards and two TDs while throwing one pick. Harry Douglas only caught four passes, but had 93 yards. Julio Jones and Roddy White were disappointing, combining for just nine catches and 95 yards with one TD.

Cardinals vs. Rams

St.Louis completed a terrific comeback in the fourth quarter and thanks to a Greg Zuerlein 48-yard field goal with 40 seconds left, they won 27-24 over the Cardinals.

Sam Bradford had a strong game with 299 passing yards and two TDs. One player that that could be a truly great fantasy tight end is Jared Cook; he caught seven passes for 141 yards and two TDs.

Zuerlein kicked four field goals in this game and looks like a great kicker for fantasy owners.

Carson Palmer looked good with 327 passing yards on 26 completions with two TDs and one INT. Larry Fitzgerald was once again solid with eight receptions for 80 yards and two TDs. Andre Roberts is certainly emerging as a solid wideout option, catching eight passes for 97 yards.

Giants vs. Cowboys

Dallas was able to force six turnovers and defeated Eli Manning and Co. for the first time in the house that Jerry built by a score of 36-31. The key play in the game was when cornerback David Carr picked off Manning and returned it 49 yards for the clinching touchdown.

The takeaways from this contest are both positive and negative for Manning. The bright spot was that he passed for 450 yards on 27 completions with four TDs, but the dark cloud was the three picks. Victor Cruz had a great game with five catches and 118 yards, including three TDs.

Other good performances included Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle, each with five catches for 114 and 101 yards respectively.

Tony Romo was good with 36 completions and 263 passing yards, including two TDs. Jason Witten was Romo’s favorite guy with eight catches and 80 yards that included him having two TDs. Miles Austin was also solid with 10 catches and 72 yards.

The rushing attack for the Cowboys worked as well with DeMarco Murray having 86 yards on the ground on 20 carries.

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