🖥 TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE NEW
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Monday Morning NFL Recap - Week 4 Surprises, Busts & Laughers

To be honest, I'm not really sure what happened this weekend.  Watching the games this week, I gave it 50-50 odds I somehow drove through some sort of weird sci-fi dimensional portal when I wasn't looking and ended up on Htrae or something and I just can't cope right now.  The Rams are winning the NFC West?  The Panthers are 1-3?  The Bills shut out the Patriots at home?  Blake Bortles was the best quarterback in the country?

(I'll pause for a second for Falcons and Steelers fans to realize the Jags played in England.  Can't really blame them for not knowing that, though, considering it was an extra-early Jaguars game which means statistically the only people who watched it on TV were the direct family members of the players.)

It got so weird today that I was seriously expecting backward language from the next person I spoke to, but then Antonio Brown was flagged and fined for a taunting penalty after scoring and I realized that the natural order was fine.  Sometimes crazy things happen in the NFL, but as they say, "birds fly, fish swim, and the stick up Roger Goodell's ass fines players for no good reason."

Featured Promo: New Novig users get a $25 purchase match (50% discount up to $25) on your first Novig deposit, and 3 free months of RotoBaller's "Big-4" Premium Pass (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) which includes exclusive tools for Betting, Props, DFS and more! CLAIM IT NOW

So now that I've got my feet back under me, let's dive into the results of Week 4.

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out FantasyAces DFS contests. New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces and make a $20 deposit will receive RotoBaller's full season NFL Premium Pass for free (including Premium DFS), normally a $59.99 value. Expert DFS research, sample lineups, matchup ratings and lots more!

 

It's Monday Morning... What Just Happened

 

The Winners:

  • Julio Jones and Matt RyanFunny story - I've got a friend who asked me for draft advice this year.  Said he was picking fourth.  I told him "Julio dude."  I am truly eloquent in text messages.  His response: "F*ck Julio," and he proceeded to draft Odell Beckham Jr.  He played against Julio this week.  I laughed.  For those who don't know, Julio Jones had 300 yards receiving on 12 catches, with a touchdown for good measure.  Matt Ryan also went supernova, passing for 500 yards and 4 TDs, and they did it all against the feared Panthers' defense.
  • Russell WilsonWilson rebounded nicely after a rough start to the season, posting 300 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.  Unfortunately for fantasy players, those passes went to C.J. Spiller, Christine Michael, and Tanner McAvoy, who I thought for a second was the guy who plays Professor Xavier nowadays.  For a brief moment, a glorious vision of mutant football sprung forth in my mind's eye, as Colossus rumbled down the field until getting blasted to the ground by one of Cyclops' optic blasts.  Sadly, though, I was misinformed, and mutant football will exist only as an increasingly battered script proposal that the NFL keeps sending back to me with a restraining order attached.  Which I feel is unfair, considering they actually made the movie Draft Day.
  • Jordan ReedAny time the game of "tight end roulette" ends with two touchdowns, you've had a good game.  Also, any time I get to use the phrase "tight end roulette," I snicker like a teenager.  I make no apologies for this.  You know what you've gotten into.  God, I can't wait for Jake Butt to get drafted.
  • Michael CrabtreeCrabtree had a monster game for the 3-1 Raiders, netting 88 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Naturally, I traded him away for Eric Decker in week 1.
  • Ben RoethlisbergerRoethlisberger may have put up a flaming wreck last week, but he made up for it in spades.  Throwing for 300 yards and 5 touchdown passes, Roethlisberger and the Steelers cruised to a 43-14 rout of the Chiefs that was never really that close.  The return of Le'Veon Bell proved to be a huge boon to the Steelers' offense, which will be sorely needed when Brown gets himself ejected by saying something mean-ish in the general vicinity of a referee one of these weeks.
  • Ezekiel ElliottZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKE.  The rookie leads the NFL in rushing yards through 4 weeks after putting up 138 yards rushing and a touchdown.  I'd hate to say "I told you so" to all the people who told me stupid shit like "Darren McFadden will get most of the Cowboys' carries and also Zeke isn't that good" but I'm also lying, so haha I told you so.

The Losers:

  • London: Poor England.  We force the Jaguars on them annually like a five-year-old running up to his mommy and saying "look, I drew a professional football team," but mostly it's just hideous uncoordinated colors blotching up and down the page and the mom is thinking "ugh, it's just Jaguars, it doesn't look anything like a football team," and she has to stick it on the fridge anyway.  This seems mean considering the Jaguars won, but the Colts are one ambitious Van Helsing wannabe away from losing their franchise QB for good and being permanently 2-14, so we've got to keep some perspective here.
  • The NFC West: You let the Rams take the division lead.  Have you SEEN the Rams?  They have an offensive line so bad they let the 49ers hold Todd Gurley to 47 yards, and he had 52 yards after contact in that game.  That is legitimately mind-blowing, and somehow that unit is leading the NFC West.  Seriously.  Case Keenum is winning this division.  If I were a neutral fan, I'd see this and be furious.  However, I'm an Angeleno, so I'm seeing this and being all like "suck it, everyone who thinks we didn't deserve our team back."
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick again, because it's just too easy: I mean, at least it was the Seahawks this time.  The Legion of Boom.  Kansas City has a pretty decent secondary when it's not being lit up by the Steelers, but they don't have a fun name and a Campbell's commercial.  It makes sense for quarterbacks to have bad games against them.  But the fact that Fitzpatrick played two decent secondaries in a row and averaged 4.5 picks per game bodes ill for the Jets' playoff hopes.  And their fans' not dying of alcohol poisoning hopes.
  • The Patriots: Which is extra satisfying, considering the fact that in the last week I've heard the statement "We get the best quarterback in history back next week" three fucking times and it turns out that while the natural human response to smugness that concentrated is "savage beatings," those are actually against the law.  So the week's been frustrating.

All in all, it was a pretty good week of football, despite its identity-crisis-inspiring beginning.  Be sure to enjoy your victories this week.  Go out and celebrate that hard-earned fantasy win.  I suggest a nice dinner, accompanied by the adult beverage of your choosing.  Just make sure it's not TOO nice, cause you don't want Roger Goodell mailing you a penalty flag for "excessive quality of food and beverage consumption."

That fine is killer.

 




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

P.J. Washington

is Ruled Out for Thursday's Contest
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

is Returning on Thursday
Daniel Jones

Colts Plan to Re-Sign Daniel Jones
Darius Garland

to Play on Thursday
Anthony Edwards

Active Thursday
Coby White

to Play with Minutes Limit on Thursday
Ace Bailey

Sidelined on Thursday
Kevin Huerter

Won't Play on Thursday
Andrew Nembhard

Won't Play on Thursday
Brandon Miller

is Cleared for Thursday's Game
LaMelo Ball

Upgraded to Available on Thursday
Kevin Love

Available For Thursday
Kawhi Leonard

Suffers Ankle Injury, Considered Questionable for Friday
Jamie Drysdale

Unavailable Against Maple Leafs
Bobby Brink

Sits Out Thursday
Simon Nemec

Back for Devils Thursday
Jusuf Nurkić

Jusuf Nurkic Questionable For Thursday Against Mavs
Troy Terry

Misses Thursday's Game
Alexis Lafrenière

Alexis Lafreniere Good to Go Against Sabres
Brad Marchand

Out Thursday
Ace Bailey

Considered Questionable Versus Dallas
Evgeni Malkin

Set to Return Thursday
Anthony Edwards

Questionable for Thursday
Davante Adams

Off the Injury Report, Will Play Against Carolina
Bo Bichette

Phillies to Meet With Bo Bichette
Rome Odunze

Will Return for Wild-Card Game on Saturday
CFB

DJ Lagway Commits to Baylor
Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Fire Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Matvei Michkov

Expected to Play Thursday
Alex Lyon

to Miss at Least One More Week
Mason Marchment

Placed on Injured Reserve, Out Week-to-Week
Alexis Lafrenière

Alexis Lafreniere Battling Illness, Iffy for Thursday
J.T. Miller

Likely to Return Thursday
Adam Henrique

Out Through Olympic Break
Dean Wade

Ruled Out Thursday
Brandon Williams

Questionable for Thursday
P.J. Washington

Doubtful Thursday
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Questionable Thursday
Donovan Mitchell

Available Thursday
Corey Kispert

Hawks Land Corey Kispert
Sam LaPorta

Plans to be Back for Training Camp
Owen Caissie

Shipped to Miami as Centerpiece of Trade
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Officially Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
Nathan Walker

Ready to End 16-Game Absence
Rutger McGroarty

Out Indefinitely With Concussion
Kevin Stenlund

a Game-Time Call Wednesday
Ty Dellandrea

Ruled Out Wednesday
Adam Erne

Misses Wednesday's Action
Tom Wilson

Aliaksei Protas Won't Play Wednesday
Anze Kopitar

Out Wednesday
Rome Odunze

Plans to Play on Saturday
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Finalizing Deal to Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
New York Giants

Giants "All-In" on Hiring John Harbaugh
CFB

Jackson Arnold Signs with UNLV
CFB

Sam Leavitt Scheduled to Visit Tennessee
Devon Toews

to Miss at Least Two Weeks
New York Giants

John Harbaugh Expected to be Favorite to Become New Giants Head Coach
Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh Won't Return as Ravens Head Coach
Bo Bichette

Unlikely to Return to Toronto?
Jordan Love

Ready to Start in Wild-Card Game Against Bears
CFB

Jadan Baugh Staying with Florida for Junior Season
Washington Commanders

Commanders "Mutually" Parting Ways With OC Kliff Kingsbury
CFB

Byrum Brown Officially Commits to Auburn
CFB

Austin Simmons Signing with Missouri
CFB

Ty Simpson Undecided on 2026 Plans
CFB

Quarterback AJ Hill Following Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Have Requested an Interview With Klint Kubiak
Deshaun Watson

Browns Expect Deshaun Watson to be on the Team Next Year
Wan'Dale Robinson

Dealing With Fractured Ribs
Cam Skattebo

Hopes to be Back by Training Camp
Cameron Ward

Won't Need Surgery on his Shoulder
Davante Adams

Rams Expect Davante Adams to Return in Wild-Card Round
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Fire Head Coach Jonathan Gannon
Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders Fire Head Coach Pete Carroll
Malik Nabers

Unsure if He Will Be Ready for Week 1 of 2026 Season
CFB

Trinidad Chambliss Will Return to Ole Miss If Granted Sixth Year of Eligibility
Cincinnati Bengals

Zac Taylor Will Return as Bengals Head Coach in 2026
Bo Bichette

Phillies Have Interest in Bo Bichette
Kansas City Royals

Matt Quatraro Signs Three-Year Extension With Royals
CFB

Transfer QB Billy Edwards Commits to North Carolina
CFB

Sam Leavitt Visiting Texas Tech on Saturday
CFB

DJ Lagway Expected To Visit Florida State
Kyle Tucker

Blue Jays "Remain the Favorite" to Sign Kyle Tucker

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP