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Week 4 of the NFL season continued to provide fans with some great matchups that went down to the wire. However, with plenty of injuries to skill players and weather issues in a few anticipated matchups, some unexpected faces had to show up and contribute to their offenses.
Another week has come and gone, and hopefully there are more healthy days on the horizon for NFL stars. It's often a war of attrition in the NFL with the teams finding the most success each season also being the teams that can keep as many of their players in the lineup on a weekly basis.
Bad weather or not, some unexpected names put up some big numbers in the box score. Let’s dive right into who had the most surprising boom performances in Week 4.
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Fantasy Football Risers - Surprise Performances
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
In a battle between two struggling defenses, Geno Smith ended up having a strong performance in real football and fantasy football. In addition to getting Seattle a win, Smith continued his surprising run of productive play with a monster stat line.
He completed 23-of-30 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns while also having seven rushes for 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground. In addition to his counting stats, he also had a quarterback rating of 132.6. This statistical total for Smith was a career day for him and it added up to 31.7 fantasy points.
.@Seahawks QB @GenoSmith3 has a 77.3 completion percentage (102 of 132) through his first four games this season, the highest completion percentage (minimum 125 attempts) by a quarterback in his first four games of a season in NFL history. #GoHawks
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) October 3, 2022
It was a great performance for sure, but a lot of the success can be attributed to the Detroit Lions having a pretty bad defense all around. Geno has been having a surprising year for himself, but based on his performances against more impressive defenses, he can be left on waivers unless you’re desperate for a quarterback.
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Geno Smith was the only quarterback to outscore him in fantasy points during Week 4. Geno and the Seahawks got ahead of the Lions early so that pretty much put Jared Goff and the rest of the Detroit offense in a negative game script for nearly the entire game. Those circumstances led to Goff having one of his most productive statistical performances since his time with the Los Angeles Rams.
Against the Seahawks' defense, the former first overall pick completed 26-of-39 passes for 378 yards for four touchdowns and one pick-six. That performance rewarded those that started him in fantasy with 33.22 points on the day.
.@JaredGoff16 hits @TheeHOCK8 for six! #OnePride
📺: #SEAvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/CvE1Ql7jkg pic.twitter.com/BMGd3RioCV— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2022
For Goff, a lot of this performance can be contributed to the lack of defense played in this game as Goff was given plenty of opportunities on offense. However, it should be taken into account that the Lions were missing their WR1, WR2, and RB1 in this game. So, with that taken into account, his performance looks even more impressive.
Goff was already being looked at as a filler quarterback for fantasy rosters prior to this week. But now it appears that he might be able to be trusted as an every-week starter, especially when all of Detroit’s weapons return from injury.
Mo Alie-Cox, Indianapolis Colts
One of the few bright spots for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 was the strong play from their tight end, Mo Alie-Cox. The 6’6’’ towering pass catcher had himself by far his best game of the season as he caught all six of his targets for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Those stats resulted in 23.5 Half-PPR fantasy points in Week 4.
The Colts have gotten into a habit of favoring their tight ends in the passing game during the early portion of the 2022 season. Rookie Jelani Woods had two touchdowns last week, Kylen Granson saw some work, and now Mo Alie-Cox had himself a blow-up game.
The tight ends both clearly have a role in this offense, but it’s going to be hard to predict which one of them is going to perform well on a weekly basis. Mo Alie-Cox should be a player that fantasy managers keep their eye on, but this could easily be a one-week performance from a player that has had his share of one-hit wonders in the past.
Jamal Agnew, Jacksonville Jaguars
The resurrection of an Urban Meyer favorite is not a development that most had on their bingo card for the 2022 season. After his miraculous usage in the 2021 season, Jamal Agnew was more of an afterthought heading into 2022, and for good reason. The Jaguars picked up plenty of receiving weapons in the offseason that relegated Agnew to limited usage.
But here in Week 4, Jacksonville was missing Zay Jones, which brought Agnew back into a relevant role in this offense. In a game that was a mess for both teams due to poor weather, Agnew finished with four receptions on six targets for 50 yards and two touchdowns. That performance resulted in 19 Half-PPR fantasy points on the day.
Jamal Agnew is an interesting player and he could be a solid Swiss Army Knife for this offense. But this performance shouldn’t be focused on too much, as his current role most likely won’t offer much consistent fantasy upside.
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
Now, this isn’t a boom performance from an unexpected source. But based on Miles Sanders’ track record with the Eagles, it was a bit surprising to see how heavily Philadelphia leaned on the running back to produce for this offense.
This game was heavily influenced by mother nature as rain poured down on the field for the entire game. This caused Eagles’ strong passing attack to be limited as they reverted back to the run-first playstyle they used for most of the 2021 season.
That playstyle led to Sanders seeing a career-high of 27 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns, along with two receptions for 22 yards. This great day for the former Nittany Lion resulted in him being one of the top-scoring running backs on the week with 28.6 Half-PPR fantasy points.
Miles Sanders evens the score in Philly!
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/pzn2kdH3xp pic.twitter.com/yoWJuOkxkG— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2022
While this game is a great sign for Sanders’ fantasy value, this may be the perfect opportunity to sell high. Every game isn’t going to be played in a monsoon, and the Eagles’ run game is not going to be used this heavily for the remainder of the season. Sanders is a very talented back, but this is looking like the ideal time to capitalize on his current value for a player with more consistent upside.
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