Believe it or not, we might have actually seen the injury bug settle back down to normal levels after week four. This was the first Sunday of the season in which injuries seemed to be a much less significant part of the narrative compared to the first three weeks. That being said, there were still some plenty of interesting story lines to take note of throughout the day.

 

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

“Is Ben Roethlisberger’s other leg ok? I think even a one legged Ben Roethlisberger would be a better kicker than Josh Scobee.” – Me, watching this game in real time. Jokes aside, the Steelers managed to move the ball well enough with Michael Vick under center but couldn’t capitalize on some key possessions. Most notably, Antonio Brown dropped what could have been a 30-yard touchdown pass from Vick that could have turned both players’ fantasy days completely around. Neither guy had a bad game but it’s frustrating knowing how much better it should have been. If Antonio makes that catch, we’re looking at Michael Vick as a legit QB2/bye week fill in and not worrying about Antonio in Ben’s absence. Running back Le’Veon Bell proved once again why he was worth the number one overall pick even with his two game suspension, totaling 150 yards with an extremely impressive touchdown run to boot. This offense will be ok until Roethlisberger returns; it just won’t have the same level of superstar fantasy potential through the air we’ve grown accustomed to.

Justin Forsett had a big bounce back game here for the Ravens, finishing with 27 rushes for 150 yards. One game isn’t enough for me to change my mind about Forsett long-term but I will say that next week’s matchup against the Browns should be one he can take advantage of. Cleveland has been terrible against the run this year so look for Forsett to put together another solid outing. After that, I’m back on board on selling high. Steve Smith left this game with what has been described as both a back and a rib injury. Smith is ridiculously tough so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Ravens were hesitant to declare him out for next week but nevertheless, he wont’ be suiting up anytime soon. It’s a wait and see situation here and I’d take the fact that the team brought in Chris Givens as a sign that this injury could linger longer than initially thought.

 

New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins in London

In a game that ended up getting head coach Joe Philbin fired, the Miami Dolphins looked absolutely horrendous on both sides of the ball. Ryan Tannehill looked lost in the pocket, throwing for just 198 yards and two interceptions. Granted, he did still manage to finish with two touchdowns but this is a team that was expected to make major strides offensively this year. With Lamar Miller struggling and the air attack spreading the ball around fairly thing, I don’t think you can trust starting anyone not named Jarvis Landry at this point. Landry remains a PPR option but other than that, I’m benching everyone until they show me something, defense included.

Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall have turned out to be fantasy studs within the New York offense. Ivory in particular had a monster day here with 166 yards with a touchdown and could have easily had another if it weren’t for Zac Stacy stealing one away. I’ve said before that Marshall should be viewed as a top-15 wide receiver going forward but that might have actually been too low. He’s crept up into top 10 or 12 territory now with Chris Ivory not far behind him at running back. This offense is extremely underrated.

 

Oakland Raiders @ Chicago Bears

The Raiders were a trendy pick against what everyone thought would be an abysmal Bears team but as it turned out, this game ended up going Chicago’s way at the last second. Both Latavius Murray and Michael Crabtree left this game for Oakland before managing to return. I was initially hesitant to jump on board the Crabtree bandwagon and it looks like I was wrong on that front. He keeps churning out solid enough performances to warrant WR3/flex consideration depending on the size/format of your league. His five receptions and 80 yards would have certainly been serviceable this week so he’s well worth an add at this point.

Jay Cutler returned for the Bears here, giving the team a desperately needed boost offensively. Martellus Bennett and Eddie Royal were the beneficiaries of Cutler’s return with each player reeling in a touchdown. Bennett in particular has turned out to be superb at his position this year as shown by his 11 receptions for 83 yards here. He's entrenched in the same tight end class as Greg Olsen and Travis Kelce going forward, even after Alshon Jeffery returns. As for Royal, his seven recptions were enough to make him a PPR play which is what he should continue to be at least until Jeffery is fully healthy. It would appear that the “abandon all hope” mindset regarding Chicago’s season may have been a bit premature. Still, with rumors of possible trades regarding Jeffery and Matt Forte, this offense could still turn out to be an abomination by week eight.

 

New York Giants @ Buffalo Bills

There really isn’t much to report as far as the New York Giants are concerned other than the fact that this backfield continues to be as confusing as possible. Shane Vereen, the expected PPR back, ended up having zero receptions here and it was actually Rashad Jennings who broke off a big reception for a touchdown. It looks like the Giants are going to continue to mix and match Jennings, Vereen, and Andre Williams so your guess is as good as mine as it relates to figuring out which guy to start any given week. The only other thing I should mention is to just chalk this up as a dud game for Odell Beckham Jr. Nothing you can do about one poor outing.

As expected, LeSean McCoy sat out for the Bills, opening the door for everyone and their mother to start Karlos Williams. It looked pretty grim for a while before Williams had a touchdown reception late in the game. Listen, with McCoy now looking at a 3-4 week absence, you have to start Williams if you own him unless you have ridiculous depth at the position. I know his 18 rushes for 40 yards isn’t great but there are very few RBs that will see a better usage-to-production ratio than Karlos Williams. Another Buffalo Bill worth starting going forward is that of tight end Charles Clay. Clay has sneakily turned into a PPR machine, finishing this game with nine receptions for 111 yards. He actually had a touchdown called back that would have turned his day into an even more impressive outing. With so many tight ends banged up and struggling, Clay’s back-to-back big games automatically put him in the 8-12 range at the position. Lastly, Tyrod Taylor struggled in this game but did have a total of two touchdowns called back due to penalty. Again, not much you can do about that if you took the gamble in starting Taylor. He’s still worth trotting out in a deeper league, especially for any owner who has lost Tony Romo or Ben Roethlisberger.

 

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The more Cam Newton tucks and runs with the ball, the less confident I am that Jonathan Stewart can end up as a top-20 running back. The volume of touches just isn’t there as many hoped they would be. 10 rushes for 50 yards isn’t going to get it done, even with that misleading five yards per carry. Newton himself ran 12 times for 51 and it doesn’t appear like that’s going to slow down anytime soon. Still, a starting running back in the NFL has value so it’s difficult to completely cut bait on Stewart. As I’ve said before, it’s best to just play the matchups with him. As far as the team’s passing game is concerned, Greg Olsen took a backseat to Ted Ginn Jr, as far as touchdowns were concerned. Ginn had two touchdowns which might be enticing if it weren’t for the fact that they were his only two receptions of the game. Whatever; Greg Olsen is still the only pass catcher worth starting on Carolina.

Jameis Winston looked absolutely horrible as he threw four interceptions but did manage to get wide receiver Vincent Jackson heavily involved. Jackson finished with 147 yards and a touchdown while fellow receiver Mike Evans struggled to just five receptions for 37. The big breakout day for Evans is coming it’s just that with a rookie quarterback and a veteran receiver on the rebound, there are going to be days where the volume just isn’t there. I still believe in Evans as a high-end WR2 so don’t panic just yet. That said, Vincent Jackson can now be utilized as low-end WR2 going forward.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts

With Andrew Luck out, the Indianapolis Colts turned to longtime veteran Matt Hasselbeck under center. Hasselbeck was by no means terrible in this game but obviously didn’t possess the same firepower that Andrew Luck has shown within this offense. Ironically, Luck has struggled this year as it is so it’s plausible that not much would have changed this week anyway. Either way, the big standout for the Colts was that of tight end Coby Fleener. With Dwayne Allen out, Fleener turned out to be Hasselbeck’s primary receiving target with nine receptions 83 yards and a touchdown. The Colts are on a short week with a Thursday game against the Texans so Fleeener might be a viable option at tight end if Allen, Luck, or both are out once again. Frank Gore and T.Y. Hilton were rather disappointing in this game. With Gore, he’s showing some decent runs but he keeps fumbling. Hopefully he sees more scoring opportunities as this offense improves. Same goes for T.Y. Hilton; hang tight, the big games are coming.

As for the Jaguars, how about wide receiver Allen Hurns? Hurns how has four consecutive games with 60 yards and has actually seen that yardage total increase in each game. Sunday’s outing saw him finish with 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. The Jaguars have somehow managed to yield us two pass-catching options in Hurns and Allen Robinson so it’ll be interesting to see what this offense looks like once tight end Julius Thomas returns. Until then, I have no issue starting Hurns in a deeper league.

 

Houston Texans @ Atlanta Falcons

The much-anticipated 2015 debut of Arian Foster was met with disappointment as he only ended up with 35 total yards and a fumble. Certainly better days are ahead for Foster so it’s best to just chalk this up as a work in progress. It’s possible that the Arian Foster owner in your league is panicking after his lackluster debut so it’s wroth sending out an offer to gauge his perceived value. I have no issues starting him at running back on the short week against Indianapolis.

Perhaps the biggest story to come out of week four is the continued dominance by Atlanta running back Devonta Freeman. Freeman has now had an absurd two-week stretch, finishing this game with another three-touchdown performance. I can’t possibly imagine the Falcons turning back to Tevin Coleman after how absurd Freeman’s been lately so you’re going to have ride this one out until the wheels fall off. If you’re thinking about selling high, good luck, because I highly doubt you’re going to be able to get as good of a player as you think you can. As far as the passing game is concerned, Leonard Hankerson continues to outplay Roddy White at wide receiver as evidenced by his 103-yard day with a touchdown. Given the right matchup or bye week play, Hankerson could easily be used as a flex play within this offense.

 

Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals

If I had told you that quarterback Alex Smith would throw for 386 yards surely you would have guessed that he would have also thrown at least one touchdown right? Well, you’d be shockingly disappointed as the Chiefs managed to put up 21 points without getting into the endzone. Jeremy Maclin had a monster PPR day with 11 receptions and 148 yards, showing that when this offense can string together a drive he can be a productive fantasy play. It’s just a shame that this team couldn’t score any touchdowns but at least we know that Alex Smith is finally looking for his top wide receiver. I was worried that Maclin was a sell high last week but now that he’s done it twice in a row, I’m back on board with him going forward. We’ll revisit his production in another week or two and see if he can keep it going.

Say what you want about Giovani Bernard eating into Jeremy Hill’s workload but the fact of the matter is you can’t argue with three touchdowns for Hill. Admittedly, the touches are a lot closer than I would like yet I’m still sticking to my guns on Hill. Given the amount of other disappointing highly drafted running backs like C.J. Anderson, DeMarco Murray, and LeSean McCoy, it could be far worse for Hill. Running back has been brutal this year so take what you can get with him. As for Gio Bernard, he’s turned out be a viable low-end RB2/flex option and it doesn’t look like that’s going away any time soon. That’s a big surprise to me considering how much everyone expected the workload to shift in Hill’s favor.

 

Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins

The Eagles have gone from fantasy darlings to a fantasy nightmare over the course of just four weeks. Heading into the season, running back DeMarco Murray and wide receiver Jordan Matthews were viewed as surefire fantasy studs. Now, it’s looking like the backfield is a total mess and Matthews is volume dependent. That’s not to say things won’t turn around but it’s a shame that this isn’t as potent of an offensive threat as expected. I still believe in Matthews as a top-15 wide receiver going forward but I’ve been advocating hitting the panic button on Murray for weeks now. The only other interesting tidbit offensively for the Eagles is that of quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford had a nice game here, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns. There was a lot of hype surrounding the potential of a healthy Sam Bradford finishing the year as a top-12 fantasy quarterback and if this game is any indication, the upside is still there. If you’re hurting at QB due to the injuries to Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger or just flat out swung and missed on someone like Ryan Tannehill, see if the Bradford owner in your league is willing to deal him at low value.

The Washington backfield continues to be a situation to avoid as Alfred Morris went back to outrunning Matt Jones in this game. It certainly doesn’t help that the Redskins keep bringing Chris Thompson into the rotation as well so I think it’s time to just put all of these guys on your bench until one of them is able to break out. Passing wise, Kirk Cousins is showing that he can do just enough to keep his wide receivers involved. Pierre Garcon isn’t much more than a PPR option right now but as long as Cousins is serviceable it should bode well for DeSean Jackson upon his return.

 

Cleveland Browns @ San Diego Chargers

Speaking of running backs you can now sit until further notice, Melvin Gordon failed to take advantage of an abysmal Cleveland run defense. This was supposed to be Gordon’s big breakout week and if he can’t do it against the Browns, who can he do it against? Not only that but Danny Woodhead is actually out touching and outplaying him as well. I’m just not certain that Gordon can be viewed as a dependable fantasy option this season, especially if he can’t take advantage of easy matchups. Of course, you might be stuck with him as your RB2 if you don’t have better options (I’m speaking from experience here) but in general, I’d look elsewhere for a starter. Keenan Allen continues to prove me wrong so it’s looking like I’m just going to have to take this one on the chin. I can’t believe I’m saying this but it looks like he’s officially a WR2 for the year. Watch, now that I’ve given into the resurgence hype he’s going to plummet back down to obscurity the rest of the season. By the way, both Stevie Johnson and Malcolm Floyd left with injuries in this game so it’ll be interesting to see how productive the returning Antonio Gates is right away. I’d imagine that him and fellow tight end LaDarius Green will split reps while Gates gets re-acclimated to the offense.

On the Browns side of the ball running back Duke Johnson finally broke out here, specifically in the passing game. He racked up a total of 116 yards and a touchdown, 85 of which came on nine receptions. Even if Isaiah Crowell is going to get the bulk of the carries out of the backfield, it’s clear that Johnson is the more reliable pass-catcher. He’s the running back I’d rather own on Cleveland going forward and should be one of the top waiver wire pickups this week. I’m ready to insert him into any sort of PPR lineup where I’m lacking depth. Somehow, Travis Benjamin continues to put up numbers in a shaky passing offense. At some point you just have to look at the stats and recognize production so if Benjamin is still available in your league, he’s worth an add based on pure upside.

 

St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals

Todd Gurley has arrived. How does 146 rushing yards sound for your NFL debut? In just one game Gurley went from speculative fantasy draft pick with upside to being in the top 10-12 running back discussion. With how inconsistent the position has been this year, it’s hard to argue with that viewpoint. In fact, it looks like Gurley is an automatic must start in all formats going forward. This is an offense that wants to run the ball given their questionable quarterback situation so it’s all systems go on Gurley. Wide receiver Tavon Austin racked up 96 yards with two touchdowns in this game so I suppose he’s worth adding in deeper leagues. The problem is, when can you really feel confident in starting Tavon Austin? I would hope you have better options on your bench by now.

Carson Palmer put up his first sub-par game of the season for the Arizona Cardinals in this game but even still, 352 yards and a touchdown isn’t all that bad. Palmer has surprisingly sky rocketed up the quarterback ranks for the season so I still feel pretty confident using him as my starter. As far as his weapons are concerned, the Larry Fitzgerald bounce back continued here to the tune of seven receptions for 99 yards. Between Fitzgerald and John Brown, this is a wide receiver tandem that is going to be mutually beneficial for the entire passing game. I believe both receivers are usable any given week. As far as the ground game is concerned, this was probably the last week you could have started running back Chris Johnson with confidence. With Andre Ellington expected to return next week, we could be looking at an unfortunate three-headed monster between Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington, and David Johnson. I wouldn’t use any guy as anything more than a flex play until we see some clarity at the position.

 

Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers

Aside from Davante Adams missing this game with a bum ankle, there honestly isn’t much to discuss on the Packers side of the ball. Aaron Rodgers obviously didn’t have a repeat performance of his five touchdown day against Kansas City but no one is allowed to complain about owning Aaron freakin’ Rodgers. James Jones continues to be the waiver wire MVP thus far and Eddie Lacy has proven why he was deserving of a top-5 overall pick this year. Nothing else to see here folks.

I could make a joke about how there isn’t anything to see in the San Francisco 49ers offense either but I’ll be a little nicer than that. (Emphasis on “a little.”) Colin Kaepernick was terrible once again here and this team is really looking like the dumpster fire many expected it to be. Aside from Carlos Hyde’s massive week one showing, we haven’t really seen anything of significance offensively. I’m not totally bailing on Hyde just yet but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned. I think this is another case of being stuck with what you got at this point as I don’t think you’re going to be satisfied with any sort of trade offer you receive for Hyde. Even with that in mind, you have to continue to start him if you own him. I don’t think his dominance in week one was a fluke, it’s just a matter of coming back down to earth as a mid-range RB2 as opposed to the massive breakout it appeared to be.

 

Minnesota Vikings @ Denver Broncos

Alright, there’s really only one topic anyone wants to address as it pertains to the Denver Broncos and that’s the running back situation regarding C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. The fact of the matter is, this is a committee whether we or like it or not. Having said that, Hillman has clearly and definitively been outplaying Anderson since August. His 72-yard touchdown run might skew the raw rushing totals but even with that in mind, it’s looking like the Broncos are going to start utilizing Hillman more going forward. With a nice matchup against the Raiders looming, I would honestly start Hillman over Anderson if I owned both guys. As someone who only owns Hillman in one league, I’m probably going to trot him out there as my flex. Anderson just isn’t getting it done and now that we’ve seen Hillman break a big touchdown run, it’s time to make the change. Either roll with Hillman or wait it out to see which running back takes hold of the job. I’m going with option one.

As for the Vikings, Adrian Peterson is the only player you can start on a week-to-week basis. Charles Johnson missed this game, allowing Mike Wallace to reel in eight receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. Interestingly, rookie Stefon Diggs filled in nicely for Charles Johnson, finishing with six receptions and 87 yards of his own. I wouldn’t read to much into that as Johnson will reclaim his starting gig upon his return. Like I said, Peterson is the only player you can rely on within this offense.

 

Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints

This game turned out to be a nail biter that was won via a terrific passing touchdown to C.J. Spiller in overtime. Overall, it was nice to see Spiller become more involved in the offense as the Saints had publicly stated that was an area of concern for them. Running back Mark Ingram is clearly the workhorse back on this team so Spiller’s touches are automatically going to be limited. Even still, Spiller possesses significant enough PPR value to warrant a start; especially with the likes of wide receiver Brandin Cooks struggling. I bailed on Cooks last week as nothing more than a WR2 in PPR and it’s looking like that was the right call. In fact, I might have been too gentle about that. The Saints have gone back to spreading the ball so thin that no wide receiver is maintaining any sort of consistency. I honestly believe that next week’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles is going to showcase a lot more dink-and-dunk plays that utilize Spiller and Ingram effectively. I’m sure one of the team’s wide receivers will find the endzone, it’s just impossible to predict who at this point.

With Lance Dunbar reportedly done for the season wit a torn ACL, Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden will resume the majority of the workload out of the backfield for Dallas. Dunbar was turning into a legit PPR threat given Brandon Weeden’s reliance on dump off passes so it’s a shame to see him get hurt just as he was finding his stride. I’d look for the Cowboys to add another running back this week with tight end Jason Witten picking up the slack as far as receptions are concerned. Again, I can’t trust any Dallas wide receiver until Tony Romo comes back so the only Cowboys I’m willing to start are Randle and Witten.

 

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