Late on the Week 4 picks due to some technical difficulties but we’re live now. Last week we saw a ton of upsets and a new leader in overall picks. Week 4 proves to be just as difficult. Let’s take a look.
CONSENSUS PICKS: 15-5 (LW: 4-3)
CONSENSUS PICKS: NO, NE, ATL, TEN, ARI, SEA, KC
This was one of those weeks that reminded everyone why NFL on Sundays is one of the best things ever. We had last second finishes in New England, Detroit, and Philadelphia — all equally as thrilling. This was the hardest week to narrow down to just five plays and we had to leave out some thrilling plays. Here’s our best attempt at the Top 5 for the week.
#5. Ol’ Man Fitz Refuses to Give Up
Larry Fitzgerald refused to give up on this catch and brings it down after the bobble and near interception by the defender. We saw a vintage Fitzgerald performance which was certainly highlighted by this catch. It’s always good to see Fitz in the spotlight and hopefully we’ll see more of this going forward.
#4. Marcus William Snags the Interception with One Hand
Cam Newton got bullied by a defense that has been proclaimed to be leaky and soft. Marcus Williams was able to snag one of the three interceptions that Newton threw on this play. The focus after the deflection, combined with the one handed catch, brings this play to our #4 spot.
#3. Jordan Leslie off the Practice Squad
The Browns went into Indy as road favorites but came up just short. The ragtag bunch of WRs that they ran onto the field had 8 (!!) drops and 4 offensive pass interference penalties. Jordan Leslie, newly promoted from the practice squad had a ridiculous catch that set up a goal to go situation — he lands on our #3 spot.
#2. The Rookie hits from 61 yards
This will probably be the only time a GW FG will make this list but it was impossible to ignore this. Jake Elliot kicked this one from the bird in midfield to send the Eagles out with a W against a heated division rival. This kick sunk the Giants to 0-3 and lands #2 on our list.
#1. Cooks with the Toe-Tap
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before but Tom Brady got the ball in a 2 minute drill and won the game. He threw a missile to Brandin Cooks for the TD with a fantastic toe tap in the end-zone. Cooks had an excellent day and this is exactly the connection that Patriots fans were waiting for. The Cooks catch was easily the play of the week — perhaps the season.
Dumb Play of the Week
The completion of Week 3 gives us some standout fantasy stars. We saw a lot of similar faces this week but we also saw the inclusion of players that we would never expect to even crack a roster. Todd Gurley leads our week 3 Team of the Week so let’s meet the rest of the members.
QB: Tom Brady (2nd appearance)
25/35, 378 yds, 5 TD
35.72 points
We have our first two time appearance in a week that brought us a lot of high scoring performers. Brady took his masterclass in week 2 and improved on it to remind us why he is considered the greatest of all time. Brady absolutely torched the Texans and had a key final drive, highlighted by a 3rd down conversion to Amendola and a highlight reel TD to Cooks. The 40 year old checks in as the QB of the week once again.
RB: Todd Gurley II (2nd appearance)
28 att, 113 yds, 2 TD
5 rec, 36 yds, 1 TD
37.90 points
Gurley also makes his second appearance on the team of the week with a stunning performance on Thursday night. Gurley worked against the Niners’ defense at will and had already recorded three TDs in the first half. The Niners had no answer for him as he raked up the most fantasy points of the week.
RB: Jordan Howard (1st appearance)
23 att, 138 yds, 2 TD
5 rec, 26 yds
31.40 points
An NFC North running back occupies the second running back spot for the second straight week — just not the one anybody would have expected after a 0.7 point performance in Week 2. Howard lead the Bears to a victory over the Steelers, including a walk off touchdown. Howard rewarded the owners that drafted him early with a very solid week.
WR: Stefon Diggs (2nd appearance)
8 rec, 173 yds, 2 TD
37.30 points
Another NFC North member and previous TOTW member makes our team of the week. Diggs had a standout day as the top WR in the league fantasy wise with a monster statline while being thrown at by Case Keenum. As bizarre as this game was, Keenum looked good and that was in no doubt credit to Diggs. Diggs looks to get his QB1 back and continue to churn out TOTW spots.
WR: Larry Fitzgerald (1st appearance)
13 rec, 149 yds, 1 TD
33.90 points
Ol’ Man Fitz makes his first appearance on the team of the week with 13 (!!) receptions on Sunday night in a losing effort against the Cowboys. This was reassuring due to the fact that he hadn’t been producing at a high level and looked like he lost a step. He had 7 receptions alone in the first quarter and proved that he’s still in the conversation for a solid WR2.
TE: Marcedes Lewis (1st appearance)
4 rec, 62 yards, 3 TD
28.20 points
If you had Marcedes Lewis penciled in as your overall best TE this week, you’re probably lying. The Jaguar TE racked up a whopping 0 points before going off and grabbing 3 TDs this week. Nobody saw this coming and he’s owned in roughly 1 percent of leagues on Yahoo. He should remain involved in the offense after this showing but I wouldn’t expect to see him on this list again.
FLEX: WR Brandin Cooks (1st appearance)
5 rec, 131 yds, 2 TD
32.10 points
A WR finally takes the flex spot in the TOTW and who better than the former Saint who found a nice home in New England. This game was the reason the Patriots went out and traded for Cooks, highlighted by the game winning touchdown on a perfect toe tap in the corner of the end zone. Cooks had his way with the defense and getting on a rhythm with Tom Brady is huge going forward for owners. Cooks finally breaks out and looks to follow it up next week against the Panthers.
K: Matt Prater (1st appearance)
1 30-39 fg, 1 40-49 fg, 2 50+ fg, 2 PAT
19.00 points
The Lions’ kicker ended up with 19 points, also on par with Buffalo’s Hauschka but we gave Prater the nod on this one for his consistency this season. Prater has been absolutely money from over 50 yards and the way this Lions offense is operating, looks to be a good option going forward.
DEF: Washington Redskins (1st appearance)
10 pts against, 4 sacks, 2 INT, 1 fum rec
19.00 points
Four defenses tie for this spot (Bengals, Saints, Jets) but we’re going to give the nod to a Redskins defense that absolutely bullied the Raiders around. The Raiders and their high powered offense took a trip to FedEx Field and could not get anything at all going. Carr finished the night with 118 yards and the Redskins were never in doubt of losing this game thanks to their defense. They finish this week’s TOTW.
This week’s team shatters the record set by Week 1’s team and it’ll be interesting to see if this can be topped. This was a very draftable team and just goes to show how anything can happen on any given week. We saw multiple returners to this team with some coming up just short of making the list (Kareem Hunt, we’re lookin’ at you). Onto Week 4 of this crazy NFL season.
Week 1 – 254.72
Week 2 – 233.68
Week 2 was a solid week for picks as most of the chalk teams won which reflected in all of the writer’s records this week. All of the writers managed to get in the double digits for the win column. Tyler edged out the week in first with 12 wins, while everyone else had 11 wins. Kevin stays at #1 thanks to a solid week 1 performance. The consensus picks were able to go 6-0 so let’s look to this week to see how things pan out.
CONSENSUS PICKS: 11-2 (LW: 6-0)
CONSENSUS PICKS: BAL, TB, NE, MIA, PHI, GB, KC
Another week, another top ranked team falls in embarrassing fashion. The Green Bay Packers followed up a statement win against the Seahawks (who are starting to look like their offense doesn’t know how to move the ball at all) by falling flat on their face on Sunday Night Football against the Falcons 34-23. The score looked closer than the gym was — Atlanta was able to score with ease and control the night. Another top ranked team that was unable to get anything going was the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were blessed with a trip to Mile High and got completely exposed by the Denver defense AND offense. The Broncos are starting to look like the team that went to back to back championships and I’m sure the AFC is on notice early in the season.
1) Atlanta Falcons (2-0) Last Week: #7
The Falcons were able to bounce back from a weak win against the Bears and beat down a good Green Bay Packers team. Atlanta is starting to look like the favorite in the NFC again.
2) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0)Last Week: #2
The Steelers stay in the two spot thanks in part to a solid victory of a Vikings team missing Sam Bradford. We still haven’t seen anything outstanding from the Steelers but they’ve got the job done. An easy trip to Chicago is next on the schedule.
3) Kansas City Chiefs (2-0)Last Week: #4
The Chiefs also stay close to their same spot as last week but look to be challenging for the top. A win over Andy Reid’s old employers shows us that the season opener was not a fluke. The Chiefs look to continue their run against a Chargers team who has barely missed out on a potential 2-0 start.
4) Oakland Raiders (2-0)Last Week: #5
The Jets were in the bay area last weekend and the Raiders did exactly what we expected to them to do — dismantle them. Crabtree caught 3 TDs and Marshawn danced the night away to put the Raiders in the four spot.
5) Denver Broncos (2-0)Last Week: #10
The Broncos are looking real dangerous behind a revived CJ Anderson and a poised Trevor Siemian. Their defense is making plays — highlighted by a 103 yd interception return by Aqib Talib. Nobody wants to go to Mile High regardless but especially when the Broncos look like this. A potential trap game at Buffalo is next before an AFC West showdown with the Raiders.
6) New England Patriots (1-1)Last Week: #6
Tom Brady broke the Saints defense before the second quarter even started, having his best ever performance in a first quarter. The Patriots were never in danger in this one but saw Gronk go down to an injury. He says he’s good to go and we’re seeing the return of Amendola, Hightower, and Slater this week but the injury concerns have to be taken serious in Foxborough. A date with Houston at home is next.
7) Detroit Lions (2-0)Last Week: #11
The Lions are starting to look like a team that has finally figured it out — taking an early division lead in a tough NFC North. The Giants looked dreadful on Monday night but the Lions were able to capitalize and look like a strong team in the process. Stafford leads the league with 6 passing TDs.
8) Green Bay Packers (1-1)Last Week: #1
The Packers stay in the top 10 only because of the talent that they have on the offensive side of the ball. They came out flat in an early statement game and looked to not even be on the same level as Atlanta. The Packers have a bounce-back game at home against the hapless Bengals.
9) Baltimore Ravens (2-0)Last Week: #12
The Ravens have two convincing wins but they both came from two teams that are not the most impressive. The defense has looked like the older Ravens’ defenses but we need to see them against an offense that can move the ball. We may not see this until after this week, as the Ravens are in London with the Jaguars.
10) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)Last Week: #14
The Bucs looked damn good to start the season against the Bears. One garbage-time TD away from a shutout, Winston and the offense didn’t have to do much as Tampa took a big lead early. Although it was against the Bears, the Bucs will love taking this confidence into an away game against the Vikings.
11) Dallas Cowboys (1-1)Last Week: #3
The Cowboys looked like one of the worst teams in the league against Denver, but we know that’s not the case — for now. Dak Prescott looked painfully average and Ezekiel Elliot was completely shut down. Did Denver crack the code for stopping the Cowboys? Could be interesting to see going forward — Dallas has a Monday night primetime game against the Cardinals.
12) Seattle Seahawks (1-1)Last Week: #8
The Seahawks won 12-9 against the 49ers in an absolutely dreadful game. They have shown no offensive power and are unable to move the ball in any fashion. Their defense has been keeping them in games and are the only reason they are above .500 right now. They have an interesting matchup in Nashville against the Titans where we will learn a lot more about both teams.
13) Carolina Panthers (2-0)Last Week: #16
The Panthers are in a weird spot — yes, they won both games but they managed a 9-3 sleeper against Buffalo at home. Cam Newton still looks rusty and Greg Olsen broke his foot during the game. A division matchup against New Orleans is next.
14) Philadelphia Eagles (1-1)Last Week: #13
The Eagles don’t have too much movement after a tough fought loss at Kansas City. The Eagles only lost by 7 in a back and forth matchup at Arrowhead. They look to bounce back against the Giants.
15) Tennessee Titans (1-1)Last Week: #17
The Titans went into halftime up 6-3 against the Jaguars but then managed to finish with a 37-16 victory. The slow start was definitely troublesome to the outlook of the Titans but a 21 point victory over a division rival is always a welcome sign. The Titans host the Seahawks next.
16) Miami Dolphins (1-0)Last Week: #18
The Dolphins got a very fortunate break with Younghoe Koo missing a go-ahead FG to win. Jay Cutler and co. were able to snag an away win in the first game of the season however, and that cannot be overlooked. In a division where 2 of the teams are abysmal, the Dolphins may not be in bad shape.
17) Minnesota Vikings (1-1)Last Week: #9
The Vikings looked helpful without Sam Bradford at the helm. They were unable to move the ball at all and the Steelers stacked the box against rookie sensation Dalvin Cook. Another game without Bradford is looming and the Bucs are coming into town.
18) Washington Redskins (0-1)Last Week: #22
The Redskins were able to steal a game from the up-and-coming Rams in Los Angeles and ran away with a 27-20 victory. The offense still looks a little shaky with Kirk Cousins at the reign but the NFC East is completely up for grabs.
19) Los Angeles Rams (2-1)Last Week: #19
This was written after the Thursday night game, so we have to include that one. The Rams lost a tough one to the Redskins and then had a shootout with the 49ers on Thursday night. The Rams did everything they could to lose that game but the 49ers were unable to complete the comeback. The turnovers are troublesome but Todd Gurley looks like he’s back. Jared Goff is having a great sophomore year as well.
20) New York Giants (0-2)
Last Week: #15
The offense looks bad — from the offensive line to the WRs dropping passes. Once they get Beckham back at full strength, look for the Giants to bounce back. For now though, maybe we should keep them off of primetime games.
21) Arizona Cardinals (1-1)Last Week: #23
The Cardinals really didn’t do much against the Colts. They struggled for a majority of the game but an interception in overtime by Tyrann Matheiu allowed them an easy game-winning field goal. The Cardinals should be doing much better against lowly teams like the Colts but look to struggle without their main weapon David Johnson. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform against the Cowboys.
22) Los Angeles Chargers (0-2)Last Week: #21
The highest rank for a win-less team goes to the Chargers. After the Cowboys were dismantled by the Broncos, a blocked FG loss isn’t looking so bad. In classic Charger fashion, they followed that up by a missed FG as time expired. Luck isn’t smiling on Philip Rivers and these Chargers but they are still a dangerous team who are a few kicking woes away from 2-0.
23) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)Last Week: #20
Just when Jacksonville looked like they figured it out, they go out and get absolutely dismantled by the Titans. The offense looked bad once again and their defense can’t do too much when they’re always out on the field. Another London matchup awaits with a Ravens team that’s on a roll. How they bounce back will say a lot about the 2017 Jaguars.
24) Buffalo Bills (1-1)Last Week: #24
Although the Bills were unable to put up anything past a field goal, they were a Zay Jones catch away from winning this game. The Bills look to be one of the NFL’s lesser teams, but are certainly a threat on any given Sunday. Let’s see if Tyrod Taylor can outperform Siemian on Sunday.
25) New Orleans Saints (0-2)Last Week: #25
The Saints were smacked around by an angry Patriots team look for some form of redemption at the beginning of the season. The same old issue is the Saints problem as always — no defense. However, the offense without Willie Snead isn’t really scaring anyone either. The Saints have a chance to put one in the win column against Carolina this Sunday.
26) Houston Texans (1-1)Last Week: #26
The Texans won a snoozer on Thursday night against the Bengals. Both teams looked bad but Deshaun Watson was able to break out a 54 yard TD run which was the difference. Watson will go to New England where rookie QBs have never been able to win a game against Belichick. We’re going to guess this one isn’t going to be different.
27) Cleveland Browns (0-1)Last Week: 27
The Browns check in at 27..again after losing by two scores to the Ravens. Kizer looked pretty bad and the backup Kevin Hogan came in and threw for a TD while he was out with a migraine. Kizer returned into the game but wasn’t ever able to get started. The loss of Corey Coleman hurts and opens the door for a potential Josh Gordon comeback (probably not though).
28) Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)Last Week: #29
The Bengals managed to move up one spot not because of their performance but how bad the other teams were. The rumors are already floating that the team does not trust Andy Dalton anymore and firing of the offensive coordinator shows there’s some disarray. Marvin Lewis looks like he’ll be lucky to finish the season at the helm.
29) Chicago Bears (0-1)Last Week: #28
The Bears followed up a solid performance against the defending NFC champions with an absolutely dreadful one against a team that hadn’t even played yet. Mike Glennon didn’t get his revenge game against his old team and the Bears never even had a chance. Jordan Howard pretty much didn’t even show up to this game. The Bears host the Steelers next (yikes).
30) San Francisco 49ers (0-3)Last Week: #31
The Niners had a hard fought game with both the Seahawks and Rams. Losing both by a combined 5 points has to sting, but Kyle Shanahan saw some life out of the offense in the 41-39 loss against LA. Carlos Hyde looks to be a lone bright spot in an offense that needed help but we may see San Francisco be able to steal a few this season.
31) Indianapolis Colts (0-2)Last Week: #32
Jacoby Brissett looked to shock the Cardinals in his first start as a Colt. They were however able to battle back and hand the Colts another consecutive loss to start the season. They still don’t look great and are home underdogs against the Browns. The state of the Colts is not well without Andrew Luck, who no one knows when he’ll come back.
32) New York Jets (0-2)Last Week: #30
The Jets showed some life against the Bills and then it was all lost against the Raiders. The offense sucks. The defense sucks. There’s really no bright spot for these Jets. They host AFC East foe Miami next and although they always play their division tough — I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets don’t manage to win a game this year.
Week 2 came to a close and 0-2 owners are sure to be in panic mode already. We saw some solid performances from big names this week even though some of the studs are still struggling to reach expectations (Le’Veon, OBJ). Week 2 brings all new names with Kareem Hunt barely missing out by less than a point — although he is starting to look like a legitimate fantasy MVP. It’s still early though, but for now — let’s take a look at the highest scoring PPR team.
QB: Tom Brady
30/39, 447 yds, 3 TDs
30.78 points
The GOAT has his best ever first quarter and an excellent performance in his bounce-back game after a miserable showing against the Chiefs. This game was never in question and the only reason Brady’s numbers weren’t higher was because the Patriots led on the run game for the majority of the second half. This is Brady’s first appearance on the team of the week but almost certainly should not be the last.
RB: C.J. Anderson
25 att, 118 yds, 1 TD
3 rec, 36 yds, 1 TD
30.40 points
Talk about a bounce-back year for CJA. The Broncos’ offensive line looks scary good which is bad news for opponents who already have to face a stout Denver defense. The line has been creatings gaps for Anderson, who now has had two solid performances. CJA looks to build on this against Buffalo next week, but we’re liking the way he is performing this year.
RB: Ty Montgomery
10 att, 35 yds, 1 TD
6 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD
29.00 points
TyMo is our second running back this week after a lot of questions about how his performance would be this year during the off-season. The WR turned RB (love the #88 still) showed his owners why they were smart to take a chance on him. Green Bay doesn’t have the tradition running game that owners look for when drafting a workhorse but TyMo gets enough work in the passing game to look like a consistent option moving forward.
WR: Michael Crabtree
6 rec, 80 yds, 3 TD
32.00 points
Crabtree showed us why people are betting against the Jets all year. The WR had 3 TD catches, all of which were not difficult grabs, and skinned the Jets defense to the point where Marshawn was celebrating on the sideline with time left in the game. Crabtree and Cooper are certainly one of the most deadly duos in the league, and he showed this week exactly why that is so. Crabtree finishes the week as the top performer.
WR: Emmanuel Sanders
6 rec, 62 yds, 2 TD
24.20 points
Sanders finished the week with two nice touchdown grabs, which was good enough for our second WR spot. The Broncos offense has looked much improved and Sanders is a big part of that. Always finding space, he was able to haul in 2 TDs in his 8 targets. The second Bronco on our list is sure to not be overlooked week to week.
TE: Jason Witten
10 rec, 97 yds, 1 TD
25.70 points
In a week where almost all of the big name TEs went down with injury, Ol’ Reliable just churned out results. The ageless wonder Jason Witten had 10 grabs on 13 targets this week against a brutal Denver defense. Things are looking up for Witten, who may be on his last season, if Dak keeps looking his way. With all the injuries, Witten is looking like a solid TE1.
FLEX: RB Todd Gurley II
16 att, 88 yds, 1 TD
3 rec, 48 yds, 1 TD
26.60 points
The Rams’ star RB is starting to look like the player we all saw a couple years ago. Two solid performances, and this one was nothing to be overlooked by either. Gurley made moves in the running game and in the passing game which is huge for PPR owners. Look for Gurley to keep this going against a bad 49ers team on Thursday night.
K: Chris Boswell
1 20-29 fg, 1 30-39 fg, 2 40-49 fg
16.00 points
The Steelers’ kicker finds himself on the team of the week due to the ineptitude of the offense to be unable to get in the endzone. Boswell was clutch in hitting two 40+ yd FGs to give his owners a nice boost in their weekly matchup.
DEF: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7 pts against, 1 sack, 2 int, 2 fum rec, 1 TD
19.00 points
The Bucs’ defense doesn’t look like they missed a step in the Hurricane delay and looks to be a dominant force this year. Although, this performance came against a bad Bears offense, it certainly cannot be overlooked. The 7 points came in garbage time but the Bucs look to be a mean defense going forward.
Not quite good enough to beat Week 1’s team (254.72 points) but still an impressive performance from Week 2’s team. We saw all new faces in this team so it’ll be interesting to see if we have any repeats on Week 3.
Week 2 is in the books and with that, brought us some highlight plays. We’re starting to see some separation from the good teams and the mediocre teams but much is still up for debate. A staggering 7 teams were unable to put a touchdown on the board — which speaks to how bad some offenses have been (looking at you Russell Wilson). However, we still had our array of big plays so we will open this week up to the Top 5 plays of Week 2.
Thursday night gave us a thrilling 13-9 barnburner of a matchup between the Texans and Bengals (who the hell schedules these?). As evident by the scoreline, there wasn’t really any action throughout the whole game. We did however, see Watson break free for his first rushing TD in his young NFL career. Weaving through defenders, Watson takes our #5 spot.
The Cardinals and Colts had another one of the week’s offensive showdowns, finishing 16-13 in OT. We were able to atleast see this acrobatic catch by Nelson with shades of the Jermaine Kearse catch a couple years ago. However, this one was only for a first down and not as important. Still impressive — falls on our #4 spot.
The Lions might be for real, after a statement win on Monday night at the Giants. Stafford and the offense played well but this punt return really sealed the victory for the Lions. Agnew juked a couple times, spinned, and was off to the races. Agnew clocks in at #3.
The Rams lost a tough one to the Redskins 27-20 but look to be much improved over their anemic offense last year. Todd Gurley looks to be getting back to his Georgia roots in making big highlight plays. He had a couple of great runs during this game but none better than his hurdle into the endzone. Gurley checks in at #2 in a play that could easily take #1 any other week.
There hasn’t been too much to be happy about in Cleveland. The Browns are at 0-2 despite having the brightest future that they’ve had in a long time. Duke Johnson Jr. made a catch that would be much more talked about if he did not play in Cleveland. To do this from the running back position as well? Sign Duke up for the #1 play of the week.
Stat of the Week
Reminder That Nobody Executes Better than the Patriots
https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/909486396389429248
Week 1 is officially in the books and the picks were mostly positive. The only big upset came in the Houston – Jacksonville game, where a Jaguars defense completely overwhelmed a hapless Texans offense. The consensus picks among the staff went 4-2, with the aforementioned Texans and the Giants taking losses. Kevin leads the staff with a strong 10-4 performance but everyone is in reaching distance. Week 2 highlights a slate of strong match-ups. One of the featured match-ups sees the Patriots will look to regain their confidence in a trip to the Big Easy to take on the Saints. The highlight of the week, however, is no doubt the Sunday Night Football showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the defending NFC champion, Atlanta Falcons. Let’s take a look at this week’s picks.
CONSENSUS PICKS: 4-2 (LW: 4-2)
CONSENSUS PICKS: ARI, KC, NE, TB, OAK, SEA
The New England Patriots, which were the consensus #1 in power rankings across the media world opened the season up with a loss, marking their fall from grace (temporarily). There were some contenders that looked weak and some that stood out. It’s only Week 1, so obviously the sample size is a bit small but we’re going to take a shot at ranking the teams anyway. Let’s take a look at the rankings:
1) Green Bay Packers (1-0)The Packers managed to not let the Seahawks score one TD, which although it’s Russell Wilson, shouldn’t be overlooked. The Packers came out and defended their home turf against a good Seattle team and look poised to have a successful season
2) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)The Steelers opened their season with a close fought victory over the Cleveland Browns. A heavy pre-season favorite to make the AFC title game, their offense sputtered a little bit against a Browns team that did not perform well last year but looks to be much improved. We’ll need to see a little more out of the Steelers before we award them the top spot.
3) Dallas Cowboys (1-0)Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — but the Cowboys played the Giants in a tough fought game on Sunday Night Football. After falling to the Giants twice last year, the Cowboys were able to get their revenge and open the season on a positive note against their NFC East rivals. Although without Beckham, the Cowboys were in control the entire game and that cannot be overlooked.
4) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)What’s not to look about the way the Chiefs opened the season? They went into Gillette Stadium, home of the Super Bowl champions and punched them in the mouth. They made the greatest QB of all time look painfully average and out-coached Belichick and his staff en route to a blowout victory. Are they for real? It’s hard to say they’re not after that performance.
5) Oakland Raiders (1-0)The Raiders traveled over to Nashville to take on the Titans in what many considered to be a trap game. Marshawn Lynch’s return to football was triumphant though as the Raiders looked solid in all phases of the game. They scored on the opening drive, traded some scores but never looked to be in doubt.
6) New England Patriots (0-1)The preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl looked BAD on the Thursday night opener. Although they manage to put up 27 points, they fell apart in the fourth quarter. The defense looked porous and the injuries are lining up already. The Patriots need to make a statement at New Orleans.
7) Atlanta Falcons (1-0)The Falcons went in as big favorites against the Chicago Bears but seemed to struggle at times as it was kept close for a majority of the game. The Falcons were a dropped catch and extra point away from losing this game. Mike Glennon took a sack on 4th and Goal and saved the Falcons from an embarrassing first game defeat.
8) Seattle Seahawks (0-1)The Seahawks struggled at Lambeau on Sunday evening. They weren’t able to get the ball moving on offense too much and the retooled offensive line still looks bad. The Seahawks look to the same script of riding their defense to success but we’re going to need to see some improvement out of Wilson and the offense.
9) Minnesota Vikings (1-0)Sam Bradford had one of the better games of his career and looked locked in during Monday night. Stefon Diggs and Dalvin Cook look to be a nice pair of weapons on an offensive side that needs to support their strong defense. The Vikes crack the top 10 with the opening game win.
10) Denver Broncos (1-0)The Broncos were in control most of the game against the Chargers but a couple turnovers made the game into a very close contest. Siemian looked better under center but still needs some improvement. A blocked kick after an iced field goal put a notch into the Broncos’ win column.
11) Detroit Lions (1-0)The Lions fell behind quick to the Cardinals and looked to be blown out. However, Stafford picked up right where he left off and led another 4th quarter comeback to win big over Arizona.
12) Baltimore Ravens (1-0)Are the Ravens back? Maybe. Their defense shut out the Bengals which is a fact that cannot be overlooked. Andy Dalton looked bad but this defense looks to make offenses turn the ball over more frequent than not. The Ravens could be a dangerous team come January.
13) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)The Eagles defense looked good — and the offense look even better. Carson Wentz made some big plays to lead the Eagles to a victory. The second-year QB looks primed for a big year in a competitive NFC East.
14) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)Hurricane Irma delayed the Bucs’ start of the season so we were unable to see them in action. Highly touted to do well this season, the Bucs open up the season at home against the Chicago Bears.
15) New York Giants (0-1)The Giants went into Dallas without their best player and looked painfully mediocre. We’ll wait for Beckham to come back into the lineup before deciding how the Giants look but a loss at Dallas won’t raise any eyebrows.
16) Carolina Panthers (1-0)The Panthers coasted to an easy 20 point victory against a bad San Francisco team. We didn’t really learn too much other than Cam looked rusty and McCaffrey looked to be a solid addition. We’ll learn more about the Panthers in their home opener against the Bills on Sunday.
17) Tennessee Titans (0-1)Marcus Mariota was unable to lead the Titans to an opening game victory. The Raiders, albeit a tough opponent, were on the road and playing on the East Coast at 1 pm. The Titans should have taken this game and will look to bounce back against the newly confident Jaguars.
18) Miami Dolphins (0-0)The Dolphins are back in action this week. Jay Cutler looks to lead an offense that lost Ryan Tannehill to a season-ending injury. The Dolphins made the playoffs last year, but will have to over-perform to get back there.
19) Los Angeles Rams (1-0)The Rams aren’t as good as their 46-9 absolute dismantling of the Colts but we shouldn’t ignore that. Their defense forced turnovers, scored touchdowns and made the Colts look like a junior college team. Jared Goff didn’t look too bad either.
20) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)The Jaguars had TEN sacks against the Texans on Sunday. They won’t keep up this pace but their defense looked mean and ready to go. Is this the year the Jaguars finally figured it out? Wouldn’t be a bad guess after an impressive performance week 1.
21) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1)The Chargers managed to hang in there at Mile High and lose due to a last second FG being blocked. Philip Rivers is always dangerous and a healthy Chargers offense could spell trouble for opposing defenses.
22) Washington Redskins (0-1)The Redskins were a let down against the Eagles at FedEx Field. Kirk Cousins wasn’t able to get much going and outside of a Chris Thompson highlight TD, neither was the rest of the offense.
23) Arizona Cardinals (0-1)The Cardinals jumped out to a quick lead but then rolled over and let the Lions put a beating on them. A loss of stud RB David Johnson suddenly makes this offense look pretty one-dimensional. We’ll see if they can bounce back.
24) Buffalo Bills (1-0)An ugly win against the New York Jets on your home field is not something to be proud of. The Bills got the W but struggled at times against the lowly Jets. A road game against Carolina will let us know if the Bills are going to compete this year or not.
25) New Orleans Saints (0-1)The Saints went into Minnesota for an Adrian Peterson revenge game but after 6 rushes for 18 yards and a sideline argument with Sean Payton — things don’t look well. The defense will be tested next week against an angry Patriots team in the Super Dome.
26) Houston Texans (0-1)The Texans has expectations of winning the division but they open up low on our rankings due to the embarrassment of an effort they put up against the Jaguars. The offense sputtered and word is that O’Brien is already moving forward with rookie QB Watson. Not the worst call.
27) Cleveland Browns (0-1)The Browns check in at 27 after a pretty well fought game with one of the premier AFC teams. After opening the game with a blocked punt, Kizer was able to move the ball down the field. The defense didn’t look too bad either which led Roethlisberger to praise the team as a whole in a post game interview. Be careful, this is not your same Browns team — they’re on the rise.
28) Chicago Bears (0-1)The Bears were a Jordan Howard catch away from upsetting the NFC champions. They hung in there but four goal-to-go situations without a touchdown with the game on the line was not the greatest look. Mike Glennon isn’t scaring any defenses but these Bears have some fight in them.
29) Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)Cincy looks to bounce back on Thursday against the Texans after an awful offensive performance by Andy Dalton. Four picks and a fumble later, it’s no surprise the Bengals looked like garbage. However, AJ Green can not be overlooked but Marvin Lewis’ job is not looking secure.
30) New York Jets (0-1)The Jets looked to be on their way to a respectable game but were unable to capitalize off of the Bills inefficient play. This team was slated to be one of the worst after offloading most of their veterans. They still look to be one of the worst and a cross country trip to Oakland is not going to help.
31) San Francisco 49ers (0-1)The Niners put up 3 points and barely deserved that field goal. Hoyer is leading an offense which seems uninspired. Maybe first year coach Kyle Shanahan can lead them to a couple victories this year.
32) Indianapolis Colts (0-1)The Colts, missing Andrew Luck, were the worst team this weekend. They looked lost and let a Rams offense (and defense) put up an astounding 46 points on them. Recently acquired Jacoby Brisett entered the game and connected on a long pass with Donte Moncrief for the Colts only highlight of the day.
Week 1 is in the books and everyone is scratching their heads on what just happened with some of the big time fantasy studs. We’re going to highlight the best players of the week using Yahoo! PPR points to see exactly how the best team of the week stacks up.
QB: Alex Smith
28/35, 368 yds, 4 TDs
31.02 points
We all know the story now — Alex Smith lit up the defending champions on their own turf. It’ll be interesting to see how he does Week 2 to see if this was an anomaly or a new Alex Smith.
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RB: Kareem Hunt
17 att, 148 yds, 1 td — 5 rec, 98 yds, 2 TD, 1 fum
45.60 points
The Chiefs’ rookie out of Toledo looked explosive after his opening touch fumble. He bounced back and the Patriots had no answer for him. Big things were expected taking over the spot that Spencer Ware had been tipped for. Hunt looks to be a dangerous option going forward.
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RB: Tarik Cohen
5 att, 66 yds — 8 rec, 47 yds, 1 TD
25.30 points
The Bears’ 4th round pick out of NC A&T beats out Gillislee in PPR formats. The 5’6″ RB showed explosiveness in his big plays as he broke a couple long runs.
WR: Antonio Brown
11 rec, 182 yds
29.20 points
No shock here — the consensus #3 pick of fantasy drafts made his owners much more proud than the first two picks. Brown looked to pick up right where he left off in 2016, connecting with Big Ben on multiple long plays. No touchdowns and still put up 29.20 points? Brown looks poised to have yet another monster year.
WR: Stefon Diggs
1 att, -6 yds — 7 rec, 93 yds, 2 TD
27.70 points
Diggs looked extraordinary on Monday night, connecting on passes from Sam Bradford. He tied Randy Moss as the only Vikings WR with 2 TDs on opening night. Diggs should be making his owners pretty happy as the Vikings’ clear #1 option at WR.
TE: Jesse James
6 rec, 41 yds, 2 TD
22.10 points
Jesse James replaced Le’Veon and Martavis as Big Ben’s second favorite target. The big man was open for 2 touchdowns to finish out a solid day fantasy-wise against the Browns.
FLEX: WR Tyreek Hill
2 att, 5 yds — 7 rec, 93 yds, 2 TD
26.80 points
The best all-around weapon is the third Chief to make this week’s team. Tyreek Hill did what we know him best to do, which is get open for huge game-changing plays. He was wide open on a deep ball from Alex Smith and made the Patriots pay all night.
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K: Giorgio Tavecchio
1 20-29 fg, 1 40-49 fg, 2 50+ fg
19.00 points
The last minute fill in for the hurt Sebastian Janikowski finished the week as the highest scoring kicker. Tavecchio hit two huge 50+ yard fg to win the game-ball and warrant a pick-up from fantasy owners worldwide.
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DEF: Jacksonville Jaguars
10 sacks, 1 INT, 3 fum rec, 1 TD
28.00 points
The Rams defense also racked up 28 points but the Jaguars make our team of the week for an eye opening 10 sacks. Most of this was on how bad Houston was but the Jags defense will be feeling pretty confident flying into their next game against the Titans.
A very draft-able team is our team of the week. This team would have gotten you an unthinkable 254.72 points, which just goes to show you how much of a crap-shoot fantasy football can be. Three Chiefs lead the way and it’ll be interesting to see if anybody remains on the list next week.
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