Injury Roundup
QB Russell Wilson - Denver Broncos
Partially torn lat: Wilson has been dealing with this injury for the past two weeks but is not expected to miss any time.
QB Teddy Bridgewater - Miami Dolphins
Concussion: Passed the concussion test but due to the new concussion rules was forced to exit the game and should not miss time.
QB Baker Mayfield - Carolina Panthers
High Ankle Sprain: Expected to miss time. Has been ruled out for Week 6.
RB James Conner - Arizona Cardinals
Rib: Not expected to miss much time but team could be cautious.
RB Rashaad Penny - Seattle Seahawks
Ankle: Getting surgery. Out for the season. Unfortunate injury.
RB Damien Harris - New England Patriots
Hamstring: Severity currently unknown but likely to sit out a few weeks.
RB Nyheim Hines - Indianapolis Colts
Concussion: Will enter the league’s concussion protocol, may miss a week at most but has more rest time since he played on Thursday.
WR Tyreek Hill - Miami Dolphins
Foot: Hill was in a walking boot after the game, but no indication of if he will miss time yet.
WR Chris Olave - New Orleans Saints
Head: Olave will have to follow the league’s concussion protocol to have a chance at playing next week but should only miss one week maximum.
WR Christian Watson - Green Bay Packers
Hamstring: There is no timetable for his return but might miss time.
TE Pat Freiermuth - Pittsburgh Steelers
Concussion: Freiermuth will enter the league’s concussion protocol but has dealt with multiple concussions in only a couple of years, may miss one week.
TE Dalton Schultz - Dallas Cowboys
Knee: Schultz briefly exited the game but returned later, may still miss time as he’s been dealing with multiple injuries.
Game Recaps
Giants @ Packers
New York State of Mind
NJ.com
Maybe it doesn’t matter if they’re great. The New York Football Giants are tied for the 2nd best record in the NFC following a win over the Packers in London. Every game they’ve been involved in has been decided by just one score but that doesn’t mean they can’t keep rolling. Their next two games are against the Ravens and Jaguars. After that, it gets pretty easy. Houston, Seattle, Detroit, and the Commanders twice, doesn’t seem too shabby. The Giants won’t win them all but they can remain playoff hopefuls in a messy NFC.
Lions @ Patriots
Target the Lions Run Defense
The Lions defense is 31st in the league in rushing EPA allowed. The rushing performances they have allowed:
Miles Sanders 13/96/1
Jalen Hurts 17/90/1
Dalvin Cook 17/96/1
Rashaad Penny 17/151/2
Rhamondre Stevenson 25/161/0
Nothing else needs to be said.
Chargers @ Browns
Browns Receivers After Cooper
Jacoby Brissett is having a solid season in place of Deshaun Watson who is still serving his 12-game suspension. He doesn’t throw much, or for many yards, but he is somehow supporting three separate receiving options and feeding Nick Chubb enough to lead the league in rushing yards. They’re not all feasting at the same time, but given their incredibly low ADPs heading into the season, they can be called successes. Njoku is the PPR TE8 and has seen at least 5 targets each of the past 4 weeks. DPJ has seen mixed usage but is generally a big-play receiver who has an aDOT of 10.0. Amari Cooper and David Njoku lead the team with 7 red zone targets each, while DPJ only has 3. This offense won’t support 3 receiving options and their RBs each and every week but Njoku has been getting a ton of targets each week and DPJ is a decent high-upside play in a pinch. Amari Cooper is a high-end WR2 every week while Njoku and DPJ are solid streamers who you should eventually stash before Watson’s return.
Texans @ Jaguars
Dameon Pierce Time
In Week 1, I wrote that Pierce would continue to struggle but that was completely wrong. Pierce may not be a game-breaking RB but he has been getting better every single week. Although he played some terrible or middling run defenses like the Chargers, Jaguars and Bears, he has been an unabated steam engine. He just keeps chugging along, accumulating yards with every carry and has broken off some big runs too. His usage in the receiving game was minimal until the past two weeks. In Weeks 1-3, he had 4 combined targets. In Weeks 4 and 5 he has 11 combined. He only has 57 receiving yards on 13 receptions but in PPR leagues that hardly matters. His touches are safe from Rex Burkhead. While down games should be expected, he is already paying off at his ADP in a season where stellar RB performances have been hard to find.
Steelers @ Bills
Gabriel Davis is a TD Machine
Volume? Target share? Apparently you don’t need either when you’re Gabriel Davis catching passes from Josh Allen. The third-year receiver is off to an incredible start even if his total stats on the season don’t immediately pop out to you. Davis stunned the Steelers defense this week when he burned them for over 170 receiving yards and hauled in 2 TDs. He hasn’t seen more than 6 targets in a game all year but doesn’t need volume to produce. Including the playoffs, Davis now has 12 TDs in his past 11 games. He was playing hurt in two games this season too but even if his target share doesn’t significantly increase he will pay dividends when he has massive games like this again.
The Bills RB1
Devin Singletary was shaping up to lead this backfield after consistently leading the RBs in rush attempts and getting solid work as a receiver. While he still led the RBs in rushes and targets, he has seldom benefited from his role in an otherwise explosive Bills offense. Rookie James Cook broke off a 24-yard TD for his first career score at the end of the blowout win but he hasn’t done much either. Zack Moss has lost his work as a receiving back after drawing 6 targets in Week 1, and now it doesn’t seem like any of these RBs should be rostered. The Bills understandably prefer Josh Allen throwing to Stefon Diggs instead of trotting out one of three decent RBs for a 4-yard gain.
Dolphins @ Jets
Return of the Zach
The king, Zachary Kapono Wilson, is back. He may not be lighting up defenses like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen but he’s turning the Jets offense into something special. Facing injured Steelers and Dolphins teams is hardly an achievement but Wilson has taken full advantage of his weapons. Breece Hall seemed stuck in a frustrating split with fellow RB Michael Carter but we finally got a glimpse of what his ceiling looked like. Hall ran 18 times for 97 yards and a TD and gained 100 receiving yards on 2 catches. Carter did steal some short rushing TDs but that’s a sacrifice that league managers will have to deal with if they want Hall to continue to lead this backfield while minimizing his injury risk. Wilson also hasn’t thrown more than he needs to. While Joe Flacco was averaging over 50 pass attempts per game, Wilson only threw 21 times on Sunday. His passing yards per attempt were also higher than Flacco’s, too. This will have to change when the team is facing negative game-scripts again but just being able to control the game without trying to be too much of a hero is a quality that stood out in the 40-17 win. He’s back, baby!
Seahawks @ Saints
Kenneth Walker’s Backfield
Rashaad Penny was carted off the field with an ankle injury in the loss to the Saints on Sunday. Shortly after, it was announced that he had had a fractured tibia and may need surgery which would likely end his season. Kenneth Walker III was drafted highly by the Seahawks and he was the main beneficiary in the backfield following Penny’s injury. DeeJay Dallas is now the backup but the team will be adding another RB soon to take the 3rd-string slot. This offense may not run very often, especially with Geno Smith having a ball throwing to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, but rostering the RB1 on any team is a must. Injuries are beginning to pile up and you won’t find many other RBs on the waiver wire with a role this secure.
Taysom Hill, Jack of All Trades
When Jameis Winston went down in the middle of the 2021 season, Taysom Hill took over the helm and produced mixed results. The bigger story within the fantasy football community was that he could still be started as a TE on most platforms despite starting at QB. With Winston healthy enough to lead the team again this year, Hill was once again relegated to TE but he hasn’t played like one. Hill has 1 target this season but has run the ball 21 times and has 5 rushing TDs. He even threw a 22 yard TD pass this week. While his usage implies that he will mainly run the ball, he is still running routes too so he could see an increased role in the receiving game, especially with injuries to the WRs. We could even see him begin to throw again if Jameis Winston continues to deal with injuries.
Eagles @ Cardinals
Hollywood Boulevard
With a nickname like Hollywood, you really need to be stellar. Marquise Brown has been explosive since joining the Cardinals this season. While Kyler Murray and the rest of the team struggling, Brown is currently the PPR WR5. He has seen double-digit targets each of the past 4 weeks and is 6th in receiving yards while also hauling in 3 TDs. The party shouldn’t end soon but keep your eye out on how Rondale Moore does these next few weeks. He did not play until Week 4 but drew a 16.13% target share upon his return and that increased to 21.05% this week. DeAndre Hopkins will also be returning from suspension soon but giving Kyler Murray more quality receivers will only help this offense.
Cowboys @ Rams
America’s Team
Like my take on Dameon Pierce, I was completely wrong about the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas hasn’t been wholly dominant in any specific game but they’ve found success with Cooper Rush, who is now 5-0 as a starter in his career. The main asset for Dallas is their incredibly suffocating defense. Led by DPOY frontrunner Micah Parsons, the Cowboys have 20 sacks, 2nd in the league. They join the 49ers as the only two teams in the league that haven’t allowed a team to score 20+ points on them and Dallas just limited the Rams to 10 points. Like the division rival New York Giants, the quality of opponents they have played against is suspect up to this point but you don’t get to choose your schedule and these wins count. The NFC East as a whole faces some middling opponents and the Cowboys could be one three teams from this division to make the playoffs. Given the lack of elite teams left in the conference, they could do some damage in the playoffs. The only question mark is how the offense will look when Dak Prescott returns from injury.
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By Themi Michalakis
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.