Well, I failed to get my lineup in before the most entertaining Thursday night game in years, so I can't use any of those players, alas. I'll just need to find a few shootouts from the Sunday and Monday games. The way the NFL is going this year, it shouldn't be hard.
In this competition, each week's high score (standard scoring) will win a $25 Fantasy Index gift certificate, and the season champ will win an enviable prize package, which may be delivered to your door if you happen to live near me.
How to play: Sign into your Fantasy Index account and click the blue "Your stuff" button in the top right corner. Then look for the link to Fantasy Index Blackout on the right side of the page. Pretty simple.
Here's my Week 4 lineup.
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes and Eli Manning. Mahomes is sure to slow down eventually, but I'm going to give him another shot to keep things rolling this week. Denver secondary has not been the same this year. Many unkind things have been said about old, slow, declining Eli Manning, including by me on a weekly basis, but the Saints are allowing nearly a perfect passer rating to opposing quarterbacks so far, and I can't pass that up.
Running back: Alvin Kamara and Saquon Barkley. I thought about Melvin Gordon, but thought getting a pair of all-purpose running backs in a likely shootout at the Meadowlands was the way to go. It's Kamara's last week as a full-time guy, most likely, so giddyup.
Wide receiver: Odell Beckham, Tyreek Hill, Emmanuel Sanders. We're really living in a golden age of wide receivers. Remember when there were three elite guys and then everyone else? I want to pair my QBs with their top wideouts, and although Beckham will be dealing with Marshon Lattimore, I think he'll ultimately hit on a big play or two. Sanders against Kansas City's struggling secondary looks like a hit, as does Hill coming off a down game. I considered Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins, among the many other great options.
Tight end: Tyler Eifert and Eric Ebron. Wow, the Blackout elves bled all over this category, one week after leaving us Kelce and Gronk. There's almost nobody available at all. I opted for Eifert in probably a high-scoring affair in Atlanta, and Ebron with Doyle likely out again. Jared Cook and George Kittle also struck me as possibilities. Tough week.
Kicker: Matt Bryant and Justin Tucker. Home kickers in games with more offense than defense. Nothing too fancy.
Defense/Special Teams: Chicago and Seattle. The Bears are loaded with talent and should make things difficult if Ryan Fitzpatrick is chucking it up like he did against Pittsburgh. Seattle faces Josh Rosen, who might one day develop into a good quarterback, but I didn't like what I saw of him off the bench last week -- he'll give Seattle chances to make plays. Just hope Earl Thomas decides he'd like to play on Sunday.
Good luck to the rest of you.