Lots of offense in Week 4, with some high fantasy scores and big performances. Yet again it looks a lot like the league will make every call and rule adjustment and interpretation to benefit offenses. This is nice for fantasy stats, unless they happen to be against you. No lead looks safe, and we should see more of the same in Chargers-Raiders tonight, I think.
Titans at Jets: This one knocked a whole bunch of people out of the Survivor Pool I'm in. As I posted last week, I didn't think it would be that surprising if the Jets made a game of it, with what the Titans were working with on offense. And Corey Davis caught a long touchdown, rewarding those who started him and those of us who recommended him to everyone on Saturday. We really do want those things to work out, it makes everyone happy. Except for Titans fans. Anthony Firkser had a chance at a game-winning catch in overtime, either dropped it or had it knocked away, was tough to tell. Got pretty invested in this game -- Jets really could/should have won it with either a defensive play in regulation (nope) or a touchdown on the opening drive of overtime (couple of missed throws). But a nice win, a strong outing from Davis and Zach Wilson, and a reminder never to be too sure of an outcome. Michael Carter looking like he's moving into a leading role.
Kansas City at Eagles: You draft guys like Tyreek Hill in the first round because every once in a while they'll blow up with a game that is nearly impossible to beat. He actually had a fourth score overturned in this one. Kansas City put up big numbers across the board; maybe Philadelphia was determined to not let Travis Kelce beat them? Other KC players were fine. Patrick Mahomes threw two shovel/shuffle/underhand pass touchdowns, including one to a backup tight end for the second straight week. Big numbers for Jalen Hurts (garbage points are still points), and a lot of Philadelphia players it was hard to start, like Kenneth Gainwell (but maybe not so hard going forward). Touchdown out of a draw formation and a big role in the passing game, while Miles Sanders did very little. Dallas Goedert scored once and had a second overturned, Zach Ertz got some end-zone looks, DeVonta Smith had a big game. Side thought: how is Kansas City going to win a Super Bowl with this defense? Looks terrible.
Panthers at Cowboys: Not gonna look it up but I'm thinking Sam Darnold might be leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns. Coming into this game we were talking about how improved both these defenses were. Dallas defense made a few more plays, 2 more picks for Trevon Diggs, Carolina couldn't handle all of Dallas' weapons. Improved, but looked better against more suspect opposition. Dak is dealing, Elliott had a big game, both Dallas tight ends caught touchdowns. It's a hot offense right now. Speaking of hot, DJ Moore is on fire, and maybe he benefits from Christian McCaffrey being out; fewer passes going that way. Modest numbers for Chuba Hubbard.
Giants at Saints: Another thriller. Saints let this one get away, which happens when you don't score enough, settle for field goals (including a 58-yarder rather than try and convert a 4th and 3?), and have enough good players on offense. Another Juwan Johnson touchdown, no one is starting him. Marquez Callaway had 74 yards but just 2 catches. In my main league Taysom Hill (with his 2 rushing TDs) had more points than Jameis Winston. And Alvin Kamara, who rushed for 120 yards but didn't score and didn't catch a pass -- ouch. Some clutch plays for Daniel Jones and nice games for Kenny Golladay and Saquon Barkley (especially receiving), right up until his winning touchdown. He's back, should have traded for him last week. John Ross caught a long touchdown, we probably didn't even mention him in the Weekly because he was just activated a few days ago.
Browns at Vikings: Oddly lower scoring, it happens. Cleveland Defense looking good, Kirk Cousins threw an early touchdown to Justin Jefferson and then that was it for the rest of the game. Browns content to kill clock running Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt all game, Vikings drives kept ending in missed connections, good defensive plays, near-misses. Browns passing game was not happening, but it wasn't much needed. Dalvin Cook limped off at one point, maybe came back too soon, we'll see. Injury downplayed after the game.
Lions at Bears: Big game for David Montgomery, but he left late with a knee injury; here's hoping he's OK. Justin Fields didn't put up big numbers, but compared to last week he was great. Still didn't run very much, but with Montgomery staking him to a big lead at least he didn't have to. Lions put up more decent passing game numbers, mostly in garbage-time. Couple TDs for Kalif Raymond and nearly a third, but hard to say for sure he's their No. 1 (just 3 catches, they're spreading it around). Down to earth for D'Andre Swift; Bears can still play defense. Nice rapport between Fields and Darnell Mooney, probably on benches since he was banged up this week.
Texans at Bills: You can't really say a 40-0 game was closer than it should have been, but in fact the Bills settled for a bunch of early field goals or they could have scored in the 50s. Big numbers for Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Dawson Knox, I know we can't say the Texans are the worst team in the league because they clobbered Jacksonville, but they're in the mix. And Buffalo one of the best. Davis Mills had negative fantasy points in performance leagues: 87 yards passing and 4 picks. Houston's comical 4-man backfield rolls on with 4-6 carries for three different players. Just, why. Feel fortunate if you started Brandin Cooks and got 9 fantasy points.
Colts at Dolphins: Somebody in my Survivor Pool used a pick on the Dolphins. Odd. Big game for Jonathan Taylor, a couple of TDs for Mo Alie-Cox (Jack Doyle playing hurt), a decent PPR day for Michael Pittman, who yet again had a couple of receptions end up just short of the goal line...I'm really rooting for the guy to get in the end zone one of these days, otherwise having a good season. Dolphins did better when the got Mike Gesicki involved in the final period, but not much doing for their offense. Marlon Mack 10 carries for 22 yards, if they're showcasing him for a trade, well... Dolphins using a three-man backfield with Malcolm Brown the main back. I don't get it. I rip Carson Wentz plenty, so kudos to him for a solid game and his first Colts win.
Football Team at Falcons: So if you're one of the people who I downplayed Cordarrelle Patterson to over the past week or two...I'm sorry. I think I did recommend him at least once over the weekend, but more often than not I said, committee back, gadget player, etc. I'm done saying bad things about him: he looks great, they're using him brilliantly -- to think he's gotten this late in his career without being properly utilized. Or maybe he ate his Wheaties. Whatever, he's just killing it right now, with big red-zone play after big red-zone play. But Washington won, with Taylor Heinicke making a couple of miracle plays, Terry McLaurin having a huge game, and Washington catching a few breaks. Both Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic had nice games, so starting either one worked out (note McKissic got there with a single play). Won't very often, but enjoy it if you took the gamble. Entertaining game to catch on Rewind this week. Hamstring injury for Logan Thomas.
Seahawks at 49ers: Seahawks controlled this one a lot of the way, plus San Francisco lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a calf injury. He said afterward he'll miss time, so the Trey Lance era might begin next week. Lance had some good plays, but probably he'd have already been in the lineup if San Francisco wanted to go that route. Should be added, though, for the upside (Jalen Hurts). Quiet game for Tyler Lockett (as expected) and the passing game in general. Seattle gave Alex Collins a lot of work and he was pretty effective, raising the question of why he hasn't been the No. 2 all along. Mildly concerning for Chris Carson (which means Pete Carroll will give Carson 20 carries next week). Not much for Trey Sermon and a brutal special teams day for Trenton Cannon on kick returns, I honesty felt bad for the guy.
Cardinals at Rams: This one was pretty surprising to me. Presumably the Rams will chalk this up to a bad day at the office, and that also applies to the coaching staff. On a Matthew Stafford touchdown run when it was still a game, the ball was ruled short and the Rams didn't challenge. Failed to get in the next two plays, and the Cardinals went on a long drive (big Chase Edmonds run) to put the game away. Rams wouldn't have won, but a critical misstep (if you're not going to challenge, you've got to have better plays to get in than the Rams did). Impressive game for Kyler Murray, more goal-line work for James Conner, Cardinals coming up big so far. A.J. Green's turn for a big game from the wide receivers, while Maxx Williams was very productive again -- time to believe. Darrell Henderson dominated the backfield. Garbage-time score for Robert Woods; not enough to say he's back as a weekly play.
Steelers at Packers: Pittsburgh hit an early play for a touchdown, and it was basically all Green Bay after that. Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb (the apparent beneficiary of MVS's removal from the offense? Probably coincidental, or Cobb coming up big against a good pass rush) good, Davante Adams and the running game fine. Little more AJ Dillon than usual, but the game wasn't really close either. I think I said this last week, but I do really enjoy watching Najee Harris play. Guy fights for every yard and he's sure been nice having in PPR lineups the last couple of week. Roethlisberger just missed a couple of throws to JuJu Smith-Schuster, or there could have been some good numbers there. For what it's worth, which I realize isn't much.
Ravens at Broncos: So yes, Denver matching up with the best defense it's faced didn't go well; I'm not sure it would have gone much better if Teddy Bridgewater hadn't been knocked out of the game. Denver's offense is fairly limited either way, and Baltimore's offense is difficult enough to defend that it's hard to account for everyone. Stop the run, and Lamar Jackson can hit Mark Andrews or Marquise Brown for big plays (even though he nearly missed Brown, open by 20 yards). Latavius Murray was the main back and scored for you, so I guess he's usable going forward. Nice Javonte Williams run in this game (though the whole offense is going to struggle at times, and they've got Pittsburgh this week).
Buccaneers at Patriots: A driving rain throughout this game held numbers down, and Tom Brady was a little off -- missing some throws, or maybe not having his receivers (Cameron Brate in for Rob Gronkowski) where he wanted them to be at all times. Brate in particular dropped a ball over the middle that would have gone for big yards, and he maybe turned the wrong way in the end zone on another possible score. Nice game for Leonard Fournette, unfortunately getting a breather when Ronald Jones (who barely played) ran in a short touchdown. A game of inches, as shown when Nick Folk missed the game-winning field goal off the upright. Entertaining if somewhat clunky game (you'd like to see a few more touchdowns normally, though it was OK for those of us who had Ryan Succop). Brady and Antonio Brown had a couple of near-miss touchdowns at the end.
Monday, Monday: Chargers defense is sound and the Raiders is improved, but with 2 really good quarterbacks on top of their games and the way refs are calling these things, I expect it to be higher-scoring. Main pass catchers, and there are a lot, look good and should swing a few outcomes tonight. No info on whether Josh Jacobs will be available, but if I had to guess I'm expecting Peyton Barber, with Kenyan Drake for passing situations (there should be plenty). I'll call it Chargers 27, Raiders 24.