With a heavy, voiceless heart, I had to leave M&T Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon following another terrible Ravens defeat. Up 20-3 late in the second, then just slowly melting until it was over. It took some real soul searching and recovery time, but we were able to get motivated enough to type up this review.
So! Here we go! Week...four:
Bengals 27- Dolphins 15
Prayers up for Tua. Simply an inexcusable lack of oversight on the part of the Miami Dolphins and NFL to allow him to play Thursday night. I've seen more then my share of negligence from the league in my decades of viewing, but nothing compared to this. He's an incredibly fortunate individual no matter what the final diagnosis ends up being.
The Miami offense sputtered with Teddy Bridgewater filling in under center, watching the Bengals score 13 unanswered in the fourth quarter to pull away for good. Tyreek Hill still managed ten catches for 160 yards, but in a futile effort. This is still a really solid football team that won't be a tough out with Teddy at QB, but it's clear they aren't nearly the threat they'd be with Tua out there. Keep an eye on if/when he's able to make his return.
Tee Higgins popped for Cincinnati, recording a 7/124/1 line. Burrow certainly doesn't lack confidence going to his secondary options when Ja'Marr Chase is bottled up. You've got think Chase is due for a real breakout at some point though once coverages start accounting for Higgins more. Joe Mixon rushed for 61 yards on 24 carries, just off of his season pace of 2.7 YPC. Not the ROI you want from a mid to late first round fantasy selection. Bengals might be back.
Vikings 28- Saints 25
The first of our London games did not disappoint those who were up and tuned in! Kirk Cousins hit Alexander Mattinson on a screen early in the first to start the scoring and found receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen for all but 54 of his passing yards. He also only had one turnover. It was a winning formula for Minnesota, improving their record to 3-1 overall.
It wasn't all pretty though. Andy Dalton drove the Saints up and down the field for much of this game, surprisingly aided by their ability to establish the run with the plodding Latavius Murray and Mark Ingram. Chris Olave was great again, further boosting his rookie of the year resume with four catches for 67 yards and a score.
New Orleans just missed out on overtime, as Wil Lutz's 61 yard field goal double-doinked on out. He had made a 60 yarder just a minute and a half before. Brutal loss for the team, dropping them to 1-3.
Falcons 23- Browns 20
I think it's official: the Falcons aren't a bad football team. Even with Marcus Mariota essentially laying an egg, Atlanta managed to keep this one within striking distance and closed out the game with two Younghoe Koo field goals for the victory. Really nice home win for the Dirty Birds.
As mentioned above, Mariota was awful- completing 37% of his passes and throwing a pick. No receiver had more then two catches and only Olamide Zaccheaus broke 30 yards receiving on the day. Back to anonymity for Kyle Pitts! Cordarelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley all had busy days on the ground, pacing the offense with 29 combined carries. Allgeier was the only one of the three to not find pay dirt. Unfortunately, Patterson wound up on the IR postgame.
Bad loss for the Browns to take. Nick Chubb was excellent again, clearing the century mark rushing and adding another score to his totals. Jacoby Brissett was less spectacular however, in probably his worst game of the season thus far. It didn't help him that Amari Cooper was completely neutralized (1 catch, 9 yards), but Cleveland needed more out of their stand-in QB. Next week doesn't look any easier either as they'll host the LA Chargers.
Cowboys 25- Commanders 10
We may have a legitimate quarterback competition on hand in Dallas. Cooper Rush had another strong day under center, throwing for 223 yards on 8.3 YPA and improving his record to 3-0. He only took one sack in the process against what was once a vaulted Washington defensive front. Just an efficient performance.
CeeDee Lamb continued to show great rapport with Rush, snagging six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. There were a lot of doomsday sentiments for Lamb once Dak went down but he's really proven his worth since. Ezekiel Elliott was the better back today, although neither him nor Pollard had much success on the ground.
Wow Carson Wentz is bad. He only took two sacks, so he'll be less sore then a week ago, but he generally looked flustered by the Dallas defense, en route to two interceptions and a laughable 4 YPA. Is he really that much of an upgrade over Taylor Heinicke?
All of their receivers suffered as a result, with Jahan Dotson at least salvaging his day with a score. No Washington pass catcher had more then 43 yards receiving, with poor Terry McLaurin only recording 15 on two catches. Bad day to have started any Commanders in fantasy.
Seahawks 48- Lions 45
Loved the under on this game with D'Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown sitting out for Detroit. Sometimes our gut feelings are just miles off like that. Jamaal Williams and Rashaad Penny went crazy on the ground, combining for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Jared Goff popped for four himself, as both offenses did whatever they wanted in the Motor City.
Geno Smith was incredible, and that's not sarcasm. He went 23/30 for 320 and two touchdowns. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are suddenly incredibly useful for fantasy purposes, racking up 149 and 91 yards, respectively. Tight end Will Dissly also had 39 yards and his third score of the year, putting him onto the streamer map for the rest of the year. Lots of passing game scripts ahead with how bad this Seattle defense is.
But Detroit's defense was just a little worse Sunday. You'd probably have to go back to West Virginia to find a defense giving up 48 points to Geno Smith. DK was talking shit on Jeff Okudah last week and backed up his words against the cornerback. These Lions just aren't going to be able to compete with the defense in the state it's in. Shoutout TJ Hockenson-- his line of 8/179/2 is currently the top performance by a tight end in 2022.
Titans 24- Colts 17
This Colts team just isn't very good. Jonathan Taylor has been incredibly disappointing. Since rushing for 161 yards in the opener, he's rushed 167 total yards, or just over 55 yards per game. Not what you're looking for from your #1 fantasy selection. It's also more clear with each passing week that Matt Ryan isn't the guy anymore. Great career, not off to a great start in Indy.
Tennessee is a hard team to get a read on too. Derrick Henry is still the key to the Titans machine, averaging over five yards per carry. It took the load off of Ryan Tannehill, who was efficient and mistake-free. But they've managed only one score in the second half all year, and they haven't exactly been going up against top tier defenses. Doesn't inspire much confidence if they need to come from behind in any games. They didn't need to in Indianapolis, leaving town with a big divisional victory.
Giants 20- Bears 12
How many NFL games this year do you think will feature the starting quarterbacks throwing for less then 250 yards combined? That's what we got in the Meadowlands Sunday-- 245 total passing yards from Daniel Jones and Justin Fields. Yes, the weather sucked, and both teams running games were solid, but this almost felt like a college football game.
Daniel Jones went 8/13 for just 71 yards, but added 68 and two scores on the ground. The Bears defense was undisciplined and allowed him far too much success rushing. He did injure his ankle late however, a situation worth monitoring throughout the week. Saquon rushed for 146 himself to add to the teams' totals. No receiver had more then one catch. Crazy.
Darnell Mooney finally showed up, more than tripling his yardage totals on the year with a 94 yard performance. But no other pass catchers did anything of significance. Khalil Herbert was steady but failed to deliver the massive fantasy day many pundits anticipated. Justin Fields QBR is 25.6. This Chicago team sucks.
Eagles 29- Jaguars 21
Philly just keeps on rolling. Rain, shine, wind, prime time, whatever, these Eagles are getting it done. Jalen Hurts was far from his best today, only accounting for one touchdown and 242 total yards, but given the weather it was plenty. Miles Sanders had a career high 27 carries which he took for 134 yards and two scores of his own. It seems like he's really began to separate as the team's clear RB1.
Fresh off of his offensive player of the week award, Trevor Lawrence was an absolute liability Sunday. He only threw one INT but lost four (4) fumbles. Five turnovers will doom any team, credit to the Jags for managing to keep this a one score game. James Robinson and Travis Etienne were nonfactors, which didn't help Jacksonville's effort. They're still tied with Tennessee for first place in the AFC South, but there's some cause for alarm after this sloppy outing.
Jets 24- Steelers 20
The Kenny Pickett era is officially underway. Mike Tomlin had no choice but to bench Mister Biscuit after his first half showing. The offense looked terrible, as it has all year, and needed some type of spark. The rookie was able to provide this, leading Pittsburgh on two touchdown drives.
Unfortunately, as rookies tend to do, Pickett did have some mishaps-- notably throwing an interception on all three of his incompletions. They moved the ball up and down the field though, which is much more then Trubisky was able to say. George Pickens also had a monster game, snaring six for 102. It's clear that both rookies enjoy playing with each other.
Zach Wilson and the Jets spoiled his big day though, running off 14 unanswered in the final quarter to pull off the upset. It was by no means a perfect start for the cougar hunter, but putting up 24 on the road against a tough defense is commendable. This New York offense feels like it has all the explosive potential in the world with four pass catchers posting average catches of 14.8 yards or more. Breece Hall also was steady on the ground and found pay dirt. If Zach Wilson can limit his mistakes, they won't be an easy out for anyone.
Bills 23- Ravens 20
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, I was present for this shit show of a game. Tied at 20 with four minutes left at the five yard line and the Ravens go for it. With the greatest kicker ever. On a day where their defense actually showed up. I cannot make sense of it.
Lamar threw an interception on that fourth down play. The Bills drove down the field and set up Tyler Bass for the game winning field goal. Baltimore has to be kicking themselves, leading 20-3 at one point in the second quarter. Rashod Bateman had three bad drops, they were shut out the final 33.5 minutes of the game, questionable coaching decisions. So miserable. The Ravens fall to 0-2 at home.
Credit Josh Allen and Doug McDermott for making necessary adjustments at the half to come back. With both units stumbling out of the gate, it could've been easy to ship it in. They rode their stud QB through the air and on the ground for 283 total yards. Gritty win that will likely have playoff implications down the road.
Chargers 34- Texans 24
Well, Justin Herbert looked healthy again. Austin Ekeler scored thrice to raise his season total to...three. Definitely the type of performance fantasy owners of his have been waiting for. Mike Williams shined with Keenan Allen sidelined again, taking seven catches for 120 yards. Gerald Everett delivered too as our start suggestion at tight end. This LA team has big health questions, and the defense hasn't gelled yet, but when their offense is playing like this they're plenty dangerous.
Houston was down 27-7 at the half. Instead of quitting on their home turf, they ran off 17 straight points to pull this game within three. Sphincter puckering couple of minutes there for Chargers fans. Davis Mills was fine. He made some mistakes but he also made some big plays to get the Texans in favorable spots. Dameon Pierce is the real deal, handling 100% of the carries for 131 yards at 9.4 yards per clip. He seems to be a real game wrecker. Nice find for Houston in this most recent draft.
Cardinals 26- Panthers 16
My goodness, Baker Mayfield is terrible. Three turnovers, less then 200 yards passing, two scoring drives. And one of those two drives was a 54 yard field goal before the half. This has to be the last stop for Mayfield as a starting quarterback, he is who is he.
Christian McCaffery is still great at least, putting together 108 total yards and the only Carolina offensive touchdown. DJ Moore got more involved as well, albeit only for 50 receiving yards on six catches. So much talent on this offense just going to waste. Is Matt Rhule still employed?
Kyler Murray didn't have the explosion we predicted, but he settled in nicely after his early pick six-- throwing for 207 and two touchdowns + one with his legs. Hollywood Brown found space regularly, pacing all pass catchers with 88 yards. Zach Ertz found the end zone as well. Big road win for the Cards, no shame in getting one of those in the NFL ever.
Packers 27- Patriots 24
This game wasn't supposed to be a close one. Aaron Rodgers' first half was one of his worst ever, capped off by an uncharacteristic pick six just before halftime. Fortunately for Green Bay, he was able to bounce back in the second, leading his patchwork group of receivers up and down the field with relative ease.
Running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon did a fair share of lifting also, combining for 33 carries and 183 yards. As important as Rodgers is to this offense, they really do go as far as these backs are able to take them. Allen Lazard cleared the century mark and Romeo Doubs added a touchdown to his season totals. He had an opportunity for another late but couldn't secure the catch in the right corner of the end zone.
Brian Hoyer started under center for New England but left early with a head injury, opening the door for Bailey Zappe's first NFL action. The rookie far outperformed expectations, completing 67% of his passes and leading the Patriots on two touchdown drives. It was encouraging for Zappe, who many spoke highly of after training camp.
In the end though, it wasn't enough, as Mason Crosby drilled a 31 yard field goal as time expired in overtime. Ugly start to the year, but Green Bay's 3-1.
Raiders 32- Broncos 23
Josh Jacobs coming out party on Sunday afternoon! The 4th year back turned 33 touches into 175 yards and two touchdowns, including one with 2:02 on the clock to salt the game away. Add in Davante Adams 9 catches for 101 yards (on 43% target share) and this is exactly the winning recipe for the silver and black. Crucial first win for Josh McDaniels with his new squad.
The Broncos at least looked competent in this one, after sleepwalking through much of the first three weeks. Russell Wilson only took three sacks, helping Denver up and down the field pretty consistently. Losing running back Javonte Williams to a torn ACL was a huge loss however. And backup Melvin Gordon fumbled for a fourth time in 2022, which Amik Robertson ran back 68 yards for a score. Definitely would be feeling more comfortable as a Raiders fan currently then the Broncos.
Chiefs 41- Buccaneers 31
What a display by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. They went into Tampa on Sunday night and absolutely dismantled the Bucs. KC led 21-3 and 38-17 at points before taking their foot off the gas.
Tampa Bay's offense simply couldn't keep up with the Chiefs here. A lost fumble on the opening kick off set a bad tone for the game and they never recovered. Getting Mike Evans and Chris Godwin back really improves the trajectory of this offense, but they're just not equipped to spot other teams 14 points off of turnovers.
Mahomes was spectacular, particularly on his second quarter touchdown pass to Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He rolled right, spun out of a sack and essentially shot putted the ball to his running back in the end zone as he absorbed a hit. It was a play only he seems to be able to make. Even against Devin White, Travis Kelce feasted, posting a 9/92/1 line. This Kansas City team is still really legit; statement victory for them in prime time.
49ers 24- Rams 9
Matthew Stafford might be cooked. His practice squad offensive line didn't help, giving up seven sacks and four more QB hits, but Stafford isn't getting it done. Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee combined for 24 catches and 195 yards, but the rest of the pass catchers cumulatively caught 8 for 59. As we mentioned last week, it's too often Kupp or bust for these Rams. Allen Robinson sucks and their running game is stuck in neutral. Trouble in Hollywood.
Jimmy G improved to 7-0 in the regular season against their in-state rivals. He wasn't a world beater, but he made big plays throughout this one to never let LA get too close. Jeff Wilson was awesome again on the ground, strengthening his RB1 grip by taking all of the carries that went to running backs. And Deebo is still incredible-- running with authority as he broke several tackles on a 57 yard catch and run for a second quarter score. He finished with 115 receiving yards. Big prime time win for San Francisco, improving to 2-2.
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@Choppinglines
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