27 Sep The Week in Review: Week 3
The Week in Review: Week 3
What a Sunday of football from beginning to end. I hope you all managed to slip by with a win like Justin Tucker’s 66-yard game-winning field goal (NFL Record). That was legitimately one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. There were a lot of wonderful developments to pick up on in these games but unfortunately, there were equally concerning ones that unfolded as well. In this article I will highlight the players I liked and disliked from Sunday’s slate of games.
Things I liked in Week 3:
Josh Allen is nothing short of incredible. He had Buffalo’s offense firing on all cylinders, finishing the game with 358 passing yards and 4 TDs. He added an additional TD in the rushing game. Allen humiliated the WFT defense in this matchup as he completed 74.4% of his throws. He gets another juicy matchup next week vs. Houston, in what should be an absolute bloodbath.
Emmanuel Sanders was Allen’s top target in this one. The 34-year-old speedster was all over the field, catching 5 passes for 94 yards and 2 TDs. It was only a matter of time until he and Josh Allen got things going. Look for them to become an even more lethal downfield tandem as their chemistry improves throughout the season.
Mike Williams might be from another planet. He has looked other-worldly this season and has had many opportunities to shine. He has received 31 targets in three games to start the season, to go with 295 yards and 4 TDs. On a 17-game pace, he would currently be projected to finish the season with 1,672 yards and approximately 23 touchdowns. Wow. In this game, he finished with 9 catches for 122 yards and 2 TDs, including the game-winner. He seems to be outdoing himself each week, which is extremely exciting.
On the other side of the tosses in this game was none other than second-year phenom, Justin Herbert. It is safe to say that he out-dueled Patrick Mahomes in this contest. He dazzled in this performance, displaying an advanced repertoire of throws. What impressed me the most was his composure in the pocket and impressive maturity. He proved to be bigger than the moment, taking down who many believe to be the best team in football. It was David vs. Goliath and David emerged victorious yet again.
Do you remember when we were concerned with Ja’Marr Chase’s issues with drops this preseason? Me neither. He finished this game with 5 catches for 65 yards and 2 TDs. The rookie has scorched the league and is taking names; connecting with LSU teammate, Joe Burrow, for four TDs in his first three career games. With Tee Higgins battling an injury, Ja’Marr the Star, sure looks like the WR1 in Cincinnati.
Why isn’t everybody freaking out about how Najee Harris received 19 targets vs. the Bengals? Look, I get that almost all of the Steelers’ pass catchers were hurt in this game, but this is HUGE. The stud rookie caught 14 of 19 opportunities and turned them into 102 yards. Big Ben might be more washed than last week’s laundry, but if he can continue dumping it off to Najee, great production will materialize.
Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford must be best friends. Their chemistry on the field is so powerful that they must hangout 24/7 off the field. Kupp has always been a great player, but Stafford has completely unlocked his full potential. He has eclipsed 95 receiving yards in all three games this season and has five touchdowns on the year. Expect these two to continue to produce at an extremely high level and flaunt their fantasy prowess ROS.
It was nice to get a small break from the Tyler Lockett show, to catch an episode from the D.K. Metcalf network. After failing to capitalize on some key opportunities in Week 2, Metcalf made sure to make the most of them this week. He finished the game with 6 catches for 107 yards and a TD. I expect more explosive games moving forward.
There were so many players to be impressed with on the Minnesota Vikings this week. Kirk Cousins has been amazing to start the year and has been able to admirably support all of his fantasy assets. I was most impressed with Alexander Mattison. He had huge shoes to fill, stepping up for Dalvin Cook, who had been ruled out with an injury. The young RB had himself a career day, finishing the game with 112 rushing yards on 26 carries. He additionally added 8 catches for 59 yards, further padding his Alexander Stat-tisons.
Justin Jefferson was great, yet again. But more surprisingly, TE Tyler Conklin, had himself a big day. He caught 7 of his 8 targets for 70 yards and a TD. The opportunity is his for the taking and if you are in need at the position, he possesses promising upside.
Did you hear that? That’s the sound of Brandon Aiyuk’s buy-low window being slammed shut. It was nice to see the talented WR showcase some of the attributes that made us fall in love with his play last season. It was not a huge game, but it was nice to see him get a couple receptions and score his first touchdown of the season. Hopefully this is a sign of better days ahead.
A.J. Green just put together a vintage performance against Jacksonville. He finished the game with 6 catches for 112 yards. It seems very possible that the veteran WR has some juice left in the tank. The Arizona receiving corps will lead us to our next segment.
Things I did not like from Week 3:
Sometimes a great NFL team does not always translate to being great for fantasy football. This might be the case for the Arizona Cardinals. Outside of Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins and Chase Edmonds, the team is a bit of a mystery box. We know those studs are every-week-starters. Last week, Rondale Moore had a huge game, this week he only had two catches for one measly yard. It will be very difficult to predict who will be the hot-hand between Rondale, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk. Not exactly the consistency that I desire in my FLEX spot.
This was supposed to be a statement game for Ty’Son Williams. What in the world happened? Coming off of two impressive outings, Williams was hardly utilized in this game. He only carried the ball five times and received one target, which he failed to catch. The good news is no one in the Baltimore backfield was impressive in this game. This situation is something to monitor moving forward, but I believe in the talent of Ty’Son.
I spoke on this earlier, but Ben Roethlisberger looks cooked. He is slower than ever and no longer possesses the arm strength to throw the deep ball. It is officially time to downgrade your expectations on all of the Steelers’ pass catchers. When Diontae Johnson gets healthy, he still receives enough volume to have great weeks for fantasy.
What a debut it was for Justin Fields. I am not here to hate on the rookie, but this game could not have gone any worse for him. He only completed 6 of 20 passes and was sacked 9 times. He was unable to support any of the team’s fantasy assets, most notably, Allen Robinson II. Better days are ahead for both players but this showing was difficult to watch.
On paper (or if you watched the highlights from this game), you might have been satisfied with Antonio Gibson’s Week 3 performance. Dive in a little deeper and you will find a concerning trend. He had an explosive play in the first half of the game, taking a pass to the house for a 73-yard touchdown. Fantasy teams rejoiced as they finally saw what they dreamt of from their RB. The problem is, he only totaled 31 additional yards in this game. He additionally only rushed the ball 12 times. I believe in the talent of Gibson but he will only be as good as the coaching staff lets him be. In order for him to unleash his full potential, his usage will have to go up significantly. I still have hope that this will happen eventually this season. He is simply too good to be held back much longer.
Robert Woods continued to be underwhelming in Week 3. He had a mundane 3 catches for 33 yards. I think he should be fine moving forward but fine isn’t what you drafted him to be. It’s still only the third week of the season but I have genuine concern that Woods will be left in the shadows while Kupp reaps all of the rewards of playing with Matthew Stafford.
Do not be fooled by the final stat line, Trey Sermon left a lot to be desired in this game. He had a touchdown, which saved his fantasy performance, but was very underwhelming in this game. It is just one performance, so I do not want to overreact or over-speculate, but we have seen a lot of RBs succeed in this system. All eyes will be on him next week and his free-pass is expiring.
It is crazy to think that we are already three weeks through the NFL season. I never thought I would be starting Alexander Mattison over Antonio Gibson in the third week of the season. After that huge touchdown from Gibson, I was even more surprised that it ended up being the right decision. My Jets look like an absolute dumpster fire, yet again. But at least most of my fantasy teams did well. I hope you guys had fortunate outcomes as well as we look forward to Week 4. Keep an eye out for my Waiver Wire Advice and Starts of the Week as we look to conquer next week’s matchups together.
A ride-or-die NY Jets fan from Northern New Jersey who is passionate about sports, music and art. He works in purchasing for a fragrance manufacturer during the day and will go the extra mile to make sure your Fantasy Football teams are always fresh.