• Drake Maye was fantasy’s QB31 over the first three games, but he’s been the QB1 in back-to-back weeks despite missing AJ Brown. Maye posted the second-highest fantasy score by a quarterback this season Sunday while delivering beautiful deep balls we grew accustomed to last year. Maye’s slow start is but a distant memory now.
• TreVeyon Henderson left with an ankle injury, while Rhamondre Stevenson fought through his ailments.
• Kirk Cousins failed to throw multiple TDs for the first time this season, but Brock Bowers was fantasy’s TE2 during another impressive performance.
• Trevor Lawrence finally reached 30 pass attempts for the first time this season, which also benefitted Parker Washington. Washington’s second TD was a terrific one-handed grab on fourth down. Lawrence is now 12-1 over his last 13 regular season games thanks to a remarkable comeback win with eight seconds left.
• Will Shipley scored a goal-line TD but left late in the first half. Dameon Pierce is the next RB up in Philadelphia to burn your FAAB.
• Jalen Hurts overthrew a wide-open Dontayvion Wicks on a potential 60-yard touchdown and continues not to run nearly as much as usual. Hurts rightfully fell outside the top 15 quarterbacks in consensus ranks this week.
• David Montgomery exited with a groin injury that could cost him time, so Woody Marks gets upgraded.
• Marvin Harrison Jr.’s arrival isn’t likely to impact Nico Collins’ fantasy value significantly, but it’s certainly not good news.
• Jordan Love joined Ben Roethlisberger as the only players with five completions of 30+ air yards in a single game since ESPN began tracking the stat in 2006. Love’s CPOE (+16.2%) was in the 96th percentile, whereas Tyson Bagent’s (-10.9%) was in the 12th.
• Christian Watson erupted as fantasy’s WR1 this week, when his second touchdown grab was a head-topper.
• D’Andre Swift scored and would’ve had a big game with Kyle Monangai out if not for a disastrous performance by Bagent and eventually Case Keenum. Caleb Williams can’t return soon enough.
• Ja’Marr Chase returned from his concussion and hauled in an awesome touchdown catch during one of four Joe Burrow TD tosses.
• Chase Brown’s disappointing season continued, as he yielded work to Samaje Perine after losing a fumble. Brown will likely return to his normal workload after Cincinnati’s upcoming bye, but his red-zone opportunities have evaporated since Week 1.
• Ollie Gordon is a beast who looks like an RB2 rest of season only because his situation is so bad. Gordon was inches from scoring a second touchdown Sunday, and he’s quickly separated himself from Jaylen Wright.
• Malik Willis had more interceptions (two) than completions (one) late into the first half. He threw for only 137 yards and committed four fumbles/interceptions, yet Willis was a QB1 this week thanks to a big rushing day.
• Kyler Murray played better during Justin Jefferson’s return, while Aaron Jones Sr. continues to turn back the clock while averaging 24.3 touches over his last four games. The Vikings own an NFL-high 11-game winning streak.
• Tyler Shough came crashing back to earth against a stout defense, and volume (25 pass attempts) couldn’t save him this week. Minnesota has held its last two opponents to 164 combined passing yards.
• Devaughn Vele entered as fantasy’s WR27 on the season; imagine what Jordyn Tyson will do in this offense.
• Braelon Allen committed a fumble and a drop but otherwise impressed while acting as New York’s workhorse yet again. Allen was fantasy’s RB5 this week thanks to a more favorable game-script Sunday, when he ran for a career-high 116 yards and recorded the first rushing touchdown versus the Browns this season.
• Garrett Wilson had 70 yards and a touchdown during the Jets’ opening drive, although he was mostly quiet afterward.
• Rookie David Bailey was a monster while recording three sacks during arguably the best defensive performance of the week.
• Deshaun Watson was bad while taking eight sacks, and Quinshon Judkins was seen wearing a boot in the locker room after the game.
• Aaron Rodgers tossed three touchdowns for the third straight game, while Jaylen Warren totaled 188 YFS and was fantasy’s RB2 this week. Warren’s run as an RB1 may end with Rico Dowdle likely returning next week, but he clearly deserves more touches.
• Tyler Warren entered with the lowest aDOT among all pass catchers in the NFL, and he punched in a goal-line TD run Sunday.
• Josh Downs saw fewer targets than Warren, Keenan Allen and Laquan Treadwell, as he continues to underperform expectations.
• Jayden Daniels returned and became the first QB with multiple 25+ yard rushing touchdowns in the same game since Michael Vick in 2002. Daniels is at risk of aggravating his dislocated elbow and ending his season on any play, but it’s huge news he’s willing to run like this while playing through his injury.
• Jameis Winston tossed three TD passes in the second half, and he helped provide big fantasy games by Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers. Likely was easily fantasy’s TE1 this week, although his status needs to be monitored after he hobbled off late. Meanwhile, Nabers saw a league-high 20 targets. Winston’s arm has looked much better the last two weeks, and he can be a fantasy kingmaker. The Giants leading their division is also good news for fantasy managers of Nabers and Likely, as it means J.J. McCarthy is less likely to take over any time soon.
• Cam Skattebo lost an egregious fumble with New York in game-winning FG range late in overtime. The Commanders returned the favor by running out of time in their field goal range, fittingly ending the game in a tie.
• Jahmyr Gibbs is breaking prediction models this season, and the Lions scored 45 points Sunday despite recording negative yardage and zero points in the first quarter.
• Michael Wilson had a quiet game with Harrison inactive, but Trey McBride pulled down a ridiculous touchdown catch in garbage time.
• Jeremiyah Love has totaled two targets for negative eight yards receiving over the last two weeks, which is as perplexing as his recent comments.
• The Cardinals are 2-15 with a -194-point differential over 17 games with Jacoby Brissett.
• Neither Jaylen Waddle nor Bo Nix experienced a fantasy boost with Sean Payton taking over play calling in Denver, although J.K. Dobbins had his best game of the season.
• Omarion Hampton saw just one target and finished third on the Chargers in rushing yards despite a 50% RB rush share. I’m beginning to think he was a bad early second round fantasy pick.
• Justin Herbert became the first QB in NFL history to start 0-5 with an interception and multiple sacks taken in each game. His awful start included facing the second easiest QB schedule over the season’s first four weeks, but he’s set to face the league’s most difficult QB schedule rest of season. Herbert had a lower consensus rank than undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels this week, and it was the right call.
• Charlie Kolar led the Chargers with 37 receiving yards as Tre Harris left injured. Los Angeles’ start to the season hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
• Mike Evans finished as fantasy’s WR5 this week against a Seahawks’ secondary that entered allowing the second fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Evans did so while playing through multiple broken ribs. In terms of EPA, Brock Purdy to Evans has been the best connection in the NFL this year.
• Christian McCaffrey’s past workload isn’t returning this season.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored a touchdown after having his ankle taped, so the injury likely isn’t serious. But it may be worth monitoring.
• Sam Darnold has been intercepted during his first pass in back-to-back games, and he was also picked during his first attempt of the second half Sunday.
• The 49ers and Seahawks combined for an NFL-high seven turnovers, and there were still 20+ minutes remaining. San Francisco entered with three takeaways on the season but recorded four during its win to remain undefeated.