Bad Loss, but Proud Moment

When I got the news that Deshaun Watson was going to be out the rest of the year, I had to call my wife. I had to rant, to just get my thoughts off of my chest. Yes, I do my absolute best to be impartial and to give you the best analysis possible, but I’m still a fan. And my team has lost its starting superstar running back and starting quarterback for the season. We’re 6-3, in the playoffs if it started today, feeling good, but that’s such a Browns thing to give you hope long enough to taste it just to crush it.

So, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is starting, or expected to. I didn’t have high hopes for P.J. Walker, but he’s the best option for winning right now, frankly. Maybe DTR will return to his preseason form. Maybe they said “heck with it, let’s just mail in the rest of the season” and see what the rookie can do. I don’t know.

What I do know is this, Amari Cooper, David Njoku, and Elijah Moore all take massive hits. Cooper is the only one I’d consider starting and even then he’s riding my bench for at least a week, probably two. It’s stock up Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, who will likely be relied on more, so there’s a silver lining.

Ok, rant/fantasy analysis over for that situation. It’s a bit of a longer newsletter, wanted to go into matchups and a little more stats this week, but if you don’t have time to read it all, I have player names in bold and emojis for teams at each point. That way if you’re looking for a quick bite, you should find it!

But first, I must detail my Thursday Night showdown loss as per my agreement. 😉 

Hehe, I took Monday night football. I’m 10-3 at that point and feeling good. But then Thursday night happened. My wife and I make lineups, and I find her’s to be a little funky, but I’m like, ok that works I guess.

I teased her about having Trayveon Williams instead of Nelson Agholor in her lineup (which I ended up right by the way), but I thought, eh, we’ll see how it goes. Surely my Mark Andrews at captain with Lamar, Boyd, Flowers, Irwin, and the explosive Keaton Mitchell will win out, right?

Wrong. Not only did that lineup fail to cash, much less beat her, it came near the bottom of the standings. Not only that, but I made seven total lineups for TNF for some showdown contests. I had some good ones and made a profit even, but none were as good as hers. In the DraftKings Dime Time contest featuring nearly 9000 people, she came in 318th. I was 8110th.

Lamar at captain with an Odell Beckham stack was the trick. Oh, and she had Joe Mixon, Zay Flowers, Joe Burrow, along with Williams. So I lost. I knew it was coming, I can’t have a win streak that long especially in showdown-style games.

But hats off 🎩 to her for cashing in a contest where I came out flat! I’m 10-4 on the year now, but I think she might have the best overall finish of the season. Extremely proud over here.

Thursday Night Fantasy Recap

Someone forgot to turn off the injury setting in the Baltimore vs Cincy game because that’s all that happened. First, it was Andrews, then Lamar, then Burrow, then Odell Beckham, and I believe several defensive players fell for the Bengals as well, though sadly I don’t remember their names.

Andrews is reportedly out for the season with an ankle injury. The two teams I had this season trying to make a playoff push with Andrews at TE? It’s a terrible thing for the talented tight end and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

The passing game for Baltimore showed some life in this game, spurred by some big chunk plays by Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, and the re-emergence of Rashod Bateman. The Ravens still have Isaiah Likely at tight end, but he failed to do much when Andrews missed in week 1, here’s to hoping that trend doesn’t continue.

Gus Edwards is still the lead back for the Ravens and it’s nice to see him get both passing and goalline work. Keaton Mitchell had a coming down-to-earth game but still averaged a healthy four yards a carry.

For the Bengals, we really don’t know what to expect going forward without Joe Burrow. Jake Browning didn’t look terrible despite the loss, he actually had a passer rating of 100, which is good (perfect is 152, I believe). Ja’Marr Chase was saved by a touchdown pass, but it was a night to forget for him. Joe Mixon is returning to RB1 territory with the receiving work he’s seeing, so fire him up going forward.

One thing I’d like to note is the emergence of Tanner Hudson. The Bengals have been searching for a TE for a while now and Hudson has caught at lest four passes in three straight games and looks to be featured more and more in the passing game. He could be worth streaming even when Tee Higgins returns.

Things to look out for in Week 11

• 🔥 The Jaguars have allowed the most targets and receptions to running backs this season. With Will Levis at the helm, Tyjae Spears has averaged 5 targets and 3.7 receptions per game. His per-catch stats weren’t impressive in the first two games, but he exploded for 42 yards on four receptions last week against Tampa.

• 🦁 Speaking of receptions and yards allowed to running backs, Chicago has given up 615 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns to running backs, most in the NFL. Do you know who gets them this week? Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 31 catches for 200 yards this season and is the RB1 in PPG since week 7.

• The Detroit DST makes for an interesting start against Justin Fields this week in his first game back from injury.

• 🏹 Rashee Rice managed only two targets against Miami, but caught both for 17 yards and a score, so at least he made the most of it. The Chiefs face the Eagles this week on Monday night, and this is not the Philly secondary of last year. They have allowed the third most yards and tied for the most touchdowns allowed to wideouts this season.

• 🐆 Tennessee has allowed the seventh most points to wideouts this season, and they face the Jaguars who should be fired up after losing to the 49ers in blowout fashion. Christian Kirk has had at least 78 yards and/or a touchdown in seven of his last eight games, and should be a solid bet to continue that trend this week.

• 🎖️ The Giants have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards and the most rushing touchdowns this season at 16. They’ve allowed teams to run for more than 120 in all but two games this season. One of those two teams is Washington, who they face this week. Dallas completely outclassed the Giants’ defense, who had a great three-week stretch but that seems to be a mirage. I think Brian Robinson does well against them this week, and heck Sam Howell might get some rushing yards in too. By the way, Howell is the QB8 in PPG this season.

• 🔵 Adam Thielen has been a wonderful surprise this season, bouncing back from a disappointing 2022 in a huge way. Where I’ve had him, he’s started for me nearly every week. But that won’t be the case this week. The Cowboys have allowed the fewest receptions and third-fewest yards to wide receivers this season and Bryce Young has not been good enough to make me feel

• 🐬 De’Von Achane picked the right week to return. The Raiders have allowed the second-most rushing yards in the NFL and are a top-10 matchup for running backs.

• 🔴 Trey McBride gets a great matchup against the Texans this week after coming off of an eight-for-131 game against Atlanta last week. He’s had at least eight receptions and 95 yards in two of his last three games. His down game came against the Browns, who have allowed only 204 receiving yards to tight ends all season, 124 of those yards came from Mark Andrews in his two games against them.

• 🏴‍☠️ Since his bye week in week 5, Rachaad White is the RB4 in fantasy football. It’s a tough matchup against San Fransisco this week but he could present a buying opportunity if he has a down game. His end-of-season schedule includes games against Carolina, Indy, Jacksonville, and Green Bay.

• 🦬 Since week 7, Dalton Kincaid has been the TE4 in PPG, scoring no less than 11 points in half-PPR scoring. The Jets are bottom half in reception and yards allowed to tight ends this season, but curiously they are tied for the most touchdowns allowed to the position with six. It’s been tough to get wideouts going against the Jets, so expect Josh Allen to look Kincaid’s way.

That’s all for this week!