Booms and Busts: Boogeying with Kirk Cousins

On every NFL Sunday I'll be your midday bridge, looking at five surprises and five disappointments from the early wave. The key word here is surprises. DeMarco Murray can't make the list when he goes off, as everyone expected. You're free to stump for your favorite hits and misses in the comments.

The Surprises

-- Kirk Cousins, QB, Redskins: He played well in his relief stint last week, but it wasn't easy to commit to him as a QB1 right away.

So much for that worry.

Cousins didn't get a victory in the 37-34 shootout at Philly, but he filled the box score deliciously (30-for-48, 427 yards, three touchdowns, one pick, 103.4 rating), clicking notably with Pierre Garcon (11-138-1, 16 targets) and DeSean Jackson (5-117-1, 11 targets). The Redskins finished with 511 total yards of offense and probably should have won the game, but fantasy players are just in it for the numbers. Does a Thursday night assignment scare you? Washington plays the Giants (and resurgent Eli Manning) four days from now.

-- Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, Ravens: He was Baltimore's No. 4 running back a month ago, but he might be the No. 1 option when the calendar flips. Taliaferro isn't much of a lateral threat, but there's nothing wrong with a classy 18-91-1 line at Cleveland. Inside power: bam, bam, bam-bam-bam. Justin Forsett didn't go away completely (11-63 rushing, four short catches), but Baltimore's offense looks crisper with the pile-moving Taliaferro. The Ravens will get tested next week, at home against Carolina's snarling defense.

-- Jordan Matthews, WR, Eagles: Every Philly game is turning into pinball this year, a fast-paced offense and a giveaway defense. I'm still not sure how good Nick Foles really is, but with Chip Kelly and a loaded batch of playmakers on this roster, it might not matter.

Matthews joined the fun in Week 3, scoring a couple of touchdowns and notching 17.9 fantasy points in standard Yahoo leagues. He's already ahead of Riley Cooper in the pecking order, no big surprise there. The 49ers defense is a tricky assignment next week, but you want a piece of this carnival each Sunday.

-- Victor Cruz, WR, Giants: We hadn't seen a Cruz Salsa for about a year, so we'll give some props for 107 yards and a touchdown in the victory over the Texans. Maybe the Giants offense is starting to click a little bit. Eli Manning has been solid for two straight games, and he didn't have a turnover Sunday. And Rashad Jennings (the one guy you were already trusting here) rushed for 176 yards in the win.

-- Bishop Sankey, RB, Titans: Tennessee was stomped from the opening snap in Cincinnati, but at least Sankey (10-61) did something in his change-of-pace role. How long will the Titans wait before Sankey takes over for stumbling Shonn Greene (10-33-1)?

The Disappointments

-- Pick a Big Name Quarterback: I'm going to lead with Tom Brady, perhaps for personal reasons. I did play him over Cousins, after all (have a good laugh in the comments). When you're a 14-point home favorite over the Raiders, Tom, I want more than 12.66 fantasy points. And what happened to that dreamy pocket awareness you had a few years ago?

Brady had lots of company, to be fair. Aaron Rodgers (162 passing yards) and Matthew Stafford (no touchdowns, two picks) did little in their matchup, taking down a slew of skill players with them. Drew Brees didn't have a bad game (293 yards, two scores), but finished under any reasonable projection.

-- Power Backs in Motown: Eddie Lacy's Schedule of Hell Tour continued, with 11 carries for 36 yards at Detroit. At least his schedule is about to get easier (Chicago next week). But what's Joique Bell's excuse (15-33) on the other side? The Lions gave Bell plenty of opportunities, but he didn't have a single run over five yards. Good luck against the run-stuffing Jets in Week 4.

-- Norv Turner, Offensive Coordinator, Vikings: No one expected Minnesota to hang around with New Orleans, so perhaps a 20-9 defeat is a moral victory for the Men in Purple. And the Vikings had to change course midgame, switching from Matt Cassel to rookie Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback.

But what happened to unlocking the Minnesota playmakers? Cordarrelle Patterson had one rushing attempt for a loss, then that angle was put on ice. Jerick McKinnon received two carries, minus-one yard. It's not like Matt Asiata (12-35 rushing) was rewriting the record book. Kyle Rudolph had three catches on five targets. At least Atlanta comes to town next week, a defense that shouldn't scare anyone.

-- Eagles Backfield: Shady McCoy gets 22 yards on 20 carries? I didn't think that was possible. McCoy briefly left Sunday's game with a possible concussion, but apparently passed the test for return. Darren Sproles averaged 10 yards per play, but received a mere five touches. The Eagles have so many weapons, you can't be that shocked when a big name goes missing in the passing game (Zach Ertz was quiet Sunday, just 2-14-0 on three targets).

-- Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers: I've been very patient with this situation, and maybe I'm going down with the ship. Allen was in decoy mode for Sunday's win at Buffalo, targeted just twice (2-17-0). Did the groin injury play into this, or was it mostly the game plan? At least Allen gets the feel-good Jaguars defense next week.

Maybe that Jacksonville matchup will get Antonio Gates (1-8-0) back on the beam, too. He was targeted just once in Buffalo (meanwhile, Eddie Royal scored twice; lovely game we play).