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Fantasy Wrap: We finally get the Aaron Jones we've been waiting for in Week 10

Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Jones had the huge game Sunday fantasy owners have been waiting for (AP Photo).
Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Jones had the huge game Sunday fantasy owners have been waiting for (AP Photo).

Miami Dolphins vs. Green Bay Packers

One week after losing a costly fumble, Aaron Jones responded with the best game of his career. He rushed for 145 yards with two touchdowns (9.7 YPC). He was caught on a long early run but totaled 123 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter alone on just six touches. The sophomore back continues to impress whenever the ball’s in his hands. Even before Sunday’s outburst, Jones ranked first in YPC (5.7), success rate and breakaway% over the last two years. It’s going to be harder for even Mike McCarthy to keep him off the field.

Still, with upcoming games in Seattle and Minnesota, game script won’t be so favorable (Jones still saw a modest 15 carries in the team’s easy 31-12 win Sunday and has never been given 20 in a game), which his lack of receiving makes him extra dependent on. But that’s the only thing preventing Jones from being a top-10 back down the stretch, when he’ll no doubt have more monster games (Weeks 13/14 he gets Ari/Atl at home).

Brock Osweiler got 5.8 YPA with two turnovers and no scores, badly overthrowing a wide open DeVante Parker on a would-be 75-yard touchdown. Brocktober is definitely over. The Dolphins have yet to score on an opening drive this season and have gone nine quarters without an offensive touchdown…Each team ran successful fake punts in the fourth quarter, as fake kicks were a huge theme throughout the league in Week 10…I’d be trying to buy Marquez Valdes-Scantling right now.

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears

Matthew Stafford took six more sacks after suffering 10 last week. Mitchell Trubisky, however had a huge game (11.8 YPA, four touchdowns) and recorded his first career win against a divisional opponent. The Lions were truly apathetic at times in coverage…Jordan Howard was a huge disappointment (1.9 YPC) in a prime matchup with favorable game flow, as Tarik Cohen and Trubisky both stole short rushing scores…Allen Robinson proved he wasn’t lying when he said he was fully healthy (133 yards, two TDs), while Anthony Miller appears to be the real deal…Kenny Golladay saw a league-high 13 targets and finished second in air yards (178) in Week 10. He could be looking at a huge finish with Marvin Jones also exiting with a knee injury.

New Orleans Saints vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Drew Brees tossed as many touchdowns (three) as incompletions with Michael Thomas on the receiving end of two. Thomas has now secured a crazy 78-of-87 targets this season…Andy Dalton badly missed A.J. Green, with Tyler Boyd disappointing in his role…Tre’Quan Smith wasn’t targeted, while John Ross saved his fantasy day with a score…Thomas, Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram combined for five touchdowns by halftime, with the latter totaling 162 yards from scrimmage. No team has been more inviting for fantasy backs than the Bengals over the past six weeks.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Cleveland Browns

Matt Ryan threw for 330 yards with two scores but was held to 6.3 YPA in a tough matchup, although he found Julio Jones for a score on his first red-zone target since Week 1…Tevin Coleman and Ito Smith were big letdowns in a highly favorable matchup, and the Falcons curiously ran shotgun on a failed fourth-and-goal from the one…Baker Mayfield played the best game of his career, although that still resulted in a flop from Jarvis Landry despite Atlanta having allowed the third-most fantasy points to the slot over the last eight weeks…Nick Chubb is already a star and had the longest run in the history of the Browns. It’s especially encouraging he caught all three targets (one for a score) as well. The Browns have an upcoming bye but still get the Bengals two times this season, so Chubb is going to be a fantasy difference maker down the stretch.

New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans

Tom Brady was outplayed by Marcus Mariota (who, now healthy, continues to impress), and that’s also factoring in him laughably falling down in the open field after a catch. The Titans have ceded the fewest touchdowns (15) in the NFL, and Malcolm Butler has been responsible for seven of them…Josh Gordon saw more Adoree Jackson in coverage than fantasy owners expected, but the well-dressed wideout still led the league in air yards (195) and was close to having a much bigger day. He’s looking at a huge opportunity in this offense with Rob Gronkowski broken down (and to think, Bill Belichick got a first rounder for him from the Lions before the tight end vetoed it)…No team had struggled worse against tight ends over the previous five games than New England, who allowed a Jonnu Smith TD and nearly another to someone called Anthony Firkser. Keep that in mind after the Patriots’ bye.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts

Blake Bortles entered getting 6.3 YPA with a 3:6 TD:INT ratio on the road this season but threw for 330 yards, two scores, and easily could’ve had a bigger game. No team had been worse against quarterbacks over the previous five games than Indy (including the lone game in which Derek Carr was competent). Add in their league-high pace on offense and this is the defense to target QBs against in DFS…Andrew Luck is 100 percent back…So appears Leonard Fournette, who wasted no time in racking up the second-most touches this week (David Johnson had the most)…Donte Moncrief was a good buy-low call here…No one likes throwing to tight ends more than Luck, as Eric Ebron had three touchdowns (one was a run) and Mo Alie-Cox had another and all were by halftime (Jack Doyle finished without one though). In my home league, my wife benched Ebron and Allen Robinson this week.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The streaks of Patrick Mahomes’ 300-yard passing games as well as the Chiefs winning every coin toss this year both came to an end Sunday. The Cardinals were surprisingly competitive in Kansas City despite another shaky performance from Josh RosenDavid Johnson was used by far the best he has all season, while Kareem Hunt disappointed owners against an Arizona front seven that had allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season.

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets

Matt Barkley, who started both at Mater Dei High School and USC as a freshman, was a massive upgrade over Nathan Peterman, but the same can’t be said for Josh McCown (35.8 Passer Rating) over Sam Darnold. The Bills were again the league’s worst matchup for opposing passers, only this time with a reverse game script than usual…Buffalo had a season-high in rushing yards by halftime, while Zay Jones erupted for 93 yards and a score, becoming this week’s wideout to destroy the Jets in the slot. Jones finished second in WOPR in Week 10 (Corey Davis was first), so he’s an intriguing add with Peterman out of the picture.

Washington Redskins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Alex Smith threw for just 178 yards (6.6 YPA) but was mistake-free, while Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 406 yards (9.9 YPA), no scores, and three turnovers, which was the difference…After Adam Humphries and O.J. Howard had big games last week, Chris Godwin and Jacquizz Rodgers led the Bucs in receiving, both going for 100+ yards. Mike Evans, meanwhile, has 67 scoreless yards on 16 targets over the last two weeks against struggling outside corners…Washington has yet to play a game this season in which there was a lead change.

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr has produced zero touchdowns in three of his last four games, while Philip Rivers has produced an NFL-high 10 straight games with a 95+ Passer Rating…Tyrell Williams, who entered leading the NFL in yards per target and fantasy points per target and was facing an Oakland secondary allowing an NFL-high 9.1 YPA, was quiet aside from a badly dropped ball while wide open on third down. He wasn’t as invisible as Mike Williams, though. I had both ranked far too high this week…The Chargers’ only losses this season have come against the Rams and Chiefs but none of their wins have come against a team with a winning record.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams

Both Jared Goff and Russell Wilson continued to play well, with the latter once again not being asked to do much (Wilson is averaging 27.4 passes this season after averaging 34.5 last year). His ability to connect with Tyler Lockett in the end zone remains a thing of beauty…Mike Davis was fine (5.3 YPC, TD catch) filling in for Chris Carson, but it was Rashaad Penny who opened eyes, running for 108 yards and a score on just 12 carries. Penny is now over his weight issues and popped on the screen whenever the ball was in his hands. While this will likely remain a committee situation, it helps that no team runs more than Seattle.

The Seahawks traded up in the first round to take Penny, who draftniks loved. He’s got upside…Cooper Kupp suffered a likely torn ACL, which is obviously devastating to fantasy owners and the Rams, whose offense wasn’t as sharp without him earlier this year. I wonder if Kupp returned too soon, but either way, Josh Reynolds is now a must-add in all formats…The Rams are the only team to score in every half this season, and Sean McVay still hasn’t lost back-to-back games as their coach.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Carson Wentz threw for 360 yards (second-most of his career) with multiple touchdowns for the sixth straight week, while Dak Prescott won for the first time on the road this season, rushing in a score for the third time over the last four games…The Eagles entered allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs (although their rush defense DVOA ranked just 23rd), but Ezekiel Elliott totaled 187 yards with two touchdowns, including a sick hurdle in a dominant performance. He’s averaging 5.3 targets this year after seeing just 3.1 over the first two seasons of his career…Zach Ertz went off for 14-145-2, but Golden Tate was quiet during his Philly debut…If you must start an Eagles back, make it Josh Adams, and Amari Cooper has taken well to his role as Dallas’ No. 1 wideout, seeing another 10 targets Sunday night. As tough as Cooper’s first half schedule was with Oakland, it looks incredibly favorable moving forward, so he’s locked in as a strong WR2.

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