Week 4 fantasy wrap: Ben Roethlisberger tops Mostly NFL Notes
One week after losing 34-3, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns (with zero picks) in a 43-14 dismantling of the Chiefs on Sunday night. He got 11.1 YPA and tossed five TDs for the fifth time in his career on just 27 attempts. Even after getting shut down against a surprisingly stingy Philadelphia defense (the Eagles have yet to allow a single passing score on the year), Big Ben is still on pace to finish with 44 passing touchdowns, which would be a dozen more than his career high. Dating back to last season, Roethlisberger has thrown a whopping 24 touchdowns over his past eight home games, and he gets a Jets team that’s allowed an NFL-high 9.7 YPA this season in Week 5. With Le’Veon Bell back from suspension, Sammie Coates emerging as a real deep threat, and Antonio Brown doing Antonio Brown things, the Steelers offense is extremely dangerous, and Roethlisberger is going to put up monstrous numbers as a result.
Spencer Ware lost a fumble for the third straight game, which isn’t helping his case for touches with Jamaal Charles likely ready for more work when Kansas City returns from its bye in Week 6 … The Chiefs haven’t won a game in 29 years with a quarterback they drafted (h/t Drew Magary) … Le’Veon Bell looked really good during his return. Has there ever been a time when the two most valuable fantasy players were on the same team? Because that’s arguably the case right now in Pittsburgh.
The Colts struggled to block, dropped a bunch of passes and Andrew Luck wasn’t sharp, getting 5.6 YPA against a poor Jags defense. The Colts are miserable right now … At least Phillip Dorsett made the most of his one catch, taking it 64 yards for a score … It was odd to see it take a whole half before Indy decided to shadow Allen Robinson with Vontae Davis.
For more on the ugly London game and other reactions to Week 4, check out our latest podcast.
What a game in Atlanta, which saw them combine for 40 points in the fourth quarter. The Falcons are thriving during the team’s second year in Kyle Shanahan’s system, with Matt Ryan off to easily the best start of his career. He’s on pace to throw for 5,892 yards with 44 touchdowns despite not attempting 40 passes in any game so far this season … One week after recording just one catch for 16 yards in a game in which Atlanta scored 45 points, Julio Jones went off for 300 yards, including this 75-yard touchdown. He’s scored in three of four games this year, failing to reach the end zone only when facing the Saints … Life gets more difficult for the surging Falcons with upcoming matchups in Denver and in Seattle over the next two weeks … Greg Olsen was quiet for three quarters, but the Panthers offense finally got going once down 34-10 in the fourth.
Rough game for Matthew Stafford, while Golden Tate was benched for most of the second half … The Lions have ceded 8.1 YPA with a 12:1 TD:INT ratio and an NFL-high 120.2 passer rating against, yet Alshon Jeffery managed just 46 yards and was held without a touchdown for the fourth straight game to open the year … No team allowed more than 12 scores to opposing tight ends last season. The Lions have already allowed half that amount through the first month of the season. Zach Ertz owners sure hope he’s back for their matchup with Detroit in Week 5 … Jordan Howard looked good and is clearly a much better player than Jeremy Langford. It’s Howard’s job to lose now, and he gets Indy and Jacksonville over the next two weeks.
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New England was at home and had 10 days to prepare yet were shutout for the first time ever in Gillette Stadium, thanks in part to Brandon Bolden dropping a would-be touchdown. Fantasy owners tied to any Patriots will gladly welcome Tom Brady’s return in Week 5 … Being injured is one thing but being hurt and active was even worse for those who started Rob Gronkowski the last two weeks … LeSean McCoy is playing really well this season, and he already has four touchdowns despite a difficult schedule.
Quincy Enunwa secured 6-of-7 targets for 60 yards against a tough Seattle secondary. He’s going to be plenty valuable moving forward with Eric Decker sidelined indefinitely … Jimmy Graham left briefly with a knee scare but returned and reached 100 receiving yards for the second straight game. He reached 85 yards just once during his first year in Seattle. Graham should be treated as a top-five fantasy tight end right now … Ryan Fitzpatrick has nine interceptions over his last two games … The Jets have yet to complete a pass to a tight end this season.
Kirk Cousins averaged 329.7 passing yards and 1.0 touchdown pass over his first three games, so naturally, he threw for 196 yards and three scores Sunday … Terrelle Pryor didn’t see any time under center and carried just once, but he saw a team-high nine targets and scored while having to deal with Josh Norman shadowing him quite a bit, so his outlook remains encouraging, especially with Josh Gordon not coming back to Cleveland … Isaiah Crowell is second in the NFL with 386 rushing yards despite a modest 60 carries (Ezekiel Elliott is first with 412 yards on 34 more rushing attempts).
DeAndre Washington is tied for second in the league with three carries that have gone for 20+ yards, and he’s an intriguing stash in all fantasy leagues right now, although he did lose a fumble Sunday … Terrance West was an immediate upgrade over inactive Justin Forsett, and he’ll be worth using in Week 5 at home against Washington. Of course, Kenneth Dixon looms, making West likely just a short-term fix … The Raiders have won their first three road games for the first time since 2000, and Derek Carr continues to produce far higher TD numbers than his YPA would indicate … I’m finished ranking Amari Cooper so much higher than Michael Crabtree week in and week out, as the latter continues to be the much preferred target in the red zone. Crabtree’s third touchdown Sunday proved to be the game winner.
DeMarco Murray has gotten 5.2 YPC, scored five touchdowns and secured 19-of-21 targets this year, as he’s been highly impressive on an otherwise terrible offense … Lamar Miller has an NFL-high 106 touches on a team that’s 3-1 yet is still searching for his first touchdown on the season … DeAndre Hopkins somehow managed just four yards on six targets, while Will Fuller made a couple of really nice catches and scored twice, including on this punt return.
It’s unclear how serious Trevor Siemian’s injury is, but Paxton Lynch looked plenty capable during his NFL debut, and Denver’s playbook sure didn’t seem to shrink any. The Broncos’ dominant defense limits the upside of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but the team’s thin passing tree helps keep them plenty relevant. Denver attempted 31 passes, and the two wide receivers saw 20 of the targets (the same exact amount each did the prior week) … Mike Evans got only 59 yards on 11 targets, and it’s tough to rely on anyone facing this Denver defense. Of course, no one is benching Julio Jones in Week 5.
This ping pong rally is so legit.
The Cardinals ended my main survivor pool entry, as it wasn’t a whole lot of fun watching Michael Floyd drop numerous passes, his teammates lose multiple fumbles and Jeff Fisher waste both of his challenges … Arizona has scored zero points in the first quarter this season. They are 1-3 and now have to travel during a short week (they play @SF on Thursday night) possibly without Carson Palmer … Brian Quick has three touchdowns on four catches over his last two games … John Brown is emphatically back with 16 targets thrown his way … The Rams are somehow 3-1 despite Todd Gurley getting 2.6 YPC on 82 rushing attempts and Case Keenum getting 6.8 YPA … The key to having a good season is getting badly beaten in San Francisco during the second game on Monday night in Week 1, just ask last year’s Vikings and now the Rams.
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Carlos Hyde and Melvin Gordon have a combined 11 rushing touchdowns playing for teams a combined 2-6 … Not only has Dak Prescott yet to throw an interception, he hasn’t fumbled either. He may never commit a turnover in his career … After such a tough road back from his torn knee, it’s rough to see NaVorro Bowman leave with what appeared to be a torn Achilles. Just brutal … According to Pro Football Focus, Blaine Gabbert is 1-of-11 on passes thrown 20+ yards downfield this season.
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The Chargers committed three turnovers in the final seven minutes, blowing yet another fourth-quarter lead. It’s performance art, really … Mark Ingram entered the year with the second-most carries inside the five-yard line over the past two seasons (despite missing seven games over that span), yet he watched John Kuhn score three touchdowns and Daniel Lasco steal GL attempts as well Sunday. Meanwhile, Ingram somehow led New Orleans with 49 receiving yards … The Saints have scored 67 points over the last two weeks, yet Brandin Cooks has managed just 44 yards without a score over that span. It’s a bit disconcerting (although he was up against a couple of tough corners) … I ranked both Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams aggressively this week, but they took a backseat to Dontrelle Inman, who turned a team-high 11 targets into 120 yards and a TD. It looks like a committee situation regarding San Diego’s wide receivers, making none all that valuable.
Melvin Gordon lost a costly fumble Sunday and got just 1.9 YPC at home against a Saints defense that allowed 217 rushing yards last week. Still, Gordon also scored his league-high sixth touchdown and saw seven targets, so the volume should remain high. But his season YPC is down to 3.2, and he faces the Broncos defense in two of the team’s next four games, so Gordon is a tough player to value right now.
