Sunday Recap: Week 10

Lions @ Packers

It was the first time in 24 games, that the Lions went into Lambeu Field, and won. Green Bay had the second highest projected team total on the slate, and fell far short. Aaron Rodgers aired it out 61 times, completing just 35, for 333 yards, and two touchdowns. The box score does not tell the story for Rodgers. The Packers looked out of sync on offense, against a defense we expected a minimum of four touchdowns from. Davante Adams saw 21 targets, resulting in ten catches, for 79 yards. Not very efficient. Justin Perillo and Richard Rogers grabbed the touchdowns, which was no use to any of us. Randall Cobb had a 5-53-0 line today, on ten targets. James Starks, and Cobb were the heavily owned cheeseheads this week, and failed to deliver.

After a week of letting people go, and talks of taking another wide receiver with their number one pick, Detroit came to play. While both offenses were ugly, Detroit made the plays when it counted. They continued to run the ball with terrible efficiency, with Joique Bell leading leading the team in rushing yards. (17) Matthew Stafford threw for two touchdowns, but neither did anyone any good. Lance Moore, and Brandon Pettigrew were the recipients. Ameer Abdullah nearly broke off a kick return for a touchdown, but was tackled at the one. Outside of that highlight, Abdullah only had six touches. There were talks of him getting a bigger workload, but that did not happen this week.

Cowboys @ Bucs

This was a game we were looking at for GPP's, looking at Dez Bryant, Mike Evans, even Cole Beasley, for all you point-chasers. It was another heart breaker for Cowboys' fan, as Jameis Winston finished them off with a bootleg run with 54 seconds left. Neither offense was clicking, and this had to be the least satisfying fantasy game of the day. Mike Evans dominated targets again, with 13, and caught eight balls for 126 yards. He had another big yardage game, but failed to find the end zone again. Doug Martin had another solid game, racking up over 100 all-purpose yards, but was another to not find the end zone. Both names are two of my favorite GPP plays, but the lack of touchdowns the last few weeks has been frustrating.

Tony Romo is back next week, and we can finally use the Cowboys with confidence. I was confident in Darren McFadden getting 20+ carries, and rushing for a big week, but neither happened. Tampa has been solid against the run this season, and made Dallas beat them through the air, which did not happen. McFadden rushed 17 times, for 32 yards. One of the popular value plays of week 10, was a complete bust. Matt Cassel flashed us some hope last week, throwing for a big game, but was the polar opposite this week. Cassel threw for 186 yards, and one interception. If you took a chance on Dez Bryant, those numbers should lead you to what he did. He saw 12 targets, but caught five for 45 yards. With Romo back, everyone will receive a much needed bump in the fantasy world.

Panthers @ Titans

Carolina pulled away to 9-0, with another convincing win. Cam Newton was good yet again, and when he tacks on that rushing touchdown, he usually pays off his salary. That was the case this week, and he also went 21-26, for 217, and one touchdown. We didn't see the upside in Newton, but he has been very consistent. I have always been against him as a cash game QB, but he continues to find the end zone. He will get Washington next week, and will be a popular play. Greg Olsen caught all eight targets, for 80 yards, but Ed Dickson was the one who caught the touchdown. It is still a pain to pair up a receiver with Newton, but Olsen continues to be a lock for targets each week. Ted Ginn, also saw eight targets, but continues to be unreliable. Jonathan Stewart was the other big running back this week, rushing for 91 yards, and a touchdown. He paid off his cheap price tag this week, and it is always rare when he finds the end zone, with all the vultures around.

Going up against one of the league's best defenses, we didn't expect much from Tennessee, and we were right. It was a quiet day for Marcus Mariota, and the run game was dysfunctional yet again. Mariota spread the ball out when he threw, and Delanie Walker led the way again. We are not learning anything new from the Titans week-to-week, but Walker is still the go-to guy, and the run game is among the worst in the league. Tennessee doesn't play New Orleans again this season, so avoid.

Bears @ Rams

Jay Cutler, and the Bears, went on the road, against a tough defense, and dropped 37 points. This was the shocker of the weekend for me. Jay Cutler threw for 258 yards, and three touchdowns. After a miraculous catch last week, Zach Miller went for 5-107-2. This is out of nowhere, as Martellus Bennett and Alshon Jeffery combined for six catches, and 41 yards. One of the top plays of the weekend was Jeremy Langford. He posted a 7-109-1 line, and rushed for 73 yards, with another score. His usage was much more than I anticipated, seeing nine targets, and 20 carries. The matchup scared me off Langford completely, because it is easy to look good against San Diego, but Langford carried it over against St. Louis. With Matt Forte closer to return, we could see Langford get involved in the offense going forward.

There is only one person to rely on in St. Louis, and it is not Tavon Austin. Todd Gurley had a juicy matchup against the Chicago defense, who have actually been decent the last few weeks. Todd Gurley was the most expensive running back this week, and with great power, comes great responsibility. He had just 89 combined yards, and found the end zone on the ground, but this is a disappointing stat at his price. St. Louis was down from the start, and so the 20+ carries for Gurley scheme wasn't going to happen. I wouldn't bank on this happening a lot against the Rams' defense, and continue to expect the offense to flow through Gurley.

Saints @ Redskins

YOU LIKE THAT?

If you are looking for your fantasy quarterback each week, see who is playing the Saints. Kirk Cousins went for 324 yards, with four touchdowns. Matt Jones had the big day, with a 3-131-1 line. Jamison Crowder had a 4-60-1 line, and Jordan Reed snagged two red zone touchdowns. Cousins and company did not let anyone down in the matchup this week, and Washington is in the mix for the NFC East. Washington also ran the ball for 213 yards, with Alfred Morris leading the way for 92 yards. This is much a product of the matchup, as New Orleans is without a doubt the worst defense. Rob Ryan are finally firing Rob Ryan, so they should improve somewhat, but still have zero talent on the defensive side of the ball.

New Orleans went away from the SuperDome, where they take a small hit on offense. Drew Brees linked up with Brandin Cooks for two touchdowns early, but failed to do anything after that. The Saints were held scoreless in the second half, and eventually mailed it in. Cooks has quietly been the New Orleans best receiver the last few weeks. He led the team in targets, and made the long 60 yard catch, which he is capable of doing. Willie Snead was held without a catch this week, and saw only one target. He played the entire game, but this was a day where New Orleans got popped in the mouth early, and went down. I still believe the home/away splits are big with New Orleans.

Dolphins @ Eagles

One of the more exciting games of the weekend, was in Philly. It came down to the end, but after Sam Bradford left the game, Mark Sanchez couldn't pull off the relief role. Philly is the ultimate boom-or-bust team. They came in with an above-average matchup at home, coming off of a big offensive week. Brent Celek and Zach Ertz were the leading receivers, which should tell you Jordan Matthews was useless. He had three catches, for 21 yards. DeMarco Murray had another great all-purpose game, with six catches for 58 yards, and tacked on 61 yards rushing. It was Ryan Mathews who found the end zone, before leaving the game with a concussion. If Mathews is to miss any times, Murray can sure up a much bigger role, with Sproles only working in the passing game.

Miami pulled one out this week, despite not clicking much on offense. They continued to run the ball, with Jay Ajayi and Lamar Miller, combining for 91 yards. Ajayi was expected to see more touches, and he could see some red zone carries. We did not see much this week for a big difference, but we will likely see Miller's workload stay put. Miller found the end zone again, with a 6-50-1 line. He had eight targets, and I love this coaching staff using him in the passing game. He also rushed 16 times, despite not getting much going. The passing game was just good enough, as Ryan Tannehill threw for 217 yards, and two touchdowns. He linked up with Miller, and Jarvis Landry for the end zone. Landry had a 7-52-1 line, and his touchdown catch was a lucky one. I am not sure if Philly understands the rules of a tipped pass. Landry continues to see the most targets week-to-week, while Matthews and Miller were just behind.

Browns @ Steelers

Welp. Now coming on for relief, Ben Roethlisberger. Landry Jones played a few snaps before Big Ben came into the game. Roethlisberger looked healthy, throwing for 379 yards, and three touchdowns. If you played the Steelers' wideouts, well congratulations. Martavis Bryant had a 6-178-1 line, and Antonio Brown had a 10-139-2 line. If the only Steelers' player you took was DeAngelo Williams, there is a support meeting this Wednesday. Now Williams was not efficient early on, but Pittsburgh continued to throw the ball as the game went on. Williams rushed for about half his yards on the last drive. It was another juicy matchup for this running back, but he failed to deliver. When Big Ben is healthy, this passing game has the best fantasy producers in the game.

Cleveland was led by Johnny Manziel, and in all honesty, he did not have a bad game. He threw for 372 yards, and a score. He linked up with Travis Benjamin seven times, for 113 yards. His touchdown went to Gary Barnidge, who continues to find the end zone. He ended up with a 6-65-1 line. Barnidge is really the only viable option on this Browns team. Pittsburgh was a popular defensive pick this weekend, and they delivered with six sacks, one interception, and recovered two fumbles.

Jaguars @ Ravens

Chances are if you built your lineups around the great matchups, you are having a bad Monday. Blake Bortles and company had one of the easiest matchups this weekend, against a bad Baltimore secondary. Now, Hurns and Robinson found the end zone, but we had our bars set high. Hurns finished with 5-62-1 line, while Robinson had a 5-51-1 line. Bortles has inaccurate this week, going 22-45, for 188 yards. He also threw a pick. If you pivoted from Cousins to Bortles in cash games, like I did, once again, the support group is Wednesday. I still believe this is one of the best points-per-dollar stacks, and they just did not get it going this week. T.J. Yeldon has been reliant on game flow this season, and saw 18 carries with this game close. He had 61 yards, and did catch five balls, but did not find the end zone. Yeldon continues to be a cheap risk to take, but finding the end zone is his biggest downside.

With Steve Smith out for the season, we saw Kamar Aiken catch seven balls, for 73 yards. He had 14 targets in this game as well. It is pretty clear the two tight ends, and Kamar Aiken will see a majority of the looks. You can also work Chris Givens in there as well. It is still odd to see Justin Forsett uninvolved. He had four targets in the passing game, and rushed 14 times. As enticing it seems to take Forsett each week, I will be fading from here on out. Aiken will continue to be cheap for the next few weeks, so he is worth a flyer, especially if he receives this type of volume. There is a lack of playmakers on this team, so it is tough to see Baltimore scoring three plus touchdowns a week.

Vikings @ Raiders

The Vikings are 7-2, and are going to challenge the Packers for the NFC North top spot. Minnesota punished Oakland on the ground, and for the second week in a row, Adrian Peterson looks like he's 25 years old again. He had 203 yards, and a touchdown when the day ended. He finished the game with an 80-yard touchdown run, capping off his week as a top fantasy running back. This is Minnesota's offense right here, after we have seen Bridgewater throw the ball more the last few weeks. The Vikings wideouts, mainly Stefon Diggs, saw his floor this week. He had a great matchup, but it was the Peterson show. When going back to this team for offense, game flow has a lot to do with it. If the Vikings can win the game with Bridgewater throwing 20 times, they will do just that. This limits Diggs.

I still believe the Vikings defense is better than advertised, and this shows they are again. Oakland's offense was on cloud nine coming into the game, but they were halted in their tracks. Derek Carr still had over 300 yards, and two touchdowns, but Oakland failed to put up more than those two touchdowns. Amari Cooper, and Michael Crabtree were held in check, when comparing to their season standards. Moving on, Minnesota needs to be taken serious when targeting against, and this Oakland offense still capable of putting up points in bunches.

Patriots @ Giants

Super Bowl 50 was underway in week 10, as the Giants took on the Patriots in an eventful game. There was some injury news to break out of this one, with Julian Edelman breaking his foot. He will be out, but is unclear for how long. Danny Amendola will be the biggest beneficiary, as we saw Brady use him as a safety blanket for most the game. He led the team in targets, with 11, as Gronk was second, with seven. It took a while, but Gronk broke off a 76 yard touchdown, but was being held before that. With Edelman out, this shrinks the guessing game for Patriots' touchdowns. The list of Pats' players has gotten shorter in the last two weeks, putting our focus on their remaining big players.

Eli Manning almost pulled off another victory against the Pats, but another "was it a catch?" game panned into a loss. Odell Beckham Jr. had a 4-104-1 line, and most of those yards came on the 87-yard touchdown catch. He nearly had two touchdowns, but the booth ruled it not a catch. Manning looked great, and was floating balls to perfection, especially to Dwayne Harris. He had a 6-82-1 line, and was second in targets. With this high volume passing attack, taking shots on Dwayne Harris and Rueben Randle could pay off in big tournaments. It is hard to rely on them in cash games, due to the inconsistency of this team.

Chiefs @ Broncos

I talked about a possible Peyton Manning stack this weekend, and I should probably crawl into a hole somewhere. He went 5-20, with four interceptions, before Brock Osweiler took over. It is now coming out that Manning has a partially torn plantar fascia. I am glad this news was available to me for week 10... Denver scored two touchdown this week, which was Ronnie Hillman, and Andre Caldwell. Just how we dialed it up. Manning's injury clearly hindered the upside of Demaryius Thomas. Once again, if you played the matchups, DT was another bust. He had seven catches, for 71 yards. Most of that came when Manning exited the game. Thomas will continue to get looks, regardless of whoever is under center, but he walks a fine line of being a cash game or GPP only play.

The Chiefs capitalized on Manning's mistakes, and it was mostly Cairo Santos, hitting five of six field goals. Another value running back paid off this week, but it was in another tough matchup, likely scaring you away from Charcandrick West. He ended up with 92 yards receiving, and a score, alongside 69 rushing yards, and a score. West received a monster workload, and delivered against a tough defense. This is twice he has done it against good defenses, and this is encouraging moving forward. I will certainly not be taking pieces of the pass game.

Cardinals @ Seahawks

This game answered a lot of questions for us. Are the Arizona Cardinals for real? If you did not believe it before, going into Seattle is still a tough task, and yes they are for real. Is Seattle's defense any good? No, they are not. I think picking on them is a great tournament decision. I know playing in Seattle gives them a boost, but after Carolina, and now Arizona putting up big points here, they are average at best. Carson Palmer and the passing attack torched this secondary, mainly Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald. Fitz had 10 catches, for 130 yards, on 15 targets. Michael Floyd had the big one, with a 7-113-2 line. Floyd is on a roll here, and he seems to be climbing in consistency. The run game was used heavily as well, Chris Johnson saw 25 carries, but just had 58 yards. Andre Ellington had 61 yards, on just five carries.

The Seahawks put up 32 points, and had big success on the ground, but it was split between Russell Wilson, and Marshawn Lynch. Lynch had 42 yards on eight carries, and found the end zone. Wilson had his biggest day on the ground this season, rushing for 52 yards. Doug Baldwin had his one of two monster games a season, with a 7-134-1 line. Jimmy Graham had eight targets, with just three catches, for 41 yards.