In easily one of the most entertaining games of the week, Kevin Kolb (158 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) led the 1-6 Cardinals into Baltimore and while his numbers were not very impressive, he almost led his team to a tough road win.  Joe Flacco (351 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) threw for a ton of yardage, but wasn’t able to get a throwing score as the running game carried the day for the Ravens on the scoreboard.

Once again, Larry Fitzgerald (3-98) didn’t get many passes thrown his way from Kolb, but he still almost had a 100 yard receiving day.  Unfortunately for Fitz owners, it was Early Doucet (2-20, 1 TD) who caught a TD on one of his only two catches.  No other Cardinals receiver was noteworthy.

Another impressive game this season for Anquan Boldin (7-145), who’s slowly starting to turn it on with his third straight very good statline.  (3-57) was able to catch one deep pass to make his day a little more worthwhile, and the two Torrey Smith young TE for the Ravens, Ed Dickson (6-46) and Dennis Pitta (6-44) both caught six passes each.

Beanie Wells (22 car., 83 yards, 1 TD) was a game time decision and managed to suit up, scoring his seventh touchdown on the year in doing so.  As long as Wells plays, he belongs in fantasy lineups.

It was very encouraging to see Ray Rice (18 car., 63 yards, 3 TDs; 7 rec., 36 yards) put last week’s disaster at Jacksonville firmly in the rear view mirror with the touchdown trifecta and 99 total yards.
 

This was another entertaining game in the early going, with Christian Ponder (240 total yards, 1 TD) turning out a very efficient outing in leading the Vikings to a well-earned road victory.  Cam Newton (343 total yards, 3 TDs) once again put the Panthers on his back, totaling nearly 350 total yards and three scores, but it still wasn’t enough to stop his team from sliding to 2-6.

While Ponder has been effective the last couple of weeks, his receivers didn’t offer a whole lot of help.  Percy Harvin (4-58, 3 car., 16 yards, 1 TD) led the way, but once again looks miscast as a #1 WR.  After his first 100 yard receiving day of his career, Michael Jenkins (3-20) ended up returning to his normal stat line, while Visanthe Shiancoe (3-37) was also unimpressive.

Steve Smith (7-100, 1 TD; 1 car., 12 yards) had another great game as Newton’s top target, and should be considered an automatic start every week regardless of opponent.  Greg Olsen (4-73, 1 TD) also had a great game as the top receiving threat from the tight end position, while Legadu Naanee (5-49) actually caught the majority of passes thrown his way.

With Ponder at QB the last two weeks, Adrian Peterson (21 car., 86 yards, 1 TD; 5 rec., 76 yards, 1 TD) had arguably his two best games of the season, as the Vikings have finally gotten smart and decided to put the game in the hands of Peterson to help take the pressure off their rookie QB.  With the new commitment to AP, Peterson could get right back in the race to be the top RB in fantasy football before the season is up.

Once again, Newton was the Panthers’ leading rusher, which probably has to stop in order for the Panthers to become more consistent and gather up more wins.  Jonathan Stewart (13 car., 49 yards; 2 rec., 10 yards) was the most valuable of the RBs, while Deangelo Williams (7 car., 26 yards; 2 rec., 13 yards) is mostly an afterthought.
 

For the second week in a row, Blaine Gabbert (111 total yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) threw for less than 100 yards passing, and to no surprise this week it wasn’t good enough to get the job done.  Gabbert has now thrown for less than 150 yards passing in 4 of the 6 games he’s been a starter in, making the Jags as a whole a terrible fantasy option.  Matt Schaub (227 total yards, 2 TDs) on the other hand had a pretty good fantasy day, even rushing for a TD which is an unusual occurrence.  This should hopefully be the last game Schaub will be without Andre Johnson.

With 97 passing yards, it isn’t a surprise that hardly anyone was noteworthy for the Jags receivers, as they mostly just serve to occupy defenders down the field for Jones-Drew runs.  Marcedes Lewis (4-45) was actually sighted in this game, something that hasn’t happened for most of the season.  Mike Thomas (3-24) caught a couple of passes, and Jason Hill (1-5, 1 TD) had a TD on his only catch.  Just plain ugliness in this group.

With no AJ, Kevin Walter (5-70) led the way in receiving yardage and catches, followed closely by TE Owen Daniels (4-60), but it was Joel Dreessen (2-19, 1 TD) who once again had a TD.  Jacoby Jones (3-59) made another start in place of Johnson, but was once again underwhelming.

Maurice Jones-Drew (18 car., 63 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 11 yards) continues to be the only beacon of light for the terrible Jags offense, as he continues to either have 100 total yards or a TD in most every game this season.  Jones-Drew is one of the few true feature backs left in the league, and as long as he continues to perform well, fantasy owners have to keep starting him.

Speaking of feature backs, Arian Foster (33 car., 112 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 12 yards) once again had a very good stat line as he makes up for lost time in the early part of the season.  Ben Tate (5 car., 42 yards) continues to be a factor, but is clearly 2^nd fiddle to the focused Foster.

For the second week in a row, the Dolphins led their opponents but then somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Matt Moore (169 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) looked good in the early going in leading his team to a 14-3 lead, but then the Giants defense clamped down and ended their dream of a first victory.  Eli Manning (346 total yards, 2 TDs) came off the bye and ended up with a very good afternoon, showing once again that he’s a very good middle tier fantasy option going forward.

It was a quiet day passing for the Dolphins, as Brandon Marshall (4-55) led the way with only four receptions.  Davone Bess (3-43) was second with three grabs, while no other Dolphins pass catcher was relevant.

Waiver wire darling Victor Cruz (7-99, 1 TD) came up big as the leading receiver for the Giants, while Mario Manningham (6-63, 1 TD) got into the endzone for the first time this year.  Hakeem Nicks (6-67) had a decent day, but ended up tweaking a hamstring which helped Manningham and Cruz have bigger days.  If Nicks misses time, both Cruz and Manningham will be must plays.  Jake Ballard (4-55) continues to plod along with fairly useable stats, especially with the bye weeks in full effect.

With Daniel Thomas a scratch due to injury, Reggie Bush (15 car., 103 yards; 4 rec., 17 yards) ended up having a 100 yard rushing day for only the second time in his career.  Interestingly enough, the only other time he rushed for 100 yards in a game was against, you guessed it, the Giants.  Unfortunately for Bush, Steve Slaton (5 car., 7 yards, 1 TD) was the one who got the TD.

In what should have been a big rushing day, Ahmad Bradshaw (13 car., 50 yards; 5 rec., 38 yards) ended up hurting his foot and hurting fantasy teams with a barely adequate rushing day.  Brandon Jacobs (4 car., 10 yards) was an even worse disaster, as its becoming harder to count on the Giants running attack for any kind of consistency.
 
In what had to be the biggest upset of the year, a week removed from laying 62 on the Colts, Drew Brees (268 total yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) brought the heavily favored into St. Louis and walked away with a puzzling loss.  AJ Feeley (180 total yards, 1 TD) did a great job of taking what the defense gave him and didn’t hurt the team with any throws on the way to getting what had to be the biggest win of his professional career.

Lance Moore (7-74, 1 TD) showed up as the leading receiver, which only happens now on rare occasion.  Both Marques Colston (3-50) and Jimmy Graham (4-39) were mostly bottled up, as Brees didn’t have a lot of time most of the game to find his favorite targets.  This game should be viewed as an aberration, as better days are inevitably ahead for the Saints offense.

In his second game in a Rams uniform, Brandon Lloyd (6-53, 1 TD) once again showed his value in leading the Rams receiving crew and scoring his first TD in St. Louis.  One thing’s for sure, Lloyd is probably thankful he isn’t playing with Tebow.  Greg Salas (5-47) did good work out of the slot as Feeley looked for him often to move the chains.

In what should have been a fantasy bonanza for Pierre Thomas (7 car., 23 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 11 yards) and Darren Sproles (6 car., 16 yards; 6 rec., 60 yards), instead was a fantasy doldrums.  Even with Mark Ingram, out with an injury, not present to share carries with, Neither Thomas nor Sproles could get much going, although Thomas at least was able to get in the endzone.

Talk about a revival.  Steven Jackson (25 car., 159 yards, 2 TDs; 4 rec., 32 yards) came on like gangbusters, running through and over the entire Saints defense and showing a ton of effort and heart in what’s turned out to be a lost season for the Rams overall.  If the Rams can feed off of that energy, they can at least close out the season on a high note.
 

It seems the cure for whatever ails your team is a visit from the now 0-8 Colts, as Curtis Painter (329 total yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) once again did his best to keep the Colts close until untimely turnovers and a blocked punt sealed the Colts’ fate.  Matt Hasselbeck (224 yards, 1 TD) had a bounce back game of sorts, not posting great stats but at least not killing the Titans or fantasy teams with turnovers.
After throwing up a blank in last week’s shelling by the Saints, Dallas Clark (6-77) bounced back to lead the Colts in receiving, while Pierre Garcon (7-66) continues to catch the most passes from Painter.  Even Reggie Wayne (5-61) managed to post double digit PPR points, which have been way too few and far between for fantasy owners.

Nate Washington (4-34, 1 TD; 1 car., 3 yards, 1 TD) didn’t post great yardage totals, but did end up getting in the endzone twice, making him the most valuable of the Titans’ receiving options.  Damian Williams (4-60) looked like he was Hasselbeck’s favorite target, and will have increasing value going forward.  Jared Cook (2-40) continues to be worth two or three catches a game, not yet valuable enough to be considered in but the deepest of leagues.

You know things are bad when Painter ended up leading the team in rushing, as he’s no Cam Newton.  Delone Carter (9 car., 46 yards; 2 rec., 1 yard) had the most yards amongst the actual RBs, but it was Donald Brown (10 car., 33 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 1 yard) that got the TD.  This unit is a mess and shouldn’t be considered for fantasy purposes if at all possible.

Ugh.  That’s all you can say about Chris Johnson’s (14 car., 34 yards; 3 rec., 17 yards) season so far.  Right around 50 total yards a game and a TD every 5 games or so can’t be what the Titans had in mind when they signed CJ to that mega contract.  Unfortunately for the likes of Matt Forte and Arian Foster in the future, the Titans’ plight with CJ might serve those teams to be gun-shy in signing an RB to a huge contract.  Going forward, Javon Ringer (14 car., 60 yards; 5 rec., 42 yards) might be the most valuable Titans runner and will be a hot waiver wire pick up this week.
 

So much for the start of the John Beck (218 total yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) era, eh Mike Shanahan?  For the second straight week Beck looked bad, as he wasn’t able to make his throws and had very little protection against a team that was in the bottom third of the league in sacks going into the game.  There was no bye week let down for Ryan Fitzpatrick (266 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the Bills this week, as they came out and got a very convincing win to show that they are indeed for real this year.

Without Santana Moss, it wasFred Davis (8-94) who was by far the primary receiver for the Redskins and is probably the only receiver really worth anything going forward.  Jabar Gaffney (4-40) continued to get right around 40-50 yards receiving, which didn’t change even with Moss out of the game.  No other Redskins receiver did anything of note.

Fitzpatrick did his normally good job of spreading the ball around, as Stevie Johnson (6-57), David Nelson (4-47), and Scott Chandler (2-35, 2 TDs) all had worthwhile fantasy days.  Johnson is the only one worth an every week play, but the other two can be valuable with bye weeks still hovering in Weeks 9 and 11.

Ryan Torain (8 car., 14 yards; 1 rec., 6 yards), Roy Helu (3 rec., 20 yards)… Roy Helu or Ryan Torain.  In the end it didn’t matter, as the Redskins not only abandoned the run early, but the few times they were able to run they couldn’t get anything going.  This offense is such a mess that this whole messy situation should be avoided until the Redskins O-line can prove they can block again.

On the other end of the spectrum from the Redskins running attack, Fred Jackson (26 car., 120 yards; 3 rec., 74 yards) was once again electric, tearing up almost 200 yards of total offense against the Redskins defense.  Jackson is one of the few RBs that gets almost every carry for his team, making him possibly the most valuable back in fantasy when taking into account his draft day value.
 

There were questions all week whether or not Matthew Stafford (288 total yards, 3 TDs) would be able to play with a leg injury; not only did he play, but he looked great in shredding the Broncos’ secondary.  So much for the new offense John Fox installed that supposedly played to Tim Tebow’s (235 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) strengths.  Instead, it seemed like the playcalling was meant to show off Tebow’s shortcomings, as he threw terrible passes and was sacked seven times in a terrible debacle.

For a lot of the game, Calvin Johnson (6-125, 1 TD) was bottled up, but like in a lot of games this season you can’t keep him down for long as he finally broke one long on a 56 yard TD strike.  Titus Young (4-66, 1 TD) also was able to catch a long bomb on a broken coverage play, while Tony Scheffler (3-38, 1 TD) showed some toughness on his receptions against his former team.

After a couple of quiet games in a row, Eric Decker (6-72, 1 TD) made a reappearance to fantasy relevancy and even scored a late TD in garbage time.  Eddie Royal (6-41) also was a favorite of Tebow, which might be a sign of things to come since Tebow’s best when throwing short passes to receivers underneath coverage.  No other receiver did anything of note.

Maurice Morris (13 car., 58 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 7 yards) did a good job of doing just enough to keep the Broncos honest, and even managed to score a TD to make for a worthwhile fantasy day.  Keiland Williams (11 car., 25 yards; 1 rec., 5 yards) shared the ball almost evenly, but did nothing with his carries.

Knowshon Moreno (14 car., 69 yards; 1 rec., 5 yards) got the start for the injured Willis McGahee and looked fairly decent in the rushing chances he was given.  Lance Ball (6 car., 63 yards; 1 rec., 4 yards) actually looked a little more dynamic, but didn’t get enough carries to really matter in the game.
 
This was a tough road loss for the Patriots and Tom Brady (198 yards, 2 TDs), as the Steelers defense kept their vaunted passing game in check for almost the entire game.  Ben Roethlisberger (366 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) came out throwing early and often exploiting what has been the worst pass defense so far this year en route to winning their biggest game of the season.

Rob Gronkowski (7-94) was the leading receiver for the Patriots this week, but it was Aaron Hernandez (2-9, 1 TD) that got the touchdown for the dynamic tight end duo.  Wes Welker (6-39) was held in check, while Deion Branch (4-36, 1 TD) was able to break loose for a score.  Expect better days ahead for this group, as they won’t be playing the Steelers every week.

The Steelers must have seen something they liked in the middle of the Patriots’ defense, as they went to Heath Miller (7-85) early and often in the game.  Mike Wallace (7-70) also got several catches, but the Patriots didn’t let him blow the top off the coverage.  While Emmanuel Sanders (5-70) got the start, Antonio Brown (9-67, 1 TD) continues to be one of the most targeted Steelers’ receiver and is the one to have other than Wallace.

What a terrible day for the Patriots’ running attack.  Not only was there only 43 yards total, but of all the possible RBs it was Kevin Faulk (6 car., 32 yards; 5 rec., 20 yards) who led the way, fresh off the PUP list.  BenJarvis Green-Ellis (5 car., 9 yards) got the start, but had less than 10 yards.

On a day when the Steelers spent most of the game chucking the rock through the air, it was understandable for Rashard Mendenhall (13 car., 70 yards; 3 rec., 22 yards) to have a mediocre fantasy day; it would have been nice to see him get a score though, as the Steelers threw two TD passes from within the 10 yard line.
 

This was another game showing both the 49ers dominance on defense, as well as the Browns’ ineptitude on offense.  For the Browns, Colt McCoy (271 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was able to pad his stats with a late TD bomb, but was otherwise barely adequate.  Alex Smith (199 total yards, 1 TD) continues to be the beneficiary of 49ers game plan of using the running game and stifling defense to carry the day, as he’s finally found the role of game manager to be what he’s best at in the NFL.

The 49ers defense kept the Browns passing offense in check for most of the day, but Josh Cribbs (2-56, 1 TD) did get loose for a 45 yard TD bomb late in the 4^th quarter.  Ben Watson (3-64) had a good day yardage-wise, while rookie Jordan Norwood (5-32) caught the most passes.

With Smith only completing 15 passes, there wasn’t a lot to go around; but Michael Crabtree (5-54, 1 TD) managed to have another good game and is obviously Smith’s go-to receiver.  Braylon Edwards (4-42) made his return and had a few key catches, while Vernon Davis (3-27) was mostly an afterthought.

With Peyton Hillis out yet again, Montario Hardesty (2 car., 6 yards) got the start but hurt his calf early in the first quarter.  Chris Ogbonnaya (11 car., 37 yards; 5 rec., 24 yards) played the rest of the game but did little (well, produced about as much as Chris Johnson does these days), and could have value if both Hillis and Hardesty continue to miss time.

For the fourth game in a row, Frank Gore (31 car., 134 yards, 1 TD) went over 100 yards rushing and scored a touchdown, reclaiming his role as a solid #1 RB that fantasy owners can count on week in and week out.

Charlie Whitehurst (52 yards) got the start for the Seahawks, but when they needed a spark they went to regular starter Tavaris Jackson (325 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT), who was still recovering from a chest injury suffered before the bye week.  Jackson did a decent job to keep the Seahawks within one to two scores most of the game, but in the end Andy Dalton (171 total yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) and the Bengals defense were just too much for the mostly punchless Seahawks.

This was a fairly forgettable day for the Bengals receivers, save for AJ Green (4-63, 1 TD), who had another 40+ yard touchdown catch, putting more distance between himself and Julio Jones for top rookie WR honors.  Jermaine Gresham was a game time scratch due to a hamstring injury, so Donald Lee (3-44) filled in.

Playing catch up most of the afternoon had a good effect on the fantasy numbers of the Seahawks receivers, as Ben Obomanu (4-107), Sidney Rice (7-102), and Doug Baldwin (5-73) all had very good yardage numbers.  It would have been nice to see someone get in the endzone though; but at least the Seahawks receivers showed they can be viable fantasy options.

Bernard Scott (22 car., 76 yards) got the start for Cedric Benson, who was serving a one game suspension, and he ended up getting about the same yards per carry that Benson normally gets.  The Bengals rushing attack has been a snoozer all year long, but since they often play with a lead these days thanks to their defense, they’ll get plenty of rushing opportunities.

Marshawn Lynch (16 car., 24 yards, 1 TD) couldn’t even muster two yards per carry, which seems like his average most games this year.  He did manage to get into the endzone, which salvaged at least a little bit of fantasy value.  Overall this isn’t a good unit to rely on for fantasy production except against the best of defensive matchups.
 

For the second week in a row, Sunday Night Football turned into a laugher.  This time, the laughter was at the expense of Tony Romo (212 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), who was under a ton of pressure all day long and got zero help from his offensive line or his defense as the ‘Boys fell further and further behind early in the game.  Michael Vick (329 total yards, 2 TDs) is finally starting to look like everyone thought he would look like when they drafted him in August; hopefully it wasn’t too little too late to salvage your fantasy season.

The Eagles’ secondary is finally starting to live up to their top billing, as only #3 WR Laurent Robinson (5-103, 1 TD) had anything close to a good game.  Jason Witten (4-28), Dez Bryant (3-28), and Miles Austin (3-27) were all stymied in this game, but luckily they draw the Seahawks at home next week so expect a bounce back.

With the Eagles jumping out to a very early lead, the receiving damage wasn’t nearly as good as it probably could have been had the Cowboys been able to muster up some offense.  Surprisingly TE Brent Celek (7 rec., 94 yards, 1 TD) led the way, as Vick finally remembered that the tight end position is an eligible receiver.  Jason Avant (5-74) came next with his work out of the slot as the chain mover, while both Jeremy Maclin (3-54, 1 TD) and Desean Jackson (3-31) only caught three passes, but at least Maclin found the endzone.

With the Cowboys falling behind so early they weren’t able to really exploit the one weakness the Eagles have, which is run defense.  DeMarco Murray (8 car., 74 yards; 1 rec., -2 yards) had another stellar yard per carry average, but only got eight carries in what turned out to be a game of catch up for most of the evening.

What can you say about Shady?  Lesean McCoy (30 car., 185 yards, 2 TDs; 2 rec., 15 yards) continues to show his immense value to the Eagles as the balance for Michael Vick, tearing through the usually stout Cowboys rush defense to the tune of 200 total yards and 2 TDs.  McCoy has scored in every game this year, the only player to do so to this point.

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