In a game where the Jets finally looked more like the Jets we’ve come to know in the past few years, playing a very physical game in smacking Ryan Fitzpatrick (200 total yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) and the Bills right in the mouth.  The Bills weren’t able to move the ball with any consistency until the end of the game, when the result had already been decided.  Mark Sanchez (227 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) made a few timely throws to keep the Jets offense moving in a very balanced attack, letting the running game do most of the scoring damage.

Plaxico Burress (5-79) has now had two games in a row with very useable stats as he’s slowly starting to take on the look of the Jets’ primary receiver.  Santonio Holmes (3-29, 1 TD) had a score, but overall did not have the looks or results that Burress had most of the day.  Dustin Keller (4-64) also got a few good looks and had the longest pass play of the day (24 yards).
Stevie Johnson (3-84) spent a good portion of the day on Revis Island, but he still led the Bills in receiving on the strength of a 52 yard catch and run that he had at Revis’ expense.  The rest of the Bills receivers weren’t very impressive, although David Nelson (4-36, 1 TD) did catch a TD pass in the red zone.

Shonn Greene (19 car., 76 yards) ended up having a decent yardage day, plodding ahead for over 70 yards on nearly 20 carries.  Unfortunately for Greene and his fantasy owners, it was LaDainian Tomlinson (5 car., 18 yards, 1 TD; 3 rec., 30 yards) that got the call on the goal line for the touchdown, leaping over the top old school style.  Joe McKnight (9 car., 27 yards) also got a significant amount of carries, as his situation is one that bears watching.

While he didn’t get a touchdown against a very tough Jets defense, Fred Jackson (18 car., 82 yards; 3 rec., 38 yards) once again rolled up over 100 yards of total offense and continues to be one of the biggest draft values of the 2011 fantasy season.
 

The Seahawks defense tried to keep the Seattle in the game, but Tavaris Jackson (224 total yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs) did a very good job of giving the ball back to the Cowboys at the most inopportune times.  While Jackson gives the Seahawks the best chance to win, that chance still isn’t a good one.  Tony Romo (292 total yards, 2 TDs) distributed the ball well to several different receivers and avoided costly turnovers in securing a win that they desperately needed after getting blasted by the Eagles a week ago.

Sidney Rice (3-69) as usual was Jackson’s first read and had a couple of big catches, including a 43 yarder that put the Seahawks in scoring position after a Dallas TD.  Solid rookie Doug Baldwin (3-31) made a couple of nice grabs, while Ben Obomanu (2-6) disappeared now that Mike Williams (3-41) returned healthy to the lineup.

Dez Bryant (4-76) had the most yardage for the Cowboys receiver, but it was Romo’s BFF Jason Witten 4-71, 1 TD) that got the TD love.  Miles Austin (2-56) strained his hamstring (again), so Laurent Robinson (5-32, 1 TD) continues to be a relevant fantasy player, and could be big down the stretch if Austin misses a significant amount of time.

Suddenly, the Cowboys rush defense has looked particularly mortal as for the second week in a row they gave up a huge rushing day to an opposing back.  This time, it was Marshawn Lynch (23 car., 135 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 8 yards) running strong in beast mode, tearing through the Cowboys rush defense with a long run of 29 yards.

Felix who?  Demarco Murray (22 car., 139 yards; 4 rec., 47 yards) got his third start and had yet another impressive YAC, rolling up over 180 total yards.  With each passing week, he’s making it harder and harder for the Cowboys to give Felix Jones his starting gig back; and at this point, that’s exactly what they’d be doing if they decide to make Jones the starter again, as Murray has certainly earned the right to be the lead back.
It was another extremely mediocre outing for Colt McCoy (152 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), as Browns fans have to wonder if McCoy’s really the answer at the QB spot.  McCoy now has more 100 yard passing games (2) than 300 yard passing games (1) on the season.  Matt Schaub’s (119 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) game was not any better, but Schaub has the reigning 2010 rushing champion on his side to mitigate the Texans’ dwindling pass offense, as well as a defense that has been doing a good job in keeping the opposing scores down.

More often than not Josh Cribbs (5-50, 1 TD) continues to show that he’s a pretty good playmaker at the WR spot for the Browns, as he once again had a solid receiving option.  Right now, he’s their only downfield threat, as fellow starter for this game Greg Little (2-33) gets a lot of playing time but hasn’t really done anything impressive with it.  No other receivers were noteworthy for the Browns.
Ugh.  Either Schaub really misses Andre Johnson, or the Texans have decided they really don’t need to pass in order to win most of their games.  Owen Daniels (3-32) led the way, but that wasn’t saying much with only 119 passing yards to go around.  None of the other Texans receivers did anything of note.

With both Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty out for this game, Chris Ogbonnaya (13 car., 28 yards; 1 rec., 13 yards) got the start and that fact didn’t end up mattering in the end.  At this point, it looks like the Browns aren’t going to find a playmaker at this position for 2011; in fact, they might want to try Cribbs out as a RB just to get some life from this unit.

For a running game that actually matters, Arian Foster (19 car., 124 yards, 1 TD; 5 rec., 26 yards) once again ran over and around the opposing defense, allowing the AJ-less Schaub lean on him to win the game.  Ben Tate (12 car., 115 yards, 1 TD) got his fourth 100 yard rushing day of the year and is starting to look like a player that could have value in starting lineups even when Foster is healthy and playing well.

Matt Ryan (275 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) probably could have slept walked into this game and still managed to get a win, but luckily for his fantasy owners he decided not to do that and instead dropped two long TD bombs amongst his three TDs for the day.  For the Colts, they just look like a team going through the motions and are most interested in just getting this nightmarish season over with, as Curtis Painter (103 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) threw 27 passes and still couldn’t get up over 100 yards passing.  Terrible.

After missing the last few games, Julio Jones (3-131, 2 TDs) came back in a big way, snaring touchdown bombs from Ryan of 50 and 80 yards, showing off his big play ability.  Roddy White (4-76) had a decent game, but owners must be getting worried that the passing of the torch from White to Jones as the Falcons’ #1 WR is happening earlier than anyone expected.  Tony Gonzalez (4-36, 1 TD) keeps chugging along as a top 5 tight end in most scoring systems, and shows no signs of slowing down.

When your lead QB passes for 98 yards, there probably isn’t going to be much production to go around.  Remember when Reggie Wayne (4-30) and Dallas Clark (2-21) were the leaders at their respective positions in fantasy football?  Well, now they’re barely rosterable, which is sad since it isn’t really their fault.  Austin Collie (4-32) actually lead the team in receiving, and considering the stat line, that isn’t very impressive.

Michael Turner (19 car., 71 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 7 yards) had a workman-like day rushing the football, as he was able to do just enough to provide good value for his fantasy owners.  Jacquizz Rodgers (10 car., 44 yards; 1 rec., 16 yards) got quite a bit of playing time as well, as it was obvious fairly early on that the Colts weren’t going to provide much resistance.

Donald Brown (16 car., 70 yards, 1 rec., 1 yard) actually got the lion’s share of carries for the Colts and actually looked like the best player on the field for the Colts.  This performance will probably render Delone Carter (4 car., 8 yards) more moot than he already has been to this point.

This score probably wouldn’t have been as surprising if it were the other way around with the Chiefs laying waste to the Dolphins.  Instead, it was Matt Moore (247 total yards, 3 TDs) who played like he was fighting for a piece of a divisional lead, throwing three scores in securing the Dolphins’ first win of the season.  Matt Cassel (291 total yards) on the other hand didn’t look terrible, but just couldn’t get his team in the endzone to keep up with the suddenly proficient Dolphins’ offense.

Chiefs DB Brandon Flowers has played well so far this year, but he was victimized by Brandon Marshall (8-106, 1 TD) this afternoon, as Marshall avoided momentum killing drops to post third 100 yard receiving day of the year.  Anthony Fasano (2-38, 2 TDs) caught his only two passes of the day, both for TDs.

So much for this being a big breakout for Jonathan Baldwin (1-15), who was almost non-existent on the day.  Dwayne Bowe (6-88) was his normally solid self, while Steve Breaston (7-115) managed to get his first 100 yard receiving day as a Chief.  Overall this, unit did a decent enough job, but couldn’t get in the endzone at any point during the game.

Reggie Bush (13 car., 92 yards, 1 TD; 3 rec., 50 yards) had his second big week in a row and has fantasy leaguers everywhere wondering if he’s finally turned the corner as an NFL running back.  The rest of the season will tell, as he very well could be an unexpected spark for many fantasy playoff teams down the stretch.  Bush’s last two games might end up making Daniel Thomas (7 car., 12 yards) the secondary back in the committee going forward.

Jackie Battle (14 car., 40 yards; 1 rec., 9 yards) got the most carries again, but with the score getting out of hand fairly early, he didn’t get much playing time in the second half.  Dexter McCluster (9 car., 38 yards; 1 rec., 8 yards) spent most of the time in the backfield in the 4^th quarter, but didn’t do much damage with the opportunity.
 

The Buccaneers came into the game looking for a piece of the NFC South lead, but Josh Freeman (289 total yards, 1 TD) just wasn’t able to put enough points on the board to really have a shot at this one.  Drew Brees (278 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) rebounded nicely after a tough game in St. Louis last week, and even had a huge 20 yard scamper at the end of the game to help the Saints put the game away.

When you distribute the ball to 10 different receivers, there probably won’t be a lot of great stat lines to go around; this held true for the Bucs as Mike Williams (6-46) ended up with the most catches but for fairly little yardage.  Preston Parker (3-56) had the most yardage, but it was Kellen Winslow (4-29, 1 TD) that ended up catching the lone TD on a great run fake by Freeman.

After a bad game on the road, Jimmy Graham (6-78) got back on his horse and once again led the Saints in receiving.  Marques Colston (5-52) had a decent outing, but it was Lance Moore (3-20, 1 TD) who caught an early touchdown and then wasn’t a factor the rest of the game.  Outside of Graham and Colston, this passing game is too unpredictable to count on with any consistency.
Legarrette Blount (13 car., 72 yards; 2 rec., 8 yards) returned to the lineup after missing the last few games with a knee injury, and none too soon with Earnest Graham gone for the year with an Achilles injury.  At this point, Blount will probably not cede too many carries to anyone going forward, making him a solid RB2 down the stretch.

The three headed RB committee continues for the Saints even with Mark Ingram out with an injury, as Chris Ivory (15 car., 67 yards) came off the PUP list and ran just as tough as Ingram has been.  Pierre Thomas (8 car., 66 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 25 yards) had a solid outing and Darren Sproles (4 car., 42 yards; 5 rec., 57 yards, 1 TD) continues to look like the back to own first the Saints attack.  At this point, both Thomas and Sproles have done enough to be considered in lineups each week, Thomas as a Flex, and Sproles as much as an RB2, especially in PPR leagues.
 
At this point, the 7-1 49ers might have the NFC West locked down by Thanksgiving. Alex Smith (209 total yards, 1 TD) continues to be efficient and does just enough to keep the 49ers out in front to let their running game and defense carry the day.  John Beck (263 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) on the other hand has not looked any better than Rex Grossman, and the QB position may very well end up being the reason the Redskins don’t win many more games this year.

With Smith not throwing for much yardage every week, the receivers aren’t getting a lot of great stat lines.  Michael Crabtree (5-51) led the way in catches and targets, while Vernon Davis (4-42) continues to post mostly mediocre receiving days.  No other receivers did anything of note.

Outside of running back Roy Helu, there wasn’t a lot of receiving happening for the Redskins.  Fred Davis (4-42) has the most yardage for the Redskins by a couple of yards, but it was Jabar Gaffney (4-40, 1 TD) that caught a late fourth quarter touchdown to make the game look closer than it actually was.

Frank Gore (19 car., 107 yards; 1 rec., 7 yards) got his fifth 100 yard rushing game in a row, as he’s become one of the most consistent running back threats so far in the 2011 season.  Kendall Hunter (8 car., 25 yards) continues as his caddy, and hasn’t looked nearly as good as Gore with the few carries he’s gotten recently.

Announced just before the game, Roy Helu (10 car., 41 yards; 14 rec., 105 yards) ended up getting the start and looked fairly decent while catching a ridiculous 14 passes.  Shanahan might have found something in the lightning quick rookie, but you never know what Shanahan will do from week to week.

Maybe Tim Tebow (242 total yards, 2 TDs) just needs to always play on the road?  So far, he’s played in two road games and won them both while posting pretty good stats in both.  The lone home game was a blowout loss to the Lions, so maybe there’s just too much pressure on the Football Messiah when at home.  Carson Palmer (335 total yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs) three another three picks in this game, and is on pace to throw 30 on the season, which is impressive considering he’s only been with the team for two games.
For the second week in a row Eric Decker (3-47, 1 TD) was the favored receiver for Tebow, as it appears they’re starting to build a rapport.  Eddie Royal (2-25, 1 TD; 1 punt return TD) also got a score through the air as well as one on a punt return.  Since Tebow doesn’t throw for much yardage (only 124 today), there isn’t much to go around, and Brandon Lloyd owners must be thanking his lucky stars he isn’t with the Broncos anymore.

Jacoby Ford (5-105, 1 TD) got his first 100 yard receiving day of the year, while Darrius Heyward-Bey disappeared without a catch.  Denarius Moore (4-61) re-emerged, while FB/HB/TE combo player Marcel Reece (3-51, 1 TD) also got a TD in the game.

While Tebow got a 100 yard rushing day (118 yards), the big story on the ground was Willis McGahee (20 car., 163 yards, 2 TDs), who rolled up over 160 rushing yards along with 2 TDs, including a 60 yard scoring scamper.  McGahee is looking like another great draft day value, as you’d be doing pretty well if you had both Fred Jackson and McGahee on your squad… who’d a thunk it?

Michael Bush (19 car., 96 yards; 2 rec., 33 yards, 1 TD) got another game as the primary back with Darren McFadden out with a foot sprain.  Whenever Bush gets a chance he’s produced, so look for more of the same as long as Run DMC remains on the sidelines.
 

Is there any team more surprising this year than the 6-2 Bengals?  Andy Dalton (221 total yards, 3 TDs) once again looked like a savvy veteran on the road, getting decent enough passing yardage to go with another three passing touchdowns for the impressive rookie.  Matt Hasselbeck (275 total yards, 2 TDs) also did a good job of getting his team in position to get the win, but just couldn’t get it done.  If the Titans lose too many more, we might end up seeing Jake Locker before the season is up.

Once again AJ Green (7-83) was the leading receiver for the Bengals, getting it done on both the long throws (long of 23 yards) and the underneath chain-moving routes.  Jerome Simpson (3-43, 1 TD) and Andre Caldwell (5-22, 1 TD) got the TD glory though, even though Green got the most yardage.

Lavelle Hawkins (5-63, 1 TD) came out of the third receiver spot to post the best receiving stats of the day for the Titans, as he made a few timely receptions to keep a couple of Titans’ drives alive.  Damian Williams (4-34, 1 TD) got another TD in the spot previously occupied by the injured Kenny Britt, while Jared Cook (4-47) continues to be an increasing presence in the game.

Cedric Benson (20 car., 78 yards) returned from his one game suspension to post the same kind of stats that his owners have come to expect from him, which means his value is fairly limited unless he happens to get into the endzone.

Chris Johnson (14 car., 64 yards; 4 rec., 46 yards) actually had a decent game against one of the toughest rush defenses in the league this year, totally over 100 yards for only the second time this year.  Owners are understandably weary, but if he’s able to post a decent game again next week, perhaps we’ll be able to say he’s finally turned the corner and will salvage some value yet.
Sam Bradford (257 total yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) made his return from injury in this game, and did look a little rusty for much of the game.  In the end though, he wasn’t able to get points on the board to prevent a loss in overtime.  John Skelton (260 total yards, 1 TD) took over for the injured Kevin Kolb and ended up leading a fourth quarter drive to score the tying touchdown.  Patrick Peterson ended up returning a punt for a TD to end the game, so Skelton didn’t end up having to secure the winning score.

Brandon Lloyd (5-80) didn’t take much time to get on the same page with Bradford even though this week was the first time they had any practice together.  Greg Salas (7-59) also had a very nice game until he left the game with a bad looking leg injury which required an air cast and the cart.  Austin Pettis (4-43) and Brandon Gibson (5-54) will probably take those receptions that normally would have gone to Salas going forward.

Larry Fitzgerald (4-43, 1 TD) was quiet for most of the game until he got involved late in the fourth quarter and caught the game tying touchdown.  Early Doucet (6-78) led the way for the Cardinals in terms of yardage, while Andre Roberts (5-55) actually made an appearance as well.

Once again Steven Jackson’s (29 car., 130 yards; 1 rec., 12 yards) hard running led the attack for the Rams, and as long as he stays healthy he’ll be a beast down the stretch for both the Rams and his fantasy owners.  The only thing that could have made the day better for his team and fantasy owners alike would have been if he could have gotten into the endzone.

Beanie Wells (10 car., 20 yards; 2 rec., 13 yards) should have had a decent game in what was a good matchup against what has been a bad defense, but he just couldn’t find any running room as the Rams made a concerted effort to stop up the run and make Skelton beat them.  Wells might have more tough days ahead if Kolb remains out, as this will probably be the strategy opposing defenses will use as long as Skelton is in the game.
 

We used to talk about the epic battles between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (347 total yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs); but as it turns out, it’s Eli Manning (261 total yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) that is Brady’s kryptonite.  Drawing upon the specter of the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl a few years back, Eli orchestrated another last minute scoring drive and ended up stealing yet another game from Brady as Brady just looked on helplessly from the sidelines, sending the Patriots to a two game losing streak for the first time this season.

With Hakeem Nicks out nursing a hamstring injury, Victor Cruz (6-91) stepped up and led the Giants receivers.  Jake Ballard (4-67, 1 TD) also had another strong showing, and is looking like a top 10 TE going forward, which nobody saw coming.  Mario Manningham (3-33, 1 TD) did not have a great outing, but his second half touchdown did make the day more palatable for his owners.

After a couple of quiet games, Wes Welker (9-136) once again exploded for a huge receiving day, rolling up over 130 yards receiving as he was Brady’s outlet for most of the game with the deeper patterns well covered by the Giants.  The TE wonder duo of Rob Gronkowski (8-101, 1 TD) and Aaron Hernandez (4-35, 1 TD) both had good games, but it was Gronk who had the most outstanding day, going over the century mark with his fourth quarter TD catch.

With Ahmad Bradshaw out with a cracked bone in his foot, Brandon Jacobs (18 car., 72 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 28 yards) started and got the most carries in the offense, accumulating 100 total yards and a touchdown, showing that he can still be a viable fantasy asset if he gets the touches.

The RB carousel continues to go around for the Patriots, as last week’s rushing leader Kevin Faulk didn’t even get in the game, so naturally it was BenJarvis Green-Ellis (12 car., 42 yards; 1 rec., 11 yards) and Danny Woodhead (7 car., 26 yards; 3 rec., 34 yards) doing most of the heavy lifting.  This unit is a mess for fantasy purposes and really needs to be avoided.

Now this is what we’re talking about!  A fantasy bonanza of points that we also expected with the Patriots-Giants that never really materialized did explode in the rain in San Diego.  Aaron Rodgers (299 total yards, 4 TDs) didn’t have his run of the mill 300 and 3 game; instead, he got close (299 total yards) but made up for it by throwing a fourth touchdown pass.  Philip Rivers (384 total yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs) bested him by throwing six touchdowns; too bad two of them went to the Packers in the way of pick sixes.  If it weren’t for those two scores, the Chargers may well have upset the defending champs in this one.

There was fantasy value everywhere in this game, as Jordy Nelson (5-105, 1 TD), Jermichael Finley (5-44, 1 TD), Greg Jennings (6-46, 1 TD), and James Jones (1-21, 1 TD) all got in the endzone for Rodgers.  Going forward, you can probably start most of the Packers receivers and still find at least some value, as touchdowns seem to happen like death and taxes for the Packers offense.

With an injury sidelining fellow starting WR Malcom Floyd, Vincent Jackson (7-141, 3 TDs) ended up getting most of the love from Rivers as the Chargers mounted a desperate bid to keep pace with the Packers.  That makes two huge games for Jackson, one decent one, and a whole mess of subpar games.  While Jackson probably has more games like this in him, guessing when they might happen in place of one of the mediocre games he tends to have is anyone’s guess.  Antonio Gates (8-96, 1 TD) finally had a game in which he looked like the Gates of old instead of just an old Gates.  Vincent Brown took the place of Floyd (4-79) and posted a very Floyd-esque stat line as well.

James Starks (13 car., 66 yards; 1 rec., 9 yards) led the Packers backfield committee with a 3-1 advantage in carries over Ryan Grant (4 car., 16 yards).  If they gave Starks at least 20-25 carries a game, he would get 100 yard games at the same rate that Rodgers rolls up 300 yard passing games.  Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be in the cards, so as long as Grant plays a significant amount of snaps and the Packers keep passing most downs, Starks will be relegated to around 70 total yards and the occasional score.

With Ryan Mathews out of the game with an injury, Mike Tolbert (19 car., 83 yards, 1 TD; 4 rec., 59 yards) got the start and bowling balled his way through the Packers defenders, showing just how tough he is to bring down in the open field.  If Mathews remains out for the Thursday night game in Week 10, Tolbert becomes a strong play again.

This game started out as the expected field goal and defense fest, but the fourth quarter opened up some scoring and late game heroics that made this one of the most enjoyable games of the week.  Joe Flacco (300 yards, 1 TD) showed off some serious moxie in leading the Ravens on a 92 yard touchdown drive with just over two minutes to go against a tough Steelers defense in front of a raucous Steelers crowd.  Ben Roethlisberger (343 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) also did a nice job even though he was missing slot receiver Emmanuel Sanders and lost Hines Ward on the opening drive to a concussion.  Still, it wasn’t enough to secure a win and now they’ve been swept by the Ravens which could play into tiebreakers for the playoffs.

Anquan Boldin (7-88) led the Ravens receivers and has now posted three straight very good fantasy games.  It was Torrey Smith (5-71, 1 TD) though that went from goat in the early going (holding on a Ray Rice opening drive run that would have been a long TD score) to hero at the end with the clutch game winning grab with seconds remaining in the game.  On the TE front, it’s starting to look like Dennis Pitta (5-46) is passing Ed Dickson (2-8) on the depth chart, as Pitta has gotten more looks and catches now for two weeks in a row.

Once again, it was speedster slot dynamo Antonio Brown (5-109) that got the most targets, catches, and yards for the Steelers, as he has taken full advantage of most team’s coverages rolling Mike Wallace’s (4-68, 1 TD) way.  As long as teams are willing to take Wallace out and let the rest of the Steelers beat them, Brown will be a strong play.  Heath Miller (5-73) also had a strong outing as he had to make up for Sanders and Ward being out of the game.

While Ray Rice (18 car., 43 yards, 1 TD; 5 rec., 43 yards) didn’t score three times like he did last week, he did end up with over 80 total yards and touchdown, which is about all his fantasy owners could expect in a game against the Steelers.  Ricky Williams (9 car., 24 yards; 1 rec., 11 yards) got half as many carries as Rice did, and will continue to serve as the change of pace back.

Considering the Steelers have become a mostly passing team, Rashard Mendenhall (13 car., 52 yards, 1 TD; 1 rec., 3 yards) still had a good outing against a defense he traditionally has a hard time with.  Mendenhall’s value will continue to be capped though if Roethlisberger continues to throw for more than 300 yards a game.

Follow @FFChamps on Twitter

The views and content in this article are not necessarily the opinion of Fantasy Football Champs, www.FFChamps.com, and its in-house experts.