NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 10

What a day! Six games were decided in the last minute. Three of those games involved the four teams from the AFC North. After the games, one loss separates the top from the bottom in that division. Let's look at Sunday's action.

Reactions

• The Lions have not always been excellent on offense when playing away from home. They had no issue against the Chargers. After a pair of excellent games by Jahmyr Gibbs while David Montgomery was out, the rookie split touches equally with Montgomery. Both surpassed 100 scrimmage yards. Gibbs scored twice while Montgomery found the end zone once. With the dominance of the Detroit offensive line, it's entirely possible that both of these players can be top-15 options at their position. 
• Even though the Chargers had a tough loss on their home field, they had outstanding performances from their "big three." Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen were unstoppable. Herbert threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns while Allen had 175 yards and two scores. When that duo is clicking, it's always capable of massive numbers. Austin Ekeler has not averaged four yards per carry on the ground since coming back from his high-ankle sprain, but he remains a solid threat in the receiving game. Ekeler ended the day with 115 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Finally, Jalen Guyton recorded 41 yards and a touchdown. He could eventually emerge as the team's top deep threat, but it was encouraging to see him productive without having a catch of 20 yards. Guyton will remain a desperation flex play each week, but a big play is always possible. 
• It was a brutal international game to start the day. Although the Patriots failed to score a TD, they had good production from the RBs. Rhamondre Stevenson had 22 touches for 102 yards while Ezekiel Elliott turned his 15 touches into 88 yards. Stevenson should remain a volume-based top-20 RB while Ellliott is a risky flex option. The only receiver with more than 34 yards was impressive rookie Demario Douglas, who posted 84 yards despite fighting through an ankle injury. He's on the map as a PPR WR3.
• The Colts got two excellent catches from Josh Downs to extend drives, but the rookie was playing through a knee injury and two catches for 40 yards was all he had Sunday. He should be healthier down the stretch. Downs is in the WR3 equation. Jonathan Taylor has yet to have one of his signature games. However, he had 24 touches that resulted in 75 yards and a TD. He's a volume-based RB1. Hopefully, he regains his explosiveness soon.
• The 49ers played a dangerous game Sunday. Leading by 31 points with four minutes left in the game, they kept Christian McCaffrey in the game as they were trying to get him a touchdown in his 18th consecutive game. It seems short-sighted for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to subject its best offensive player to needless hits. The 49ers just came off a three-game losing streak that was largely due to injuries to key players. Fortunately, McCaffrey remained healthy despite the foolish usage. Otherwise, the San Francisco offense looked unstoppable with everybody back coming out of its bye week. Jacksonville had played strong defense throughout the season, but it had no answers for the diversity of the 49ers' weapons. There were no new takeaways with the 49ers' skill-position players. We already know that not each of them will go off each week. We start them for upside potential and live with the occasional down weeks.
• Aside from Christian Kirk, the Jaguars could not have had a worse game on offense. They didn't score a single touchdown, and Kirk was the only non-quarterback with more than 44 scrimmage yards. An overwhelmed Jacksonville offensive line had no answer for the 49ers' loaded pass rush. Even though the passing game has not played to the level many hoped for when the season began, it would be a surprise if the Jaguars did not turn things around down the stretch. They certainly will be much better than what we saw this week, as this could be the toughest matchup they'll have all season. Calvin Ridley drew a pair of pass interference calls, and he posted just 20 yards. It's difficult to recommend him as anything more than a flex option. 
• The Browns had an incredible win against the Ravens. They had three first half field goals before scoring 24 points after the break with six of those coming from the defense. Going into the game, it didn't seem logical that Cleveland could move the ball against Baltimore. Jerome Ford stepped up with 107 rushing yards. However, Kareem Hunt continues to see the majority of work near the goal line. Ford remains an RB2 while Hunt is a TD-dependent flex. In addition, Amari Cooper continues to play at a high level with 98 yards. With plenty of favorable matchups on the schedule, he's looking like a top-15 WR. Credit needs to go to Deshaun Watson. He took a beating from the Baltimore defense, but he kept battling. Although the fantasy numbers haven't been great, in his last three healthy games, he looks much better than he did last year. He'll likely have a number of top-12 performances.
• The Ravens missed an opportunity to get a divisional win. Facing an elite Cleveland defense, the offense ran just 47 plays. Lamar Jackson threw a pick-six while also taking a couple sacks on critical third downs. Jackson has mostly had high-floor games for fantasy. It's difficult to see that changing. Also, everyone's favorite free-agent addition, Keaton Mitchell, had a mixed bag. The bad news is he touched the ball four times. The good news is he was incredibly explosive again. He posted 68 scrimmage yards and a TD. Unless his workload increases, the odds of him having big plays on limited opportunities is tough to count on. For now, he's a risk-reward flex option. 
• The Vikings earned a big victory against the Saints. Joshua Dobbs continued to be a strong fantasy option. Facing one of the better defenses in the league, he ran for 44 yards and a touchdown while also tossing a scoring pass. Playing behind an excellent offensive line with a strong set of receivers, Dobbs is a strong superflex option every week. The hero of the game was T.J. Hockenson. Despite playing with a rib injury, he caught 11 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. He was responsible for exactly half of his quarterback's passing yards. The tight end was completely unstoppable. After Travis Kelce, it's difficult to put any other TE ahead of Hockenson, especially in PPR leagues, the rest of the way.
• Even though New Orleans seemed to have a significant advantage with its defense, it was soundly beaten. The Saints fell behind by 21 points in the first half before putting up some desperation points after intermission. Derek Carr was injured and gave way to Jameis Winston.  We got the usual from Winston. He threw a pair of passing scores to get the Saints back in the game, but he also threw a couple interceptions to keep his team from pulling out the win. Once Michael Thomas left this game with a knee injury, sixth round rookie, A.T. Perry saw significant playing time. He posted 38 yards and a touchdown on four targets. Going into this year's draft, I thought that Perry had a strong physical presence that would translate well to the NFL. If Thomas is forced to miss time, Perry may be worth a desperation add in deep leagues to see if he can build on his success against the Vikings.
• The Packers had a chance to pull out a late victory at Pittsburgh. Jordan Love had the team in scoring range in the waning moments but threw his second interception of the game. Since Green Bay was trailing for most of the game, Love ended up throwing the ball 40 times for 289 yards. He connected on touchdown passes to Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs. Even though Reed and Doubs scored in this game, they remain TD-dependent fantasy options. For those hanging on to Christian Watson, he hasn't had a seven-point fantasy game in any of the last four game. It's difficult to recommend keeping him on fantasy rosters. 
• Even though Green Bay was without a number of defensive starters, Kenny Pickett was unable to sustain a useful passing attack. However, the Steelers rushing attack was outstanding. Najee Harris posted 96 scrimmage yards and a touchdown while Jaylen Warren posted 110 yards and a score. Both of these running backs have averaged double-digit  (PPR) fantasy points the last month. Although neither seems to have great weekly upside, they definitely are solid fantasy options. 
• I was concerned about Will Levis this week. This was the first game that an opponent had a full week to prepare for him while studying his game film. The entire offense was a disaster against a Tampa Bay defense that was obliterated by the Texans last week. Kyle Philips and Tyjae Spears were the two most productive players in this game with each posting at least 50 scrimmage yards. Derrick Henry had 12 touches for 20 yards while DeAndre Hopkins had three catches for 27 yards despite being targeted eight times. I imagine there will be some games in which the offense has some success, but I am reluctant to have high expectations for the Tennessee offense on a week-to-week basis. 
• Baker Mayfield got robbed. He should have thrown for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Evans had one of the worst drops of his NFL career. He was wide open in the back of the end zone and mishandled a perfectly delivered pass. Aside from the mishap, Evans dominated with 143 yards and a touchdown while Mayfield also had a strong game. In games the Buccaneers are not facing an elite defense, both of these players should remain strong fantasy options. Rachaad White had 22 touches, resulting in 98 yards and a touchdown. He continues to be a poor interior runner, but his work in the receiving game makes him a valuable option for fantasy.
• The Bengals offense was stuck in neutral for most of the game against the Texans. While trailing for the majority of the second half, the Bengals found themselves desperate to make a comeback. That led to Joe Burrow throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a fantastic fantasy performance. Even though Ja'Marr Chase had a painful back injury, I warned as many fantasy players as possible to start him. it was almost worth taking a zero as long as there was a chance that the star receiver would make a big play. Of course, that's exactly what Chase did. His 64-yard touchdown led to him having an impressive stat line. The Bengals could have easily won this game. What hurt most was Tyler Boyd dropping an easy touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Although he had a slow first half, the extreme passing volume led to Boyd posting 117 yards. Also, my favorite desperation flex play of the week was Trenton Irwin. He only had 54 yards, but he scored a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Burrow missed him for what should have been an easy second touchdown. While Tee Higgins (hamstring) misses time, Boyd and Irwin have increased fantasy value.
• I definitely did not predict that Devin Singletary and Noah Brown would dominate the Bengals. Singletary had a career-high 150 yards on the ground along with a touchdown. Brown followed his huge effort from last week with an incredible 172 yards on seven catches. Continue to ride Brown until he cools off. With Singletary, he remains a volume-based RB2, especially since this performance seemed to come out of nowhere. Knowing that C.J. Stroud was facing a Cincinnati defense with an outstanding coordinator, I thought we might see more of the quarterback that we saw in the two weeks prior to his explosion game last week. Clearly, that didn't happen. Stroud led his team to another late victory. He did it without his top receiver Nico Collins, and also with Tank Dell being fairly limited on his 14 targets. I'm sure Stroud will have some disappointing games in the future like all players do. However, he has to be considered as a top-six quarterback. 
• It was unfortunate that the Giants had to play at Dallas with Tommy DeVito at quarterback. There is really nothing of value to say about the New York offense based on this game. Even though Saquon Barkley had little room to run, he was reasonably productive. He must be started each week with lowered expectations while DeVito is at quarterback. However, it makes sense if fantasy managers aren't willing to take that risk of putting their star running back in the lineup due to his situation. It was good to see Brandin Cooks surpass 100 yards while scoring a touchdown. That said, I don't think his performance necessarily means that he's here to stay as a strong fantasy option. We probably need to see a little more consistency out of him before trusting him. Fantasy managers who started Tony Pollard in the hopes that he would have a breakout game were disappointed. Aside from a 15-yard run, he didn't show much explosiveness. He still remains a volume-based WR2. Obviously, Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb have been red hot the last three weeks. Hopefully, this trend continues, as they are incredible to watch when playing at this level.
• Facing a vulnerable Arizona defense, Taylor Heinicke was dreadful. He hurt his hamstring and was replaced by Desmond Ridder in the fourth quarter. At that point, Heinecke completed eight of 15 passes for 56 yards, though he did throw a touchdown pass. None of the receivers were useful with Heinicke. Bijan Robinson had one of his better yardage games in a while, and he also found the end zone. This was one of the better matchups on the schedule for him, and though it wasn't as much production as his fantasy investors wanted, they certainly aren't complaining at this point. Robinson is still seeing enough volume that is an obvious fantasy starter every week.
• After an 11-month layoff, it was great to see Kyler Murray back on the field. He didn't have a great performance, but it was a fantastic start against a solid Atlanta defense. It was encouraging to see Murray take off on a couple of designed runs, especially one that was near the goal line that resulted in a touchdown. Although Murray didn't get Marquise Brown going, that duo should heat up soon. It was fantastic that Trey McBride led the team in receiving. This could be a fun fantasy offense the rest of the way with a narrow tree of Murray, James Conner, Brown and McBride. They could be players we're trusting in our lineups with confidence each week. 
• The Washington rushing attack had little success against the Seahawks. No worries! Brian Robinson (119 yards) and Antonio Gibson (42 yards) led the team in receiving while each had a receiving TD. Robinson remains a RB2, while Gibson is a borderline flex in PPR leagues after seeing strong target totals the last three weeks. That success helped Sam Howell have another exceptional fantasy performance. The second-year QB threw for 312 yards and three scores. Howell gets it done almost every week, and he is a top-12 QB.
• Geno Smith had one of his better matchups of the season, and he turned that into an excellent fantasy performance. The veteran threw for 369 yards and two TDs. That said, he has more floor games than we'd like, so he's best used as a QB streamer in leagues that start one QB. It was great to see both DK Metcalf (seven catches, 98 yards) and Tyler Lockett (eight catches, 82 yards and a TD) have big games. Like Smith, both have been inconsistent this season. Metcalf remains a solid WR2 while Lockett falls in the WR3 discussion. After battling through a calf injury, Kenneth Walker went back to dominating work. He had 20 touches, which he turned into 127 yards and a TD. Now healthy, he's as a borderline RB1.

Injuries

The following players did not return from injuries:

• Michael Thomas sustained a knee injury. In his absence, rookie A.T. Perry played heavy snaps.
• Derek Carr (shoulder/head) exited in the third quarter, and Jameis Winston finished the game. Carr hopes to return after the team's Week 11 bye.
• Alexander Mattison suffered a concussion, and Ty Chandler took over the lead RB role.
• Gerald Everett hurt his back. Donald Parham and Stone Smartt picked up extra snaps while Everett was out.
• Taylor Heinicke injured his hamstring, and Desmond Ridder took over.