This article is part of our NFL Reactions series.
What if I told you the second-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football (standard scoring) last year threw for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns Sunday against a defense that allowed an average of 23.65 fantasy points per game through four weeks, the eighth-highest average in the league? No big deal, right? A quarterback with that kind of success should be able to dominate a relatively weak defense. And yet, because that quarterback was Tom Brady, making his season-debut after serving a four-game suspension, everyone made it a big deal.
Brady was ready to get back on the field to stick it to Roger Goodell, his receivers ready to blow up and show the league that Brady is their guy and won't be messed with, and he was going to dominate his opponent because he was playing angry. Sound familiar? Maybe it's because it felt like everyone was pushing those narratives heading into Sunday. But let's be honest, it was all junk. Brady is a fierce competitor every game and was facing one of the worst teams in the NFL. Yes, it was a great performance, but to intimate that Brady played better because of some kind of pay-back to Goodell is beyond ludicrous.
The harder part about dissecting the Patriots is figuring out which of Brady's receivers would benefit the most. Julian Edelman came in with a foot injury and Rob Gronkowski was dealing with a hamstring issue, but both were active and combined to catch 10 passes
What if I told you the second-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football (standard scoring) last year threw for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns Sunday against a defense that allowed an average of 23.65 fantasy points per game through four weeks, the eighth-highest average in the league? No big deal, right? A quarterback with that kind of success should be able to dominate a relatively weak defense. And yet, because that quarterback was Tom Brady, making his season-debut after serving a four-game suspension, everyone made it a big deal.
Brady was ready to get back on the field to stick it to Roger Goodell, his receivers ready to blow up and show the league that Brady is their guy and won't be messed with, and he was going to dominate his opponent because he was playing angry. Sound familiar? Maybe it's because it felt like everyone was pushing those narratives heading into Sunday. But let's be honest, it was all junk. Brady is a fierce competitor every game and was facing one of the worst teams in the NFL. Yes, it was a great performance, but to intimate that Brady played better because of some kind of pay-back to Goodell is beyond ludicrous.
The harder part about dissecting the Patriots is figuring out which of Brady's receivers would benefit the most. Julian Edelman came in with a foot injury and Rob Gronkowski was dealing with a hamstring issue, but both were active and combined to catch 10 passes on 17 targets for 144 yards, with Gronkowski catching five of seven for 109. However, wideout Chris Hogan led the team with 114 yards (though he only caught four of five targets), while tight end Martellus Bennett caught all three of Brady's touchdown passes. Gronkowski was widely considered a first-round pick in fantasy drafts this season, but it seems the presence of Bennett, and not any potential injuries, could keep him from reaching that kind of value. Meanwhile, Edelman's fantasy value is dependent on catching passes, and while he led the team with 10 targets, he racked up only 35 yards.
In fact, it was the 20th time Edelman has been targeted at least 10 times since the beginning of the 2013 season, and he's failed to reach 100 receiving yards in all but four of them. He does have a few two-touchdown games over that span, but overall he's scored at least once 13 times in 44 games, which is why such a highly targeted player isn't more valuable in most fantasy formats.
What do you do when you lose your top two receivers from last year within the first two games of this season? You throw for more than 320 yards in three consecutive games, including a 365-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Raiders on Sunday. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has shined after losing top wideout Keenan Allen to a torn ACL in Week 1 and then running back Danny Woodhead, who led the team in receiving yards last year, to the same injury in Week 2. He's done it by spreading his passes around, with the best evidence coming Sunday, as Travis Benjamin was targeted a team-high 10 times (he caught six for 117 yards), but his touchdown passes went to wideout Tyrell Williams (five catches on six targets for 117 yards), tight end Hunter Henry (three catches on four targets for 74 yards), tight end Antonio Gates (four catches on five targets for 30 yards) and running back Melvin Gordon (one catch on one target for 18 yards). Rivers has always been known as a quality passer, and his success is moving him up the NFL record books, as he passed Johnny Unitas and Warren Moon into ninth place on the all-time passing touchdowns list. Sitting at 292 for his career, he should easily pass John Elway (300) in the next few weeks, though he's 8,553 passing yards behind the former Bronco.
Rivers' ability to use any and all of his receivers makes him a viable fantasy option against pretty much anyone, and with the way the Chargers are playing (they fell to 1-4 on Sunday), there's little reason to think they'll start to rein in his passing attempts. Unfortunately, the only team you may hesitate to start him against is the Broncos, who the Chargers play Thursday.
Sticking with quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger joined Rivers as the only QBs to throw four touchdowns this week, as the Steelers' signal caller absolutely dominated the Jets' secondary for 380 yards, including two scores to Sammie Coates and one each to Antonio Brown and Jesse James. Coates, Brown and Le'Veon Bell were each targeted 11 times, and the Jets, who were without Darrelle Revis, could do nothing to stop them. Roethlisberger has been magnificent since Bell returned from his three-game suspension, completing 56 of 74 passes (75.7 percent) for 680 yards and nine touchdowns in two games. And while Bell hasn't scored a touchdown yet, he's certainly not losing many touches to DeAngelo Williams, as the former has rushed 38 times for 200 yards in two games, adding 14 catches on 17 targets for 122 yards, while Williams has rushed five times for seven yards and a score, including one carry for zero yards Sunday. For fantasy owners who were hoping Williams would still be able to carve out a role once Bell returned, it's clear he's simply an injury handcuff.
Roethlisberger's next opponent is the Dolphins, who allowed four touchdowns to Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota on Sunday, though one was on the ground. The Dolphins' pass defense looked decent on paper, and while it only allowed 163 passing yards to Mariota, there's little reason to think Roethlisberger won't torch it, as he's far better than who Miami has faced this year: Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo/Jacoby Brissett, Cody Kessler, Andy Dalton.
Speaking of injury handcuffs, a few paned out quite well Sunday, as Bears running back Jordan Howard, starting in place of the injured Jeremy Langford, rushed 16 times for 118 yards and caught all three of his targets for 45 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Colts. Meanwhile, Theo Riddick took advantage of his increase in playing time thanks to numerous Lions backfield injuries, rushing 11 times for 49 yards and catching all six targets for 33 yards and two scores against the Colts. Unfortunately, some fantasy players were left underwhelmed by the injury fill-ins they chose, with Matt Asiata outperforming Jerrick McKinnon (who were playing in place of the injured Adrian Peterson) and Jalen Richard outproduced DeAndre Washington playing in place of Latavius Murray, who was out with a toe injury. Murray will reclaim his starting job as soon as he's healthy, but Howard is giving the Bears' coaching staff plenty to think about when Langford returns.
While Langford scored in the first two games of the season, he rushed for only 85 yards on 28 carries (3.04 YPC). Meanwhile, Howard has been excellent over the last two games, rushing 39 times for 229 yards (5.87 YPC) while also catching six of seven targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. Given their respective production this season, it's tough to see how coach John Fox could not start the rookie when Langford returns.
