The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Week 9

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Week 9

Aaron Rodgers keeps reminding everyone this year why he is one of the most elite quarterbacks in the game’s history and did so again on last week against the Minnesota Vikints with 291 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.  Melvin Gordon III did not have a revenge day against his former team and finished with 26 rushing yards and 6 catches for 21 yards.  A.J. Brown saved his fantasy day with a touchdown in route to a 4 reception for 24 yards performance.  Matthew Stafford ended up having his best game of the season after Kenny Golladay left the game with injury with 336 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.  Justin Jackson ended up having his best game of the season too with 89 rushing yards and 3 catches for 53 yards. Whoops.  Adam Thielen, however, only managed to reel in 3 catches for 27 ards in his worst performance thus far this season.  Tua Tagovailoa debuted with 93 passing yards and one touchdown against the Rams.  Giovanni Bernard kept rolling along in Joe Mixon’s absence and finished with 62 rushing yards, 3 receptions for 16 yards, and two total touchdowns.  Darius Slayton finished with 5 catches for 56 yards in a game where he and Daniel Jones could not get a grove going, leaving plenty of catches and yards on the field.  On to week 9.

The Good

Quarterback: Josh Allen

Josh Allen started off the season hot and has cooled down considerably over the last few weeks, however, he gets the league’s worst defense against the quarterback position this week in the Seattle Seahawks.  This is a get right match up if there ever was one and he should be in prime position to pepper Stefon Diggs with targets against the worst secondary in the NFL.  This game looks to be a shootout between the quarterbacks with plenty of scoring opportunities and fantasy potential.

Running Back: James Robinson

James Robinson and the Jaguars get the Houston Texans this week which is the 30th ranked defense that is allowing 417 yards per game to opposing offenses.  CB Bradley Roby is also ruled out of the game for the Texans.  The Jaguars are making a quarterback switch due to a thumb injury to Gardner Minshew II and should continue to rely on James Robinson and the rushing game after a 119 yard rushing performance and two total touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers last week.  

Wide Receiver: Will Fuller V

Will Fuller V has scored in five straight weeks and gets a prime match up this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Not only has he been having one of his best seasons but the trade rumors that were surrounding him at the trade deadline must add fuel to the fire and motivate him to grab a few extra passes and yards.  He will be matched up against Chris Claybrooks who has allowed 12.1 yards per target thus far this season.  Fuller has turned into an every week must start and if he remains healthy has entered into a great role after the departure of DeAndre Hopkins from this Houston offense.

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The Bad

Quarterback: Drew Brees

Drew Brees is matched up against a surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that only allowed 160 yards to Brees in week 1 this year.  Brees is also dealing with a shoulder injury that limited him in practice all week and it remains unclear whether Michael Thomas will be ready to go for this game after missing multiple weeks.  It is believed that Thomas could be ready to make his return which would greatly benefit Brees’s outlook but it will be difficult to trust starting Brees with the shoulder injury and bad match up.

Running Back: Todd Gurley II

Todd Gurley II only managed to gain 46 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts against the Carolina Panthers last week and seemed to miss various series throughout the game.  No injuries were reported but even though Gurley has been a top ten fantasy running back in total points thus far this season. the lack of consistent meaningful touches is beginning to become worrisome as he prepares to face a Denver Broncos defense that has only allowed 5 rushing touchdowns in 7 games this season.

Wide Receiver: Sterling Shepard

Sterling Shepard led the Giants in targets last week against Tampa Bay and faces the Washington Football team who have been able to do quite well against the pass thus far this season.  If Golden Tate is in fact held out due to disciplinary reasons by the New York Giants that only hurts Shepard this week due to the absence of the play-maker and his ability to open up the field for Shepard by garnering attention from the defense.  Daniel Jones has been unable to find a consistent flow with any of his three receivers and has missed them for potential big gains throughout the year.  The absence of Tate could provide a few more targets for Shepard but there is not enough appeal to expect a relevant game for him this week.

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The Ugly

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill

Ryan Tannehill is facing a Chicago Bears defense that has only allowed eight passing touchdowns thus far this season.  Tannehill has been a viable starter for fantasy rosters all season with the emergence of Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith in addition to the continued dominance of A.J. Brown but in a game against Chicago he could relinquish the offense to Derrick Henry in a ground and pound approach.  The colder weather is approaching fast and with it Henry is receiving more touches per game and has turned them into great production. 

Running Back: Jonathan Taylor

Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins both had great games against Detroit last week as the offense as a whole scored 41 points.  Jonathan Taylor, however, was not involved much and finished with 22 rushing yards and two catches for 9 yards.  It broke the hearts of many fantasy managers as they realized that Taylor might not be in the perfect situation that they thought he would be in when he was going in the third round of fantasy drafts.  This week Taylor gets the Balitmore Ravens and there should be absolutely no reason to be optimistic about playing him in this match up after he was only able to muster a line like that against the Lions. 

Wide Receiver: Tyler Lockett

Tyler Lockett has been very up and down this season and gets a Buffalo defense that is the perfect image of that description this year as well.  It is difficult to know what fantasy managers will get from Lockett or this defense this week.  CB Taron Johnson has allowed a 73% catch rate and the fourth most yards among CBs which on paper sounds great for Lockett but his streaky performances this season makes it hard to determine whether he will be able to take advantage of the match up or if it will be another D.K. Metcalf monster performance while Lockett plays decoy all game.

That’s all for this week’s edition of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Go destroy your matchups and come back for more next week.

Tweet me at @benjamm1n for all your fantasy football needs.

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