If you like favorites, big scoring, brand name fantasy production — well, the early window from Week 10 was not your jam. Underdogs were 8-1 for the week when that window closed and the under cashed six of the first nine tickets. A bunch of fantasy angles fell well short of expectation.
But at least we have Christian McCaffrey back in our fantasy lives. And that’s a good thing.
McCaffrey was the consensus 1.01 pick all summer but was mysteriously scratched just ahead of the 49ers’ Week 1 game, basically put on extended layaway as he rehabbed his Achilles injury. The 49ers finally activated McCaffrey for the Sunday matchup at Tampa Bay, and although CMC didn’t have a signature game, he wasn’t held back. That’s the big news here.
McCaffrey handled 19 touches (13 rushes, six catches) and made 107 total yards, a solid showing as the Niners scored a 23-20 victory. McCaffrey didn’t score a touchdown, but we focus on the big picture — while he was getting that healthy workload, his backfield mates were all but ignored. Jordan Mason had one carry, Isaac Guerendo had one carry, and neither was targeted in the passing game. The McCaffrey Show is back on the air. Set your DVRs, and please delete all those CSI episodes.
A less-heralded San Francisco returnee also strutted his stuff. Jauan Jennings was the busiest receiver on the Niners side, drawing 11 target and returning a 7-93-0 line. He looks fantasy useful as a WR 2/3 going forward, clearly in sync with quarterback Brock Purdy.
The Niners didn’t pepper George Kittle (3-57-1, four targets) or Deebo Samuel (5-62-0, six targets), though Kittle applied some touchdown deodorant and Samuel added 14 rushing yards. They’re locked in fantasy starters, obviously. Ricky Pearsall isn’t as immediately interesting as Jennings, but he scored a touchdown and finished with a 4-73-1 line on six targets. Purdy was narrow with his distribution, only targeting five players. We like that.
Ah yes, Purdy, perhaps the most underrated quarterback in football. He rang up 353 passing yards and the two touchdowns, and didn’t have a turnover. He also added 17 rushing yards. With two games left to play in Week 10, Purdy is the QB5 on the week.
With San Francisco healing up and the bye week in the rear view, this should be a fun offense moving forward. The Niners host Seattle next week — likely to be a pinball game.
Other fantasy booms and busts
Bears hit a new low
While things are trending up in San Francisco, things might have bottomed out in Chicago. The Bears were soundly beaten by the Patriots, 19-3, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Chicago offense didn’t score a touchdown for the second straight week, and Caleb Williams was sacked nine times. Williams didn’t do much when he was still upright, throwing for just 120 yards and 4.0 per attempt.
Every pass-catcher in the Chicago huddle was a brick, obviously. Keenan Allen cobbled together 5-44-0 on six targets, while both DJ Moore and Rome Odunze didn’t make it to 25 yards. Cole Kmet had a 2-13-0 washout. You wonder if this is the week Chicago considers replacing embattled offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Head coach Matt Eberflus is also on the hot seat.
And it’s not like the Patriots defense is some juggernaut. New England entered the week ranked 30th in defensive DVOA, with just two positive expected-performance showings in nine games. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where credit and blame lies in this type of performance. In this case, I’ll start by blaming the Bears.
New England rookie Drake Maye was fine in a game-manager mode (184 yards, one sack, one interception, 7.4 YPA). His one touchdown went to fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, a 2-yarder. Most of Maye’s completions went to non-startable fantasy assets like Austin Hooper (3-64-0) and Kayshon Boutte (4-47-0). DeMario Douglas did return 4-50-0 on five targets.
Chicago hosts Green Bay next week in a season-defining game. The Patriots host the Rams.
QB question continues for Colts
I’ve been as open-minded to the Joe Flacco experience as anyone, but it’s probably time for the Colts to get Anthony Richardson back in for his on-field tutelage. Flacco did not play well in the 30-20 loss to Buffalo, turning the ball over four times and taking four sacks. The final box score looks misleadingly adequate — Flacco threw for 272 yards and two scores — because the Colts had a final-minute touchdown in garbage time. There’s no guarantee Richardson will play any better if they do ultimately opt to make a change, but the Colts are now 4-6 and they can’t act like Flacco is driving them to the playoffs. It’s reasonable to shift to the long-term goal.
Buffalo passing game doesn’t pay the bills
The Bills had one of their touchdowns on defense and Josh Allen and James Cook ran in scores, so fantasy managers looking for a pass-catching sleeper with Amari Cooper out were mildly disappointed. Allen didn’t throw for any touchdowns and Khalil Shakir had an ordinary 6-58-0 line on nine looks. Mack Hollins got to 86 yards, for those of you in 20-team leagues. Dalton Kincaid had 24 early yards then left with a knee injury.
Where did the TDs go?
Going into Sunday Night Football, there have been just 41 touchdowns scored in the 11 games played on Sunday.
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21 passing
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19 rushing
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1 defense/special teams
Note: I’ll continue to add Week 10 fantasy analysis throughout the evening.