McCaffrey’s four-yard touchdown in the second quarter made it 12 straight games he has found the end zone as a 49er. Special stuff. McCaffrey was running angry this evening, routinely tacking on extra yardage after first contact. With the 49ers playing on just three days rest, Elijah Mitchell was finally a little more involved, but CMC still made it three straight 2023 appearances that he has cleared 20 touches. In fact, he has yet to notch fewer than 23 handles. He now has 10 days to rest up for Week 4 against the Cardinals.

Playing behind a makeshift offensive line against the 49ers’ ferocious front seven, Jones had his second scoreless outing in three 2023 starts. Jones, as always, was overly conservative, but there just wasn’t much he good do against this defense with the limited number of playmakers at his disposal. Jones and play-caller Brian Daboll tried to force the issue with Darren Waller, but it resulted in an inefficient night for the pass catcher and an interception for Jones. Waller let a fourth quarter target clang off his hands and into the air for the pick. Jones has bookended last week’s strong fantasy effort against the Cardinals with dominations at the hands of Dallas and San Francisco’s elite defenses. The Seahawks should offer a Monday night respite in Week 4.

Limited to 43 yards on nine first half targets, Samuel finally got rolling after the break. The highlight was his 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, where the blitzing Giants left Samuel 1-on-1 with Adoree’ Jackson. He did not lose the hand fight. Tonight was another Samuel YAC masterpiece, with a massive chunk of his yardage coming after first contact. That led to a scary moment in the fourth quarter where several G-Men landed on Samuel’s mid-section after a rugged run and he remained down on the field. He finally staggered to his feet after “only” seeming to have the wind knocked out of him. The defintion of a “rolling ball of butcher knives,” Samuel has re-solidified his WR2 value regardless of Brandon Aiyuk’s health status. Aiyuk should be back from his shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Cardinals.

It was another “point guard” performance for the 49ers’ second-year starter, one where he was very lucky to escape without any turnovers. As seemed to often be the case last season, Purdy had several dropped interceptions in the first half, though he was far crisper after the break. He also got the ball to his play-making weapons more than enough times in space, allowing them to rip off chunk gains and tack on major yards after the catch. Purdy’s main skill seems to be his quick processing, though his physical limitations do occasionally get him into trouble. He’s probably overdue for a multi-turnover performance, but he is doing his job in this execution-based offense. He’s a solid QB2 streamer, one who catches the cellar-dwelling Cardinals in Week 4.

There have been a truly absurd amount of word games going on with Barkley’s injury, but he has finally confirmed what seemed obvious when he required the assistance of two other players to get off the field on Sunday. Barkley told Rooks his Thursday absence was a “pain-tolerance issue,” but not even the most highly-rehabbed NFL player could play through a high sprain four days after the fact. Two weeks is a bit of a different story, though those kind of heroics are usually saved for the playoffs. Barkley does have 11 more days to get healed up for Week 4 with the Giants playing on Monday Night Football. We would still expect him to need at least one more week.

Aiyuk probably would have played were it not for the short week. Instead, he’ll now have 10 days to get healthy for San Francisco’s Week 4 walkover against the Cardinals. Jauan Jennings and rookie Ronnie Bell will pick up Aiyuk’s lost snaps, but Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are the only Niners pass catchers worth rolling out there in re-draft.

This was what we expected from Burrow, as the Bengals opened their first practice of the week in preparation for Monday night’s matchup against the Rams. Burrow said earlier that his calf is “not as sore” as it was earlier in the week, but didn’t commit to playing on Monday. Fantasy managers waiting to hear on Burrow’s status should have a backup plan in place, given that way may not know whether or not he’s playing until closer to kickoff. If Burrow is unable to go, Jake Browning would be in line for the start. Fantasy managers shouldn’t bank on Browning as their contingency plan.

The Rams don’t play until Monday night, leaving Nacua with two days of practice still to go. Head coach Sean McVay said he plans to limit Nacua in practice due to his injury, but doesn’t believe he will be affected come game day. Nacua is seeing all-world volume in the Rams offense and has quickly turned into one of the best late-round values we’ve seen in fantasy. He’ll be a must-start high-end WR2 against the Bengals in prime time.

It puts Gainwell on track to return for Monday Night Football against the Bucs after missing Week 2 vs. Minnesota. Gainwell ended up missing only one game, but D’Andre Swift re-proved how much more explosive he is than the Eagles’ coaching staff favorite, turning 31 touches into a ludicrous 181 yards from scrimmage. Gainwell isn’t just going to be mothballed, but it stands to reason Swift probably earned another lead back shot. FLEX finders should be aiming higher than Kenny G for Week 3.

Hill popped up on Wednesday’s injury report, but we had no knowledge of him dealing with an injury prior to then. Whatever it is he’s working through appears to be minor, as the Dolphins upgraded him to full on Thursday, suggesting he’ll be ready to go for Week 3 against the Broncos. Assuming he plays, Hill can be slotted in as a top five fantasy receiver, as usual.