It should never be a surprise when a player like WR Julio Jones has a big game in a Falcons win, but what we saw Sunday was shocking. Jones and QB Matt Ryan repeatedly torched the Panthers defense as Atlanta built a big lead over the defending NFC champions. By halftime, Jones already had 170 receiving yards, but that was just the beginning.
In the second half, Ryan and Jones continued to connect, but Ryan’s touchdown passes went to TE Austin Hooper and WR Aldrick Robinson. Finally, late in the fourth quarter and already sitting at 225 yards, Ryan found Jones streaking down the sideline and he sprinted to the end zone for his first touchdown of the day. That play gave him an even 300 receiving yards, the fourth time in the Super Bowl era that mark had been reached. It was also obviously a team record for receiving yards in a game.
While Jones was the headliner, his QB Ryan also set some records, throwing for a career high and new team record 503 yards, along with four touchdowns. There’s still the pending Monday Night Football matchup, but through four weeks, Ryan is not only the QB1 in fantasy leagues, he’s the top overall fantasy scorer and the first player to break 100 fantasy points on the season.
In Other News
The Pittsburgh Steelers got their superstar RB Le’Veon Bell back on the field after a three-game suspension and there was no such thing as easing him back into action. Bell was heavily involved from the start as the Steelers ran the Chiefs off the field on Sunday Night Football. He finished with 178 total yards, carrying the ball 18 times compared to just four for veteran DeAngelo Williams. Bell is back and locked in as an automatic weekly play and one of, if not the top running back in the game.
The injury bug has hit many teams hard already this season, but the quarterback position had been mostly unscathed. That changed in Week Four as three teams lost their quarterback for the game. The Panthers were getting hammered by division rival Atlanta when QB Cam Newton casually ran in a two-point conversion and got smacked near the goal line by Falcons S Deion Jones, forcing him to leave the game with a concussion. The Cardinals also lost their QB Carson Palmer to a concussion, but they might be in a tough spot as they are preparing for a quick turnaround for their Week Five game on Thursday night. Finally, the Broncos QB Trevor Siemian had to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a sprained AC joint. Rookie QB Paxton Lynch entered the game and threw for 170 yards and a score. Considering they used a first round pick on the former Memphis QB, they may be ready to stick with him going forward.
The Patriots and rookie QB Jacoby Brissett were one of the big stories of Week Three as Brissett led the team to a shutout win over Houston. Things were very different this week though as Buffalo came to Foxboro and handed the Patriots their first ever shut out in Gillette Stadium. Brissett threw for just over 200 yards, RB LeGarrette Blount managed just 54 yards and while TE Rob Gronkowski made his first catch of the season, that was all he had as New England was never in the game. The good news for New England is that the suspension of QB Tom Brady has officially ended and with Gronk hopefully nearing full health, they can be considered the favorites in the AFC, once again.
Quick Hits
With WR Sammy Watkins placed on IR earlier this week, the Bills spread the ball around, led by WR Robert Woods with seven receptions for 89 yards…Arizona made a concerted effort to get WR John Brown more involved, resulting in a team high 16 targets on the day and a 10/144 line. Brown is clearly healthy and can now be considered a fantasy starter once again…While WR Brian Quick surprised with a pair of touchdown grabs, the star of the team, WR Tavon Austin was nearly invisible, catching just two passes for 14 yards. He will continue to make the occasional highlight reel play, but can’t be trusted on a weekly basis…Playing against a soft Titans secondary, many were expecting a huge day for Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins. Instead, he touched the ball just once, gaining four yards in a disappointing effort…The backfield committee continues in Oakland, with RB Latavius Murray earning more touches, but less yardage than rookie RB DeAndre Washington. Both of these guys will be difficult to insert into fantasy lineups barring an injury…There were questions about the health of Seattle QB Russell Wilson, but he responded with his best game of the season, throwing for 309 yards and three scores in a win over the Jets…Maybe RB Isaiah Crowell is for real. The Browns back posted his second 100-yard game of the season and its time to start considering him as a weekly starter…Crowell’s teammate WR Terrelle Pryor also had a nice game against the Redskins, catching five of his team-high nine targets for 46 yards and a score. With WR Josh Gordon gone and rookie WR Corey Coleman recovering from an injury, Pryor is an every week fantasy starter…The Saints completed an impressive comeback against the San Diego Chargers, but WR Brandin Cooks wasn’t a huge part of the effort, finishing with just three catches for 31 yards. After a huge Week One effort, Cooks has posted back to back clunkers…No Dez, no problem as the Cowboys defeated the Niners, led by rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott, who posted his first 100-yard, touchdown game of his career…In London, the Jaguars held off the Colts and QB Blake Bortles put together his best game of the season, throwing for over 200 yards and a pair of scores…Superstar WR Allen Robinson led the Jags with five grabs for 55 yards and a touchdown…The Bears were without RB Jeremy Langford, but I’m not sure anyone noticed as rookie RB Jordan Howard posted 131 total yards and drew the praise of HC John Fox. Expect Howard to carry the load for the Bears going forward, while Langford recovers and then likely serves as a backup…Speaking of injured Bears, WR Kevin White was playing well in the first half with a team-high nine targets, but he suffered an ankle injury early in the third quarter. He didn’t return and there’s been little talk from the secretive Bears…Saints RB Mark Ingram posted his best game of the year, totaling 106 yards and a touchdown in the New Orleans win…Rookie WR Will Fuller was at it again, catching seven balls for 81 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a punt for another score in the Houston win…RB LeSean McCoy didn’t let the normally tough Patriots defense slow him down, totaling 108 yards and a touchdown in the Bills shutout…Raiders WR Michael Crabtree put together his first career three touchdown game as the Raiders held off Baltimore…Seattle RB Christine Michael wasn’t quite as productive as last week, but he hit the strong Jets defense for 90 total yards and a score. He’s an every week starter with RB Thomas Rawls due to miss another month, at least…Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett continues to disappoint as he caught just one pass on the day. Lockett is reportedly playing through a torn PCL. The Seattle bye comes at the perfect time for the young wideout…Titans RB DeMarco Murray continues to surprise with his high level of play. He found the end zone twice Sunday, to go along with 119 total yards. He’s locked in as a top tier RB for the rest of the season…The Baltimore Ravens benched RB Justin Forsett, who was a healthy scratch, as they activated second-year RB Buck Allen for the first time this year. Rookie RB Kenneth Dixon can’t get healthy fast enough…There were reports that rookie RB Dwayne Washington could see a larger role for the Lions, but he got hurt before that could really come to fruition, leaving the game with an ankle injury. With RB Theo Riddick not cut out to carry the ball much at all, they’d better hope the Washington injury is minor…He got off to a slow start, but T.Y. Hilton hit the Jags defense for a 7/42/1 line as the Colts and QB Andrew Luck attempted a comeback…Sunday was a Jordan Reed game for the Redskins and maybe they should have more of those. Reed caught two first quarter touchdowns and the Skins held off the Browns. Reed finished with nine grabs for 73 yards and the two scores…Chargers RB Melvin Gordon continues his scoring rampage. After failing to find pay dirt during his rookie season, Gordon scored another pair of touchdowns against New Orleans, giving him six on the season…Redskins RB Matt Jones played one of his best career games, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown…Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin looked like he was going to be shut out again this week before a late game push. He finished with three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown. He’s not the WR1 he appeared to be the first two weeks of the season…WR Emmanuel Sanders looks like the new go-to option for the Broncos as he nearly doubled the targets given to his teammate Demaryius Thomas. Sanders finished with 8/88/1 on the day…QB Jameis Winston continues to struggle with turnovers, throwing two picks against the admittedly stiff Denver defense…Meanwhile, Winston’s TE Cameron Brate looks like an every week fantasy starter. He caught five of his eight targets for 67 yards…Maybe we overestimated the impact of rookie WR Tajae Sharpe of the Titans. He caught just two passes for 15 yards and has just nine receptions in the past three games, averaging 33 yards per game over that span…Lions WR Marvin Jones didn’t match his gaudy numbers of Week Three, but did post a respectable 5/74 day. He’s an every week starter in the high volume Detroit passing offense…Jets RB Matt Forte had his worst game of the year, rushing for just 27 yards on 14 carries. His teammate Bilal Powell saw most of the targets out of the backfield as he hauled in six passes for 54 yards. There was also a report Forte needed x-rays following the game…Cardinals WR Michael Floyd continues to disappoint, but a touchdown grab saved his fantasy day. He ended the game with three catches for 36 yards, along with that touchdown…Rams RB Todd Gurley didn’t get much going in the running game, but he did have career highs with five receptions and 49 receiving yards…A couple of veteran showed they aren’t done yet. Ravens WR Steve Smith led the team with an impressive eight catches for 111 yards and a score, while Seattle TE Jimmy Graham continues his comeback from last season’s sever injury, catching six balls for 113 yards…
