The Raiders have won three Super Bowls. They have 14 Hall-of-Famers. Despite what the 21st century might have you believe, they’re a storied franchise. Sunday, Derek Carr threw for more yards than any player in team history. In fact, Carr’s 513 yards were the 10th most in NFL history, and the surest sign yet that, yes, he’s the league’s newest franchise quarterback.
Tampa was a good matchup, and Carr had nearly an entire extra period to pad his stats, but players have good matchups every week. Games go to overtime all the time. 500 yards? That’s happened 21 times ever. Carr completed 20-of-31 passes to his top two receivers, finding Amari Cooper for 12/173/1 and Michael Crabtree for 8/108. Carr was just as good targeting his complimentary pieces, converting 20-of-26 throws for 232 additional yards. That included a touchdown to LT Donald Penn, and a game-winning 41-yard score to Seth Roberts.
The role bad defense played in Carr’s day cannot be ignored. Mike Smith’s unit looked like it would have had trouble stopping Brock Osweiler. But Carr exploited every opening, ripped every seam. When Cooper got lined up 1-on-1 down the field with Chris Conte, Carr lofted a picturesque strike for a 34-yard touchdown. When Jamize Olawale ran a perfect wheel route, Carr found him for a 68-yard gain. Carr did what he was supposed to do, making a bad defense look even worse than it actually is.
Carr’s been doing a lot of what he’s supposed to do this season, helping the Raiders to a 5-0 road record and 6-2 standing atop the AFC West. Tough, he stands in the pocket even when the pressure is in his face. Calm and collected, he doesn’t miss open throws down the field. Highly accurate, he drops dimes with the ball placement of a 10-year veteran. Carr simply makes throws, 17 of which have gone for touchdowns at the season’s halfway point. Carr is not a perfect player, but he gets better each week. He has the Raiders thinking playoffs, and heck, let’s be honest — Super Bowl — and fantasy owners wondering if they really need to pair him with someone else. He’s a QB1, in both real life and fake.
Five Week 8 Negatives
Russell Wilson’s continued struggles. New Orleans is where you go to get right. Wilson somehow got more wrong, not only failing to rip the Saints’ burnable defense, but failing to find the end zone for the third consecutive game. Wilson was wearing a smaller brace on his injured knee, but still barely scrambled, totaling 11 yards on three carries. Wilson has lost his dynamism as a runner as he plays through knee, ankle and pec issues, and taken the entire offense down with him. With 14 rushing yards over his past five games, Wilson hasn’t just lost his dual-threat, but any threat at all. At far less than 100 percent health, there’s no telling when, or if, the “real” Russell shows up. Wilson will be more QB2 than QB1 against the Bills next Monday.
Mark Ingram’s benching. Ingram played six snaps in New Orleans’ upset win over the Seahawks, getting banished to the bench after coughing up the ball in a first quarter scrum. It was not a particularly egregious lost fumble, though it was Ingram’s second in as many weeks. It was also returned for a touchdown, not that it should really matter what happens to the ball after you put it on the ground. With Ingram “learning his lesson” on the sideline, Tim Hightower received 26 carries, eight more than Ingram has seen in any game this season. Not that he did anything with them. Hightower generated 102 yards (3.92), and was stopped not once, not twice, not thrice but four times on literal goal-line carries. Amazingly, his lone reception was also a failed goal-line plunge. The Saints won the game in spite of their fill-in back. Coach Sean Payton has said he expects Ingram to “bounce back” for Week 9, but it will obviously be difficult to trust his usage. Hightower has reportedly secured a bigger role. That’s a shame for Ingram owners, as the 49ers’ league-worst run defense is on tap. Ingram will be a bottom-barrel RB2, Hightower a high-ceiling RB3.
Ty Montgomery’s shocking scratch. The most interesting man in fantasy football, Montgomery was supposed to have his dual-threat cake and it eat too against the Falcons. Instead, he was in street clothes as he battled a kidney ailment. Listed with an “illness” during the week, there was zero inkling Montgomery was battling anything more severe than the flu. His stunning absence gutted DFS lineups, and left season-long players mulling backup Vikings and Bears receivers. If there’s good news for Montgomery’s owners, it’s that the Packers still didn’t have a running game Sunday. Don Jackson, Knile Davis and Aaron Ripkowski combined for 48 yards on 13 carries (3.69 YPC). Green Bay is going to need Montgomery out of the backfield in Week 9. The Week 8 sting won’t go away, but Montgomery should begin to lessen it against the Colts.
Jacquizz Rodgers’ foot/ankle injury. Rodgers didn’t run as wild as he did in Weeks 6 and 7, but still had a decent fantasy day against the Raiders’ soft run defense, taking the ball 19 times for 69 yards and a touchdown. He was given an overtime period to gain the 31 yards he needed for his third straight 100-yard effort, but was surprisingly announced as done for the day as the extra session got under way. It’s unclear when the injury occurred, but the quick rule out suggests it’s not a minor issue, something coach Dirk Koetter alluded to in his post-game comments. Even if is, Rodgers would have only three days to get ready, as the Bucs are playing the Falcons in the Thursday night game. Tampa appears poised to go with a committee of Antone Smith and Peyton Barber, with Smith taking the lead. Smith out-touched Barber 5-1 against the Raiders, and out-snapped him 22-3.
Spencer Ware and Alex Smith’s concussions. The Chiefs beat the Colts, but at a heavy cost. Smith played through his first concussion evaluation, but not the second. The implication being, of course, he was probably concussed all along. It was a concussion that cost Smith his job in San Francisco, but that won’t be the case in Kansas City, even though Nick Foles dealt in relief. Ware, who was off to another hot start, wasn’t seen after halftime. Both players will be up against it to be cleared in time to face the Jaguars, especially Smith considering his history. If Ware can’t go, Charcandrick West will slide in as a plug-and-play RB2.
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Five Week 8 Positives
Dak Prescott’s overtime comeback. By most measures, it was Prescott’s worst game of the season. But in a Tony Romo-ian flash, he delivered when it mattered most, leading the Cowboys to a 29-23, comeback win in overtime. For the first three quarters, Prescott made almost as many rookie mistakes as he had in his first six starts combined. He completed just 48.7 percent of his throws, tossed an awful interception and fumbled. His 7.36 YPA was his lowest since Week 1. Despite the late theatrics, Prescott made his case more confusing instead of clearer. Prescott is the future of the position in Dallas, but Sunday reminded there will be growing pains. Is that something a playoff team can abide by when it has one of the best players in team history on standby? Prescott has earned the “quarterback of the future label,” but Romo might not deserve to be passed on in the present.
Tyler Eifert’s return to TE1 status. Eifert played just 15 snaps in his Week 7 debut, but graduated to 74-of-89 against the Redskins. The result was a 9/102/1 afternoon, with both the catches and yards his most since last Week 1. Eifert has some boom/bust quality to his game, but fantasy owners will gladly take the bust risk in a year where there’s been extremely little boom at the tight end position. Eifert will be a locked-and-loaded top-five TE1 when the Bengals return from their bye in Week 10.
Donte Moncrief’s immediate reclamation of No. 2 status in Indy. It was another brutal game for the Colts, but Moncrief was a bright spot. Active for the first time since Week 2, Moncrief caught 4-of-9 targets for 41 yards and a score, playing 59-of-66 snaps. He had a second 40-yard touchdown called back by penalty. Moncrief has scored in each of his non-injury shortened games this season, looking like the fantasy option players were expecting before the year. The Colts are going nowhere fast, but Moncrief is a WR3 who should quickly push for WR2 status.
Eric Ebron’s career afternoon returning from injury. Sidelined the past three weeks, Ebron caught 7-of-10 targets for 79 yards. The yardage led the team, with the grabs, yards and looks all being new season highs. The yards and targets matched his previous career highs. Ebron will remain an inconsistent bet in an offense that also has Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Theo Riddick and Anquan Boldin, but has quickly re-established his top-15 bonafides. He’s a high-end TE2 who will do TE1 impressions. Scoop him up in leagues where he was left on the wire.
Andre Johnson’s career. Johnson spent his final two years fading away instead of burning out for Texans division rivals, but retires as one of the best football players of the new century. The No. 3 overall pick of the 2003 draft, Johnson hangs up his cleats ninth all time in receptions (1,062) and 10th all time in yards (14,185). He had four 1,400-yard seasons. His numbers are partly era-inflated, but also under-inflated considering his quarterbacks. Johnson put up with laughably bad QB play for nearly half of his career. Johnson will be fiercely debated, due in part to his flukily low touchdown totals, but Canton will be his final football resting place if there’s any justice.
Questions
1. Chuck Pagano, Gus Bradley or retiring to the Himalayan valley without access to television to watch sports?
2. Tom Brady left vanquished foes suffering on the hillside in a previous life, didn’t he?
3. Couldn’t we have made it through 2016 without a defensive coordinator carting? (Get well, Wade.)
Early Waiver Look (Players owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Ryan Tannehill (vs. NYJ), Trevor Siemian (@OAK)
RB: Tim Hightower, Charcandrick West, Antone Smith, Peyton Barber, Derrick Henry, Kenneth Dixon
WR: Corey Coleman, Sammie Coates, Quincy Enunwa, J.J. Nelson
TE: Dennis Pitta, Eric Ebron, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ladarius Green, Austin Hooper
DEF: Dolphins (vs. NYJ), Saints (@SF), Steelers (@BAL)
Stats of the Week
There have been seven ties in the 21st century. Marvin Lewis has coached in three of them.
Cody Kessler and Josh McCown both have one fewer passing touchdown than Russell Wilson.
Tom Brady is completing 73.1 percent of his passes, averaging 9.84 yards per throw and has a 12:0 TD:INT ratio. Pray he spares you.
Matt Ryan’s 19 touchdowns are only two fewer than he had in all of 2015.
Amari Cooper has surpassed 100 yards in three of his past four games. Cooper has a modest three drops after botching 18 passes as a rookie.
Dez Bryant’s 113 yards were his most since Week 15, 2014.
Awards Section
Week 8 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Derek Carr, RB Jonathan Stewart, RB Melvin Gordon, WR Amari Cooper, WR J.J. Nelson, WR Jamison Crowder, TE Tyler Eifert
The Not Even Russell Westbrook Would Wear This Award: Cam Newton sporting leftover wardrobe items from Dumb and Dumber.
The Only Tailgating Bills Fans Would Think Of This Award: A certain item that was thrown on the field against the Patriots.
