One sign you might have an offensive death star on your hands? You become just the third team in NFL history to reach 70 points and do so without your No. 2 receiver. Jaylen Waddle was inactive Sunday, but Mike McDaniel’s unit was hyperactive. 376 yards passing. 350 yards rushing. 233 yards from scrimmage from a third-round rookie making his second career appearance. 10.2 yards per play. “Avalanche” barely does it justice.
It was the roughest justice for Broncos coach Sean Payton, who was on the other side the last time a team reached 60. He was also behind the mic when he said Nathaniel Hackett’s 2022 was the worst coaching job in history. Maybe so, but Nathaniel Hackett never allowed 70.
As the Broncos are in disarray, the Dolphins are back to reality. Week 4 is a road date with a Bills team that won 2-of-3 2022 meetings. The Dolphins did up the stakes with each ensuing matchup, scoring 21 points in a victory, 29 in a loss, and 31 in the playoffs with Skylar Thompson. Healthy and humming after last year’s Tua Tagovailoa concussion interruptions, the Dolphins are a team that can keep something resembling this up.
It’s a goldmine in fantasy because of the narrow touch distribution. That now includes Devon Achane, whose speed specialty will likely make him a boom-or-bust FLEX option behind Raheem Mostert. He is still the kind of FLEX we love, since his big-play ability makes it possible to flip matchups on only a handful of touches.
70 points was an aberration. The past 20-plus games are not. The Dolphins are the best overall offense in football. Hopefully injuries don’t slow them down in 2023.
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Five Week 3 Storylines
C.J. Stroud continues to serve notice that he’s the best rookie quarterback. Up to 906 INT-free yards, Stroud is behind only Cam Newton and Justin Herbert for the best three-game yardage start in NFL history. He has done so with an unusual magnanimity for a rookie signal caller, spreading the ball around to his entire skill corps rather than simply locking on to his top 1-2 weapons. One of those weapons does appear to be fellow rookie Tank Dell, who has gotten home for a big play each of the past two weeks and gobbled up 17 targets in two games since Noah Brown landed on injured reserve. Throwing with a sense of pace and timing, Stroud has successfully slowed the game down to open passing windows up. Growing pains are still inevitable, but Stroud has forced himself into the top 18 at quarterback, with room to grow.
Derek Carr sprains AC joint, Saints fall apart. It was a tale of two halves for the Saints with and without their new quarterback, sprinting out to a 17-0 lead only to watch it disintegrate in the fourth quarter. Each of Jameis Winston’s first six drives ended in a punt. Carr has missed almost zero time due to injury in his career, but that won’t be the case here. With a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, he will be out weeks, not days. Winston is in theory one of the league’s best backups, but the Saints’ coaching staff places approximately zero trust in his ability to win games. They just want him to not throw them away. With Alvin Kamara off suspension for Week 4, Winston will be hidden vs. the Bucs. His insertion might be enough of a downgrade to get a sizzling Chris Olave out of the top 12 at wideout.
Jerome Ford shows enough to be trusted as RB2. You can be forgiven if you were nervous at the start, where somehow five different Browns handled carries before Cleveland’s supposed new lead back. Was the world’s most annoying committee unfolding in real time? No, it turns out. Ford handled “just” 12-of-25 backfield touches but out-snapped Kareem Hunt 40-14. Pierre Strong was on the field for eight plays. It’s true that Ford’s box score would have been a wasteland without his two touchdowns, but we knew in advance the Titans were a rough ground spot. Ford was the lead back on early downs, in the passing game and at the goal line. Maybe Kareem Hunt’s role grows as he gets his legs back underneath him, but the Browns had already chosen Ford over Hunt once. He is the 1A back — and an RB2 — until further notice.
Sam LaPorta shows he’s here to stay in fantasy. We were wondering who the Lions’ second weapon was going to be. LaPorta has left little doubt. The first rookie tight end to catch five-plus passes in each of his first three performances, LaPorta has been efficient while doing so. He is leading the field in tight end yards per route run even though he is running a route on almost every Jared Goff dropback. He is in the right place at the right time in an explosive offense running low on depth. The PPR train isn’t going to remain this on schedule, but LaPorta can be safely trusted as a top-eight option moving forward.
Alexander Mattison rolls out the red carpet for Cam Akers. Mattison’s box score shows his best game of the season. The eye test revealed something different. Mattison put the ball on the ground twice, though the vagaries of fate — and the NFL rulebook — reversed both giveaways (one of them justifiably). He committed a horrid red zone drop and was stuffed on a goal-line tote. His longest carry went for just 15 yards, making him 3-for-3 on failing to supply a 20-yard gain in 2023. There is nothing for Mattison to hang his hat on, and the Vikings’ coaching staff admitted as much when they acquired Akers. Clearly an old favorite of ex-Rams assistant Kevin O’Connell, we would expect Akers to claim 1A status as early as Sunday against the Panthers.
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Questions
1. So, uhh, yeah … again… How many times do the Broncos refuse Sean Payton’s resignation before finally accepting it?
2. Does Josh McDaniels even have a badge and gun to turn in?
3. Does Kirk Cousins ever weary of this?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Andy Dalton (vs. MIN), C.J. Stroud (vs. PIT), Jameis Winston (vs. TB), Jimmy Garoppolo, heath pending, @LAC
RB: Devon Achane, Ezekiel Elliott, Roschon Johnson, Matt Breida, Kendre Miller, Latavius Murray, Pierre Strong, Melvin Gordon
WR: Tank Dell, Adam Thielen, Romeo Doubs, Kendrick Bourne, Josh Downs, Marvin Mims, Rashee Rice, Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Wan’Dale Robinson
TE: Jake Ferguson, Gerald Everett, Luke Musgrave, Zach Ertz
DEF: Browns (vs. BAL), Seahawks (@NYG), Broncos — really, lol (@CHI), Bengals (@TEN), Bucs (@NO)
Stats of the Week
Via Pat Thorman: “Chargers situation-neutral pass rate: With Austin Ekeler: 47 percent (30th). Without Austin Ekeler: 72 percent (first).” Ekeler seems likely to miss one more game with his high-ankle sprain before the Chargers’ Week 5 bye.
Sam Howell’s 19 sacks taken through the Commanders’ first three games are the 34th most in NFL history in any three-game span, not just Weeks 1-3. The line is bad, but Howell is making it look worse.
Speaking of sacks, Ryan Tannehill’s 15 through Weeks 1-3 are his second most in any three-game span. Tannehill looks like a sitting duck statue behind this awful offensive line. That is the main reason Derrick Henry is losing snaps to Tyjae Spears. The Titans can’t sustain drives and are mired in comeback mode. It’s going to be a long season for all involved unless something changes very quickly.
20. Keenan Allen’s career high for targets. With Mike Williams out for the season, Allen should find himself more in the 12-14 target range than his usual 8-12. Josh Palmer seems like the post-Williams add. Quentin Johnston was still splitting snaps with “Derius Davis” in Minnesota.
Najee Harris already has more runs of 20-plus yards (two) than he did in all of 2022 and is still averaging 4.0 yards per carry with just 139 total yards rushing. He’s caught three passes for two yards. It’s over.
Awards Section
Week 3 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Justin Herbert, RB Devon Achane, RB Raheem Mostert, WR Keenan Allen, WR Davante Adams, WR Adam Thielen, TE Sam LaPorta
Tweet of the Week, from Sam Sherman: No matter what the Ravens try to do in the offseason, they always end up trotting out Melvin Gordon, Willie Snead and Devin Duvernay as their top skill position players by Week 4.
Factual Tweet of the Week, from @Vikings: Another gut-wrenching loss for the 2023 #Vikings.
Accidental (?) Savage Own of the Week, from Tua Tagovailoa: “We’re not trying to go out there and humiliate teams, that’s just what it happened to look like.”
Observation of the Week, from Mark Potash: The Bears and Chiefs each fired their head coach on Dec. 31, 2012. The Chiefs hired Andy Reid four days later. The Bears needed 16 days to hire Marc Trestman.
The What I Wouldn’t Give To Be Forcing A Laugh At Terry Bradshaw Right Now Award: Sean Payton.
The Sure, Uhh, Why Not Award: Jim Irsay sharing a concert bill with Bob Dylan.
