Henderson still struggling with pass protection

Juszczyk suffered what looked to be a serious knee injury in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game after being helped off the field. He would constitute an outsized loss for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, particularly his run game designs. A long-term absence for the trusted Shanny fullback could be something of a blow for Christian McCaffrey’s weekly prospects.

Thornton was in the midst of a big day. After already scoring two touchdowns, the former second-rounder hauled in a 55-yard catch from Patrick Mahomes and suffered a gruesome ankle injury when he was tackled by Treydan Stukes. Thornton attempted to stand up and celebrate the big play, only to notice the injury, and immediately went down before being carted from the field. This has the look of a season-ending injury for Thornton, who caught 5-of-8 targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

Fields has now caught exactly two passes in each of his first four NFL appearances. His 12-yard touchdown was the first of his career. Jameis Winston was flushed from the pocket and found Fields on the run. The duo later connected on a similar play for a non-scoring 40-yard grab. Today was the first time Winston showed any signs of life in place of Jaxson Dart, though Fields is still going to be a tough sell WR4 in this depressed offensive environment.

One of only two healthy Rams tight ends, Higbee was the Rams’ clear-cut No. 3 passing-game weapon behind a returning Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. There’s a huge gulf between the Rams’ wideouts and Higbee, but he should be able to provide TE2 streamer value for the next several weeks, including Week 5 against the Bills.

This was though to be the most likely scenario after head coach Dave Canales told reporters Friday that the team would elevate Ja’Seem Reed if the belief was that Coker could not go on Sunday Night Football. Reed was, in fact, elevated Saturday and Coker was declared inactive. Brycen Tremaine appears to be in line for a featured role after playing 81 percent of the team’s offensive snaps a week ago. Expect John Metchie to also see additional snaps and opportunities, while David Moore could see package usage on the perimeter. Also inactive for the Panthers are TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, G Damien Lewis, OT Albert Reese, and DT Cam Jackson.

Shipley was the carries understudy to Tank Bigsby after Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury on the game’s second series, though they played a near-even amount of snaps. Bigsby, who himself has been nursing an abdomen issue, was also banged up late. Needless to say, this is a backfield that is going to require many updates many now and Week 5. Hopefully we have a little clarity before waivers bids are due overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Even if Bigsby is declared fine, Shipley is certainly worth an addition.

Bigsby and Will Shipley were in a near-even snaps rotation after Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury on the game’s second series, though Bigsby predictably handled the early-down mail. He out-carried Shipley 14-6. That is until he departed late with injury. Updates were scarce, but a player who has already dealing with an “abdomen” issue will be no sure thing to practice on Wednesday. With Barkley likely headed for at least a one-week absence, Bigsby’s health will be critical to monitor. Both he and Shipley are worth waivers bids.

After scoring four touchdowns over the first three weeks, Watson finally cooled off with his first quiet game of the year. Jordan Love couldn’t get the deep ball going in this game and funneled the short targets to Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden, leaving Watson without much to do. For a player known for having a low floor, 47 yards is a stunningly reasonable floor game. Watson is simply too good at picking up chunk gains to have the bottom truly fall out. He remains a boom/bust WR2 for his Week 5 date with the Bears.

He’s questionable to return. Bryant took a big hit over the middle on a second half reception against the Niners and was down on the turf for some time before being helped onto the cart. Looking dejected, Bryant was taken to the locker room. The oft-injured Bryant could be facing yet another extended absence. That would likely boost playing time and targets for Courtland Sutton and possibly Marvin Mims.

No surprises here as these are the same inactives as in Week 3. The Lions look to improve to 3-1 against the 1-2 Panthers on the road on Sunday Night Football.