Cowboys claim Emari Demercado from Chiefs

McDuffie missed Weeks 6-7 with a groin injury that he suffered in practice. He played through a questionable tag this week after three straight limited practices. Until we get an official update, McDuffie should probably be considered questionable to play in Week 9 against the Commanders.

Gray extended his streak of catching at least two (but no more than three) passes to five games. He also got in the end zone for the first time this year on a four-yard strike from Patrick Mahomes. Gray is a solid real-life tight end, but his role is too limited to be worth a look, even in deep fantasy leagues. He is not on the fantasy radar headed into Week 9.

The Patriots rolled with 12 personnel on their first play from scrimmage, so Douglas began his day on the sideline. Hunter Henry suffered an apparent foot injury early on, which likely afforded Douglas extra snaps via 11 personnel. He made his opportunities count. Douglas critically picked up a first down, powering through contact on 4th-and-2 on the Patriots’ eighth drive. He showed up again on the Patriots’ ninth drive, securing a play-action pass along the right sideline before juking a Dolphins safety and slipping a shoestring tackle attempt from JuJu Brents before racing into the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. Douglas is a FLEX option against the Patriots next week.

Dobbins got the Bronocs’ first touch on offense and immediately took a backseat to Jonah Coleman. The rookie tallied 11 carries and five targets. He also became the first Bronocs running back to hit 100 yards from scrimmage in a game this year. Dobbins was not targeted and was not on the field at the goal line, where Coleman was heavily involved. Coleman ultimately punched in a goal line touchdown for the game-winning score after setting himself up with a 51-yard catch. The short-yardage role used to belong to Dobbins, but the rookie appears to have taken that as well. Without any high-value touches to work with, Dobbins is a between-the-20s grinder averaging a little over three yards per carry this season. He is falling back into the RB4 ranks for his Week 9 date with the Panthers.

Good things happen when the Patriots get Williams involved downfield. He only caught one pass, but he made it count. Williams got open on a post route way downfield and was able to haul in the well-aimed pass from Drake Maye for a 43-yard score. The play was initially ruled incomplete because Williams accidentally kneed the ball out of his own possession as he entered the end zone, but coach Mike Vrabel smartly challenged the ruling of the play and won. Williams indeed crossed the plane before losing control of the ball. Williams’ workloads are frustratingly unreliable. He’s a boom-bust FLEX next week against the Packers.

Butker missed a 54-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. It would have made the game a one-point deficit instead of four for the Chiefs’ final drive. Kansas City was ultimately rebuffed at the goal line and lost the game. Having missed a field goal in all but one game this year, we suspect Andy Reid will throw in the towel on Butker after today’s performance. Justin Tucker, recently signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad, will likely get called up for Week 9.

Coleman out-carried Dobbins 11-7 and was the only Broncos running back to earn a target, of which he saw five. Most importantly, Coleman was on the field for goal line duties, and he cashed in with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Though he only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, Coleman was a handful for Chiefs defenders to bring down, routinely creating missed tackles while racking up yards after contact. Coleman’s best rep of the day was a 51-yard catch-and-run to set up his touchdown on the next play. Coleman saw all of the high-value touches in the backfield while leading the way in carries and targets. The takeover is all but complete, putting Coleman in the RB2 ranks for Week 9 against the Panthers.

Maye’s two-yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty. The Patriots quarterback took off to the right side of the field, faking a pitch to Rhamondre Stevenson, which caused a Dolphins defender to fully bite on it, running right past Maye while the Patriots’ quarterback darted into the end zone. Maye’s first touchdown pass was thrown to Kyle Williams on a post route. It was well-placed, allowing Williams to secure the ball in stride just before entering the end zone. Maye later linked up with DeMario Douglas via play action for his second score. The Patriots’ quarterback is a QB1 against the Packers next week.

He added one carry for 15 yards. Johnson racked up the bulk of his production on a 73-yard touchdown grab in the first half. The Broncos sent pressure and Patrick Mahomes perfectly lofted the ball to Johnson, who saw nothing but green grass ahead of him. The turf monster nearly took him down at the 10-yard line, but Johnson stayed upright enough and lost one final defender on his way into the end zone. He also picked up a 38-yard catch just before halftime to set up a last-second field goal. Johnson had more than two touches in just one of his previous three games headed into Week 8. Though he’s not going to challenge Kenneth Walker for RB1 duties anytime soon, this breakout performance should earn him a few more touches in Week 9. He will be have some value as a boom/bust FLEX play versus the Jets.

Mahomes posted a strong box score for fantasy managers and took care of the football with zero turnovers. He also took just two sacks, but the second was one that will haunt Chiefs fans for a while. After marching the offense down to the goal line under the two-minute warning, the Chiefs found themselves on fourth-and-goal. They initially got the score via a strike to Rashee Rice, but the play was blown dead via a false start. The Broncos’ pass-rush got to him on the second try, taking Mahomes down for a game-ending sack. On the whole, it was another dink-and-dunk game plan from Mahomes, who failed to get the deep ball going once again. Luckily for him, Emmet Johnson averaged 25.6 yards per catch and turned a short toss into a 73-yard touchdown in the first half. The Chiefs get a bounce-back spot against the Jets next week in a game where Mahomes will be just inside the QB1 ranks.