NFL Player News

Landry now has 10 catches for 104 yards in five games since returning from his ankle injury, bookending the Saints’ Week 14 bye with 2/20. Needless to say, it is not looking like he will make a PPR impact the final two weeks of the fantasy playoffs.

The Browns were never really a threat to win this game. The Steelers only led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Browns gained nine total yards in that quarter. Even when the Browns were able to keep the game close, the Steelers always seemed to answer with a big defensive play, and Watson was sacked eight times. With the Browns trailing by two touchdowns for the entire second half, Watson was able to air it out, but of his 324 yards, 240 of them came to Harold Fannin Jr. and the two running backs. Despite the high yardage totals, it wasn’t really a great showing for Watson, who seemed flustered in the pocket and struggled to connect with his wide receivers. Things could get easier against the Saints next week though, so he remains on the QB2 radar.

Jefferson once again led the Minnesota offense in targets but it was Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson who had bigger statistical days in what was Kyler Murray’s best game as a Viking. Jefferson secured a short touchdown in the first half and was mostly invisible in the second half. He was seen shouting at no one in particular on the Minnesota sideline late in the fourth quarter. With just two games of more than 60 receiving yards, Jefferson is somewhat touchdown-reliant in the low-volume, run-first Vikings offense. He’ll face a porous Bills secondary in Week 9.

Rodgers wasn’t asked to do much in this game with the Steelers dominating on the ground, but he didn’t deliver many big plays on the chances he did have. Darnell Washington had a nice catch-and-run for a 58-yard gain, but the Steelers didn’t threaten down the field much throughout the game. The interception was certainly not Rodgers’ fault, however. He threw a great pass that hit DK Metcalf in the chest, but Metcalf popped the ball up into the air, and it was picked off. Rodgers is going to be a low-ceiling option in fantasy because the Steelers want to win with their defense and running game, but he should have better days than this. They won’t be in Week 9 though, since the Steelers are on a bye.

It was Murray’s best game as a Viking, and it came against a Detroit defense that was down a half dozen starters by the fourth quarter. Murray for once had a positive drop back EPA and eclipsed 200 passing yards for the third time this season in the run-heavy Minnesota offense. Murray’s best throw of the day came on a 51-yard bomb to Jordan Addison over double coverage. Murray has a couple well-times runs in high leverage situations too. His performance against the injury-riddled Lions secondary could be a good sign for Justin Jefferson and Addison going forward. They’ll face off against a vulnerable Buffalo secondary in Week 9.

Penix got off to a poor start and his play spiraled from there. He threw a pass directly at Bucs linebacker Alex Anzalone’s chest on the first play of Atlanta’s second drive for an easy interception. Anzalone then took the ball away two Penix throws later by, again, simply standing in the throwing lane. Penix wasn’t seeing the field and nothing changed as the game went on. He threw two more interceptions and had several other passes that could have been caught by the Bucs. Even his best play, a 76-yard toss to Jahan Dotson, was a throw into double coverage where two Bucs defensive backs collided, leaving Dotson wide open at the last second. This looked like an homage to Cooper Rush’s two catastrophic starts to open the season. Penix should rebound in Week 9 versus the Bengals, but his fantasy stock is undoubtedly on the decline. He is shuffling to the back of the QB2 ranks for Week 9.

Like all Minnesota opponents this season, the Lions got nothing going through the air. They resorted to a run-heavy game plan and shredded the Vikings defense on the ground for 228 yards. The rushing attack was led by Gibbs, who popped a handful of chunk runs in the second half after the Lions had mostly given up on attacking the Vikings through the air. This is Gibbs’ third 100-yard rushing effort of the 2026 season. His centrality in the Detroit offense makes Gibbs an elite play every week. He’ll take on the Dolphins in Week 9.

Turner went down with an apparent ankle injury at the start of the fourth quarter. He was quickly ruled out, indicating the injury is major enough to put his status in question beyond this week. Josh Newton entered the game for Turner and allowed a go-ahead touchdown. Drake London will be set up for a nice fantasy WR1 game in Week 9 against the Bengals if Turner misses time.

You read that correctly. Mayfield did not complete a pass and the Bucs handily defeated Atlanta. Playing in a torrential downpour, Tampa Bay’s defense eviscerated Michael Penix and the Bucs simply took the air out of the ball for four quarters. Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell combined for 310 yards on 52 carries. There was simply no need for Mayfield to handle the football outside of transferring it from the center to a running back. Mayfield did have a long touchdown to Ted Hurst that was knocked out of the rookie’s hand. This is just the second time a team has completed zero passes in the Super Bowl era and the first such game in over 50 years. Needless to say, Mayfield’s numbers will rebound in Week 9 when he takes on the Bears. He will be in the QB2 mix for that contest.