Pollard died so Bijan could flyā¦
In todayās Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by BetMGM:
- Bijan Robinson got used!
- QUICK HITTER: Best Bet for MNF
- Peteās Weekly Wrap-Up: The Cowboys are legit
- Derek Carr suffered multiple injuries
- Overreaction Monday: A disaster season for the Patriots
- Itās 11/13. Take it away, Peter Overzetā¦Week 10
Week 10 felt like a make-or-break week for a few players who have consistently burned the fantasy community this year.
Luckily, two of them got off the schneid yesterday, but a third did not.
Letās dig inā¦
š Bijan Robinson got a goal-line carry!
If you are a Robinson manager, yesterday was about as close to perfect as you could ask for.
Bijan finally got a goal-line carry and converted (who would have thought!) and the Falcons lost on the road to the Cardinals, which should theoretically inch us slightly closer to the end of the Arthur Smith era in Atlanta.
Robinson finished the day with 22 carries for 95 yards and a score, which slots him in as the No. 12 RB on the week.
While still not a league-scorching performance we envisioned when drafting him in Round 1, the usage is nonetheless a step in the right direction.
Letās just make sure Arthur isnāt dumb enough to conflate a Falcons loss with Bijanās increased work.
š Quentin Johnston finally enters the box score
Earlier this week, I told people during my Fantasy Life Discord Office Hours (every Thursday at 3 pm ET, btw), that if Johnston didnāt deliver in this matchup, it was officially ājoeverā for him and you could cut him loose.
Well, he finally scored:
The bad news is that he still only had 4 catches and Jalen Guyton commanded the same amount of receptions.
As someone who drafted way too much QJ this summer, it pains me to say this, but Iād look to sell high here if you can find a buyer in your league.
ā Tony Pollard is foolās gold
The Cowboys are 18-point home favorites vs. the Giants, surely this is the week Tony Pollard delivers a high-end fantasy game and scores his first TD since Week 1, right?!
WRONG.
The Cowboys boat raced the Giants 49-17 and literally everyone except Pollard got in on the fun. Hereās a list of players who scored TDs:
- Rico Dowdle
- Dak Prescott
- CeeDee Lamb
- Brandin Cooks
- Michael Gallup
- Jake Ferguson
Itās almost comical at this point. Iām certainly laughing through the tears as I stare at Pollardās hilariously dismal 15-55 scoreless yards against one of the worst teams in football (youāre lucky the Patriots exist, Giants).
True sickos will get the chance to buy the ultimate dip next week when the Cowboys face another ghastly run defense in the Carolina Panthers.
I will not be one of themā¦I think. I hope.
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Thanks to BetMGM, watching Mr. Unlimited take on Josh and The Bills can be even more fun. Speaking of first bets, read below for our best bet for MNF!
The Fantasy Life FREE Bet Tracker is already loaded with a handful of plays for Monday Night Football, and Geoff Ulrich is here to give you a peek behind the curtain with one of his best bets for the gameā¦
Looking for more bets for the MNF showdown between the Bills and Broncos? Join our betting team LIVE before kick-off at 6:30 pm ET for last-minute bets, tips, and more!
Peter is here to share his six big takeaways from Week 10. Take it away, Pete...
š¤Æ C.J. Stroud does it again
On the road vs. the Bengals was supposed to be a āletdownā spot for the āoverperformingā Texans, but the rookie C.J. Stroud had other ideas yesterday, orchestrating another game-winning drive and leading the Texans to a huge 30-27 road win over a red-hot Bengals squad.
Itās starting to feel like no moment is too big for him.
In addition to racking up real-life Ws, heās also single-handedly winning fantasy matchups. Yesterday, he threw for 356 yards and 1 TD and rushed in another one.
Itās not hyperbolic to say Stroud is now firmly in the MVP conversation.
šŖ The Cowboys are a juggernaut
Letās set aside the Pollard discourse for a sec, and appreciate what a fantasy machine the Cowboys have morphed into over the past few weeks.
Thereās been a distinct identity shift in how the team operates and they are now fully embracing Dak Prescott (404 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, and 1 rushing TD) as the true engine of the offense.
CeeDee Lamb (11-151-1; 1-14-1) continued his campaign to be the WR1 with another alpha game (check out this catch!) and Brandin Cooks (9-173-1) enjoyed his biggest fantasy day since the second Clinton administration.
š¤ Jahmyr Gibbs didnāt let go of the RB1 role
Yesterday was our first look at the Lions backfield with both David Montgomery and post-breakout Jahmyr Gibbs. The early returns suggest Gibbs is not reverting back to a complementary role:
The most surprising thing about the usage was the 50-50 split on goal line carries, including a cool sequence where the team rewarded Gibbs with an easy TD after he was marked down at the 1 after a big play.
Despite the usage shift, Montgomery looked fully healthy in his first game back as he ripped off a 75-yard TD run.
š» T.J. Hockenson loves his new QB
It canāt be overstated how much Joshua Dobbs saved this year for not only the Minnesota Vikings, but also our fantasy teams.
Dobbs peppered Hockenson all day vs. the Saints, resulting in a massive 11-134 yards and 1 TD performance despite Hock entering the game pretty banged up.
Oh, and guess who will be back next week??
Take me higher, Dobbs.
š Two elite WRs go toe-to-toe
Thereās lots of similarities between Keenan Allen and Amon-Ra St. Brown, so itās fitting that the two elite route technicians who were overlooked in their respective draft classes both delivered big fantasy days opposite each other in Week 10:
- Keenan: 11-175-2
- ARSB: 8-156-1
They join Lamb and A.J. Brown as the hottest WRs in the league right now:
Allen did get banged up at one point during the game, but ended up returning.
šļø Two fourth-quarter fantasy heroes
For three quarters, the Commanders and Seahawks game was mostly a snooze fest, but Geno Smith (369 yards and 2 TDs) and Sam Howell (312 yards and 3 TDs) came alive in the fourth quarter.
Geno orchestrated two incredible drives, including a game-winning one capped off with a TD pass to Tyler Lockett.
Howell did what he does every week and slung the ball around the yard.
He now leads the league in passing yards and in passing completions.
Just donāt check the box score if you were rostering Commanders WRs:
š The Niners tried very hard to keep CMCās streak alive. But failed.
šļø Derek Carr had a rough week. He suffered a concussion and shoulder injury.
š² How is this real?! The Steelers are very lucky.
š¤ Broncos. Bills. Monday Night Football. Everything you need for MNF betting and the DFS showdown slate.
š¤ Now thatās an epic parlay. $500,000 is not a recommended unit size.
š¤¼ A true brotherly shove. T.J. Watt surpasses his brother for a new record.
šŖ We love big guys with the ball. Let Tristan Wirfs cook.
š„° An incredible story from Minnesota. You love to see it.
š„ The only highlight from the Germany game. But itās a good one.
We're humans who play fantasy football, so we are prone to overreact. Today, Kendall overreacts to rough Jaguars and Patriots lossesā¦
One thing is for certain: CJ Stroud will continue to bring you and this offense points.
I know I just wrote about him last week saying that Houston has found its franchise quarterback, but what he is doing right now is unreal.
He finished Sundayās game 23-of-39 for 356 yards and one passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Oh yeah, and they beat the damn Bengals! Rookie of the Year is pretty much a lock, but who says no to adding him to the MVP conversation?
Maybe Coach of the Year is on deck for DeMeco Ryans too?
Another thing that maybe wasnāt as certain, but has since seen some light is that Joshua Dobbs will continue to bring you fantasy goodness and should maybe be considered for a full-time role.
Seriously, just when you thought that the Vikings season was done with a season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins we have seen the unlikeliest of heroes in Dobbs. It doesnāt even matter that he doesnāt know where the locker room is, he had 25.2 fantasy points and his favorite target on the day was TJ Hockenson who finished with 30.4 fantasy points.
š¤ Who really is this Jaguars team?
San Francisco dominated this game from the very beginning and a win maybe was never in the cards for the Jaguars, but at least a little fight was expected?
Instead, they took a page out of the Seahawks book (from last week) and only managed three points, which is not what we should expect from a team with this much talent on the roster. According to ESPN, it was Jacksonville's worst home loss since 2019 when they lost to the Chargers 45-10.
I get it, the 49ers put together a complete game and the defense dominated with four takeaways and five sacks on Trevor Lawrence. Donāt get me wrong, this was exactly what the 49ers needed ā Brock Purdy had 296 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 148.9 passer rating.
A breakout was expected from Lawrence, but it hasnāt happened. He has 2,120 passing yards this season with nine touchdowns, six interceptions and a QBR of 56. Calvin Ridley managers are frustrated because he has not been the impact player that one would have hoped for.
The red-hot Texans are right on the heels of the Jaguars and we cannot count the Colts out either. Could we see the team that made it to the Divisional Round last season miss the playoffs? Some things need to changeā¦ and quickly.
š¤¢ The Patriots canāt change anything this season
First of all, so sorry to all the Germany fans who had to watch this game. It was ugly.
The Patriots lost to the Colts 10-6 and more notably Mac Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe with 1:52 left in the game. Spoiler alert: he didnāt lead them to a victory.
I think we have all concluded that Jones isnāt the answer in New England, and I think that was written weeks ago. But the other conclusion is that Bill Belichick and Co. canāt do much of anything with this season, so donāt expect him to be fired or look elsewhere for quarterback answers.
If this were any other coach, the job security would be thin, but I guess weāre talking about Belichick. Is the seat warm? I still believe it is. But the realization is that nothing can be done to fix this team this season, so just keep losing.
The Patriots are now 2-8 and could easily draft a top quarterback (assuming that the losing continues).
Part of me wants to see what Belichick could do with a young quarterback, starting fresh. Or maybe this team needs a complete overhaul to get it back on track?
Robert Kraft will have some tough decisions to make coming up, but one thing that has made him an accomplished owner is patience and a lot of trust. The Patriots havenāt been in this situation before. They are 2-8 for the first time since 2000, but if you donāt have a competent quarterback, what else is there to do besides buckle up for a bumpy ride the rest of the season?
