Eagles WR A.J. Brown scored for the 3rd straight game in Thursday’s win over Houston. He gained several yards of separation on a beautiful corner route in the end zone. The former Titan added just 4 grabs for 59 yards. But it’s worth noting that Jalen Hurts attempted only 27 passes, while Brown’s target share wasn’t exactly minuscule at 22.2%. On pace for over 1,500 yards, Brown’s status as a fantasy WR1 remains firm.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert led the team with 9 targets, 8 catches and 100 yards in Week 9. He added his 2nd TD of the season, capitalizing on a plus matchup in Houston. Goedert’s size showed up in this one, as he routinely ripped apart the Texans’ Cover 2 defense for chunk gains. The 27-year-old has now snagged 5+ passes in 4 of his past 5 matchups. He’ll remain a no-doubt top-5 option next week against the Commanders.
Eagles RB Miles Sanders gained 93 yards on 17 carries against the Texans in Week 9. He also found the end zone for the 3rd straight week. Those scores have been critical, as Sanders has now gone 2 straight games without a target. (He’s topped 2 catches in a game only once all year.) The 25-year-old is on his way to perhaps the best pure rushing season of his career. Just be aware that he’s likely to disappoint over the next couple of weeks as his TD rate slows. In Week 10, he'll face a tough Washington run D. Sanders tallied just 12-40 against the Commanders back in Week 3.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce looked dominant against Philly in Week 9, rushing 27 times for 139 yards. He benefited from Houston (surprisingly) keeping this game close until the very end. But credit the rookie for a truly special performance. Per Next Gen Stats, he gained more yards than expected on a season-high 52% of his attempts. He also now ranks 3rd league-wide in yards after contact (637). While Pierce lost some 3rd-down/passing-down snaps to Rex Burkhead — and didn’t see a single target — he's asserted himself as an RB1 going forward. Next up is a road matchup with the Giants.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts completed 21 of 27 passes for 243 yards and 2 TDs in Thursday’s win over Houston. Hurts' scores went to A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert, who led the team with 9 targets. The QB delivered on the efficiency side with a 77.7% completion rate — basically the expectation in a plus matchup. But he wasn’t a fantasy difference-maker with only 23 rushing yards. Philly scored on a pair of runs inside the 5 yard-line and wound up with 29 points on the night. So this wasn’t some concerning performance from the offense overall. With this unit healthy, Hurts will remain a strong QB1 next week vs. Washington.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. He aggravated that ankle sprain last weekend and didn't practice at all this week. HC Frank Reich said Friday that there are no plans to put Taylor on IR right now but labeled him "week to week." Indianapolis' bye isn't until Week 14. Taylor's absence leaves the Colts with RBs Deon Jackson, Phillip Lindsay and the newly acquired Zack Moss. With Taylor out in Weeks 5 and 6, Jackson totaled 25 carries and 14 targets to Lindsay's 14 carries and 7 targets. Jackson should lead the way this weekend and is a decent RB2 play with 6 teams on bye.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll alluded to more passing-game work coming for RB Kenneth Walker, who has just 3 catches on 5 targets over the past 3 weeks. "I don’t really feel like we cut him loose yet," Carroll said. "I think he has big games ahead ... I think we are going to see even more than we have seen already, and not just in the run game, but the pass game too." Walker actually lost some pass routes to RB Travis Homer last week. Don't expect him to put up big numbers as a receiver, but even 2 or 3 catches per game would be a big boost to his already exciting fantasy value.
Jets WR Corey Davis (knee) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Bills. HC Robert Saleh expects him back after the Week 10 bye. Garrett Wilson should again be New York's top WR this weekend. Denzel Mims operated as the #2 WR last week, with WR Elijah Moore playing just 10 snaps.
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard (ankle) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Bengals. He got in limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday but was sidelined on Friday.. With Hubbard out last week, RB D'Onta Foreman played 68% of Carolina's offensive snaps and exploded for 118 yards and 3 TDs on 26 carries. The matchup is much tougher on Sunday, but Foreman is a volume-based RB2 play in fantasy lineups.
Bucs WR Russell Gage (hamstring) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Rams. That should again mean #3 WR duties for Julio Jones, who posted a 2-21-1 line on 4 targets last week.
Bucs TE Cameron Brate (neck) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Rams. He returned to limited practices this week but evidently hasn't been cleared yet. Brate's absence keeps TE Cade Otton in play as a low-end spot starter. The rookie has averaged 5.7 targets, 4.0 catches and 41 yards in 3 games without Brate.
Commanders RB J.D. McKissic (neck) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. He's set to visit a specialist for that neck injury, so there's a chance he misses more time beyond Week 9. McKissic has averaged 2.8 carries and 5.0 targets per game this season. His absence is a particular boost for RB Antonio Gibson's target projection.
Commanders WR Jahan Dotson (hamstring) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. The rookie has yet to practice since re-injuring his hamstring on October 20. although HC Ron Rivera said Friday that he's hoping to get Dotson back on the field next week. Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel will continue to operate as Washington's clear top 2 WRs this weekend.
NFL Network's Steve Smith said he talked with Texans WR Brandin Cooks and that the veteran will be returning to the team ahead of the Week 10 game against the Giants. That's what we anticipated, given that Cooks is signed through 2024. Expect the wideout to get back to his role as lead target for Houston -- and WR3 for fantasy football lineups.
Cowboys RBs coach Skip Peete said the team is trying to keep RB Tony Pollard to no more than 30 snaps per game. "Pollard played a total of 30 plays [last week], and I think that's his max - as far as total play count - because then the juice doesn't become the same and he's not as quick, not as fast," Peete said. "When he got that long run on third-and-1, soon as he got to the sideline he said, 'Coach, I'm done. Done for the game. I've got no more.' ... Tony's obviously a very talented runner and good all-around back, but some guys are race cars. Some guys are high-quality, expensive sedans and those sedans can go for a long distance at a very high rate, whereas race cars go very fast and quick and run out of gas." It's just the latest indication that Dallas views Pollard as the 1B to Ezekiel Elliott's 1A.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Chargers were "just being cautious" by limiting RB Austin Ekeler (abdomen) in Thursday's practice. It sounds like Ekeler should be fine for this weekend's game vs. the Falcons, but we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.
Saints WR Jarvis Landry (ankle) got in a limited practice on Thursday. We'll see if he's able to play vs. the Ravens on Monday night. Landry has been sidelined since Week 4.
Ravens RB Gus Edwards (hamstring) did not practice on Thursday. We're tentatively expecting Edwards to miss Monday night's game vs. the Saints, leaving Baltimore's backfield to Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews (knee, shoulder) did not practice on Thursday. The injuries reportedly aren't serious, but Andrews could be held out of Monday night's game vs. the Saints -- especially with Baltimore's upcoming Week 10 bye. We'll update Andrews' status again tomorrow.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle) did not practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. It's unclear if he suffered a setback or if this was a planned day off, but his availability for Sunday night's game vs. the Chiefs remains in question. We'll get another update on Tannehill tomorrow.
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