Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa returned Sunday night for his 1st game action since the scary concussion at Cincinnati in Week 4. He completed 21 of 35 passes in the win over the Steelers for 261 yards and 1 TD. Tagovailoa took nary a sack, avoided turnovers and even ran for 15 yards on 4 rushes. WR Tyreek Hill led the offense with 13 targets and 7 catches (for 72 yards), while WR Jaylen Waddle paced the group with 88 yards (on 5 targets, 4 receptions). TE Mike Gesicki drew 7 targets for the 2nd straight game but managed just 3 catches for 27 yards. The whole group gets a high-ceiling matchup at Detroit in Week 8, with solid-to-good spots the next 2 weeks as well vs. Chicago and Cleveland.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth returned from his 1-game concussion absence to lead the team with 8 catches and 75 yards on 9 targets in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins. Miami has presented 1 of the league's best scoring matchups for TEs on the year. Freiermuth has also done well on targets, drawing 7+ in 4 of the 5 games he has played and not left early. Sunday night even found him playing his 2nd-smallest snap share of the season. Week 8 brings an Eagles matchup that's challenging all the Steelers but might favor Freiermuth's target volume. He's a weekly starter for most fantasy football lineups at what has been a tough position to navigate.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett threw for just 257 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins. The 72.7% completion rate was nice, but the mere 5.8 yards per pass attempt reveals that the rookie passer couldn't get anything going deep. WR Chase Claypool said after the game that he believes the offense needs "more go balls" to take advantage of the WR talent. We can't argue with that, though it remains to be seen whether Pickett can support his wideouts in that area. Claypool followed a strong Week 6 with a pedestrian 5-41 receiving line on 8 targets. WR Diontae Johnson caught 5 of his team-high 10 targets for 42 yards. WR George Pickens caught all 6 of his looks for 61 yards, including an athletic grab in the end zone for the team's only TD. Pittsburgh gets a tough matchup at Philadelphia in Week 8.
Steelers RB Najee Harris didn't do a whole lot for your fantasy football lineup in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins, but his workload was encouraging. Harris carried 17 times for 65 yards and caught 3 of 4 targets for 15 more. He played nearly 4 times as many snaps as rookie backup Jaylen Warren and ran a route on 61.2% of QB Kenny Pickett's dropbacks. That's Harris' highest mark of the season. Week 8 brings a difficult matchup (for the whole team) against the Eagles, followed by a Week 9 bye.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw left Sunday's loss to the Chiefs with a right-calf injury and did not return. If he misses further time, the snaps would likely go to Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. He stepped in for 56% playing time against K.C. LB Azeez Al-Shaair is already on IR with an MCL sprain that's expected to sideline him beyond Week 10.
Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo racked up 303 yards and 2 TDs (plus an INT) in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Chiefs. He went 25-of-37 passing (67.6%, 8.2 yards per attempt) before turning it over to QB Brock Purdy to close out the game. WR Brandon Aiyuk led the team in targets (11) and catches (7), tallying 82 yards. TE George Kittle caught 6 of 9 targets for 98 yards and a TD. WR Ray-Ray McCloud snagged the other TD, among 4 catches for 65 yards. WR Deebo Samuel caught 5 of his 7 looks for 42 yards, adding 2 yards on his lone carry. San Francisco gets a Week 8 rematch with a Rams team it hit up for 327 total yards in a 24-9 Week 4 victory. The Rams have been a tough scoring matchup for QBs and TEs but slightly positive for WRs this season. Samuel has gone over 90 receiving yards and 100 total yards in 4 straight regular-season meetings with the Rams.
The 49ers stayed with their stated plan for RB Christian McCaffrey in his 1st game with the team Sunday. He played 22 total snaps -- 28% of the team total -- logging 8 carries for 38 yards and 2 catches for 24 yards (on 2 targets). Jeff Wilson Jr. led the backfield in playing time and ran for 54 yards on 7 carries. He matched McCaffrey in routes but went without a catch on just 1 target. Rookie Tyrion Davis-Price mixed in for 2 carries (4 yards) and 2 targets (0 catches). We'd bet on a big shift toward McCaffrey for the Week 8 visit to the Rams. Don't plan on using Wilson in your fantasy football lineups.
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman scored 3 times among just 6 touches in Sunday's win over the 49ers. He found the end zone on both of his carries, from 25 and 13 yards out. Hardman also took a "pop" pass in from 8 yards out. That was 1 of 4 catches for 32 yards on 4 targets. Hardman did lead all Chiefs wideouts in playing time, seeing his 2nd most snaps and 2nd-largest snap share of the season. He still trailed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in routes, though. The playing-time boost -- to 62% vs. 40-46% over the previous 3 games -- was likely matchup-driven to some degree. Hardman has seen 4-5 targets in 3 straight games, though, and 4-6 in 5 of 7 games for the season. We'll see whether there's any word from the Chiefs on offensive alterations coming out of the Week 8 bye.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 423 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT in Sunday's win at San Francisco. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and TE Travis Kelce tied for the target lead with 8. Smith-Schuster racked up a 7-124-1 receiving line, his 2nd straight game with more than 100 yards and a TD. Kelce supplied 98 yards on 6 catches. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught 3 of 4 targets for 111 yards. Mahomes' other 2 scores went to WR Mecole Hardman (on a shovel pass) and WR Justin Watson. K.C. gets a Week 8 bye and then home dates with the Titans and Jaguars.
Chiefs rookie RB Isiah Pacheco led the team with 8 carries in Sunday's win over the 49ers, gaining 43 yards on his 8 rushes. He didn't get the call on any of K.C.'s 3 rushing scores for the game, however. Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored from 16 yards out. Mecole Hardman logged rushing scores from 25 and 3 yards away, plus an 8-yard score on a shovel pass. Pacheco played 2 more snaps than CEH for the game but 9 fewer than Jerick McKinnon. His 9-snap edge came entirely in receiving situations. McKinnon caught 2 of 3 targets for 36 yards and carried twice for 12 yards. Edwards-Helaire combined a 6-32-1 rushing line with 0 catches on 1 target. The Chiefs get a Week 8 bye and then home dates with the Titans and Jaguars.
The Broncos are signing RB Marlon Mack off the 49ers' practice squad. Per 9News' Mike Klis, the team hopes to get Mack to Denver in time for this afternoon's flight to London. The move suggests that RB Mike Boone will miss at least Sunday's game vs. Jacksonville with his ankle injury. Don't expect Mack to see much action, though, behind RBs Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray.
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin tied WR Curtis Samuel for the team target lead (8) in Sunday's win over the Packers. That marked the 1st time this season that McLaurin didn't trail Samuel, coinciding with the 1st start for QB Taylor Heinicke in place of Carson Wentz. McLaurin caught 5 balls for 73 yards and a TD, 1 of 2 Heinicke threw. Samuel also caught 5 balls for 53 yards and added 26 rushing yards on 5 carries. Washington heads to Indy in Week 8.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. carried 20 times in Sunday's win over the Packers but managed pedestrian 73 yards (3.7 per rush). Robinson added 2 catches for 13 yards on 2 targets, his first 2 of the season. RB Antonio Gibson chimed in 59 yards on 10 carries (5.9 per rush) and went 3-18-1 receiving on 4 targets while playing just 6 fewer snaps than Robinson. J.D. McKissic got on the field for just 12 snaps, catching neither of his 2 targets and rushing 12 time for 4 yards. Washington gets matchups with the Colts and Vikings the next 2 weeks, neither of which has boosted RB production so far this season.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers managed only 194 yards on 23-of-35 passing in Sunday's loss to the Commanders. He found RB Aaron Jones for the team's only 2 offensive TDs. WR Allen Lazard was the only other Packer to catch more than 3 passes, before leaving with a shoulder injury. TE Robert Tonyan contributed 3-32 receiving on 4 targets. WR Sammy Watkins returned from IR (hamstring) to catch 2 passes for 36 yards among 4 targets. Rookie Romeo Doubs went catchless on 4 targets. Doubs finished as the clear playing-time leader, with Lazard leaving early and the team missing WRs Randall Cobb and Christian Watson. No member of this pass offense looks attractive for a Week 8 visit to Buffalo.
The Packers ran the ball just 12 times in losing at Washington on Sunday. RB AJ Dillon logged only 4 carries for 15 yards as his playing time sank for the 2nd time in 3 games. He got just 16 total snaps, less than half of Aaron Jones' time. Jones managed only 23 yards on his 8 rushes but led the team with 10 targets and 9 receptions. He tallied 53 yards receiving and caught the team's only 2 offensive TDs. Dillon's recent decline in exposure and overall decline in effectiveness can only help Jones' fantasy outlook. A struggling WR corps should continue sending targets his way as well. Dillon looks cuttable in leagues of 10 teams or fewer. That might even be true in shorter-roster 12-team leagues.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill went just 13-of-20 passing for 132 yards in Sunday's win over the Colts. WR Robert Woods led the team with just 4 targets. He, TE Austin Hooper and RB Derrick Henry caught 3 passes apiece to tie for the team lead. K Randy Bullock handled all the offensive scoring, with 4 FGs and 1 extra point. Tennessee's lone TD came on a 76-yard INT return. Tannehill left briefly with a right-ankle injury but said afterward that he hopes to play in Week 8 against Houston.
Titans RB Derrick Henry racked up 128 yards on 30 carries (4.3 per rush) in Sunday's win over the Colts. He added 3 receptions (on 3 targets) for 10 yards, in a game where no Tita caught more than 3 passes. Tennessee also scored no offensive TDs, relying on 4 FGs and an INT-return TD for all of its scoring. RB Dontrell Hilliard chimed in for just 1 carry and 2 catchless targets. It was Henry's 4th straight game of 20+ carries and 3rd straight outing over 100 yards.
Despite throwing 44 passes and completing 75% of them, Colts QB Matt Ryan amassed just 243 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's loss to the Titans. He added a pair of INTs and took 3 sacks. It marked the 5th time Ryan has logged 2+ turnovers in 7 games this season. Next comes a matchup with Washington, which entered Week 7 as the 7th friendliest matchup for QB scoring (just 2 spots higher than Tennessee). Then comes a New England defense that has been more challenging for QBs.
Colts WR Parris Campbell led the team with 12 targets, 10 receptions and 70 receiving yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans, adding Indy's only offensive TD. It marked his 2nd straight game of double-digit targets, though high volume for QB Matt Ryan has certainly helped. Campbell garnered 27.3% of Ryan's pass attempts Sunday and 22.5% over the past 2 games combined. He'll be worth a look in WR3 territory for the Week 8 home date with Washington. Michael Pittman checked in 2nd among Colts WRs against Tennessee, with a 6-58 receiving line on 9 targets. Rookie Alec Pierce collected just 3 catches for 37 yards on 4 targets. The team's TEs combined for just 2 catches and 10 yards on 3 targets.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor carried just 10 times for 58 yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans, his return from a 2-game absence for an ankle sprain. Taylor added 7 catches for 27 yards on 8 targets, ranking 3rd on the team in that category. He ran just 3 more pass routes than Nyheim Hines for the game, according to Pro Football Focus, a significant change from Taylor's last time out. In that loss to Tennessee, Taylor ran 29 routes to Hines' 11. Hines added 5 receptions for 41 yards on 5 targets in Sunday's game and contributed just 2 rushing yards on 4 carries. Deon Jackson got 2 carries for 3 yards. Indy gets a challenging rushing matchup with Washington in Week 8 and then visits New England in Week 9.
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