The big fantasy football story in Week 1 was the impact of offensive coordinator departures on previously high-octane machines.<\/p>\n
Sans Ben Johnson, the Lions looked like a team that has no connection to its previously near-invincible ways. Is Dan Campbell capable of stepping into the void or does he draw up plays with a pencil that has an eraser at both ends? The joke was Jared Goff remembers all the plays that worked, so who cares about Johnson? Maybe he needs some miracle memory drug from those late-night commercials.<\/p>\n
Goff looked like the kid who shows up for class not realizing it\u2019s exam day. We also assumed (rationally) that a team with an offensive line as good as the Lions can\u2019t possibly have a bad offense.<\/p>\n
Yes, the alternative explanation is the Packers\u2019 defense is now dominant, but I don\u2019t buy that given Micah Parsons isn\u2019t even up to speed. Maybe this is a top 10 unit, but it\u2019s not some outlier No. 1 group. I\u2019m blaming the offense more than crediting the defense. For now, if you roster Lions, you should be concerned.<\/p>\n
The Goff-led offense generated 246 yards, or 163 less than they averaged in 2024. The one bright spot, if you really squint, is Jahmyr Gibbs catching 10 passes. But then you see it was for 31 yards.<\/p>\n
The other team that lost an offensive guru at OC is the Buccaneers, who looked only marginally better than the Lions. Tampa Bay won last year with Baker Mayfield throwing for 264 yards a game, a total he missed by about 100 yards on Sunday against an Atlanta defense that was expected to be about average.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s hopeless for the Lions and Bucs players, not by a long shot. But we should be more worried than we were on Friday. Maybe David Montgomery isn\u2019t a RB2 now. Maybe Jameson Williams isn\u2019t someone you start now in Flex 9 formats. Maybe Mayfield for now goes back into the QB streaming pool. These are adjustments at the margins until these teams prove they weren\u2019t as OC dependent as we now fear.<\/p>\n
Even worse for us, Liam Coen couldn\u2019t export his passing-game design and production to Jacksonville. We\u2019ll see what Johnson can do with the Bears and Caleb Williams, versus the Vikings on Monday night. I worry it\u2019s going to be all pain and no gain.<\/p>\n
Giants vs. Commanders: \u2018Bill\u2019 pays off<\/p>\n
I have to tip my cap to the Jacory \u201cBill\u201d Croskey-Merritt managers. You paid retail. You bought the hype. Your process was all wrong. Yet it looks like you were right, with JCM getting a team-high 10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. The writing was on the wall as soon as Chris Rodriguez was made inactive. The Commanders gave us little to go on all summer with this backfield and most of what they said seems to have been a smokescreen. Very Merritt-orious, that pick (for now).<\/p>\n
Imagine being a Giants fan and watching Daniel Jones play basically a perfect game while Russell Wilson produces 231 yards of total offense. Giants fans are already calling for Jaxson Dart and I don\u2019t blame them. I do think this switch to a rookie would likely end up being much worse for Malik Nabers in the near term. A switch to Jameis Winston though \u2026<\/p>\n
Ravens vs. Bills: An epic with a lot of (fantasy) winners<\/p>\n
Josh Allen makes lemonade out of his lemon wide receiver corps. It\u2019s incredible. The Ravens won the game three times with touchdowns that seemingly were daggers. Their offense is just unstoppable, with Derrick Henry still obviously in top form. It was his first career game with three 30-yard+ runs, even though his fumble in the final minutes cost Baltimore the game \u2014 and perhaps so much more given the potential playoff seeding impact. My summer take of waiting for Rashad Bateman because the team committed to him and forgoing Zay Flowers seems really dumb today. Flowers was clearly the No. 1 WR and delivered, though the passing volume was disappointingly low given the score.<\/p>\n
Steelers vs. Jets: Fields, Hall shine as Rodgers finds his WR2<\/p>\n
Before the Ravens-Bills epic Sunday night, the \u201cGame of the Week\u201d (cue the NFL Films intro<\/a>) was in MetLife Stadium \u2014 Steelers vs. Jets, a barn burner from start to finish. Justin Fields looked like the QB1, or at least someone worthy of a premium QB pick. Uncharacteristically, he also looked like a good QB in reality. He was only sacked once in 23 dropbacks. He averaged nearly 10 yards per attempt. Garrett Wilson was fully engaged and super productive, scoring once and nearly twice (though he was crushed by Jalen Ramsey on the Jets\u2019 final play of the game). Breece Hall (over 100 rushing yards) was too discounted late in draft season even though he had zero of the team\u2019s three rushing TDs. He ran with speed and decisiveness. The Jets\u2019 offensive line looked very good against the highest-paid defense in football by a mile.<\/p>\n Aaron Rodgers was not spectacular but super professional in executing in the biggest moments. We didn\u2019t know who the No. 2 WR in Pittsburgh would be, but it\u2019s clearly Calvin Austin (six targets and a TD).<\/p>\n Texans vs. Rams: Stroud struggles, Rams WRs look heroic<\/p>\n What a disappointing Week 1 for C.J. Stroud, who has mostly been bad thus far in his career, as crazy as that seems given how he started out as a rookie. He could not get anything going with Nico Collins. You can\u2019t even blame the running game and Nick Chubb, who looked competent.<\/p>\n On the other side of the ball, it looks like Puka Nacua is the Batman and Davante Adams the Robin \u2014 who cares if you don\u2019t score TDs when you\u2019re turning 11 targets into 23 PPR points.<\/p>\n Panthers vs. Jaguars: Young\u2019s late season a mirage?<\/p>\n That supposed finishing kick by Bryce Young doesn\u2019t look very meaningful today (you need to have ignored yards per pass attempt). Chuba Hubbard managers survived with a garbage-time score. It also looks better than it has any right to for Tetairoa McMillan (5\/68\/0 on nine targets). Young doesn\u2019t meet the minimum standards for the position, so I\u2019ve always been bearish on him. This wasn\u2019t exactly an acid test for Young given the Jaguars were a terrible defense in 2024.<\/p>\n Even if you back out Travis Etienne\u2019s 71-yard run, which is always unfair, he had a good day. A shockingly good day. He\u2019s a third-round fantasy pick if we\u2019re drafting today, given it\u2019s going to take weeks now for anyone to really challenge him in the Jags\u2019 backfield.<\/p>\n Trevor Lawrence is all prototype but again the production wasn\u2019t there even with the supposedly supercharged receiving corps. He brought his relative struggles with Brian Thomas in 2024 into sharp relief. BTJ had just one catch on seven targets and his TD was on a run.<\/p>\n Cardinals vs. Saints: A bright spot in the Big Easy Crescent City<\/p>\n I thought Juwan Johnson had a chance to have a very productive season on an ugly New Orleans offense because production has to come from somewhere. It seems like the Saints\u2019 new coaching staff agreed from the jump given they immediately threw $30 million at him. Johnson (8-for-76 on 11 targets) was the most encouraging fantasy performer for the once-again \u201cAints.\u201d He\u2019s a top-12 TE until further notice.<\/p>\n I have no real takeaways for the Cardinals. Most of Trey Benson\u2019s production came from a 52-yard run. James Conner didn\u2019t have much juice. But I\u2019m not changing any rankings in light of this colorless day all around in Crescent City (we won\u2019t call it \u201cThe Big Easy\u201d because it was anything but for both squads).<\/p>\n Raiders vs. Patriots: Maye\u2019s day, Jeanty\u2019s debut<\/p>\n Drake Maye had volume. You would have expected him to run more, especially with the game slipping away. These scrambles, the non-designed runs, are not projectable, so I don\u2019t see Maye remotely as a Konami-Code QB. I do stipulate he has the traits to be one. I\u2019ll have more to say about Kayshon Boutte (6\/103 on eight targets) after watching the game again and putting together Tuesday\u2019s Market Share Report. I like Mike Vrabel, but it was crazy to think he was going to out-coach Pete Carroll or that the Patriots were better than the Raiders.<\/p>\n Geno Smith was very good but couldn\u2019t convert in the red zone, as usual. Ashton Jeanty had volume and showed great effort on his TD but this was one of those games for a running back that was tough to watch. I guess Jakobi Meyers surprised most everyone except me. I had him in the WR25 bucket. That\u2019s probably going to be light in PPR (8-for-97 on a team-high 10 targets). Man, Meyers would look good with Maye. Oh well.<\/p>\n Dolphins vs. Colts: Two elevators with two distinct directions<\/p>\n I said on my podcast the Colts and Dolphins were at a crossroads, and if one scored 30 and the other struggled, we had to adjust the ranks. Well, move all the Colts up after they scored on every possession. And move all the Dolphins down. This is the kind of game that gets a head coach fired in September. I\u2019m not predicting anything for Mike McDaniel, but if it were to get announced by Adam Schefter tomorrow, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked.<\/p>\n When Daniel Jones won the job, I put my chips on Michael Pittman in my ranks and none really on the other wide receivers. I think Pittman has alpha ability. He looked the part on Sunday against the Dolphins. Right now I expect him to be a low-end WR2 and he could be a low-end WR1 if Jones can play remotely like this going forward. Jones was only sacked once.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want you to think I\u2019m ignoring Tyler Warren just because he did about what we expected.<\/p>\n Niners vs. Seahawks: JSN a clear No. 1, but \u2018Hawks backfield lacks one<\/p>\n This was another disappointing game for fantasy players. The Niners did get a ton of volume and yards out of Christian McCaffrey, but George Kittle, who I expected to lead the passing game, was knocked out early with a hamstring. Juwan Jennings seemed very rusty. Ricky Pearsall and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were clear No. 1 WRs, especially JSN, who had 83% of Seattle\u2019s receiving yards. The backfield was a pure committee with Zach Charbonnet outpacing Ken Walker, not that Charbonnet was a standout. I\u2019d have to rank him above Walker in Week 2, however.<\/p>\n Bengals vs. Browns: The Bengals\u2019 brutal passing day<\/p>\n The Bengals did not seem prepared to play. I told Scott Pianowski on our podcast<\/a> the Browns were not going to be fun to play against and were underrated. If Joe Flacco could be a top-20 QB, they\u2019d be dangerous. So I can\u2019t trash the Bengals knowing this was going to be difficult. But it shouldn\u2019t have been this difficult \u2014 113 passing yards for Joe Burrow and two catches for Ja\u2019Marr Chase, plus two yards per tote for Chase Brown? Lordy.<\/p>\n The Browns gave it away though, somehow. I was most impressed by Dylan Sampson\u2019s receiving out of the backfield (8-for-64 on eight targets). Harold Fannin Jr. (7-for-63) passes the eye test and is a better bet than the overrated David Njoku right now.<\/p>\n Buccaneers vs. Falcons: Baker\u2019s concerning half-dozen (targets)<\/p>\n Emeka Egbuka had only six targets and the Bucs\u2019 passing offense looked nothing like last year. But two of his four catches went for scores, so the victory laps are thundering now. I need to see 300 passing yards from Mayfield before I fully buy in though, not 167.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t do injury news here but you have to follow the updates on Drake London\u2019s shoulder. I thought Michael Penix looked good and London let him down in the end zone<\/a>. Penix also threw a perfect ball to win the game<\/a> but KhaDarel Hodge didn\u2019t finish the route. Penix is good, but he can\u2019t survive without London if he\u2019s out for weeks. He did bring Kyle Pitts to life (7-for-59). It\u2019s fair to say there wasn\u2019t much happening downfield for Atlanta though.<\/p>\n (Photo of Jared Goff, Micah Parsons: Tork Mason-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The big fantasy football story in Week 1 was the impact of offensive coordinator departures on previously high-octane…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[1829,1327,8849,1807,3687,1822,1799,1810,27556,1804,4058,3686,1811,1812,1820,1322,1815,1814,977,5702,349,1321,99,1824,3851],"class_list":["post-141946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-detroit-lions","tag-fantasy-football","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-houston-texans","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-new-york-giants","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-sports","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-washington-commanders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}