Kyren Williams
21.80 pts
15 carries, 88 yards, six catches on seven targets for 70. The only clean game on the roster.
Week 3 is in the books and it is a loss. Free Jacobs hung the highest score in the league on you, and with no players left in tonight's game you are 0-3.
LordHaveMRSA
88.36
Free Jacobs
133.84
Final. Every starter on both sides has played - the only Monday game is Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, 8:15 PM ET, and neither roster has a man in it.
Drake Maye
5.76 pts
No touchdowns, two interceptions, a lost fumble, three sacks. A 35-6 humiliation.
Geno Smith
26.04 pts
31-of-37, 321 yards, three touchdowns - and nobody in the league owns him.
Where the matchup stands
| Slot | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Drake Maye (New England Patriots) | 5.76 |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | 21.80 |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) | 13.00 |
| WR | Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) | 4.00 |
| WR | Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) | 14.60 |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) | 16.50 |
| FLEX | DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) | 12.70 |
It is over. LordHaveMRSA 88.36, Free Jacobs 133.84 - a 45.48-point loss, and there is nothing left to play for. The only game remaining in Week 3 is Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears tonight at 8:15 PM ET, and neither team has a player on either roster. The record goes to 0-3.
The schedule is genuinely abusing you. Free Jacobs' 133.84 was the highest score of any team in the league this week, and your 237.18 points allowed over the first two weeks was already the most in the 12-team field. Three opponents, three above-average weeks against you.
That said, do not let the bad luck hide the other half. 88.36 ranked 8th of 12 this week against a league median of 97.94, and 183.14 points in two prior weeks was 9th. Two of the seven starting slots produced almost nothing. The lineup has a real problem at quarterback and a real problem at the second wide receiver spot, and no schedule fix is coming for either.
Your starters, result versus expectation
Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) - 21.80 points
The one player who did his job without an asterisk. 15 carries for 88 yards with a 30-yard run in there, and six catches on seven targets for 70 more - 158 scrimmage yards in a game the Rams lost 30-26 at Denver. Backup Blake Corum turned six carries and four targets into 15 total yards, so the job is not being split. A top-10 running back week. Beat his projection comfortably.
Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) - 16.50 points
Nine catches on 11 targets for 75 yards, second on the team in all three behind Michael Wilson, in a 36-30 loss at San Francisco. No touchdown, which is the only thing keeping this out of the elite range, and that is not a knock - he has drawn double-digit targets from Jacoby Brissett and the volume is the asset. Roughly on projection.
Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) - 14.60 points
Four catches on five targets for 46 yards and a seven-yard touchdown with 2:55 left in a 33-31 loss at Washington. He doubled his season target total with quarterback Sam Darnold back in the lineup, and Darnold's 29.66-point afternoon says the Seattle offense is functional again. Beat expectation, but on five targets - the score did the work, not the usage.
Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - 13.00 points
Twenty carries for 60 yards. That is 3.0 yards a carry - awful efficiency dressed up by workload. Three catches for 40 more gets him to 100 scrimmage yards for the first time this season, and with Jameis Winston starting in place of the injured Jaxson Dart the Giants leaned on the backfield in a grinding 12-7 win over Tennessee. The touches are real and worth owning. The running was not good.
DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - 12.70 points
Six catches on 10 targets for 67 yards in Buffalo's 24-16 win over the Chargers, in his first game back from the shoulder injury that knocked him out of Week 2 early. He led the Bills in receptions, yards and targets. No touchdown, but ten targets in a return game is the number that matters. Slightly over projection and trending up.
Drake Maye (New England Patriots) - 5.76 points
This was a catastrophe. Fourteen of 25 for 199 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, a lost fumble and three sacks in a 35-6 beating at Jacksonville, with the Patriots managing two field goals all afternoon. It is his second multi-interception game in three weeks. A starting quarterback in a 4-point-passing-touchdown league who clears six points is a hole you cannot dig out of, and 5.76 was roughly 12 points under a modest projection. He is not the answer right now.
Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) - 4.00 points
Two targets. Two catches, 20 yards, in a game Kansas City won 24-10 at Miami. He finished third on the team in targets and fifth in receiving yards - behind running back Kenneth Walker's 61. Four points from a starting wide receiver is the kind of week that loses a matchup on its own, and paired with Maye it did exactly that. This is a talent worth keeping, but the target share has not arrived.
Bench versus starters
Three bench wide receivers outscored a starting wide receiver: Xavier Hutchinson (Houston Texans) 8.50 on three catches from six targets plus 51 yards, Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 5.50 on three of four, and Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) 4.70 on one catch for 37. All three cleared Xavier Worthy's 4.00.
That is not an argument for a lineup change. Beating four points is a low bar, and none of the three saw the target volume that would make him the better weekly play. Worthy stays in the lineup; the fix is that he needs to start drawing looks, not that Godwin or Coleman earned the slot.
At running back there was no case at all. Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) put up 11.00 on 10 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown, but on only 19 of Atlanta's 71 offensive snaps - a 27 percent snap share, meaning the percentage of his team's offensive plays he was on the field for. Both starters, Kyren Williams and Cam Skattebo, beat him. Braelon Allen (New York Jets) managed 4.70.
Injuries and roster cleanup
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - Out
He has now been a non-participant on five consecutive injury reports and has missed two straight games. Head coach Sean McVay has called it soreness in the groin, separate from the earlier psoas problem, and the official designation is a hip injury. There is no practice signal yet. He is a first-round-caliber receiver so you hold one more week, but understand what the bench spot is costing you - and if he is not practicing by Friday, he is a drop, not a stash.
Joshua Palmer (Buffalo Bills) - drop him
Palmer was active for the win over the Chargers and recorded nothing at all. Not a catch, not a target worth logging, zero points. He is the fourth or fifth man in a Buffalo passing game where DJ Moore and Keon Coleman are already on your roster. This is the bench spot you use on a waiver claim today.
Everyone else - clean
No other injury designation on the roster. DJ Moore came through his first game back from the shoulder injury without incident and led the team in targets. Keon Coleman was a Sunday game-time decision and played. There are no bye weeks anywhere in Week 4, so the full roster is available.
Waiver claims - what to do today
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Geno Smith (New York Jets), Quarterback | 31-of-37 for 321 yards and three touchdowns, 26.04 points, the third-best quarterback week in the league - and not on a single roster. Drake Maye has given you 5.76 points and four interceptions in three weeks. This is the single highest-leverage move available to you. | $12 |
| Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams), Wide Receiver | Four catches on eight targets for 93 yards and a touchdown, 19.30 points, third in team targets behind Davante Adams while Puka Nacua sits. He is the direct beneficiary of your own injured receiver's absence, which means you get paid either way. | $9 |
| Aaron Rodgers (Pittsburgh Steelers), Quarterback | 292 yards and three touchdowns for 23.68. The fallback if someone outbids you on Geno Smith - Pittsburgh hosts Cleveland Thursday, so he is usable this week too. | $6 |
| Ollie Gordon (Miami Dolphins), Running Back | The most-added player in fantasy football by a wide margin: 17 carries, 41 yards and a touchdown for 14.50. Listed Questionable, and the yards-per-carry is ugly, but the job appears to be his. Speculative depth only. | $4 |
You have $80 left of the $100 FAAB budget, the season-long pool of fake money used to bid on waiver pickups, and the fifth waiver position. You are 0-3. This is the week to spend, not the week to hoard. Everyone listed below is currently unowned in the league.
Who to cut to make room
Joshua Palmer (Buffalo Bills) goes first - he was active and scored zero, and you already own two Bills receivers ahead of him. That is one open bench spot for Geno Smith (New York Jets).
If you want Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams) as well, the second cut is Braelon Allen (New York Jets), who managed 4.70 points on four carries and is behind a crowded Jets backfield. Keep Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) - at 27 percent of Atlanta's snaps he is thin, but he is the handcuff to Bijan Robinson, meaning the backup running back on the same NFL team who would inherit the job if the starter got hurt, and Bijan Robinson put up 35.30 points this week. That is an insurance policy worth a bench spot.
Looking at Week 4
| Player | Week 4 opponent | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | at Philadelphia Eagles | Start. Tough run defense, but the volume is not in question. |
| Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) | vs Arizona Cardinals | Start. Home, and the Giants are running to survive. |
| Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) | at New York Giants | Start. Double-digit targets every week. |
| Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) | vs Los Angeles Chargers | Start. Sam Darnold is back and the offense is moving. |
| DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) | vs New England Patriots | Start. Best matchup on the roster. |
| Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) | at Las Vegas Raiders | Start, reluctantly. Needs targets, not a matchup. |
| Drake Maye (New England Patriots) | at Buffalo Bills | Sit if the Geno Smith claim lands. |
Your Week 4 opponent is The Daddies, also 0-2 and carrying the worst points-allowed figure in the league at 250.80. They have scored 182.30, essentially identical to your 183.14. This is a coin flip between two desperate teams, and it is the most winnable game on your schedule so far.
There are no bye weeks in Week 4 - all 32 teams play. The week opens Thursday, October 1 at 8:15 PM ET with Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, which involves nobody you own unless you claim Aaron Rodgers. Your first player kicks off Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 PM ET.
Two start-or-sit questions worth thinking about before Sunday. First, quarterback: Drake Maye (New England Patriots) goes to Buffalo, a road game against a defense that just held the Chargers to 16. If the Geno Smith (New York Jets) claim lands, Maye sits, and it is not a close call. Second, Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) travels to Las Vegas in a matchup that should be comfortable for Kansas City - the concern is not the opponent, it is that two targets in a game is a usage problem no matchup fixes. DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) hosting New England is the best spot on your roster and should be in the flex without discussion.