Drake Maye
28.44 pts
24 of 31 for 321 yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown. Your highest scorer.
Week 7 is in the books and you won it, 122.14 to 79.42. Monday night's Dallas Cowboys win over the Philadelphia Eagles touched nothing on your roster, so the whole job now is Week 8 - and Week 8 has a hole in it at running back.
LordHaveMRSA
122.14
Gridiron Guru 23
79.42
Final. Week 7 win. Record 3-4, eighth of twelve.
Roschon Johnson
1.30 pts
Ten snaps, two carries, thirteen yards. D'Andre Swift took 26 touches.
Dameon Pierce
Top waiver target
14 carries and a touchdown Monday night with Saquon Barkley hurt. Bid $10-12.
Where the matchup stands
Week 7 is final: LordHaveMRSA 122.14, Gridiron Guru 23 79.42. It was never close after Sunday afternoon. That puts you at 3-4, eighth in a twelve-team league, with 719.16 points scored and 740.58 allowed - you have been slightly unlucky, not bad.
Nothing you own played in Monday night's game. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-21 and you had no stake in it, which is why this report is about what comes next rather than what happened overnight.
Week 8 opponent: WhoottieBoys, 1-6. They are last in the league in record and last in points scored at 585.20, roughly 134 points behind you across seven weeks. This is the most winnable game left on your schedule. The only way you lose it is by starting a running back who gets two carries.
Your Week 7 starters
Drake Maye (New England Patriots) - 28.44 points
24 of 31 for 321 yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception, plus four carries for 26 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Patriots lost 30-24 to the Chicago Bears and he was still your top scorer. Nothing to second-guess here.
Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) - 27.10 points
Ten catches for 111 yards and a touchdown on thirteen targets, in a game the Cardinals lost 30-16 to the Denver Broncos. Thirteen targets for a tight end is a quarterback treating him like a number one receiver. He is a set-and-forget start every week for the rest of the season.
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - 21.80 points
Eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown on ten targets, plus two carries for ten yards, in a 35-21 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Not a monster yardage day, but the volume is steady and the touchdown rescued it.
Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) - 21.30 points
Five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown on twelve targets. Twelve targets is the number that matters - the Raiders are funneling the ball to him. He has earned a permanent starting spot in your lineup.
Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) - 18.10 points
Sixteen carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, plus two catches for 22 yards. Solid, but he lost a fumble, which cost him two points and is the one thing that could eat into his workload. Watch it; don't panic over it.
Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) - 4.10 points
Three catches for eleven yards on six targets. Eleven yards. The Chiefs were shut down 20-3 at Seattle and he was invisible in it. This is the second straight week he has been a non-factor, and he is your flex starter - the roster spot where you are supposed to have options.
Roschon Johnson (Chicago Bears) - 1.30 points
Two carries for thirteen yards on ten offensive snaps, down from 27 and 31 snaps in the two games before. D'Andre Swift took 26 touches including 22 carries. This was not a bad game, it was a non-appearance. He is a bench player on his own team and he should not be a starter on yours.
What the bench did
Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - 19.10 points on your bench
Seventeen carries for 124 yards and a touchdown in the Giants' 27-21 win over the Houston Texans. He outscored Roschon Johnson, your starting second running back, by 17.8 points at the same position. You won by 42.72 so it cost you nothing this week. It would have cost you the week against anybody good.
Geno Smith (New York Jets) - 24.48 points on your bench
23 of 30 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. A big day - and still 3.96 points short of Drake Maye. You made the right call. Two startable quarterbacks in a one-quarterback league is a luxury you could trade from.
The rest of the bench was quiet
Chris Godwin Jr. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 6.70 on four catches for 27 yards. DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots) 5.30 on three catches for 23 yards. Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) 4.00 on two catches for 20 yards and only two targets - that target count is the worrying part. Keon Coleman and DJ Moore (both Buffalo Bills) scored zero on their bye week.
Injuries and byes on your roster
| Player | Issue | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) | On bye in Week 8. Also carried a Questionable tag for a hamstring tweak coming out of Week 7, though the reporting says he is expected to be fine. | Nothing to do - he cannot play. The problem is that he is your only good replacement for Roschon Johnson. |
| DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) | Grade 1 AC joint sprain, left shoulder. Missed two games. Head coach Joe Brady said he could return after the bye. | Hold through Wednesday's practice report. If he is limited again, he is your drop candidate for a waiver add. |
| Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | Lost a fumble in Week 7. | No action. Start him. Just be aware a second one could open the door for a committee. |
| Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) | Two targets in Week 7. Not injured - just not involved. | Bench him. He plays Monday night against the Chicago Bears, so he is a late-week pivot only if you are chasing points. |
Week 8 bye teams: Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers. Only one player of yours is affected, and it is the one you can least afford to lose.
Waivers - you need a running back
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Dameon Pierce (Philadelphia Eagles) - RB | Fourteen carries, 47 yards and a touchdown Monday night. Saquon Barkley left in the third quarter with a back injury after already missing two games with a hamstring, and the Eagles' only other healthy back is Elijah Mitchell - Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley are both on injured reserve. The catch: Pierce himself went to the locker room in the fourth quarter. Highest ceiling available by a distance. | $10-12 |
| Makai Lemon (Philadelphia Eagles) - WR | Seven catches, 67 yards and a touchdown on eight targets Monday night, and he is now the top name on Philadelphia's receiver depth chart. The best free player in your league regardless of position. He does not fix your running back hole, but he would upgrade a flex spot Xavier Worthy is currently wasting. | $8 |
| Dylan Sampson (Cleveland Browns) - RB | The safe fallback. Second on the Browns' depth chart behind Quinshon Judkins, with Cleveland at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Low ceiling, but a real NFL back who will touch the ball. | $3 |
| Kimani Vidal (Los Angeles Chargers) - RB | Same idea, cheaper. Second on the Chargers' depth chart with a Sunday afternoon game at the Los Angeles Rams. | $2 |
This is the one real decision of the week. With Cam Skattebo on bye, your starting lineup requires two running backs and you have exactly Kyren Williams plus a ten-snap afterthought. You have $39 left of your $100 season FAAB budget (FAAB is the fixed pot of fake money you bid with on waiver claims - once it's gone, it's gone).
The bad news: every running back the national waiver columns are pushing this week - Jonah Coleman (Denver Broncos), Kaelon Black (San Francisco 49ers), Mike Washington Jr. (Las Vegas Raiders) - is already rostered in your league. What follows is what is actually free.
The play
Put in a claim for Dameon Pierce (Philadelphia Eagles) at $12 and a backup claim for Dylan Sampson (Cleveland Browns) at $3. Wednesday's Eagles practice report tells you whether Saquon Barkley and Pierce are both hurt - if Barkley is out and Pierce practices, that $12 buys you a starting NFL running back for a week when you badly need one. If Pierce is the one who is out, Sampson is the floor play and you have spent almost nothing.
Drop candidate, in order: DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) if he is still limited Wednesday, then DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots), who has given you 5.30 points and three catches.
Your Week 8 lineup as it stands: Drake Maye (New England Patriots) at quarterback; Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) and your waiver add - or Roschon Johnson (Chicago Bears) if nothing lands - at running back; Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) and Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) at receiver; Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) at tight end; and flex. The flex is the second decision: Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) at the Denver Broncos has been dreadful two weeks running, and Chris Godwin Jr. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) hosting the Atlanta Falcons is the quieter but steadier option. If Makai Lemon lands, he takes that spot outright.
Kickoffs that matter to you: Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 PM Eastern - Tre Tucker, Geno Smith, Trey McBride, Chris Godwin Jr., Keon Coleman and DJ Moore. 4:05 PM - Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua. 4:25 PM - Drake Maye, DeMario Douglas and Xavier Worthy. Monday, November 2 at 8:15 PM - Roschon Johnson and Cooper Kupp. Note that daylight saving time ends that Sunday morning, so the early window is an hour later than it has felt all season.