Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
David Dorey

Tunnel Vision – Injuries, free agents and Sunday stars

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Lamar Jackson 202-101 2
 Justin Herbert 405-11 3
 Tua Tagovailoa 309-0 4
Kirk Cousins 367-10 3
 Jordan Love 259-39 2
Running Backs Yards TD
Devon Achane 18-203 rush
4-30 rcv
4
Raheem Mostert 13-82 rush
7-60 rcv
4
Kenneth Walker 18-97 rush
3-59 rcv
2
Christian McCaffrey 18-85 rush
5-34 rcv
1
Zack Moss 30-122 rush
2-23 rcv
1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Keenan Allen 18-215 1
Adam Thielen 11-145 1
Tyreek Hill 9-157 1
Justin Jefferson 7-149 1
Davante Adams 13-172 2
Tight Ends Yards TD
Sam LaPorta 8-84 1
Travis Kelce 7-69 1
George Kittle 7-90 0
T.J. Hockerson 8-78 0
Pharoah Brown 2-71 1
Placekickers XP FG
Matt Gay 1 5
Jason Meyers 2 5
Tyler Bass 4 3
Matt Prater 1 3
Ka’imi Fairbairn 4 3
Defense Sack – TO TD
Bills 9-5 1
Lions 7-1 0
Browns 5-0 0
Chiefs 3-2 0
Texans 0-2 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

That was pretty light.

QB Derek Carr – Shoulder
RB  Gus Edwards – Concussion
WR Mike Williams – Knee
WR Jonathan Mingo – Concussion

Chasing Ambulances

QB Derek Carr – Was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain in his throwing (right) shoulder. It is not season-ending and his time away will depend on the swelling and how it responds to treatment. In the meantime, Jameis Winston will be the starter.

RB Gus Edwards – Was pulled from the loss to the Colts, and replaced by the tag team of  Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake. While he’s yet another injured running back for the Ravens, they insist on their committee approach that rarely allows more than a dozen touches to any single back. Gordon should see the bigger share of the workload, but Lamar Jackson also has to be factored into the rushing.

WR Mike Williams – Was carted to the locker room after sustaining a left knee injury. It appeared to be non-contact as there was no apparent collision or twisting. He’ll be evaluated on Monday but if he misses time, Joshua Palmer will  move up the depth chart and the rookie Quentin Johnston will become more involved. Palmer logged four catches for 66 yards and a score in the win over the Vikings and has to be a free agent consideration by the Mike Williams owner.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

RB Alexander Mattison – The  Vikings acquired Cam Akers from the Rams but they had faced the Buccaneers and Eagles – both have great defensive lines and Mattison was held below 12 carries each week. Versus the Chargers, Mattison enjoyed his last non-Akers weekend by rushing for 90 yards on 20 carries and catching five passes for 32 yards. Maybe he will hold Akers off and keep him as just backfield depth.

WR Tank Dell – The rookie logged seven catches for 72 yards and one score in Week 2 against the Colts but that was a one-game fluke. Or so it was thought. Dell turned five receptions into 145 yards and one score at the Jaguars. No other Texans receiver gained more than 34 yards. Dell is forging a very dangerous relationship with C.J. Stroud.

WR DJ Chark – Debuted last week with just one catch in the loss to the Saints, but he was targeted 11 times against the Seahawks – second highest on the team and caught four passes for 86 yards and one touchdown. The Panthers were forced to start Andy Dalton but the experienced quarterback strongly favored Chark and Adam Thielen (11-145, TD). This is how the offense should work and what Bryce Young aims to become.

WR Josh  Downs – The Colts third-round pick stepped up nicely against the Ravens, fielding a team-high 12 targets for eight catches and 57 yards. With Anthony Richardson out, Gardner Minshew was the  starting quarterback but he’s already challenging second-year Alex Pierce for the No. 2 wideout role.

WR Elijah Moore – The transplant from the Jets only managed three catches in his first two games but then attracted a team-high nine targets and caught them all for 49 yards. He’s starting to mesh with Deshaun Watson and defenses have enough trouble keeping up with Amani Cooper.

TE Kyle Pitts – He only gained 41 yards on five catches, but it is a positive sign that he led the Falcons with nine targets. Fellow tight end Jonnu Smith was next with eight passes that became five catches for 37 yards in the loss to the Lions.

TE Sam LaPorta – The Lions rookie tight end already started his career with five catches per game, then upped that with eight receptions for 84 yards and one score in the win over the Falcons. After three games, he is on a pace to catch 102 passes. And that’s as a tight end.

RB Kendre Miller – The Saints rookie wideout debuted with 34 yards on nine carries and one catch for no gain. But he led the backfield and now will pair with Alvin Kamara who returns from his suspension this week. Jamaal Williams was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and Tony Jones drops down another notch on the depth chart.

RB Ezekiel Elliott – He already hurt Rhamondre Stevenson’s workload when he was added this summer, but now he’s looked sharper than hi,. Stevenson ran for 59 yards on 19 carries (3.1 YPC) and caught one three-yard pass. Elliott just ran for 80 yards on 16 carries (5.0 YPC) and caught a seven-yard pass. It doesn’t mean that Elliott will overtake Stevenson as the primary, but it points to the fact there is no reason to change the backfield sharing for now.

RB Tony Pollard – After three weeks, the Cowboys starter totals 62 carries for 264 yards (4.3 YPC). He also caught 12 passes for 48 yards. In Week 3, the Cowboys were finally challenged by their opponent and ran Pollard for 122 yards on 23 carries. The interesting part is that he is on a pace for 340 carries and  68 receptions. He’s never had more than 193 rushes in any season in the NFL or college. He broke his leg at the end of last season with a far lesser workload. Rico Dowdle is his backup but hasn’t carried more than seven times in any game. What happens to the Dallas offense if Pollard breaks down?

Huddle player of the Week

Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports 

RB Devon Achane / Raheem Mostert  – This is the first time in our 27 years that the Player of the Week is shared. How could it not? Raheem Mostert  rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns on the Broncos and added 60 yards on seven receptions with a fourth touchdown. The rookie ran 18 times and gained 203 yards and two touchdowns, plus caught four passes for 30 yards and two more scores to also total four. That is two running backs, on the same team, that combined for 285 rushing yards, caught 11 passes for 90 yards and totaled eight touchdowns between them.  That’s two backs in one game that produced 96.5 fantasy points. There were three teams last year that failed to total more than eight touchdowns from their entire backfield over all 17 games.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Andy Dalton 361-11 2 QB Justin Fields 99-47 1
RB Devon Achane 18-203
4-30
4 RB Derrick Henry 11-20 0
RB Zack Moss 30-122
2-23
1 RB R. Stevenson 19-59
1-3
0
WR Adam Thielen 11-145 1 WR Tyler Lockett 3-23 0
WR Tank Dell 5-145 1 WR Calvin Ridley 3-40 0
WR D.J. Chark 4-86 1 WR Garrett Wilson 5-48 0
TE Sam LaPorta 8-84 1 TE Darren Waller 3-20 0
PK Matt Gay  1 XP 5 FG PK Nick Folk   1 FG
Huddle Fantasy Points = 204 Huddle Fantasy Points = 57

Now get back to work…

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.