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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
Brock Purdy 212-27 2
Jalen Hurts 114-22 3
Josh Allen 323-1 2
Drake Maye 276-18 2
Russell Wilson 264-3 3
Running Backs Rush/Rcv TD
Jahmyr Gibbs 15-116
4-44
2
Saquon Barkley 17-176
2-11
1
Joe Mixon 25-115
2-9
2
Javonte Williams 14-88
3-23
2
Breece Hall 12-38
6-103
1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Amon-Ra St. Brown 8-112 1
Brian Thomas Jr. 5-89 1
Justin Jefferson 7-81 1
George Pickens 5-111 1
DK Metcalf 4-99 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
David Njoku 10-76 1
Jonnu Smith 7-96 1
Brock Bowers 10-93 0
Hunter Henry 8-92 0
George Kittle 6-92 0
Placekickers XP FG
Austin Siebert 4 4
Daniel Carlson 0 5
Will Lutz 3 4
Will Reichard 2 3
Ka’imi Fairbairn 1 3
Defense Sack – TO TD
Denver 6-2 1
Washington 2-2 1
Philadelphia 8-0 0
LA Rams 2-4 1
Seattle 3-3 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Deshaun Watson – Achilles
QB D Thompson-Robinson – Finger
QB Jayden Daniels – Ribs
QB Tyler Huntley – Shoulder
QB Aidan O’Connell – Thumb
WR Demario Douglas – Illness
WR Ja’Lynn Polk – Head
WR Deebo Samuel – Illness
WR DK Metcalf – Knee
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster – Hamstring

Chasing Ambulances

QB Deshaun Watson – Appears to have potentially torn his Achilles and is expected to miss the rest of the season, barring surprising news. Watson went down untouched and his calf had that visible contraction typical of a torn Achilles. Watson was playing largely because his overpaid contract forced him on the field but he was not “a fan favorite.”

QB Jayden Daniels – Left for the locker room and returned without pads on what was initially considered ribs. But he was smiling and the Commanders were up 34-0 anyway. Early speculation is that Daniels will be fine for this week against the Bears. Marcus Mariota was effective in relief but was also facing the visiting Panthers.

QB Tyler Huntley – Injured his shoulder and did not return to the game. Tim Boyle took his place but Tua Tagovailoa is slated to return for Week 8, so Huntley’s status may not matter.

QB Aidan O’ConnellThought to have broken the thumb on his throwing hand when he hit a helmet after a throw. Gardner Minshew finished the game and is likely the starter again. A broken thumb on a throwing hand is definitely a multi-week issue and potentially season-ending. With the season already gone bad, the Raiders are unlikely to trade for any notable quarterback.

WR Demario Douglas – The Patriots’ No. 1 wideout caught the first two passes and then never again as he was reported – after the kickoff – to have been sick. He then returned for one play in the second half, which caused any prop bets made on him to stand. This was not unnoticed by the gamblers who questioned his lack of reporting and then insertion into the second half for a single play that locked in his bets instead of cancelling them.

WR DK Metcalf – Had his knee banged while catching a pass and left the game. HC Mike MacDonald said the injury wasn’t as severe as first feared and that “it doesn’t look too bad.” His status for the Bills matchup this weekend will be determined during the week, but it doesn’t sound like it should be an issue.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster – The Chiefs wideout was already questionable to play last week with a hamstring injury but was active. He was later pulled from the game when the hamstring flared up again.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

QB Jameis Winston – Should be a hot property in Super Flex leagues where any quarterback has value. Deshaun Watson appears to be gone for the year with a severe knee injury, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson injured his finger. Winston seems to be the last man standing since the Browns dumped the capable Joe Flacco, so there wouldn’t be calls for him while Watson struggled. The Browns just lost their fifth straight, so there is no point in trading for an upgrade.

WR Ricky Pearsall – The 49ers appear likely to miss Brandon Aiyuk for a while, if not the season and Deebo Samuel was suddenly ill and dropped out of the loss to the Chiefs despite being active. Pearsall debuted yesterday when he caught three passes for 21 yards against the Chiefs’ top-ranked secondary. Jauan Jennings was out with a hip injury and never practiced last week. Pearsall needs to help this week when the Cowboys visit.

RB Kendre Miller – He stumbled through his rookie season, mostly injured and then injured his hamstring this summer. Miller finally debuted his week versus the Broncos and ran for 36 yards on six carries, while Alvin Kamara only gained 10 yards on seven rushes. Most of Miller’s work came later in the blowout loss, but he’s a name to remember for Kamara owners and would see more work if Kamara gets his wish about being traded. Jamaal Williams has been wholly ineffective this season.

RB Tank Bigsby – He turned in a career-best in the matcup with the Patriots in London when he ran for 118 yards and two scores on 26 carries. He has no role as a receiver, which is more of the purvey of Travis Etienne anyway. But Bigsby has had two 100-yard performances over the last two weeks, and Etienne faded away even before missing time due to a hamstring injury.

QB Mason Rudolph – The Titans started Rudolph with Will Levis nursing a shoulder injury, though there were whispers that Rudolph would be getting a chance anyway. He threw for 215 yards and one score, but no receivers topped 50 yards. But that was better than all but one game by Levis and it came on the road to Buffalo and their Top-10 pass defense. Rudolph will need to throw this week and should see at least a little more success at the Lions.

WR Amari Cooper – His uniform still had creases in it, but the ex-Brown debuted with four very encouraging catches for 66 yards and one touchdown. Keon Coleman (4-125) also had a career-high, thanks in part to the opposing defense having more to worry about now.

WR Cedric Tillman – First game without Amari Cooper, and the Browns spun through three quarterbacks. But the top receiver became Cedric Tillman (8-81), while Jerry Jeudy (1-18) drew the heaviest coverage. Tillman fielded 12 targets, yet he only had five others in the season before this week.

QB Tua Tagovailoa – He’s expected to return when the Dolphins host the Cardinals. The Dolphins offense has cratered without him, and Tyreek Hill just caught one pass for eight yards on his two targets in the game.  Jaylen Waddle was better, with one catch for 11 yards. Hard to recall that Tagovailoa’s last full game saw Hill and Waddle break 100 yards.

QB Daniel Jones – He was finally benched in the third quarter of the 28-3 loss to the Eagles. He only managed 99 passing yards but Drew Lock was even worse with 3-of-6 for six yards. Malik Nabers returned from his concussion and led the team with only four catches for 41 yards. HC Brian Daboll has already confirmed that Jones will be the starter again this week in Pittsburgh, but they already have the leash ready.

WR Tre Tucker – He only managed three catches for 36 yards, but that was second only to Brock Bowers in the loss to the Rams. Davante Adams is officially gone and Tucker’s eight targets were second-highest for the Raiders.

TE Ja’Tavion Sanders – The Panthers’ rookie led the team with six catches for 61 yards – on six targets. No other Panther receiver had more than two catches or 17 yards.

WR Davante Adams – His debut started well with three catches for 30 yards in the first half but then he had no receptions in the second half. Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions to add to his four in the previous two games. He rarely threw six intereceptions in any career year, let alone over three games. What if the problem is… you know when the pass is thrown?

QB Russell Wilson – He took over for Justin Fields who was 4-2 but didn’t throw downfield that well. Wilson went against an admittedly injury-depleted secondary but threw for 264 yards and two scores. He also gave George Pickens five catches for 111 yards and his first touchdown on the season. He also added a rushing score to make him the highest-scoring fantasy quarterback of the weekend.

Huddle player of the week

Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley (PHI)  –  In what may be one of the bigger front office miscalcuations of all time was when the Giants told Barkley that he could go find a deal. He did. The Eagles welcomed him and then made him a workhorse AND had a great offensive line. Barkley pasted his old team with 17 runs for 176 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards with one score. It was everything you crave when facing an ex-employer.

Salute!

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

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Drake Maye 276-18 2 QB Jayden Daniels 6-50 0
RB JaMycal Hasty 2-(-2)
5-49
1 RB Alvin Kamara 7-10
6-14
0
RB Ray Davis 5-41
1-6
1 RB Jordan Mason 14-58
2-11
0
WR Cedric Tillman 8-81 0 WR Tank Dell nah 0
WR Cedrick Wilson 6-57 1 WR Deebo Samuel nope 0
WR Romeo Doubs 8-94 0 WR DeVonta Smith 1-(-2) 0
TE Jonnu Smith 7-96 1 TE Sam LaPorta 1-25 0
PK Danmiel Carlson 5 FG PK Younghoo Koo  2  XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 139 Huddle Fantasy Points = 25

Now get back to work…

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