NFL Reactions: Week 3

It usually takes about five weeks to learn what NFL teams are really about during the current season. Early in each season, we see extreme swings in production from many franchises. After thinking we had a number of excellent offenses to start the 2024 campaign, the first half of the early slate of games Sunday was eye opening. The Eagles, Saints, Buccaneers and Texans combined for 17 points by halftime. Even as the afternoon progressed, the offenses didn't have the big day we wanted. In any case, as we continue to learn about each team, let's dive into the Week 3 action.

Reactions

• Ultimately, Derek Carr is a known commodity. The first two weeks of the season were incredible, but it seemed like a matter of time until we saw the inevitable implosion game. Despite facing an Eagles defense that is far from elite, Carr fell apart. Fortunately, the veteran threw a late touchdown pass to Chris Olave. Aside from that, he just 142 passing yards.  We certainly like what we've seen from the Saints offense to start the season. This week was the reality check. Aside from Alvin Kamara, who saw incredible usage and Olave, who has a reasonable weekly floor, we  must realize that there is weekly downside for Carr and Rashid Shaheed, who had zero catches.
• The Eagles did not score a single point until the fourth quarter against the Saints. Their top players still found a way to come through for fantasy, however. The big star of the game was Saquon Barkley. The running back surpassed 150 scrimmage yards and had two touchdowns. Barkley is clearly in play to be the top running back in fantasy this season. Although it was far from a ceiling game for Jalen Hurts, he threw topped 300 yards. Before suffering a concussion, DeVonta Smith had his third consecutive game with seven catches and about 80 yards. The big surprise was Dallas Goedert, who recorded a ridiculous 170 yards. Overall, this is great news for the Philly fantasy options. Even in a game in which the offense fails to come up big, the top players should be started each week with confidence.
• Surprisingly, the Texans' offense isn't nearly as effective as many expected entering the season. C.J. Stroud has not had a single big game to date. Tank Dell has not made big plays. Dalton Schultz has 48 yards this season. At least for now, the only safe plays are Nico Collins, as well as Stefon Diggs as a floor play. For those excited about Cam Akers, who took on the lead role with Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce out, he fortunately caught an eight-yard touchdown pass. Otherwise, his 10 touches resulted in 29 yards.
• Has there been a more impressive story than Sam Darnold tossing 10 touchdown passes in  his first three games? Darnold's success has allowed Justin Jefferson and Jalen Nailor to each find the end zone in all three games. Also, Aaron Jones is averaging more than 100 scrimmage yards per game. Nailor likely will lose some of his fantasy appeal when Jordan Addison returns. Also, Darnold has not posted big yardage totals despite the great touchdown numbers. At some point, regression is likely to hit Darnold. You don't need me to tell you to keep starting Jones and Jefferson every week. Just be careful with Darnold. The TD rate seems unsustainable.
• It may officially be time to worry about Anthony Richardson as a league-winning fantasy option this season. The quarterback averages six carries per game, and his rushing yardage has decreased each week since the opener. In addition, Richardson has accounted for exactly one touchdown in his last two games. The skill-position player who has lost the most value due to Richardson's struggles is Michael Pittman, who has yet to surpass 36 yards in a game. Richardson will be difficult to start in fantasy lineups until he turns things around. Pittman seems to be a PPR flex option at best until further notice. The only player to start with confidence is Jonathan Taylor. Although this was the running back's first ceiling game of the season, his floor has been strong.
• Going into Sunday, the Bears really needed to get Caleb Williams some confidence. Facing an Indianapolis defense that has little pass rush or competent cornerbacks, Williams delivered for fantasy in a big way. The quarterback tossed the first two touchdown passes of his career and also passed for 363 yards. Still, it was far from a pretty performance. Williams will certainly get better as the season continues. But until that happens, he may only be useful when having a cupcake matchup. The same goes for his receivers. Finally, fantasy managers can consider cutting bait on D'Andre Swift. Through three games, Swift has 37 carries for 68 yards with 46 receiving yards.
• I would love to credit the Broncos' offense for dominating the Buccaneers, but the Tampa Bay defense was decimated by injuries and is poor overall. Realistically, if seven catches for 68 yards is a ceiling game for Courtland Sutton, it will be very tough to invest in him or any of the Denver offensive options in fantasy. Also, it appears the rushing attack has  little chance to succeed behind a terrible offensive line. Neither Javonte Williams nor Jaleel McLaughlin was the answer this week. Stunningly, Tyler Badie led the team with nine carries for 70 yards. Don't expect a repeat of that anytime soon.
• Baker Mayfield was under a lot of pressure from an underrated Denver defense. That led to a horrible performance by the Tampa Bay offense. Chris Godwin continues to play very well. The receiver has scored in each game, though his 53 yards this week was easily a season low. I still consider Godwin a top-20 PPR option. It may officially be time to hit the panic button on Rachaad White. For the third week in a row, Bucky Irving was a much better runner. Although White is an excellent receiver, he has 23 receiving yards the last two weeks. if White is not going to get extreme receiving volume, he will be difficult to trust in fantasy lineups. 
• Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur has always had my respect. He now has found a way to win back-to-back games with Malik Willis as his quarterback. Willis rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown while throwing for more than 200 yards. After putting in limited practices this week, it would seem as if Jordan Love will be ready to reclaim his job next week. Once that happens, we can immediately elevate all of the skill position players on the Packers to where we had them going into the season. 
• Will Levis Is a turnover machine. Often, having a quarterback-prone QB leads to his team scoring a ton of points in garbage time. In those cases, we still could have a successful fantasy quarterback. However, with Levis, this was the first time he threw fo more than 192 yards in three games. The only player on the offense that had a strong fantasy performance was DeAndre Hopkins. Of course, Hopkins came into this game with two catches for 17 yards, so he was on many fantasy benches. The emergence of Hopkins potentially clouds Calvin Ridley's outlook. Ridley had just one catch for nine yards on three targets while Hopkins led the team with seven targets. Tony Pollard is a reasonable RB2 most weeks. Otherwise, be careful when putting Tennessee players in fantasy lineups when they have difficult matchups. 
• Give the Steelers credit for knowing how to win, especially against inferior opponents. Although they keep winning, there is little production to count on for fantasy. George Pickens has yet to score a touchdown while posting inconsistent yardage totals. The running backs have little upside. Pat Freiermuth has caught four passes in each game, though he's yet to reach 40 yards. Start Steelers' players with the understanding there is weekly downside.
• J.K. Dobbins was incredible when he faced two cupcake defenses to start the season. In his first tough matchup of the season, he struggled. Instead of the ridiculous 9.9 yards per carry he posted to start the season, Dobbins came a shade short of three yards per carry against Pittsburgh. Still, I recommend starting Dobbins each week until there's a reason not to start him, which hopefully will not happen. Until Justin Herbert gets completely healthy, it will be difficult to trust any part of this passing attack. It was nice that Quentin Johnston scored an early touchdown, but the receiver was otherwise quiet the rest of the day. 
• For the second year in a row, the Browns cannot keep their offensive line healthy. Usually, Deshaun Watson holds the ball too long and creates his own pressure. This year, he has no time to throw the ball. For fantasy, Watson did throw a pair of touchdown passes, making him useful in leagues that start two quarterbacks. The only other fantasy relevant player was Amari Cooper. It was the big game all season for the veteran, and in addition to posting 86 yards, he found the end zone twice. Cooper has been heavily targeted in each of Cleveland's three games, so he should continue to be used in fantasy lineups despite the ups and downs. Otherwise, Jerome Ford remains a decent floor play in PPR leagues. 
• I would prefer to give an offensive team credit as opposed to blaming a good fantasy day on an opponent's defensive performance. There's no question that Malik Nabers is a superstar. Maybe he was so wide open on many occasions because he's so much better than this competition. But part of me has to think the Browns did not show up on defense until the second half of the game. 
• During the first 30 minutes, Daniel Jones was having an outstanding day. Cleveland had no pass rush and had no answers in defending the pass. Again, this is nothing against Nabers. The good news is that Jones continues to throw a boatload of targets to the rookie. I didn't think Nabers would earn his high ADP, but as of now, it sure looks like he will. 
• It was great to see the Lions assert their will on offense and control the game against the Cardinals. Between the offensive line and running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, this team has the ability to punish bad defenses. Of course, when that happens, the passing attack could take a significant backseat, which is what happened in this game. If Detroit's defense continues to play well, it's possible we don't get the consistent positive game scripts in which they had to throw the ball often in the past. Regardless, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams remain the clear receiving leaders on this team. They will continue to be fantastic weekly fantasy options. 
• After an amazing start to the season on offense, it was disappointing to see Arizona struggle against the Lions. That said, the Lions controlled the clock and had the defensive personnel to cause the Cardinals' offensive line major problems. The only player who looked great was Marvin Harrison. However, I would have no hesitation going back to the other top weapons when setting fantasy lineups next week. The Cardinals have an excellent offense, but they just ran into a much better opponent. 
• The Ravens used their ability to get physical on offense to steamroll the Cowboys. The final score was far closer than the game actually was. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson were unleashed on the ground to great success. Baltimore had little reason to throw. That resulted in a lost day for both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. As we've learned throughout the first three weeks of the season, the Ravens are  probably going to be a difficult team to project each week. Aside from Jackson and Henry, no other player has a stable weekly floor.
• Dallas lacks the high-powered passing attack it had for most of last season. The good news is that the passing attack is condensed with many targets going to CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. They both remain solid weekly fantasy options. Dak Prescott is starting to look like a matchup dependent streamer. The main issue is likely the transition the team went through at offensive line during the offseason. Without the same level of protection they had last year, the lack of a credible running game is ultimately going to hurt this offense. 
• It's probably time to panic about the Miami offense, unless you already did that last week. I was hopeful that coach Mike McDaniel would come up with a creative game plan to work the ball to his playmakers in space. Against Seattle, that certainly failed to materialize. It's going to be difficult to tell anyone to bench the superstars on this team because of their immense talent. The one player likely to remain highly relevant is De'Von Achane, who is the only running back getting real volume in this offense. However, it is possible that volume is reduced a bit once Raheem Mostert (chest) returns.
• Although the Seattle offense didn't have a fantastic day, it's tough to hold it against it. DK Metcalf had another big game, which was fueled by a 71-yard touchdown reception. Otherwise, Zach Charbonnet and Noah Fant piled up numbers in the second half. I still view the Seahawks as a solid offense that will have plenty of success, especially against defenses that are not elite. I would go back to trusting Jaxon Smith-Njigba after a somewhat down week.
• The 49ers were dealing with many injuries but appeared to be in much better shape than the wounded Rams. Aside from a monster game from Jauan Jennings, the team had little flow on offense. I have to think they took the Rams defense lightly, though that's not a guarantee. As San Francisco gets their key players back, I expect the offense to return to their usual dominant form.
• Playing at home against a hated division rival, the Rams found a way to keep up with the 49ers on the scoreboard. It was stunning that the 49ers defense was unable to suffocate this offense. Kyren Williams had 3.7 yards per carry — a season high — but found the end zone three times. I'm done throwing shade on him. Volume is king in fantasy football, and Williams is getting plenty of it. Although he threw just one TD pass, Matthew Stafford made the most of his makeshift receiver room and helped lead Los Angeles to the upset win.
• After the Raiders upset the Ravens last week, I thought they had a great chance to be in a letdown spot against the Panthers. Las Vegas could not have laid a bigger egg. Not only were they blown out, But they struggled to move the football at home against one of the worst defenses in the league. The run blocking for this team is horrible, and it frequently finds itself in obvious passing situations. As a result, the more tape that comes out on Gardner Minshew in this offense, the more likely his limitations will be exposed. Certainly, we're still trusting Davante Adams and Brock Bowers. Otherwise, I don't expect much out of the Raiders.
• Carolina probably got an artificial bump due to switching quarterbacks this week. The team had to be excited about moving on from Bryce Young and shifting to the reliable veteran Andy Dalton. With the Raiders looking disinterested at best, Dalton shredded them for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns. Diontae Johnson looked like a superstar and Chuba Hubbard had a strong performance as well. I do expect Johnson to continue playing at a high level as the possession receiver in this offense. Hubbard should also have more room to run until Jonathon Brooks (knee) returns from the injured reserve. Otherwise, Dalton is best used as a streaming option when the matchup is favorable. 

Injuries 

The following players were injured and did not return:

• DeVonta Smith suffered a concussion.
• Justin Herbert re-injured his high-ankle sprain. Taylor Heinicke took over.
• Adam Thielen suffered a hamstring injury.
• Skylar Thompson sustained a chest injury. Tim Boyle took over.
• Darius Slayton injured his thumb.
• Tucker Kraft sustained a shoulder injury.