| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Joe Burrow | 251-11 | 5 |
| Jalen Hurts | 230-67 | 3 |
| Geno Smith | 363-16 | 3 |
| Daniel Jones | 174-54 | 3 |
| Josh Allen | 235-7 | 3 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| Saquon Barkley | 27-159 3-40 |
2 |
| De’Von Achane | 12-63 8-58 |
2 |
| Alvin Kamara | 29-155 6-60 |
0 |
| Chase Brown | 27-120 5-37 |
1 |
| Derrick Henry | 23-106 1-27 |
2 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| J. Smith-Njigba | 7-180 | 2 |
| Garrett Wilson | 9-90 | 2 |
| Zay Flowers | 5-127 | 2 |
| Demarcus Robinson | 6-94 | 2 |
| Courtland Sutton | 7-122 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Mike Gesicki | 5-100 | 2 |
| Brock Bowers | 5-45 | 1 |
| Jake Ferguson | 7-71 | 0 |
| Theo Johnson | 3-51 | 1 |
| Trey McBride | 3-35 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Evan McPherson | 5 | 2 |
| Justin Tucker | 5 | 2 |
| Tyler Bass | 1 | 3 |
| Blake Grupe | 1 | 3 |
| Austin Siebert | 3 | 2 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Rams | 7-3 | 1 |
| Chargers | 6-3 | 0 |
| Cardinals | 6-0 | 0 |
| Jets | 8-1 | 0 |
| Jaguars | 3-1 | 1 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Dak Prescott – Hamstring
WR Chris Olave – Concussion
WR Drake London – Hip
WR Cedrick Wilson – Shoulder
WR Jaylen Waddle – Ankle
WR Puka Nacua – Ejected
WR A.J. Brown – Knee
Chasing Ambulances
QB Dak Prescott – He appeared to have injured his throwing hand but then they ruled him out with a hamstring injury. He’ll have an MRI on his leg on Monday, but he said that he “felt something that he never felt before,” which sounds concerning.
WR Chris Olave – He was carted from the field on a backboard and sent to the hospital for evaluation. He was later released but will enter the NFL concussion protocol, and there was nothing that seemed “mild” about that hit. This could end up more than just one week.
WR Drake London – Caught a touchdown in the win over the Cowboys but landed on his hip. He rode a stationary bike on the sideline but was ruled out. He’ll be evaluated on Monday, but initial speculation is that it is not a very serious injury.
WR Jaylen Waddle – Had a Bills defender blocked into him step on his ankle and seemed to be in much pain initially. He later returned to the game, so he apparently was no worse for the injury.
WR A.J. Brown – Was initially evaluated for a concussion but was cleared, only to be later ruled out with a knee injury. It did not seem bad, and there is speculation that he was held out more as a precaution, but more will be known after Monday.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QB Cooper Rush/Trey Lance – The Cowboys may be without Dak Prescott, depending on further news about his hamstring. Cooper Rush entered the loss to the Falcons and finished the game with 115 yards and a score. The Cowboys face the Eagles, but at 3-5, the game has lost much of the luster. Barring more information, the fear is that the Cowboys could try both quarterbacks during the game.
WR Darnell Mooney – After Drake London left the win over the Cowboys, Mooney took over as the primary receiver and led the Falcons with five catches for 88 yards and a score. He fielded nine targets – six more than any other Atlanta wideout. Notable, too, was Kyle Pitts reverting back to only one catch for 11 yards. Mooney was already fantasy-relevant for next week but becomes a must-start if he is the top receiver against the Jaguars.
QB Derek Carr – Faced the weak Panthers’ defense in his first game back from injured reserve but only passed for 236 yards and one score. This was one of their softest matchups of the year, but it was a surprise that the top receivers were Alvin Kamara (6-60) and Taysom Hill (4-41). Kamara also ran for 155 yards on 29 rushes to handle the bulk of all offense. But it was still disappointing to see that no wideouts stepped up after Chris Olave was lost.
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders – The Carolina rookie is still far too inconsistent to merit a fantasy start, but he’s had two games with five catches before this week and led the team with four catches for 87 yards in the win over the Saints. When he whiffs, it can be a one-catch dud but he is improving. With Diontae Johnson gone, the Panthers have to redistribute the passes, and for one week, Sanders did the most.
QB Desmond Ridder – The Raiders already traded Davante Adams away and they never had a highly-rated quarterback. Now Gardner Minshew has been benched mid-game again. Ridder entered the game near the end of the third quarter and completed 11-of-16 for 74 yards and one score. The Raiders go onto their bye for Week 9 and need to figure out how to be at least competitive in games.
TE Mike Gesicki – The Bengals tight end already caught seven passes for 73 yards in Week 8 when Tee Higgins was out. For Week 9, he again helped cover for the missing Higgins with a team-best five catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns as the top fantasy tight end for the weekend. With rumors of Higgins being on a trading block, Gesicki’s role may continue to be used more.
WR Quentin Johnston – The first-round pick of 2023 hasn’t met expectations and never managed more than 52 yards in any game this season. In Week 9, he led the Chargers with four catches for 118 yards and one score. It was his career-first 100-yard performance but Ladd McConkey had two more targets (5 vs. 7) and gained 64 yards on five catches. Justin Herbert passed for 282 yards and two scores on the road versus an above-average defense. Johnston finally turned in stats worthy of that high draft pick.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Speaking of 2023 first-round wideouts, Smith-Njigba struggled through a disappointing rookie season and hasn’t done that much this year. But he just reached a career-high, by a large margin, when he ended the overtime loss to the Rams with seven catches for 180 yards and two scores. Tyler Lockett (3-63, TD) was next best and all others were meaningless. DK Metcalf was out and Smith-Njigba took advantage.
WR Puka Nacua – He was limited to only one catch for 11 yards in the win over the Seahawks because he ran a deep route that was intercepted. A defender continued to block Nacua beyond the end of the play, and well beyond the point that caused him to choose violence, and he punched the defender, which led to a disqualification. He was already questionable coming into the game with his knee bothering him again but he was still active. Hopefully, the visiting Dolphins won’t set him off again. In other news, Cooper Kupp caught 11 passes for 104 yards.
RB Cam Akers – He was traded to the Vikings, and against the Colts he carried for 46 yards on six rushes, ripping several chunk plays. Aaron Jones was the lead rusher with 21 carries for 64 yards, but the Vikings are ready if they need to replace him. Akers looked so good that he might take a few more touches from Jones than originally thought.
WR Demarcus Robinson – After trudging through the season with sub-10-point fantasy scores, the Rams receiver scored twice in Week 8 on his two catches for 35 yards. On Week 9 Sunday, he had a career-best fantasy performance when Puka Nacua was out and the Rams threw him nine targets to catch six for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the overtime win at the Seahawks. Robinson never scored more than four touchdowns in any of his seven previous seasons, and just logged four in the last two weeks.
Huddle player of the week
Saquon Barkley (PHI) – Imagine what could have been had Barkley been drafted by the Eagles instead of languishing in New York for six years running behind a terrible line on a team with no other weapons that concerned the defense. Barkley just ran for 159 yards and a score on 27 rushes in the win over the Jaguars, and added three receptions for 40 yards and a second touchdown.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Daniel Jones | 174-54 | 3 | QB | Kyler Murray | 154-6 | 0 |
| RB | Emari Demarcado | 4-59 2-21 |
1 | RB | Nick Chubb | 15-39 1-(-4) |
0 |
| RB | Ray Davis | 4-20 2-70 |
1 | RB | Tank Bigsby | 8-22 | 0 |
| WR | Demarcus Robinson | 6-94 | 2 | WR | Puka Nacua | 1-11 | 0 |
| WR | Quentin Johnston | 4-118 | 1 | WR | Chris Olave | 1-13 | 0 |
| WR | Courtland Sutton | 7-122 | 1 | WR | A.J. Brown | 2-36 | 0 |
| TE | Mike Gesicki | 5-100 | 2 | TE | Sam LaPorta | 2-28 | 0 |
| PK | Evan McPherson | 5 XP 2 FG | PK | Jason Meyer | 2 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 176 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 30 | ||||||
Now get back to work…