| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass-Rush | TD |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 291 – 29 | 4 |
| Joe Burrow | 416 – 1 | 3 |
| Jalen Hurts | 236 – 61 | 2 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 274 – 17 | 3 |
| Tom Brady | 211 – 0 | 4 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| D’Andre Swift | 13-48 rush 8-96 catch |
1 |
| Damien Harris | 14-106 rush 2-7 catch |
2 |
| D’Ernest Johnson | 22-146 rush 2-22 catch |
1 |
| Brandon Bolden | 2-0 rush 6-79 catch |
1 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 18-107 rush 3-3 catch |
1 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Cooper Kupp | 10-156 | 2 |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 8-201 | 1 |
| Mike Evans | 6-76 | 3 |
| A.J. Brown | 8-133 | 1 |
| Terry McLaurin | 7-122 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| C.J. Uzomah | 3-91 | 2 |
| Kyle Pitts | 7-168 | 0 |
| Mike Gesicki | 7-85 | 1 |
| Zach Ertz | 3-66 | 1 |
| Robert Tonyan | 4-63 | 0 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Graham Gano | 2 | 3 |
| Austin Siebert | 1 | 4 |
| Nick Folk | 6 | 2 |
| Evan McPherson | 5 | 2 |
| Younghoe Koo | 3 | 3 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Buccaneers | 4 – 2 | 0 |
| Giants | 6 – 1 | 0 |
| Titans | 4 – 3 | 0 |
| Patriots | 2 – 3 | 0 |
| Packers | 4 – 2 | 0 |
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Patrick Mahomes – Head
QB Lamar Jackson – Benched
QB Sam Darnold – Benched
QB Zach Wilson – Knee
RB Ty Johnson – Concussion
RB Miles Sanders – ankle
RB Josh Jacobs – Chest
TE Jonnu Smith – Chest
WR Dyami Brown – Knee
Chasing Ambulances
There were very few notable injuries in Week 7 but that reflects six teams on bye and many others already injured. A very light week.
QB Patrick Mahomes (KC) – Was kneed in the head at the end of the blowout loss to the Titans. HC Andy Reid said that Mahomes already cleared the concussion protocol, so it should be a non-event.
QB Zach Wilson (NYJ) – suffered a knee injury in the second quarter on the loss to the Patriots and will undergo an MRI on Monday. HC Robert Saleh said that initial speculation believes it is not a serious injury. Mike White would take his place if needed. The third-year backup threw his first NFL passes on Sunday, so there is no veteran backup if needed.
RB Miles Sanders (PHI) – Went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter of the loss to the Raiders. He appeared to be in a lot of pain and was eventually carted to the locker room with a towel over his head. If Sanders misses time, the workload will be split as it was in the game between Boston Scott (7-24, TD) and Kenneth Gainwell (5-20), who also caught four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles play in Detroit next week, so there will be fantasy points to exploit. Unfortunately, the Eagles always split up the touches.
RB Josh Jacobs (LV) – The Raiders primary back injured his chest and missed the second half, but initial speculation is that it wasn’t serious and Jacobs heads onto his Week 8 bye to heal up. Kenyan Drake (14-69, TD) was effective as a replacement and should be a handcuff for the Jacobs’ owner.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
TE C.J. Uzomah (CIN) – He shouldn’t be on many waiver wires since the Bengals tight end scored in three of the last four games and comes off his second 90+ yard performance of the year. His five touchdowns are second on the team to only Ja’Marr Chase.
TE Robert Tonyan (GB) – Ended with four catches for 63 yards and one score in the win over the Washington Football Team, but totaled just 32 yards and no scores over his previous four games combined. Nice to see a reminder of last year, but just one game.
WR Alan Lazard (GB) – He caught a season-best five passes for 60 yards and one score on Sunday, and he scored in Week 6 though on only three catches for 27 yards in Chicago. Randall Cobb has had the odd decent performance as well only to disappear. The Packers are never going to be more than Davante Adams when they pass.
WR Russell Gage (ATL) – The wideout missed the last four games with an ankle injury, but his first game back saw him catch four passes for 67 yards and one score in the win over the Dolphins. He still trailed Kyle Pitts and Calvin Ridley in targets, but he’s back in the passing scheme. Gage became a solid weekly contributor in 2020, but the addition of Pitts drops him the No. 3 target and realistically more like No. 4 considered running back Cordarrelle Patterson. But he showed up in the box score in his first game back.
TE Mike Gesicki (MIA) – While he has no catches in Week 1 before Tua Tagovailoa was injured, the two games since the quarterback returned have both been the best of the season. After posting eight catches for 115 yards in London against the Jaguars, Gesicki caught seven targets for 85 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Falcons. DeVante Parker is due to return soon, but Gesicki and Jaylen Waddle are the only two Miami receivers that matter. At least until they trade Tagovailoa away. Just saying.
RB Michael Carter (NYJ) – The Jets produce anemic stats on offense, and that’s likely to get worse if Mike White has to take over as the starting quarterback with Zach Wilson injuring his knee. Notable was that while Carter (11-37) was the primary back with double the carries of Ty Johnson, he became the primary receiver with White under center and led the Jets with eight catches for 67 yards in the loss to the Patriots.
RB Damien Harris and Friends (NE) – Harris turned in 106 yards and two scores on his 14 rushes against the Jets for his best game of the year. That was expected. But Rhamondre Stevenson went from eleven and eight touches over the last two games back to being a healthy scratch against the worst run defense in the league. J.J. Taylor (9-12, 2 TD) feasted on fourth-quarter trash time, and Brandon Bolden (6-79, TD) became the leading receiver. This is all to say that Harris is great in weak matchups, and you need to own the rest of the backfield and wait for weekly inactives before starting anyone else.
QB Sam Darnold (CAR) – The career do-over could be better for Darnold who struggled in the last three games – all losses – and was benched for P.J. Walker in the Giants game. HC Matt Rhule said he was just looking for a spark and that Darnold would be the starter for Week 8 at the Falcons and “going forward.”
RB Devontae Booker (NYG) – He shared the backfield with Elijah Penny (9-24), but Booker helped out several fantasy teams looking to cover bare spots in Week 7 when he ran for 51 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and added two catches for 15 yards. Saquon Barkley is expected to be out until Week 9, so Booker starts this week when the Giants play in Kansas City.
TE Foster Moreau (LV) – Darren Waller was a surprise inactive on Sunday after injuring his ankle on Saturday, but his replacement caught six passes for 60 yards and a score to lead all Raider receivers in the win over the Eagles. It was a career day for Moreau, but the Raiders head onto their bye for Week 8, and assumedly, Waller will regain his health since he made it up to game time before being called out.
TE Kyle Pitts (ATL) – He took a month to get his NFL bearings, but the rookie tight end followed up his 119 yard effort against the Jets with seven catches for 163 yards yesterday versus the Eagles. While both went against soft defenses, the next three weeks bring the Panthers and Cowboys onto the schedule.
QB Tyrod Taylor (HOU) – Davis Mills was dealt a very tough hand when he took over in Week 3, and his results have been mostly bad and getting worse. But Taylor is expected to get off injured reserve, where he landed with a shin injury. HC David Cullen said that Taylor was getting closer and that the team would know more by Wednesday. Taylor led the Texans to their only win in the season opener and would improve the offense significantly when he is back.
TE Zach Ertz (ARI) – The ex-Eagle was active for his first game as a Cardinals after being traded last week. While he faced the Texans No. 32 defense against tight ends, it was still impressive to see him end with three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown on a 47-yard catch and run in the third quarter. He even added a four-yard run which was a first for a Cardinal tight end this year.
RB Khalil Herbert, RB Damien Williams (CHI) – David Montgomery is probably two or three weeks away from returning, and Damien Williams was backup, He stepped in n Week 5 as the replacement (16-64, TD rush, 2-20 receive) when Montgomery was out. The Bears also used Herbert in that game (18-75) . Then Williams was lost to the COVID-19 list in Week 6 and Herbert logged 19 carries for 97 yards and one score against the Packers.
In Week 7, Williams returned and the backfield was less certain with two successful replacements for Montgomery. Williams was held to only three catches for five yards while Herbert turned in 18 runs for 100 yards and five catches for 33 yards. Herbert has been the only consistent plus for the offense when they rely on him. He should remain the primary back against the 49ers and Steelers until they reach the Week 10 bye.
Huddle player of the week
Ja’Marr Chase – This was the rookie receiver who only started for one year in college, took a COVID-19 year off, and then seemed to be more of a juggler than a wide receiver this summer. So naturally, he’s a candidate for Rookie of the Year and totals the most receiving yardage (754) through his first seven games in NFL history. Facing the Ravens’ Top-5 defense against wide receivers, Chase merely turned in eight catches for 201 yards that included an 82-yard touchdown.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Joe Burrow | 417 | 3 | QB | Patrick Mahomes | 241 | 0 |
| RB | D’Ernest Johnson | 168 | 1 | RB | Antonio Gibson | 56 | 0 |
| RB | Khalil Herbert | 133 | 0 | RB | Aaron Jones | 39 | 0 |
| WR | Russell Gage | 67 | 1 | WR | Allen Robinson | 16 | 0 |
| WR | Kendrick Bourne | 68 | 1 | WR | Odell Beckham | 23 | 0 |
| WR | Dante Pettis | 55 | 1 | WR | Julio Jones | 38 | 0 |
| TE | Foster Moreau | 60 | 1 | TE | Mark Andrews | 48 | 0 |
| PK | Austin Siebert | 1 XP 4 FG | PK | Brandon McManus | 2 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 133 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 32 | ||||||
Now get back to work…