Time for Week 3 of the 2021 NFL/fantasy football season! This week, John Reinhold pages through the injury report to see which backup quarterbacks are viable and which will wreck the scoring for everyone on their team. Plus: is the Pack back?
Welcome to week three of the fantasy freakout! Lots of scoring has happened, and unfortunately this was an ugly week — we’ve got injuries. Jameis Winston came back to earth, as we would expect. Its going to be the usual with him: some big games and some duds. King Henry showed up big time late in the game, for those like myself that have him it was a reminder of why he a top RB game changer. Tom Brady continues to amaze with 5 TDs. It’s of note that he really looked to Mike Evans this game. I think they want to make sure and include him in the game plan. This affected Antonio Brown, to the point where he saw only three looks. He also landed on the COVID list Wednesday, so he will need two negative tests to play the next game. Kyler Murray is on fire and leading the fantasy QBs. Dak had a slow week, but the defense was able to pull a win against a good Chargers team.
What can I say: Lamar Jackson just willed his team to beat the Chiefs for the first time in the Mahomes area. I don’t believe there has ever been a QB quite like him. The Ravens D also came up just enough to pull the big win. That was an exciting game throughout. This year has already had a few tight classic games, it’s shaping up to be a good year early.
The Raiders continue to play very well, with David Carr looking to have a career year [Editor’s Note: Obviously John means David’s younger brother, Derek Carr. Normally I’d just correct that mistake but it was too amusing to take out]. They remain undefeated and now face a Dolphin team that just got shut out by the Bills.
Rodgers and the Pack must have had some kind of halftime speech. I think at half they said, “Preseason’s over, now is the time!” They looked like a new team from the half on. Aaron Jones, I believe, really lead the charge, as he was in beast mode from the first snap on. He really got the crowd involved and woke up the team. Jones looks in great form, and should continue to be a focus by the team. So now the Packers are awake again, and that sucks for me as a Bears fan. The defense still needs vast improvement, so I’m hoping it leaves the NFC North possible to take.
Andy Dalton looked really good against the Bengals. I give him a lot of crap, but I can’t deny he was playing very well up to the knee injury. Fields looked shaky in his fill-in, perhaps it was just gettin’ in the flow. Regardless, he helped win the game, along with the Bears defense looking better than I thought they would be. Fields looks to get his first start this week.
Injuries hit all over this week: Tua Tagovailoa, Carson Wentz, and Tyrod Taylor were three of the big name QBs to go down with injuries that look to hold them out of a game or two. The backups on those teams are not particularly enticing, so keep a eye on the skilled-position projections to dip a little. I was totally wrong on Michael Pittman, the wideout from the Colts — I thought he would be ruled out, but he played. Weirdly enough, he played well against the Rams. He’s worth a look if available, but like I said before, keep an eye for the Wentz injury.
I don’t know what to make of this San Francisco running back injury and backfield. I am personally staying away from this mess. Rams RB Henderson missed practice, so looks like Sony Michel (I hope) gets more looks. I feel like he could really have an impact if given the opportunity.
Lots of matchups to look at with some of these QB injuries affecting skilled players’ weekly point averages. Let’s dive into some waiver adds, matchups, streamers, and people to put on the radar.
Waiver Wire Adds:
Rondale Moore (WR, Cardinals), Cordarrelle Patterson (WR/Rb, Falcons), KJ Osborn (WR, Vikings), Phillip Lindsay (RB, Texans), Darnell Mooney (WR, Bears), Tony Pollard (RB, Cowboys), Teddy Bridgewater (QB, Broncos), Justin Fields (QB, Bears), Hunter Henry (TE, Patriots), Carolina D, Chicago D.
Notable Starts / Sits / Streamers:
Play your best players. If you have to decide between a few people, here are some decent matchups on paper.
Quarterbacks
Start: Daniel Jones vs Atlanta, Teddy Bridgewater vs Jets, Sam Darnold vs Houston, Justin Fields vs Cleveland
Sit: Jameis Winston vs New England, Joe Burrow vs Pittsburgh
Running Backs
Start: Chris Carson vs Minnesota, Saquon Barkley vs Atl, Ty’Son Williams vs Detroit
Sit: Darrell Henderson Jr. vs Tampa Bay, Myles Gaskins vs Las Vegas
Wide Recovers
Start: Sterling Shepard Vs Atlanta, Courtland Sutton vs Jets
Sit: Brandin Cooks vs Carolina, Henry Ruggs III vs Miami
Tight Ends
Start: Jared Cook vs Kansas City, Noah Fant vs Jets, TJ Hockenson vs Baltimore
Sit: Mike Gesicki vs Las Vegas, Anthony Firsker vs Indy
Defense
Start: Panthers vs Texans, Raiders vs Miami, New England vs New Orleans
Sit: Washington vs Buffalo, Philly vs Dallas,
OK, good luck again everyone. Week 3, here we go!
