With Week #9 of the NFL season behind us, we are now starting to get a decent idea of which teams are playoff contenders, and who are likely to stay home for the postseason. This information is entertaining, but it also helps us to make smarter choices when putting together our daily fantasy football teams. Here, we’ve gone into some detail about which players were surprises for us in the world of fantasy sports—both in a good and bad way. The goal is that by looking at these players, we can get a better idea of who to draft as we get closer and closer to the postseason.
Busts of the Week
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
This was Big Ben’s first week back after taking some time off from an injury. We expected him to play well going into this game, but his play looked very rusty. Roethlisberger only threw 264 yards, but had 1 passing touchdown and 1 rushing TD to help pad his stats. These are average stats, and not really all that disappointing at first glance. But, Roethlisberger threw a touchdown and was sacked twice, for a loss of 23 total yards. He also had a fumble. We didn’t have huge expectations from Roethlisberger this week, but we expected a slightly cleaner game from him. Also, the fact that most of his stats were accumulated in the last quarter of the game points to a lot of wasted opportunity for him. We should expect to see much better from him in the coming weeks as he regains his sharpness.
Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
A lot of people expected Marshall to have a strong game against the Miami Dolphins, but we only were treated to a subpar showing by the Jets’ top receiver. He had 9 targets, catching 6 of them for a total of 45 yards. There were no touchdowns, and his total number of TDs this season stands at 2. He appears to be a long way away from achieving the 14 TDs that he had last year and is averaging just 67.5 yards per game right now. With the Jets struggling as much as they are right now, it’s not realistic to expect him to be a contributor to your fantasy roster any time soon.
Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Freeman has been posting strong numbers week after week, but this was not his best week. He posted 77 yards rushing, and had 2 receptions for 28 yards. There were no touchdowns by Freeman this game. The Falcons had a tougher game than usual against a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom they should have dominated. This was not a typical game from Freeman, but there’s no secret that QB Matt Ryan has relied heavily on the pass lately, so don’t push the panic button on Freeman just yet.
Diamonds were Out There
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Evans had a big game on Thursday. He had 150 receiving yards on 11 catches, plus scored 2 touchdowns. Those are big numbers coming from a wide out on a struggling team. Despite his efforts, the Bucs still lost, but it was a much stronger game than people expected out of both Tampa Bay and Evans. The Falcons are a strong team, so it is realistic to believe that Evans will be able to perform at this high level in the future.
Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
Ingram is finally performing at the level he should be. He had 158 rushing yards, a TD, 2 receptions for 13 yards, and a passing TD. These are strong numbers by any measure. The only real issue we see with Ingram going into the future is that he is so versatile he is likely to be used in a lot of situations that are good for the team and for winning games, but not great for his fantasy value.
