What You Need to Know From Week 10

Photo: USA Today Sports

BAL @ MIA

• Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman can’t figure out Cover 0 and Cover 1 blitzes that are a staple of the Miami defense, so they should expect to see a lot more of that from rational defensive coordinators, starting with Chicago this week.
• Sammy Watkins pulled up on a deep ball and fumbled a reception that was returned for a score by Xavien Howard, so he’s no threat to Rashod Bateman’s value after the Ravens initially played him ahead of Bateman.
• Devonta Freeman was playing a lot more than Le’Veon Bell, who got released this week, so he could retain rosterable value even after Latavius Murray returns, which should be soon.
• Tua Tagovailoa was healthy enough to play after strangely being active, but the backup, and he was better than Jacoby Brissett in relief of him after he got hurt. Tagovailoa will start this week and he’s set up for success against the Jets.
• The Ravens did a great job covering Mike Gesicki, but the targets were there and he should be left in fantasy lineups.

NO @ TEN

• Taysom Hill still didn’t take over as the starter and Trevor Siemian still didn’t do much until late and it wasn’t enough. We’ll see if this nudges Sean Payton to give Hill a shot against the Eagles.
• Mark Ingram is a strong RB2 when Alvin Kamara is out and produced well despite the running game being stuck in neutral. He also passed Deuce McAllister to become the team’s all-time leading rusher.
• DOnta Foreman moved ahead of Jeremy McNichols in the running back pecking order. McNichols can be dropped.
• Marcus Johnson was the clear #2 wideout with Julio Jones on injured reserve. He’ll be a what the heck flex against the Texans.

BUF @ NYJ

• The Bills offense is fine, at least when they are facing the Jets. They went with a lot more play-action and Josh Allen was highly successful in that mode.
• There’s no one on the Jets that can cover Stefon Diggs and Allen exploited that. Diggs could be on his way to a big second half.
• Matt Breida got early touches and converted them into two scores. He might have forced the Bills into a fantasy unfriendly three-headed monster backfield.
• Cole Beasley is banged up and his snaps were limited, which gave more opportunity to Gabriel Davis, who responded with a 3-105 line. He should be added across formats.
• Mike White turned back into a pumpkin, which should get Zach Wilson back on the field for Week 1 against Miami.
• Corey Davis was back from his hip injury and produced well enough in garbage time to merit a pickup in deeper leagues with Wilson likely getting back in the starting lineup. Wilson and Davis have hooked up for two long scores already this year.

DET @ PIT

• Jared Goff was hurt and the conditions were sloppy so the Lions barely passed, giving D’Andre Swift 33 carries. Godwin Igwebuike and Jermar Jefferson also both scored from distance, but Jefferson went down with an injury and could be out for Week 11.
• Mason Rudolph threw 50 passes and completed 30 of them for 242 yards. The Steelers barely threatened with the downfield pass and Diontae Johnson fumbled on his best play of the day in overtime, denying the Steelers a chance to kick a game-winning field goal.
• James Washington caught an early score from his college quarterback and did little else.
• Pat Freiermuth caught five balls but fumbled the last one to deny the Steelers yet another chance to win in overtime. He’ll be worth more when Ben Roethlisberger returns from the Reserve/COVID list, which could be Sunday night at the Chargers.
• Ray-Ray McCloud caught nine balls from Rudolph and it should have been ten with the tenth being the game-winner, but Rudolph badly missed the wide open McCloud in the end zone.

JAX @ IND

• Jamal Agnew had a 66-yard touchdown run but caught zero of his five targets. One of these weeks he might put both halves of his offensive involvement together.
• Jonathan Taylor was shot out of a cannon early and the Colts special teams added a blocked punt score, so the pass offense was put on mothballs as the team made the early lead hold up for a win.

TB @ WAS

• Tom Brady had two early interceptions and played uncharacteristic dink and dunk football against Washington even though the Football Team lost Chase Young to an ACL tear during the game.
• Tyler Johnson played in place of Antonio Brown but failed to come through against a poor pass defense, so he’s droppable.
• Antonio Gibson kept plugging away against one of the best run defenses in the league and scored twice to give fantasy teams an unlikely big game.
• Ricky Seals-Jones left the game with an aggravation of a hip injury. Basketball convert Sammis Reyes could get more work in Week 11 against Carolina.

CLE @ NE

• D’Ernest Johnson and the Browns went right down the field on the opening drive with the running game and when the Patriots loaded the box for the rest of the game, the Browns went to the spread offense and were unsuccessful, getting Baker Mayfield hurt in the process. Mayfield should be ready to play against the Lions this week, but defenses will likely challenge the Browns to win on the back of Mayfield going forward.
• Mac Jones is getting better as the season goes on, which could create some value for the wide receivers, including Jakobi Meyers, who finally scored his first NFL touchdown during garbage time in a jubilant scene.
• Rhamondre Stevenson was a beast and trusted by Bill Belichick despite not practicing all week. He might have forced a committee with Damien Harris when Harris returns to the lineup, perhaps this Thursday at Atlanta. Stevenson is good enough to have stand-alone value in a committee because of his added value as a receiver.

ATL @ DAL

• The Falcons offense reverted to a miserable state after a brief revival against the Saints. Kyle Pitts was taken away after a hot start, including a Trevon Diggs interception when yet another team put their best corner on him.
• Cordarrelle Patterson suffered an ankle injury and might miss Week 11 since it’s a Thursday game. It’s not clear whether Wayne Gallman or Mike Davis would get more work if Patterson is out.
• The Cowboys offense reverted to form (along with the Atlanta defense), led by CeeDee Lamb, who looked like the fastest player on the field.
• Dalton Schultz played a smaller role in the pass offense with Michael Gallup (who looked great on limited targets since the game was 36-3 at the half) in a potential sign that he won’t be as useful for fantasy teams in the second half of the year.

CAR @ ARI

• Cam Newton announced he was back literally and figuratively with two scores on a handful of red-zone snaps. He’ll take over the quarterback job with the upside of low QB1 value and promise of a potential boost for D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson, who caught a score from Newton.
• Colt McCoy started again, but this time had little success against the opposition as the Panthers pass defense continued to show that it is for real with the addition of Stephon Gilmore. We won’t hold the offensive results against the Cardinals, but it should also be a warning if McCoy has to start one more week against the Seahawks in Week 11.

MIN @ LAC

• Justin Jefferson held court and the Vikings were resilient in the road win that also featured an expected strong game from Dalvin Cook. They are still alive in the playoff hunt with a big game against the Packers on tap next.
• Tyler Conklin caught two scores and might have sustained value as a low TE1 going forward.
• Justin Herbert stuck to mostly short passes and wasn’t able to put his stamp on this game.
• Mike Williams had his fourth dud in a row and has clearly been passed by Keenan Allen in the fantasy pecking order.

SEA @ GB

• Russell Wilson looked rusty and perhaps affected by his finger injury in his first game back and first shutout of his career.
• Chris Carson wasn’t able to return for this game and might not be back any time soon, so don’t drop Alex Collins.
• Aaron Jones went down with a knee injury that could cost him a couple of weeks, making A.J. Dillon a must-start until Jones returns.
• Aaron Rodgers wasn’t that sharp in his return from the covid list, but he didn’t need to be with the defense putting the clamps on the Seahawks.

PHI @ DEN

• Jordan Howard and the running game was the emphasis in the offense that had yet another great week on the ground. We’ll see if that continues against the #1 rush defense when the Saints come to town next week.
• Jalen Hurts was impressive as a passer on limited attempts and fueled a two-touchdown first half for DeVonta Smith. If Quez Watkins had better hands, Hurts would have added another long touchdown pass.
• Dallas Goedert got banged up, which makes Smith basically a must-start against the Saints and elevates Watkins to what the heck flex.
• Teddy Bridgewater was terrible against the Eagles, who usually give up big games to opposing passers. He went through the motions on a Darius Slay fumble return for a touchdown the turned the game and will have the bye to hear relentless criticism in the media and from fans, but Vic Fangio insisted that he is still their quarterback.
• The Broncos offense was ineffective on the ground and through the air and it’s back to offering no exciting options, although Jerry Jeudy is still getting a lot of short targets and Melvin Gordon is still first in line for touchdowns.

KC @ LV

• Patrick Mahomes II looked like he was back at his peak as Gus Bradley tried to single cover Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce with the expected poor results.
• Darrel Williams was outstanding as a receiver out of the backfield, and he might get more work when Clyde Edwards-Helaire returns next week than he got before Edwards-Helaire’s injury.
• Bryan Edwards caught a long score and might be developing some value as the top outside receiver.
• The Raiders offense was unimpressive against a mediocre Chiefs defense in a bad sign for the direction they are heading, but there will be a chance for redemption against the Bengals this week.

LAR @ SF

• Kyle Shanahan still owns Sean McVay, making it five in a row in a lopsided win.
• Matthew Stafford played poorly with one interception on a forced deep ball to a double-covered Odell Beckham and a pick-six that wasn’t on him as Tyler Higbee dropped it into the opponent’s hands.
• Elijah Mitchell was the clear lead back even with Jeff Wilson active, but he broke a finger which could affect his availability for Week 11.
• Jimmy Garoppolo looked comfortable against the Rams defense and he’s heating up heading into a matchup with the Jaguars.