Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

WR Adam Humphries – Concussion
WR T.Y. Hilton – Groin
WR Kenny Golladay – Hip
RB Darrell Henderson – Thigh
RB Tevin Coleman – Knee
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Ankle
TE George Kittle – Foot

Chasing Ambulances

Nothing seemed too serious this week. although Monday checkups can surprise.

RB Tevin Coleman – Left in the first quarter and never returned when he re-injured the same knee that held him out for most of the year.   Raheem Mostert is on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. Jerick McKinnon suffers from “tired legs” and only had three carries in the loss. James Hasty is still the only healthy man standing. He only carried 12 times in Seattle but scored once and the 49ers abandoned the run.

TE George Kittle – Left the game with an ankle injury. If he cannot play, HC Kyle Shanahan said that Jordan Reed is expected back this week and would take his place again.

QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Hobbled by his ankle again, he gave way to Nick Mullens who was sharp with 238 yards and two scores against a defense that had stopped caring. Hosting the Packers this week isn’t that attractive if Mullens gets the start.

RB Darrell Henderson – Injured his thigh at the start of the second quarter after running for 47 yards on eight carries.  Malcolm Brown (10-40) and Cam Akers (9-35) shared the workload for the rest of the game. The Rams head onto their bye, so Henderson likely has time to heal unless the injury is worse than expected.

WR Kenny Golladay – Injured his hip and left without a catch in the loss to the Colts. Marvin Jones only caught three passes for 39 yards but two were touchdowns. Marvin Hall replaced Golladay with four receptions for 113 yards thanks mostly to a 73-yard catch.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

QB Philip Rivers – After posting only four touchdowns over his first five starts, Rivers has thrown for three touchdowns in each of the last two weeks. He finished with 262 yards and three scores at the Lions this week and heads to Minnesota this week.

Chargers backfield – The committee approach now includes three running backs – Justin Jackson (17-89), Troymaine Pope (10-67), and Joshua Kelley (7-32). Austin Ekeler is expected to be back in Week 10 at Miami but this week hosting the Raiders will again use all three backs. Jackson is the only safe start with the most usage. Pope only had one carry on the year until showing up on Sunday. In the end, they probably have just one more week before Ekeler takes most of the workload back.

QB Drew Lock – He threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Chargers though all three scores happened in the  fourth quarter. It’s likely just a blip on his season, but the Broncos will face the Falcons this week.

RB Jordan Wilkins – He only had one carry in the two games prior to Sunday, so it was a surprise to see him lead the Colts with 20 runs for 89 yards and a touchdown plus catch a 24-yard pass. Jonathan Taylor was limited to 11 carries for only 22 yards in that game. Wilkins provided the hot hand and took over the game in the second half, helping the Colts to their win over the Lions. Taylor remains the starter but the team won’t be shy about giving Wilkins a chance to contribute if Taylor is struggling.

Ravens backfield – Mark Ingram missed Week 8 with an ankle injury and never practiced despite coming off their bye. Facing a Steelers defense that allowed just 68.8 rushing yards per game, the Ravens used Gus Edwards (16-87, TD) and JK Dobbins (15-113) with great success even in a loss. The Ravens play at the Colts this week but Edwards and Dobbins are pairing for much better production than the average backfield.

RB Giovani Bernard – He has minimal involvement while Joe Mixon is healthy, but starting for the last two weeks, he’s been productive. After totaling 96 yards and a touchdown against the Browns in Week 7, Bernard ran for 62 yards and a score versus the Titans and caught three passes for 16 yards and another touchdown. The Bengals head onto their bye and Mixon should be back for Week 10, but Bernard was a big part of the Bengals win over the Titans.

WR Jarvis Landry – It was very windy and rained in the Browns loss to the Raiders. Baker Mayfield only completed 12-of-25 for 122 yards in that contest but Landry dominated the throws with 11 targets and four receptions for 52 yards. No other receiver was thrown more than three passes and this was the first game without Odell Beckham. It was a bad weather game, so it’s harder to draw conclusions, but Rashard Higgins (1-14) did little to replace Beckham.

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire – The rookie is now splitting the carries and catches with Le’Veon Bell. The impact was softened when  Edwards-Helaire ran in a score in Week 7, and his eight runs for 46 yards were matched with six runs for 39 yards from Bell. Against the Jets – who Bell would have a chip on his shoulder about – the rookie only ran for 21 yards on six runs while Bell gained seven yards on six carries as well. Both had three catches.  This is nothing but a negative for Edwards-Helaire and yet not enough so far to justify a fantasy start for Bell.

QB Tua Tagovailoa – The No. 2 overall draft pick debuted with a win over the Rams though he was mostly there while it happened, rather than being an instrumental part. The rookie only completed 12-of-22 passes for 93 yards and one touchdown while running twice for a net of no yards.  He’ll need to do more this week in Arizona.

RB DeeJay Dallas – The rookie from Miami ran for 41 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries plus caught five passes for 17 yards and another score in the win over the 49ers. Chris Carson was a game-time decision that was inactive, but chances are that he’ll be active for this week at the Bills. But Dallas’ only start resulted in two touchdowns.

WR Jalen Reagor – The Eagles 1.21 pick returned after missing  five games with a thumb injury and caught his first NFL touchdown when he ended with three receptions for 16 yards in the win over the Cowboys. He also gained six yards on his first NFL run. Travis Fulgham (6-78, TD) remains the primary wideout but Reagor is getting back on track.

TE Dallas Goedert – The Eagles tight end was active this week after coming off injured reserve but only caught one pass for 15 yards. It was only his first game since Week 3 but he was quiet in the two games after his productive season opener. The Eagles may finally be turning away from being a tight-end heavy attack to using their wideouts more.

RB Zack Moss – He’s starting to look more like Devin Singletary of last year. In 2019, Frank Gore would typically get the highest number of carries even though Singletary would do much more with his fewer touches. Now, Singletary is the less productive runner and Moss was finally given the same 14 rushes that Singletary had in the win over the Patriots. Singletary ran for 86 yards on 14 carries while Moss gained 82 yards on his 14 runs and scored his first two rushing touchdowns in the NFL. This is a committee backfield but Moss is getting a bigger share of the workload.

Huddle player of the week

Dalvin Cook  –  The Packers had no answer for Dalvin Cook who rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries and added a 50-yard score on his two receptions for 63 yards as the leading receiver as well. The Packers kept the game close enough that the Vikings never bothered to let the other backs handle the fourth-quarter mop-up duty.  Cook cranked out 48.6 fantasy points in a PPR league and 46.6 without receptions points.