Week 9 is in the rearview mirror and no matter how hard I look, somehow Jonathan Taylor didn’t add to his touchdown total. There must be a glitch somewhere. Oh, it looks like Mike Tomlin did some kind of post-Halloween spell on his defense. He should get that out more often.
Our man Christian McCaffrey led the way in PPR scoring for running backs, which is not surprising, especially against the Giants, but Rico Dowdle was a close second and he was playing a Packers team that has been quite good at stopping the run. Is Dowdle the real deal? It sure looks like it.
Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys
Kareem Hunt, Isaiah Pacheco, Chase Brown, Samaje Perine, Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Javonte Williams
Devin Singletary, Giants at Bears
This Giants backfield is a bit of a mess, but Singletary got the majority of the work ahead of Tyrone Tracy in their first game without Cam Skattebo. This situation is tough to parse, but both backs should get enough work to have some deeper league fantasy value. This matchup has some high scoring potential though, which has me leaning toward playing both backs for the Giants.
Swift missed Week 9 with a groin injury that he’s been playing through. The team finally decided to give him some rest to get as close to 100% as possible last week. Rookie Kyle Monangai took advantage of the lead back role with 26 rushes for 176 yards, and three receptions for 22 yards against an awful Bengals defense. Both backs can have a fantasy role when healthy, but if Swift were to miss again this week, Monangai would be in line for another great matchup with the Giants.
Barkley tweaked his groin in Week 8 against the Giants, but all reports have been positive about it not being a severe injury. With the Week 9 bye, Barkley should be ready to go against the Packers on Monday Night Football.
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots
Stevenson missed Week 9 with a toe injury and his availability for this week remains up in the air. TreVeyeon Henderson and Terrell Jennings split work in his absence. Henderson has the juice, but Jennings will hurt his upside while Stevenson is out.
Judkins got an extra week to heal his shoulder due to their Week 9 bye and then was seen at Monday’s practice. The team doesn’t have to give a practice report until Wednesday, but it is a good sign he was out there. If he can play, he gets a good matchup against the Jets.
Jones suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder in Week 9, but initial reports say the injury is minor and he could still play this week when they play the Ravens. If he can’t go, Jordan Mason gets a bump.
Benson was injured in Week 4 and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus. His return time table was set at 4-6 weeks, which puts this week as a possible return. We are still waiting on more news though, as updates have been few and far between. Without Benson, the team hasn’t really settled on a lea back and it’s a big pain in the butt for fantasy.
Omarion Hampton, Chargers
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh said he doesn’t expect Omarion Hampton to return until after the Week 12 bye. That leaves Kimani Vidal as the lead back for the time being. He’s coming off a poor game, but he has shown he has what it takes to be a strong contributor in fantasy.
Irving missed the last four games with a shoulder and foot injury and now is coming off an extra week of rest due to the bye. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go this week, but we are still waiting on practice reports. Rachaad White would continue to see the lead role if Irving can’t return this week against the Patriots.
Pacheco injured his knee late in their Week 8 MNF game against the Commanders. He suffered an MCL sprain, which shelved him for their Week 9 matchup with the Bills. With a bye this week, it appears he will have a good chance to return in Week 11.
Rams at 49ers (49.5)
Lions at Commanders (49.5)
Patriots at Buccaneers (48.5)
Giants at Bears (48.5)
Falcons at Colts (48.5)
Browns at Jets (37.5)
Jaguars at Texans (38.5)
Saints at Panthers (39.5)
Highest implied individual team totals
Bills (29.5)
Lions (29)
Colts (27.5)
Rams (26.5)
Lowest implied individual team totals
Raiders (16.5)
Saints (17)
Browns (18)
Jaguars (18.5)
Bills (-9.5) at Dolphins
Raiders at Broncos (-9.5)
Lions (-8.5) at Commanders
Falcons at Colts (-6.5)
Cardinals at Seahawks (-6.5)
