🔥 Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

Week 3 for fantasy football saw some surprising and unexpected players smash given new opportunities. Meanwhile, some familiar faces (cough - Travis Kelce - cough) continue to disappoint as the fantasy season is now more than one-sixth over. Which studs and duds stood out in a week where upset ruled and passing touchdowns continued to be elusive?

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes four days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

First up are the top fantasy football headlines from a wild Week 3.

3️⃣ Pair of Hat Tricks in Los Angeles

The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams got together on Sunday and produced six total touchdowns, with all of them coming from Jauan Jennings and Kyren Williams. With a broken offensive line not able to give Matthew Stafford much time to work with in the passing game, the Rams turned to Williams who amassed 116 total yards and three scores, including one in the air.

Jauan Jennings played an oversized role on Sunday thanks to the absence of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. It was his highest usage on the season (he led San Francisco receivers with 60 snaps and 12 targets) and turned that into 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk was a massive disappointment so look for Jennings to get massive amounts of work going forward if Samuel and Kittle miss more time.

🦅 Saquon Barkley Continues Quick, Sick Runs

With A.J. Brown missing this Eagles game against the New Orleans Saints, it was presumed DeVonta Smith would pick up the slack but it was a career game for Dallas Goedert (10 catches for 170 yards) and a legendary performance from Saquon Barkley that propelled them to a tough, 15-12 victory.

Barkley finished with 17 rush attempts for 147 yards and two scores while also catching four balls for nine yards through the air. He had one of the sickest breakaway runs we have seen in the NFL this year, with his 65-yard score right through the heart of the New Orleans defense. According to Next Gen Stats, his 21.7 miles per house on that run was the second-fastest by a running back this year.

⭐ Rashee Rice Is a Bonafide Star

With Travis Kelce looking like he would rather be off starring in Taylor Swift videos and Isiah Pacheco out six to eight weeks with a broken leg, Rashee Rice dominated the Kansas City Chiefs’ usage on Sunday night against Atlanta. Rice earned 14 targets on 37 routes run and finished with 12 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. He is among the league leaders in yards after the catch and broken tackles as well.

👓 We’ve Never Seen Anything Like Malik Nabers

Malik Nabes continued his early rookie-season dominance with 12 targets, eight catches, 78 yards, and two more touchdowns. Nabers is the youngest player in NFL history to score two touchdowns in one game and he now has 57% of the Giants’ air yards through three games. Some of the catches Nabers made in this game (on the sidelines and in the end zone), required such elite levels of difficulty, that it’s hard to imagine Nabers has played 12 total NFL quarters.

🐴 Jonathan Taylor Runs Over a Tough Bears Defense

The same Chicago Bears defense that held the Houston Texans rushing attack to just 75 yards on 22 carries in Week 2 got thrashed by Jonathan Taylor on Sunday. With Anthony Richardson completely ineffective once again, Taylor took the rock and shouldered the load. He finished with 23 carries, 110 rushing yards, 25 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. One of the true bell-cow backs in the league, Taylor was in on 49 of Indianapolis’ 56 offensive snaps.

🚀 The Red Rocket Rides Again

With Bryce Young benched and the Panthers now having to listed to lowball trade offers on him, the team turned to Andy “Red Rocket” Dalton on Sunday and he did not disappoint. Dalton finished with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Diontae Johnson was the biggest beneficiary of Dalton throwing the ball 37 times. He had a 37% target share with 14 targets, eight receptions, and 122 yards. He had 34 total yards in Weeks 1 and 2.

Sam LaPorta has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle according to coach Dan Campbell after the Lions’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday. No word has been released on the severity of the injury, but it is notable that one mentioned high ankle sprain. This might be an injury where LaPorta can suit up in Week 4.

DeVonta Smith left Sunday’s game with a concussion and did not return to finish the contest. It was a nasty, helmet-to-helmet hit that forced Smith out of the game and into concussion protocol. This could very well be a concussion that keeps Smith out of a game next week, so pay attention to practice reports in week ahead.

Skylar Thompson left Sunday’s game with a chest injury that was later clarified by the team to be a rib injury. The Dolphins turned to Tim Boyle to finish the game after the injury. The team plans to evaluate it more on Monday, but we might be forced to play an unfortunate game of “How Low Can We Downgrade Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle?” if Boyle does end up starting.

Justin Herbert was an iffy start all week and ended up being a game-time decision because of an ankle injury. He reinjured his ankle during Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh and was seen in a walking boot after the game was over. He told reporters it was a re-aggravation of the high ankle sprain he has been dealing with, but he still hopes to play in Week 4.

Trey McBride lowered his head and went helmet-to-helmet with Brian Branch on Sunday and left the game to go into concussion protocol. McBride is getting much of the blame for this hit as it also sent Branch into concussion protocol. It is unclear how serious this will be or if McBride will miss any time.

Monday Night Football Play on Bleacher Nation Fantasy.

Quarterback Rushing Yards: Jayden Daniels OVER Josh Allen (+15 yards)

With a defense as leaky and inefficient as the Washington Commanders possess (they allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks and wide receivers entering Week 3), there is going to be a need for Washington to score and rack up yards quickly against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.

Daniels might be that primary weapon if the stingy Bengals’ secondary locks down Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz in this game. Daniels has 132 rushing yards and two scores on the ground through two games and has averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

Through the first two weeks, the Bengals allowed the seventh-most rushing yards to quarterbacks in the league. Buffalo is much more likely to run the clock with James Cook behind their solid offensive line, limiting the amount of rush attempts Josh Allen has to take.

Jayden Daniels is never afraid to scramble out of the pocket and he should have some big runs on Monday night.

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Here are the latest articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 3 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.

Week 3 Injury Report

Week 4 Waiver Wire Watch

Week 3 Sneaky Starts and Sleepers

Week 3 Good Vibes, Bad Vibes