Week 7 provided fantasy football owners and NFL lovers with a boatload of action and strong performances. At one point on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins led 35-0, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-0, the New Orleans Saints 20-0, and the Oakland Raiders 30-6. Football can be an unpredictable sport—all fans can do is try to make sense of it.. Let’s turn the focus to the biggest fantasy football takeaways from this past week in the NFL:
You’re my boy, Blue!
Houston Texans running back Arian Foster suffered a torn achilles due to a non-contact injury in Houston’s blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. It’s a devastating injury for the back, whose illustrious career has been plagued by lower body ailments. Foster may very well have played his last down in a Texans uniform, as he faces a lengthy rehab process. Backup running backs Alfred Blue and Chris Polk will have increased touches and are the top pickups off the waiver wire this week.
Better late than never, Mike Evans
Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans finally offered a return on his fantasy owners’ investments against the Washington Redskins last Sunday. Evans, who only recorded one game above 41 yards entering Week 7, had 164 yards and a touchdown on eight catches against Washington. And he could have had a second touchdown if not for an offensive pass interference penalty. Expect Evans to be featured heavily in some tough upcoming matchups, especially with veteran receiver Vincent Jackson banged up, and slot receiver Louis Murphy done for the year with a torn ACL.
The new Miller Lite
Dolphins running back Lamar Miller might have returned to fantasy football relevance after his 236 all-purpose yard and two-touchdown performance against the Houston Texans in Week 7. Nobody was predicting this kind of turnaround for the fourth-year back, even with the departure of former Head Coach Joe Philbin. It seems that Miller has regained his prominent role in the Dolphin’s offence—he had 17 touches against the Texans after having not run with the ball more than 13 times until Week 6. Expect the Dolphins to use Miller to set the tone early on against the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
The Cardinals soar
Arizona Cardinals wideout John Brown continues to shine in a deep receiving group due to his blazing speed and solid hands. On Monday Night Football, Brown caught four balls for 65 yards and the game-winning touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. Brown now has had four quality games in a row, and is averaging 80.3 receiving yards per contest; the Pittsburg State product has solidified his position as the no. 2 receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald. Fire up Brown as a second or third fantasy receiver with big yardage potential in the Cards’ vertical attack.
The renaissance of Darren McFadden
In what can only be interpreted as a sign of impending zombie apocalypse, Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden rushed 29 times for 152 yards and a touchdown as America’s team fell to the New York Giants. McFadden did close to nothing for his previous team, the Oakland Raiders, since his 1,157 yard 2010 campaign and had not surpassed the 35-yard mark until Week 7. Jerry Jones said that McFadden will start in Week 8 against the fierce Seattle Seahawks, and should be heavily involved as running back Joseph Randle is expected to miss time. McFadden is a solid bye-week fill in even in this tough matchup.
