Derek Carr tallied 303 yards and a pair of TDs (plus an INT) on 26-of-44 passing (59.1%) in Sunday's loss to the Titans. Carr found Mack Hollins and Davante Adams for scores. RB Josh Jacobs joined them as the only Raiders to catch more than 3 passes. Similar to the first 2 weeks, Carr wound up with solid production on less-than-stellar play. Through 3 games, he ranks just 24th among starters in Pro Football Focus passing grade.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs shook off an illness that rendered him questionable for Sunday's game and again dominated backfield work. He handled 13 of Las Vegas' 16 RB carries and beat Brandon Bolden 6-2 in targets. Bolden was the only other RB to see the field. He trailed Jacobs by 20 total snaps and 9 routes. Jacobs ran for a decent 66 yards on his 13 attempts and caught 5 balls for 31 yards. He narrowly missed reaching the end zone on a 2nd-quarter run that set up Davante Adams' short TD catch.
A week after Raiders TE Foster Moreau spent more snaps on the field than TE Darren Waller, he again checked in at 50% snap share for Sunday's loss to the Titans. The pair also finished with a matching 5 targets and 3 catches. But the Tennessee game actually marked Waller's best route-participation rate of the young season. He went from running a route on 81.8% of Derek Carr dropbacks in Week 1 to just 61% in Week 2, but then 87.5% against the Titans. Las Vegas missed WR Hunter Renfrow (concussion) for that game. We'll see which TE is affected more by Renfrow's return.
Raiders WR Mack Hollins matched WR Davante Adams for the team target lead (10) in Sunday's loss to the Titans, but he blew away Adams in production. Hollins caught 8 balls for 158 yards and a TD, compared with a pedestrian 5-36-1 line for Adams. Hollins certainly benefited from WR Hunter Renfrow being out but also edged Renfrow in routes in each of the 1st 2 games. We're not betting on more outings like this from Hollins, but he's also not a great bet to disappear from relevance.
Jets WRs Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore drew a matching 10 targets in Sunday's loss to the Bengals, trailing only rookie RB Breece Hall (11). Wilson caught 6 balls for 60 yards. Moore secured 4 for 49. Moore once again led the group in playing time, staying on the field for 28 more snaps and running 19 more routes than Wilson. But the rookie has consistently been targeted on a higher percentage of his routes. According to Pro Football Focus numbers, Wilson has been targeted on 25.6% of his routes, vs. 13.1% for Moore. We'll see how QB Zach Wilson's impending return from a knee injury affects that. Corey Davis remained between Moore and Wilson in playing time but trailed them in targets (5) and production (2 catches, 27 yards). TE Tyler Conklin led the Jets in receptions (8) and receiving yards (84) on 8 targets in the loss to Cincinnati.
Jets RB Breece Hall saw a playing-time leap in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. He went from playing less than half as many snaps as backfield mate Michael Carter in Week 2 to playing 6 more snaps than Carter against Cincinnati. The biggest change came in the passing game. According to Pro Football Focus, Hall trailed Carter 24-9 in Week 2 routes. The rookie led 31-21 in that category in Week 3. By halftime, hall had twice as many targets (8) as anyone else on the team. He finished with a team-high 11 looks, catching 6 for 53 yards. Hall trailed Carter 11-8 in carries but matched Carter's 39 rushing yards. Through 3 games, Hall now leads Carter by 5 targets. He has also averaged 0.9 more per rushing attempt and 2.1 more yards per reception. We'll see whether this marks an enduring change or was just a 1-week flip. We'll also see what effect QB Zach Wilson has upon his impending return.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow rebounded from a pair of shaky outings to post his best fantasy outing so far this season in Sunday's win over the Jets. Burrow tallied 275 yards and 3 TDs, hitting Samaje Perine, Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd for scores. Chase led the team with 10 targets but managed only 29 yards on his 6 receptions. Boyd checked in 4th with 5 targets but caught 4 of them for 105 yards. His big strike was a 56-yard catch-and-run TD. Higgins proved steadiest, catching 5 balls for 93 yards among 7 looks. Cincinnati gets a home date with the Dolphins this Thursday night, then visits to Baltimore and New Orleans.
Chargers WR Mike Williams caught a 15-yard TD in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. And that marked his only reception among 6 targets. With WR Keenan Allen out (hamstring), Williams tied for just 3rd in looks behind WR Joshua Palmer (9) and RB Austin Ekeler (8). TE Gerald Everett joined him at 6. QB Justin Herbert -- playing through a rib injury -- completed just 55.6% of his passes. Palmer caught 6 balls and led the team with 99 receiving yards. Everett managed just 2 receptions for 25 yards.
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler logged just 4 carries for 5 yards in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Jaguars. The score might have been a factor in the 2nd half, but Ekeler carried just twice through the entire 1st half of a game that stood at 16-10 early in the 3rd quarter. Ekeler did lead the Chargers with 8 receptions (for 48 yards) to salvage some PPR value. But he was splitting opportunities with Sony Michel early in the game. Ekeler wound up running 26 routes to 13 combined for Michel and Joshua Kelley, but that pair played just 7 fewer snaps overall. Ekeler ranks just 25th in the league in carries through 3 games, with Ezekiel Elliot close enough to pass him Monday night. Ekeler ranked 16th in the league in rushing attempts last season; 20th in carries per game.
Jaguars RB James Robinson racked up 100 yards on 17 carries in Sunday's beatdown of the Chargers, including a 50-yard run for the team's only ground TD. Robinson added 16 yards on 3 catches, matching Travis Etienne in targets (3). Etienne saw his playing time rebound vs. Week 2 but still fell short of Robinson in both total snaps and pass routes. Robinson has emerged as the clear backfield leader through 3 weeks, with Etienne acting as a mere complement.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence had a terrific outing in Sunday's surprising lopsided victory over the Chargers. He completed 71.8% of passes for 262 yards and 3 TDs on the road, finding WRs Zay Jones, Christian Kirk and Marvin Jones for scores. That trio also finished top 3 for Jacksonville in targets, with Zay Jones leading the group in targets (11), receptions (10) and yards (85). Next comes a tough road trip at a Philly defense that has shut down Minnesota and Washington the past 2 weeks.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson played his fewest snaps and saw his fewest touches yet this season in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He carried 12 times for 38 yards and caught his lone target for 2 yards. Gibson did convert a 1-yard 4th-quarter TD run to salvage his fantasy day. But he continued to purge receiving opportunities. Gibson led the backfield in Week 1 targets. He trailed J.D. McKissic in that category in Week 2 but still led his teammate in routes. Gibson trailed McKissic there, too, against Philly, running just 16 routes to McKissic's 31. With RB Brian Robinson working toward a return, now would be a good time to see what you can trade Gibson for. McKissic tied for 2nd against the Eagles with 9 targets, catching 6 for 32 yards. He remained minimally involved in the ground game.
WR Curtis Samuel led the Commanders in targets for the 3rd straight game in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. His 10 stood 1 ahead of WR Terry McLaurin and RB J.D. McKissic and 2 ahead of WR Jahan Dotson. TE Logan Thomas trailed in 5th place with 3 looks. Samuel caught a team-high 7 balls but collected a mere 48 yards (6.9 per catch). McLaurin turned his 6 receptions into 102 yards, while Dotson managed just 2 catches for 10 yards amid 8 targets. Through 3 weeks, QB Carson Wentz ranks 4th in the league in pass attempts, which has helped the volume of every pass-catcher.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott told ESPN's Lisa Salters that he expects to be back from his thumb injury in a couple of weeks. He intimated that could be as soon as Week 4 against Washington. We'd bet on Week 5 actually being the earliest. Prescott did get stitches removed from the injured hand Monday, though. ESPN's Todd Archer reports that the QB's grip strength will play a big part in determining when he can get back into the lineup. We'll keep watching Prescott's progress.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith led the team in targets (12), receptions (8) and receiving yards (169) in Sunday's win over the Commanders. He grabbed 1 of Jalen Hurts' 3 TD passes, leaving 1 apiece for WR A.J. Brown and TE Dallas Goedert. Brown checked in 2nd in the other 3 categories, tallying a 5-85-1 receiving line on 10 targets. Goedert managed just 3-26-1 on 4 looks in a game he left briefly with a shin issue. Smith looks like he'll reside much closer to Brown in target share than the opener in Detroit suggested.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts delivered his 3rd straight top-4 fantasy performance to open the season -- pending Monday night's results -- with a big outing in the win over Washington. Hurts had light rushing day, collecting just 20 yards on 98 attempts. But he racked up 340 yards and 3 TDs passing, with no turnovers. Hurts found WR DeVonta Smith, WR A.J. Brown and TE Dallas Goedert for scores -- all in the 2nd quarter. He gets non-scary matchups with the Jaguars and Cardinals the next 2 weeks, with likely the biggest challenge so far looming in a Week 6 home date with Dallas.
Patriots QB Mac Jones suffered a "severe" high-ankle sprain that is expected to cost him multiple games and would "cause many to have surgery," ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Jones and the team are reportedly still figuring out the course of action for the QB. But it seems we should expect him to be out for at least the near future. Brian Hoyer figures to fill in while Jones is out.
Cardinals WR A.J. Green has a bone bruise in his knee and "could miss at least this week," HC Kliff Kingsbury said Monday. Green has been wildly ineffective so far but has played 64% of Arizona's offensive snaps. Those will need to be picked up by either Andy Isabella or Andre Baccellia.
The Chiefs released K Matt Ammendola. He missed a 34-yard FG and an XP in the Week 3 loss to the Colts. We'll see if K Harrison Butker is able to return for Week 4 or if the Chiefs sign another K.
Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Monday that EDGE Joey Bosa is "week to week" after suffering a significant groin injury, according to multiple reports. That explanation makes it appear the team expects Bosa to miss at least 1 game. We'll see beyond that.
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