Fantasy Football: Monday Night Football Takeaways

Many fantasy football matchups were yet to be determined heading into Monday night’s double-header.

One game featured a lot of points by a lot of big name players. The other game was more or less Week 5 of the preseason.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the in-between from Monday Night Football’s two game slate:

The Good

Steelers WR Antonio Brown (8 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TDs) – In case you had any doubt, Antonio Brown is that good. Defenses know he’s going to get the ball but they simply cannot stop him. If Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland decided to pull himself from the game, I would have understood.

Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams (32 touches, 171 yards, 2 TDs) – Le’Veon Bell who? Williams was an absolute workhorse last night and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. As long as Bell is on the sidelines, Williams is a RB1 in the Steelers offense. Pittsburgh not only has possibly the best back in the NFL in Bell but they also have the best backup in the NFL with Williams.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (27/37, 300 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) – The only blemish on Big Ben’s stat sheet is the one interception but that wasn’t his fault. Roethlisberger proved last year in the playoffs he doesn’t need his full supporting cast to light it up. If you thought Josh Norman and the Redskins secondary was going to stop him, you were sadly mistaken.

Steelers WR Eli Rogers (6 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD) – It’s the “next man up” mentality in Pittsburgh and Rogers did exactly that. The pesky 2015 undrafted free agent had seven targets and he did more than enough with him. In the Steelers high volume passing attack, he could finish the season with 70+ receptions.

Redskins TE Jordan Reed (7 receptions, 64 yards) – Including the playoffs last season, Reed has now had 11+ targets in three out this last four games. In five out of his last six games, he has over seven receptions. The Steelers were able to contain Reed in this one but opponents in the future won’t be so lucky. The other most important takeaway (other than he is a target monster) is he didn’t get injured.

The Ehhh…

Redskins WRs Jamison Crowder (6 receptions, 58 yards) and Pierre Garcon (6 receptions, 51 yards) – These two are decent options in deep PPR leagues. Yet, they are third and fourth in the pecking order behind Reed and D-Jax. When rookie Josh Doctson gets 100 percent healthy and comfortable in the offense, their mediocre production could dip.

Steelers TE Jesse James (5 receptions, 31 yards) – Unless you are in a PPR league, James didn’t do anything for you last night. With that said, he did see seven targets and Roethlisberger was trying to get the ball to near the endzone. He’ll be a decent DFS options in most weeks due to the combination of his low pricing and the Steelers high volume of pass attempts.

49ers WRs Jeremy Kerley (7 receptions, 61 yards) and Quinton Patton (5 receptions, 60 yards) – Despite not being household names, these two wide receivers will see plenty of playing time and targets in Chip Kelly’s offense. Remember, in fantasy football it’s not always about owning the most talented players. Players with the best and most opportunities are important too. They are both worth a look in PPR leagues.

The Bad

The Los Angeles Rams – This isn’t even fantasy football related but I couldn’t let the Rams Monday night performance slide. The team as a whole looked putrid and that might be an understatement. If HBO really wanted to film something called “Hard Knocks,” they should be filming Rams fans that have to watch/root for this team.

QB Case Keenum (17/35, 130 yards, 2 INTs) looked awful. The worse part is the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Jared Goff, isn’t even good enough to be this guy’s backup. L.A. wanted a football team back in their city and based on this performance, they’re still waiting.

Alright now that I got that off my chest, let’s get back to fantasy football.

Redskins QB Kirk Cousins (30/43, 329 yards, 2 INTs) – The Redskins had plenty of opportunities in Steelers territory but Cousins came up short over and over. Cousins was a popular sleeper pick in fantasy drafts but not performing well in a favorable matchup is concerning. Needless to say, I “didn’t like that”.

Redskins RB Matt Jones (8 touches, 33 yards) – I know Jones had a bad matchup against the Steelers stout run defense but yikes. The good news for Jones is preseason sensation Rob Kelley didn’t see any touches. However, Chris Thompson did. Anytime the Redskins are trailing and/or in a two-minute drill, Jones will spend a lot of time on the sidelines.

Rams RB Todd Gurley (18 touches, 42 yards) – When there is no real threat of a passing game, this is what happens. Gurley is talented enough to break a few long runs despite stacked boxes but unfortunately for owners he wasn’t able to in this one. Don’t be surprised if games like this happens a few times during the season.

must read: Fantasy Football Week 1: 5 Biggest Takeaways

Rams WR Tavon Austin (4 receptions, 13 yards) – Other than Gurley, the Rams offense has nobody to take the pressure/attention off of Austin. With that said, Austin is more of a highly dangerous gadget player than a No. 1 WR. The Rams QB situation is going to keep Austin’s electrifying playmaking ability under wraps in most games.

49ers WR Torrey Smith (2 receptions, 13 yards) – Despite being the 49ers best wide receiver, he simply isn’t a factor in the 49ers offense.

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