Fantasy Football Week 4: Monday Night Football Takeaways

If you love defense you enjoyed Monday night’s game between the Giants and Vikings. If you love fantasy football, you hated last night’s game.

It’s not to say all the offensive players featured in this game played poorly but none of them padded the stat sheet either. In fantasy football that’s all we care about.

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Neither of the two quarterbacks threw for at least 265 yards or multiple touchdowns. No running back on either team was able to reach 100 total yards. No wide receiver on either team was able to reach 75 yards receiving or catch a touchdown pass. It was just an ugly game for fantasy football purposes.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the in-between from Monday Night Football’s game between the Giants and Vikings.

The Good

Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph (5 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD) – It’s the third-straight game for Rudolph with a touchdown reception and he’s clearly at the top of the pecking order in terms of targets. After three games with Sam Bradford, Rudolph leads the team in targets and touchdown receptions. He’s an every week starter and top-five TE1.

Vikings RB Jerick McKinnon (21 touches, 95 yards, 1 TD) – It was almost a so-so day for McKinnon, but he was able to find the end zone with 9:23 left in the game. He now has at least 17 touches in two-straight games and is clearly the starter in the Vikings backfield. Based on his volume and the Vikings offensive identity, he’ll be a RB2/FLEX option almost every week.

Minnesota Vikings D/ST (10 points against, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery) – Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw the ball away anytime a Vikings defender got near him so the sacks were not there. However, other than a 67-yard screen pass in the fourth quarter, they kept the Giants offense in check the entire game. They are an every week starter despite the matchup.

The Ehhh…

Giants RB Orleans Darkwa (12 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD) – With both Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen missing the game, Darkwa got the start. He didn’t do anything special but he was able to find the endzone in the fourth quarter. Jennings should be active for their Week 5 game and this will virtually make Darkwa a touchdown-dependent RB3 with bye weeks in play.

Vikings QB Sam Bradford (26/36, 262 yards, 1 TD) – If you’re a Vikings fan, you’re happy with the way Bradford played. If you’re a fantasy owner you don’t care for his performance. It’s the third straight game without a turnover but his second straight game with only one touchdown and less than 265 passing yards. Even with bye weeks here, Bradford should be left on the waiver wire.

Vikings RB Matt Asiata (8 touches, 18 yards, 1 TD) – If you needed Asiata to score a touchdown last night he bailed you out. Other than that it was a forgettable performance. He’s clearly playing second fiddle to teammate Jerick McKinnon and is being severely out-touched. Last night the Vikings trusted McKinnon in third-down passing situations and near the goal line. These two areas were supposed to be Asiata’s domaine but that’s not the case. It’s his third straight game with only six carries and no more than eight total touches. He’s droppable in 10-team leagues.

Giants WR Victor Cruz (5 catches, 50 yards) – Cruz didn’t do anything special in this one, but then again, neither did anybody on the Giants. He led all Giants WR’s in targets, receptions and receiving yards. He has double-digit fantasy points in every game this season in PPR leagues. With that said, he’s only a WR4 and would need an injury to either Odell Beckham Jr. or Sterling Shepard before coming a true fantasy factor.

The Bad

Giants QB Eli Manning (25/45, 261 yards, 1 INT) – Believe it or not, Manning’s performance was worse than his final stats. On the Giants final drive and down by two scores, Manning confusingly kept checking down and didn’t dare to throw deep despite the situation. On that final drive he went 6/8 for 36 yards. The Vikings defense held Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton in check so it shouldn’t be a surprise they shutdown Eli. Despite having more turnovers (5) than touchdowns (4) throughout four weeks, he’s still a backend QB1 in the Giants uptempo and pass-heavy offense.

Next: Fantasy Football Week 4: 5 Biggest Takeaways

Giants WRs Odell Beckham Jr. (3 receptions, 23 yards) and Sterling Shepard (4 receptions, 30 yards) – OBJ’s on the field actions and post game comments were actually more embarrassing than his stat-line. If you’re a fantasy owner it’s not a concern but it is slightly alarming he has zero touchdowns through four games. He’ll have better days because this game from a statistical perspective was arguably the worse of his career.

Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (5 receptions, 47 yards) – Diggs has now only managed nine receptions for 87 yards over the last two games. He had more fantasy points in each games in Week 1 and 2 than the last two weeks combined. The Vikings game plan is to play great defense and special teams while playing clock/game management on offense. This will unfortunately keep Diggs in check most weeks.