Fantasy Football Week 7: Monday Night Football Takeaways

What were the major fantasy football takeaways from Monday Night Football with the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos?

Monday night’s primetime game produced a fair amount of solid fantasy football contributors. That’s unless you decided to start any player on the Texans. If that was the case, you should’ve known better.

If you didn’t watch the game and glanced at the box score, there’s nothing that will jump out at you. I mean, the leading passer in the game only threw for 157 yards. In two out of the four quarters not one touchdown was scored. It was nothing crazy.

However, after watching the Seahawks and Cardinals on primetime two days ago and the Jets and Cardinals the previous Monday night, this game was a real treat. Okay, maybe not a treat but it didn’t make me want to cry and puke at the same time.

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

The Good

Broncos RB C.J. Anderson (16 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD) – Anderson entered Week 7 without rushing for more than 49 yards in four straight games. Head coach Gary Kubiak made it evidently clear he wanted to establish a running game and Anderson responded well. He scared owners when he was injured at the end of the first quarter but luckily he returned to the game. He has 14+ touches in every game this season and if he can continue to do that, he’ll be a RB2.

Broncos RB Devontae Booker (17 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD) – The Broncos coaching staff has been saying they wanted to get Booker more involved and they were not lying. Booker set a season and career high in carries and rushing yards. He out-touched Anderson 18-16 and looked far more explosive on most of his carries. If this continues Booker has put himself on the RB2 radar. Anderson owners should feel good about C.J.’s performance, but Booker will more than likely be a thorn in their sides all season long.

Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas (6 receptions, 40 yards, 1 TD) – Thomas hauled in a four-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Good thing for owners because, if he didn’t, it would have been a forgettable game. He now has a touchdown in four out of the last five games and hasn’t had fewer than five receptions since Week 1. It’s encouraging news for a team that wants to run the ball and play stout defense. With that said, if Thomas doesn’t find the endzone on any particular week owners probably won’t get much out of him. Keeping firing him up as a WR2.

Denver Broncos D/ST – The defense didn’t allow a single touchdown and managed to recover two fumbles. Yet, they also missed out on some big opportunities. Safety T.J. Ward just missed an interception in the first quarter that would have went for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter cornerback Chris Harris Jr. picked up the football after he thought it was a incomplete pass. As it turns out, it was a fumble and he could have walked to the end zone for a touchdown. They’ll continue to be a top-five D/ST week in and week out.

The Ehhh…

Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders (4 receptions, 86 yards) – Sanders looked great in this one, but it didn’t translate to much fantasy success. He was close to a touchdown one two occasions but was tackled at the Texans six-yard line and four-yard line. The fact is, if he or Thomas is unable to find the end zone, it’s going to a mediocre fantasy day at best. He now has failed to reach double-digit production (standard league scoring) in five out of seven games this season. With his ceiling he’s too good to bench so owners need to keep plugging him in as a WR2/3.

The Bad

Texans QB Brock Osweiler (22/41, 131 yards, 1 lost fumble) – His stats somehow look better than how he played. Osweiler looked awful in this game and never looked comfortable. He checked down on most his throws and continued to do so even when he attempted to bring his team back in the fourth quarter. Go change your sheets Osweiler because you soiled the bed against your former team on a primetime stage.

Broncos QB Trevor Siemian (14/25, 157 yards, 1 TD) – I hate to say he had a “bad” game because, for real life purposes, he had a decent game. He’s a game-manger and he did what he was asked to do. From a fantasy perspective he didn’t do much, though. But then again, owners shouldn’t have been starting him in the first place.

Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (5 receptions, 36 yards) – Expectations should have been tempered with Hopkins in this game. The Broncos have the best secondary in the NFL and on top of it, Hopkins has been a let down all season. That has nothing to do with Hopkins but everything to do with Brock Osweiler. Nuke should be able to bounce back against Detroit in Week 8 before going on a bye in Week 9. After the bye week, he has a ton of favorable matchups. He’s a great buy-low candidate.

Texans WR Will Fuller (4 receptions, 22 yards) – He couldn’t get behind the secondary with his tremendous speed but then again, not many wide receivers do against the Broncos. He’ll have better days ahead of him and by ahead of him, I mean next week against the Lions.

Next: Fantasy Football Week 7: 5 Biggest Takeaways

Texans RB Lamar Miller (14 touches, 67 total yards) – The only reason he didn’t have a better day is because he injured his shoulder early in the game. It’s a shame too because he had some pretty nice runs including a 25-yard scamper in the first quarter. The injury didn’t look too serious because he was able to play here and there after the injury. Then again, Carlos Hyde returned to a game in Week 6 after an injury, but then missed all of Week 7 due to the injury. Coming off a short week, Miller’s injury status needs to be monitored closely.

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