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Fantasy Football Takes For Week 3-NFC Edition

By Michael Govier
Tyler Lockett Week 15 starts and sits

It’s time for Fantasy Football Takes For Week 3 NFC Edition! Each week yours truly will be handling all the fun (and not so fun) tidbits coming out of the NFC. Week 2 in the NFC had multiple anxiety-inducing field goal attempt finishes, a defender with 2 pick-sixes, and a few stinky offensive outputs. Don’t forget to check out my Fantrax podcast The Fantasy Football POV available on your preferred podcast platform of choice with new episodes every Wednesday. Now, just like the Panther’s defense showing Sean Payton the offensive ropes, it’s time to learn some lessons from Week 2.  

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NFC Fantasy Football Takes

A friendly reminder that the Monday Night Football game features two NFC North teams (DET at GB) that will not be featured in this column. For the Week 3 AFC fantasy football takes read Bradlee Kilgore’s piece here. Fantasy Football Takes For Week 3-NFC Edition begins: now!

Washington Exploits Giant’s Last-Second Gaffe 30-29

Washington Football Team

  • With 14 targets, Terry McLaurin (11-107-TD) is absolutely Tyler Heinecke’s (34-46 346 2TD 1INT) main man. He’s the first Washington WR to have 10 or more catches, 100 plus receiving yards, and a TD in the same game since Pierre Garcon did so in Week 3 of 2014.

  • Washington’s defense didn’t play well and now they face Buffalo in Week 3, who got right against Miami in dominant fashion. Here at I am confident that currently Washington is not a starting fantasy DST.

Giants

  • Sterling Shepard (9-94) has no plans to acquiesce to any other WR on the roster. If you’re an Uber driver you should be beaming with joy to all of your passengers over his Week 3 opportunity at home against ATL.
  • Daniel Jones (22-32 249 1TD) ran like no giant QB has since 1950 gaining 95 yards with a rushing TD. In addition, there was a dropped TD connection to Darius Slayton (3-54-TD) that would have helped matters. I buy Danny Dimes as a streamer in smaller leagues and a starting fantasy QB in 14 team and super-flex leagues.

Panthers Overpower The Saints 26-7

Panthers

  • In my preseason NFL predictions I considered the Panthers as a possible playoff team due to the coaching prowess of Matt Rhule and former LSU Joe Burrow whisperer, offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Matt Rhule turned the perennially downtrodden Temple Owls into conference champions! I had the Panthers behind the Saints though in the division. Right now the Panthers are ahead of the Saints with their 26-7 victory on Sunday.
  • Sam Darnold (26-38 305 2TD) is benefitting from Joe Brady’s guidance. His upcoming schedule looks promising but a quick turnaround Thursday at Houston will be the reality check some fantasy managers need to verify his viability moving forward. Houston played Cleveland tough and is absolutely not the worst team in the NFL. If you ask me Joe Brady combined with D.J. Moore (8-79-TD), Robby Anderson (3-38), and Christian McCaffrey (5-65) will all contribute to making Sam Darnold a legit fantasy QB this season.
  • Pick up the CAR DST if you can. They have 10 sacks while giving up 21 total points in their first two games. Maybe the augmented reality Panther has something to do with their start?

Saints

  • This was the fewest net yards (128) gained in Sean Payton’s tenure as New Orleans head coach and the lowest in the history of this series dating back to 1995.
  • The Saints may have major WR deficiencies. I’m expecting the Packers to hold serve against the Lions Monday night. Fantasy Football Takes For Week 3-NFC Edition believes that the Week 1 38-3 drubbing of the Packers may look like a major fluke by midseason. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between both outcomes for the Saints.

L.A. Rams Edge The Colts 27-24

  • Cooper Kupp (9-163-2TD) or Matthew Stafford (19-30 278 2TD 1INT)? Who do you give more credit to for Kupp’s elite performance in the Oil Field in Indianapolis? Does it matter? Nah. Probably not, because they both will continue to roll all season long in this offense. Kupp is a lock to finish as a top-10 WR ROS.

  • Darrell Henderson (13-53 TD) left Sunday’s game with a rib injury. That means you need to monitor Sony Michel’s status if he’s available in your league this week.
  • Tyler Higbee (1-8) is going to be a factor all season long. Don’t worry about his lack of targets against IND.

San Francisco’s Sound Fundamentals Down The Eagles 17-11

49ers

  • The Niner’s RB situation remains as puzzling as ever. The Fantasy Football  Takes For Week 3-NFC Edition motions that we call Kyle Shanahan ‘The Baffler” when it comes to fantasy football start/sits. Not playing Trey Sermon until the second half only to have his sole touch on the day result in a concussion is baffling to me.

  • JaMycal Hasty (5-38) rushed the ball at 7.6 YPC along with 4 catches for 21 yards on 5 targets before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Eli Mitchell (17-42) was mostly ineffective while also hurting his shoulder.
  • Jimmy Garoppolo has two road wins to start 2021. He’s right in the same tier with other QB’s like Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Taylor Heinicke. The 49ers come home to play the Packers in Week 3 which should be another chance for Jimmy Garoppolo to give fantasy managers play-action pass plays of use.

Eagles

  • Jalen Hurts (12-23 190) was capped in the air attack by the Niner’s defense. However, he rushed 10 times for 82 yards and a TD with 4:02 remaining in the 4th quarter, reminding fantasy managers that his plodding rushing effort each week buoys his season-long floor.

  • Quez Watkins’ (2-117) 91-yard catch and run was the only receiving moment of note from an otherwise amateur hour performance by the entire Eagles offense on Sunday.
  • Miles Sanders (13-55) out-snapped Kenneth Gainwell 37-18, verifying his leading RB status after two weeks.

Chicago’s Defense Strikes Fear In Cincinnati 20-17

Bears

  • The Bears DST deserves as much credit for this win as Larry David did for Seinfeld’s success. Roquan Smith created a sack and a 53-yard pick-six. This game wasn’t as close as the score states. It was 20-3 in the 4th.

  • The Red Rifle Andy Dalton (9-11 56 1TD) left the Bears win with a knee injury in the second quarter allowing Matt Nagy to have the least controversial excuse to play Ohio State first rounder Justin Fields (6-13 60 1INT).
  • Allen Robinson (2-24-TD) scored his first TD of the season with Dalton, but if Fields is in the lineup for an extended amount of time his top-10 WR value is going to sink until further notice.

The Curse Of Gary Anderson: Arizona Edges Minnesota 34-33

Cardinals

  • Kyler Murray (29-36 400 3TD 2INT) had three total first-half TD’s. However, the Vikings’ defensive effort limited Murray’s second-half output in terms of scoring. Still, with 400 yards passing, Murray is a top-five QB without a doubt.
  • Rookie Rondale Moore (7-114-TD) caught seven of eight targets with his standout play being a 77-yard TD catch in the second quarter. He was WIDE open though and that likely won’t happen again. Without that play, he had six catches for thirty-seven yards. He also fumbled out of bounds at the goal line on a jet sweep. He’s very talented, but his standard scoring value offers flex value at best due to week-to-week uncertainties.

  • Arizona’s play-calling scheme leaves Chase Edmonds (8-46) and James Conner’s (8-26) with disappointing rushing outcomes. BUT, get ready for happy days to be here again as they have a tasty Week 3 road trip to JAX.

Vikings

  • Kirk Cousins came out with the passion of a Lannister excited to pay his debts in the first half connecting on one TD to each of his three best fantasy WR’s in K.J. Osborn (5-91-TD), Adam Thielen (6-39-TD) and Justin Jefferson (6-65-TD). Sadly, Cousins played with the passion of Snuffleupagus for most of the second half from a fantasy perspective. Yet, he still drove his squad into winning FG range at the buzzer only to have Greg Joseph poop the bed.

  • Dalvin Cook (22-131) ran the ball well, but was unable to break the plane this week.
  • Minnesota’s DST actually played damn well in the second half and is worth playing the match-ups as a streamer.

Tampa Bay Slow Cooks Atlanta 48-25

Buccaneers

  • Tampa Bay got out to a 28-10 lead by the third quarter. Then, after Atlanta cut the lead to 28-25, Tampa went on another scoring bender to close out the 48-25 victory.
  • Tom Brady (24-36 276 5TD) had 5 touchdowns. Tom Brady is 44 years old. That is all.
  • From the get-go Brady clearly had the best intentions for Mike Evans (5-75-2TD) this week.

  • Rob Gronkowski (4-39 2TD) gave Buc’s fans 2 more touchdowns to cherish today and has 4 after two weeks.
  • Leonard Fournette (11-52) and Ronald Jones (6-27) were serviceable, kind of like Hawkeye is to The Avengers.
  • DB Mike Edwards had 2 pick-sixes against Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter. Rare feat for the TB DST. I’m going to boldly predict this will not happen again this season.

Falcons

  • Matt Ryan (35-46 300 2TD 3INT) got behind early in this game allowing the ideal fantasy setting for fantasy managers rostering Ryan: throwing every play in vain desperation to catch up.
  • Mike Davis (9-38) was ineffective until late in the game, but had 7 catches for 25 yards in garbage time. Cordarrelle Patterson (7-11 1TD) caught 5 balls for 58 yards with an additional receiving TD. For a roadie with the Giants up next, Patterson’s usage and burst deserve some of your FAAB money this week.

  • Kyle Pitts (5-73) was passable in this loss while also making solid blocks in the running game which will only keep him on the field more often.
  • Calvin Ridley (7-63 1TD) had 10 targets. If someone in your league is worried about the Falcons 0-2 record for some reason, make every reasonable effort possible to acquire him.

Seattle Loses Grip, Slips To Titans In OT 33-30

Seahawks

  • Russell Wilson’s (22-31 343 2TD) final stat line looks fantastic, but there were periods of emptiness in this contest. The Hawks were 4-12 on third down while Tennessee had the first down edge 35-17.
  • Keeping up with Tyler Lockett (8-178 1TD) as a DB is as challenging a cover as there is in the NFL right now. Though I will admit this play below was straight horrendous when it comes to defensive backfield recovery.

  • The Seahawks travel to Minnesota in Week 3. Even though the Vikings lost 34-33, they showed their ability to corral Kyler Murray in the second half. Russell Wilson and company have a similar offensive style to the Cards. I will be focused on this game in Week 3. Minnesota will be desperate.
  • Chris Carson (13-31-2TDs) racked up 15 fantasy points, but outside of his 2 scores he wasn’t all that.

Dallas Goes West, Young Men Discover Victory 20-17

Cowboys

  • With Cowboy’s fans gaining the majority at SoFi Stadium in a similar fashion to the uneven amount of Gryffindor speaking roles in the Harry Potter series, the squad formerly known as America’s team was able to play above-average defense long enough to watch Greg Zuerlein crush a 56-yard closeout field goal.
  • Tony Pollard (13-109-1 TD) tried to play the role of fantasy vulture to Ezekiel Elliott (16-71-1TD). Week 3 provides Dallas with their first official home game as they welcome the Eagles to town. I will be hyper-focused on how many snaps each RB has after Elliott out-snapped Pollard 43-21.
  • This game was tight throughout. Dak Prescott (23-27 237 1INT) wasn’t special in this game. He kept the offensive decisions relatively low risk. He didn’t have any rushes either which hurts his elite fantasy status.
  • The Dallas DST has earned positive reinforcement from me. After being historically awful last year, keeping QB Justin Herbert in check Sunday showed that the defensive investments in players like Micah Parsons are returning the results Stephen Jones and the front office needed.

Thanks for reading! Follow me @mjgovier on Twitter for further fantasy football advice if you feel like it.

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2 Comments
  1. Franklin Faust Pattison says

    Where is the Free Agent Budget Waiver Wire column this year? I can’t seem to find it.

    Reply
    1. Doug Adminerson says

      It comes out on Tuesdays. You can check in on this tag – https://fantraxhq.com/tag/2021-faab-guide/

      Reply
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