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NFL Week 3 Fantasy Recap: NFC Edition

By Michael Govier
Matthew Stafford Week 16 quarterback rankings

Thanks for clicking on The NFL Week 3 Fantasy Recap: NFC Edition! We aim to please. Each week yours truly will be handling all the fun (and not so fun) tidbits coming out of the NFC. Week 3 in the NFC saw an NFL record broken in bizarro fashion, the Bears failing their rookie QB immensely, and the two best teams in the NFC duking it out for conference bragging rights. 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, similar to Cordarrelle Patterson’s play on the football field, here is everything fantasy football from Week 3 in the NFC!

A friendly reminder that the Monday Night Football game features two NFC East teams (PHI at DAL) that will not be featured in this column. For the NFL Week 3 Fantasy Recap: AFC Edition, read Bradlee Kilgore’s piece here. 

Ready to add fantasy hoops to your portfolio? From joining a public league with our Fantasy Basketball Commissioner to trying one of our Classic Draft Contests, there are plenty of ways to play Fantasy Basketball on Fantrax!

Atlanta Falcons 17 @ New York Football Giants 14

  • Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard both left early in this game with hamstring injuries. That is too coincidental and something tells me Joe Judge is pushing these guys too hard either in practice or is not getting them enough rest.
  • Cordarrelle Patterson made a big 28-yard catch and run on the winning drive for Atlanta. He was targeted 7 times finishing with 6 catches for 82 yards.
  • Kyle Pitts continues to let down fantasy managers as he only had 2 grabs for 35 yards on 3 targets. TE Lee Smith also vultured a red zone TD from him.
  • Saquon Barkley should be a permanent fixture in your lineups with 94 total yards and a TD on 6 receptions. He’s BACK!

Chicago Bears 6 @ Cleveland Browns 26

  • Justin Fields is talented and will one day look back on this game and laugh. He was 6-20 for 68 passing yards. Matt Nagy did him no favors with the play calling at all.
  • Fields was also sacked 9 times (4.5 from Myles Garrett alone) which is the most in a QB’s first start since Greg McElroy was sacked 11 times in 2012.

  • David Montgomery is the main RB in Chicago seeing plenty of volume in a putrid offensive output with 10 rushes for 34 yards and 2 grabs for 21 more.

Baltimore Ravens 19 @ Detroit Lions 17

  • There is no doubt that this game will forever be remembered for this game-winning, NFL record-breaking 66-yard crossbar doink FG by Justin Tucker. It was unreal in the moment as I lost my mind at the incredible nature of the kick and the newest in a long string of epic defeats for my hometown Detroit Lions. UNREAL!

  • D’Andre Swift is looking better and better each week as that groin limits him less. Jamal Williams did vulture a TD after Swift should’ve had an incredibly athletic TD that was marked out at the 1-inch line. Swift had 7 catches for 107 total yards from scrimmage to go with a rushing TD.
  • T.J. Hockenson was a non-factor in this game as Baltimore hurried Jared Goff all day and blanketed Hockenson. He finished with 2 grabs for 10 yards.

New Orleans Saints 28 @ New England Patriots 13

  • The Saints played the rubber match of their first two Jekyll and Hyde games revealing a team that will be in the hunt. Their defense is their savior this year though.

  • Alvin Kamara (long of 11 yards) wasn’t explosive enough to break through the stout New England defense, but he had a receiving TD to go with 118 total yards.
  • Marquez Callaway showed up for this one and even though it wasn’t an outstanding effort, he did have his first receiving TD of the season on 4 catches for 41 yards.

Arizona Cardinals 31 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 19

  • A.J. Green had his best stuff in this one with 5 catches for 112 yards receiving. He had a box-out catch like a power forward in the middle of the field for 36 yards too.
  • DeAndre Hopkins was not a factor in this game with 3 catches for 21 yards. His ribs issue was certainly a hindrance, but he did play 92% of the snaps. Christian Kirk picked up the slack with a 7-reception performance for 104 yards on a team-high 8 targets.
  • James Conner didn’t have much fantasy value coming into Week 3. That’s no longer the case with 2 rushing TDs to his credit Sunday.

Washington Football Team 21 @ Buffalo Bills 43

  • Antonio Gibson was saved by this 73-yard screen and run. Without it, Gibson would have had an average day at best with 12 carries for 31 rushing yards. J.D. McKissic was also a non-factor though, so Gibson is safe for now. This was an incredibly impressive play that shows fantasy managers why Gibson is special.

  • Logan Thomas continues to be a top-6 TE in fantasy football with another TD grab on 4 catches resulting in 42 yards. He is Heinicke’s second favorite target currently.
  • Dyami Brown had 2 targets from Heinicke and was unable to cash in on either of them. He has tremendous speed, but is all or nothing right now in fantasy.

Seattle Seahawks 17 @ Minnesota Vikings 30

  • How many times will Seattle start out fast only to fizzle at the end? Seattle was up 17-7 in this game and NEVER scored again. Russell Wilson led 4 drives in the second half and each of them ended in 5 or fewer plays.
  • Kirk Cousins was rock solid in this game with 323 yards passing while continuing to rack up passing TDs to multiple receivers as Ty Conklin, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen all had TD grabs.

  • Dalvin Cook was inactive Sunday but Alex Mattison had no issue with that, running for 112 yards on 26 carries while adding another 6 hauls for 59 yards. He looked the part of a starting RB too with several lead back rushes.
  • D.K. Metcalf came alive in this one early on, hauling in a TD reception on 6 grabs for 107 yards.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 @ Los Angeles Ram 34

  • Cooper Kupp has found his one true football love in Matthew Stafford. Kupp had 2 more receiving TDs while Stafford threw 4 total. These two are intertwined.
  • The Buccaneers’ defense could not stop the Rams after the first quarter. Tom Brady did all he could playing from behind but looked average despite throwing for 432 yards. The Buc’s running game is ghosting them right now and it’s a problem as the Rams had balance with 20 carries for 67 yards by Sony Michel.
  • DeSean Jackson had 3 catches for 120 yards which also featured a 75-yard TD catch from new pal Matt Stafford. The Rams look unbeatable at this time.

Green Bay Packers 30 @ SanFranciso 49ers 28

  • Aaron Rodgers had a field day throwing to Davante Adams (who took a nasty hit in this game) with 18 targets to his credit. The result was 12 grabs for 132 yards and a TD, including a key haul on the game-winning drive that was a gorgeous pass, dropped right over the 49er coverage.

  • The Troy Sermon coronation game had to be put on ice as he was shut down after 31 rushing yards on 10 attempts. He did have a score though. The running game was completely ineffective against a Packers defense that had been mostly amateur hour the first two weeks of the year.
  • George Kittle had his best game so far with 7 catches on 9 targets for 92 yards. Brandon Aiyuk got out of Shanahan’s doghouse with his first TD of the season. Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers to the lead late with a TD pass to FB Kyle Jusczcyk who had 5 carries and 4 grabs. Unfortunately, they left time for Rodgers.

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

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