For a while Sunday, it looked like the Atlanta Falcons would get shut out, with the Baltimore Ravens easily handling the NFC South team its fourth straight loss. The Falcons couldn't manage any points until the fourth quarter, when Baltimore already lead 20-0.
Falcons fantasy football recap: Roddy White Atlanta’s lone productive player
The veteran receiver accounted for Atlanta’s only touchdown Sunday as the Falcons lost. We break down the fantasy implications.
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
The Falcons started the season 2-1, but have lost four straight to fall to 2-5. The salvation for Atlanta is that division-mates Carolina and New Orleans also lost Sunday, while Tampa Bay had a bye, as the NFC South raced to the bottom of football.
Now, for a look at the fantasy performances for Atlanta, such as they were:
Matt Ryan: The quarterback continued his struggles, with 11 fantasy points. He threw for 228 yards on 29-of-44 passing, with one touchdown and a fumble lost. Ryan now hasn't had 20-plus fantasy points since Week 3, and has 14 or fewer in three straight weeks. A series of road games and a porous offensive line have combined to torpedo Ryan's value; he slots as a mid-range QB2 at best.
Steven Jackson: That's consecutive two-point fantasy games for Jackson, who really doesn't need to be owned in fantasy. He ran the ball eight times Sunday for 22 yards and had one catch for three yards. The veteran running back has two touchdowns on the season, but hasn't run for more than 54 yards in any game. Unless you are so desperate as to be using Jackson, just release him and go mining for someone with down-the-road upside.
Roddy White: An Atlanta success story! White had his best game of the season Sunday, setting 2014 highs in receptions (nine), targets (15) and receiving yards (100), and scoring his third touchdown. In six games now, White has three with 13-plus fantasy points and three with four or fewer. He's very boom-or-bust right now, but I have no issue using him as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3.
Julio Jones: While White had a season-best game, Jones bottomed out in most of his categories, catching five balls for a season-worst 56 yards. He's still a heavy target, and is a special talent, so Jones' overall value doesn't take much of a hit because of this week -- he's still a sure-fire WR1 -- but it's got to be disheartening for anyone relying on him in Week 7.
