Coming up with a huge touchdown to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Arizona Cardinals managed to pull off a 24-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. The Cardinals finished with 400 total yards of offense and relied on Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown for two 75-plus yard touchdowns to improve to 6-1.
Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown come up big for fantasy owners in Cardinals win
Arizona finished with two 100-yard receivers in Week 8. One of them might not be who you’d expect. We break down the fantasy implications.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
In a game filled with offense, let’s take a look at Arizona’s fantasy performances from Sunday.
Carson Palmer: He wasn't the most efficient in Week 8, completing 20 of 42 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns, but fantasy owners don't care about completion percentage. Palmer hooked up with Fitzgerald for an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Brown for a 75-yard score in the fourth quarter to pad his stats for the day. Seeing him throw 42 passes should ease any concern about his shoulder injury. Palmer will be at the back-end of the QB1 range for Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Andre Ellington: Ellington took every carry in the Cardinals backfield, rushing for 71 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts. He stayed in the game at the goal line for a 1-yard score in the second quarter, helping owners forget about Stepfan Taylor's vulturing from Week 7. Ellington also caught three of six targets for 14 yards. Like Palmer, Ellington wasn't efficient once again, but he paid off with 26 total touches. He remains a RB1 with that kind of volume.
Larry Fitzgerald: The veteran caught seven passes for 160 yards and a touchdown, with half of his yardage coming on a short pass that Fitzgerald broke away for 80 yards. He now has two touchdowns over the last three weeks. Fitzgerald's opponents get tougher going forward, though -- Dallas allows the fifth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. Fitzgerald will be a WR3 going forward.
John Brown: He caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Like Fitzgerald, the majority of Brown's damage came on his 75-yard score. He tied Fitzgerald with 10 targets on Sunday, by far the most he's seen all year. The rookie isn't consistent enough to warrant starting at this point, especially with Michael Floyd in the mix.
Michael Floyd: Despite seeing four targets, Floyd failed to catch a pass against the Eagles. His targets are dropping off in recent games, and he hasn’t been able to take advantage of easy matchups. Floyd is still on the WR2 radar, but it’s reasonable to be concerned at this point.
