For two weeks in a row now, we’ve seen a starting quarterback put up an absolutely miserable performance. That was the biggest takeaway from Week 9 of the NFL, seeing another negative performance from a quarterback.
Fantasy football stats: The worst of Week 9
Aw, Chargers.
Chris Trotman
Other than that, am I crazy, or are there more zero-, one- and two-point performances this season than there has been in past years? I feel like the worst performances of the week in 2013 featured more games with three, four fantasy points -- bad games, to be sure, but at least ones that let you take away some production. This year, more and more guys are catching, for example, one pass for 8 yards, and basically just giving you a starting lineup dead spot.
Maybe I’m wrong. Anyway, this is the worst of the week:
Worst quarterbacks in Week 9
Philip Rivers, SD (138 passing yards, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost, -3 fantasy points)
If there's a bright side for Rivers out of Sunday, it's that he wasn't as bad as Geno Smith in Week 8. But there was nothing good about Sunday's game, right down to Rivers eventually sitting down so that Kellen Clemens could finish the game. Rivers put up 21.3 fantasy points a game through Week 6, but has 10 a game in the three weeks since, as the Chargers have gone from great to miserable.
Next game: No team needs the bye week more than the Chargers, and they get it in Week 10. They host the Raiders the week after that. With a week to rest and maybe Ryan Mathews coming back, you still have to like Rivers, but not nearly as much as you would have a few weeks ago.
Austin Davis, STL (105 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 9 rushing yards, 4 fantasy points)
There have been 21 starting quarterbacks this season to put up four or fewer fantasy points. Only four times has their team won that game. Twice it happened when Washington replaced its starter (Robert Griffin III got hurt in Week 2; Kirk Cousins got benched in Week 7), the Lions won despite three fantasy points from Matthew Stafford in Week 3, and then Davis and the Rams Sunday. Looking at the box score from the game, it's hard to see how St. Louis even did it. They were outgained, both in yards and first downs, didn't have possession time, turned the ball over just as much as San Francisco. It was just one of those things. For Davis, that short-term high he had of 47 fantasy points in his third and fourth games combined is gone, and he's averaged fewer than 10 a game since.
Next game: The Rams travel to Arizona for Week 10. You aren’t using Davis.
Nick Foles, PHI (124 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 rushing yard, 6 fantasy points)
This is one of those “he’s on the worst list, but it’s not his fault” entries, as Foles suffered a broken collarbone early Sunday and was replaced by Mark Sanchez. That’s the kind of injury that will have him out for several weeks -- it could end his season. Even if it doesn’t, Foles’ success has been largely based on the system in Philadelphia, and Sanchez could do just as well or better in the same role. We might have seen the last of Foles as a starter.
Next game: Who knows? I’m comfortable dropping Foles.
Worst running backs in Week 9
Branden Oliver, SD (19 rushing yards, 7 receiving yards 1 fantasy point)
Donald Brown, SD (23 rushing yards, 6 receiving yards, 2 fantasy points)
It was clear that Brown's (and later Ryan Mathews') return would render Oliver less exciting for fantasy owners. It was not clear that it would lead to the disaster that was Sunday's game. The Chargers looked to have a wealth of running backs early in the season, but now they have Mathews injured, Danny Woodhead done for the year, and Brown and Oliver looking awful.
Next game: After their Week 10 bye, the Chargers host the Raiders. Mathews is expected back by then, so unless that changes, neither Brown nor Oliver is fantasy-relevant.
Ben Tate, CLE (3 rushing yards, 29 receiving yards, 2 fantasy points)
In Week 6, Tate put up 19 fantasy points. In the three games since, he's put up 13, a number that is buoyed by a Week 8 garbage-time touchdown, and he's basically been replaced by Terrance West in the Browns' pecking order. Tate looked like a No. 1 running back three weeks ago; today he might be droppable.
Next game: The Browns travel to Cincinnati for Thursday night. You probably aren’t dropping Tate quite yet, but there’s no possible way you can start him.
Chris Ivory, NYJ (22 rushing yards, 2 fantasy points)
This was weird. After spending all season showing why he's a better running back than Chris Johnson, Ivory was basically an afterthought Sunday. He got eight touches to Johnson's 13, and wasn't even as good in his touches as Johnson was in his. If you're owning a Jets running back, it's still Ivory, but this was a disheartening performance.
Next game: The Jets host the Steelers in Week 10. Ivory was looking like a fine RB2, but after this performance, with that usage, he looks more like a shaky flex play.
Worst wide receivers in Week 9
Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN (9 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
What I Thought: “Oh, Patterson’s six catches, 12 targets, 86 yards in Week 8 is the sign that the team is going to start using him a lot more. He’s back on the super-low flex radar.”
What Was Apparently The Truth: “Hey, that guy hangs out in the locker room a lot. Let’s give him a Rudy moment for a game, then stop throwing him the ball again forever.”
To be fair, Patterson was targeted seven times Sunday, but caught only one pass. To me, he’s fully droppable in all leagues.
Next game: The Vikings are off in Week 10, then travel to Chicago for Week 11. You can't use Patterson.
Andre Johnson, HOU (12 receiving yards, 1 fantasy points)
Here's something I didn't realize until Sunday: In nine games this season, Johnson has outscored teammate DeAndre Hopkins in fantasy points exactly once, in Week 6. He has 54 fantasy points; Hopkins has 86. We've been ranking Johnson higher than Hopkins most weeks, because it's Andre Daggone Johnson, but it's probably about time that stops.
Next game: The Texans get a bye in Week 10, then come back with a game at Cleveland in Week 11. Johnson is a flex play at best.
Kelvin Benjamin, CAR (18 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Benjamin was targeted 10 times Thursday night; if his owner was disgusted by that performance, I can’t recommend buying low strongly enough. That said, Benjamin’s hands were known to be rather stone-like since his college days. He’ll have days where the targets just don’t get caught. I believe in him as a fantasy starter, but I’d prefer to have someone else as the roster anchor on which I’m relying.
Next game: The Panthers get even one more day of rest, not playing until Monday night at Philadelphia. Benjamin will be a starter in all leagues.
Worst tight ends in Week 9
Zach Ertz, PHI (4 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
Ertz had 21 fantasy points in Weeks 1 and 2 combined. He has 20 since, and 10 of those came in Week 6. In other words, in Weeks 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9, Ertz has 10 combined fantasy points, bottoming out with Sunday’s zero. Most of us bought in on that early-season performance, but it’s time to sell. He’s not a fantasy starter.
Next game: The Eagles host the Panthers Monday night. You can't use Ertz unless you are super desperate.
Jordan Reed, WAS (17 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Listen, every last one of us loves Reed’s talent, and thinks he’ll be good. But he has had exactly one helpful fantasy day this season, when he put up nine fantasy points in Week 6. He has one career touchdown, and he keeps getting hurt. He only caught one pass Sunday, but more frustratingly, he only had one target. I feel like I’m saying this about far too many tight ends to still have 10 to fill out the group of starters, but I don’t know how you keep running Reed out there.
Next game: After a Week 10 bye, Washington hosts Tampa Bay in Week 11. I really don’t know how you can justify starting Reed.
Vernon Davis, SF (19 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Davis is proving my advice from several weeks ago: He’s very talented, but he’s still not healthy, and you need to keep him benched in your fantasy lineup until he shows he’s healthy again. It will mean missing out on a big performance, whenever that comes, but it also means not running him out there in all these bad games. You can’t drop someone as talented as Davis, but you need to have another option.
Next game: At New Orleans in Week 10. Like I said, bench Davis. If he goes off, oh well. It’s a worthwhile risk.
Worst defense/special teams in Week 9
San Diego Chargers (37 points allowed, -6 fantasy points)
No points, no turnovers, not even a sack. The Chargers defense had 45 fantasy points through five weeks; it has 35 for the season now. After not going for fewer than five in a game in the first five weeks, it hasn’t had more than two since. It has back-to-back games of negative-six. I can paint any number of pictures, but they’re all bad.
