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Week 3 was a bizarre week for NFL. This week was supposed to be the favourite's week. Most of the analysts picked them to win, but the week turned out to be the complete opposite. Buffalo Bills who seemed ineligible to play in NFL the first two weeks and opened the game as 16.5 point underdogs, handcuffed the more dominant and supposed super favourites Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis.
That Vikings defeat changed the landscapes in the fantasy world, especially in Survivor pools. 64.41% of Yahoo Fantasy players had Vikings as their pick. Not just Yahoo, the numbers are similar in various fantasy websites ESPN, CBS, FanDuel etc.
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This shows that the NFL is a week to week league. Not just the Vikings, their division rival Green Bay Packers lost to Washington Redskins, who lost to a weak Indianapolis Colts in week 2, who lost to an injury-riddled Philadelphia Eagles.
The Weirdness didn't end there, the roughing the passer penalties kept on coming. There were as many as 4 roughing the passer penalties in the Monday Night Football matchup between the Steelers and the Buccaneers. After the Clay Matthews getting a head-scratching penalty in week 2, he was flagged again in week 3 making it third week in a row that Matthews got penalized. After the game, Matthews responded, "Unfortunately, this league is going in a direction I think a lot of people don't like. I think they're getting soft.".
NFL.com reported earlier today that the competition committee is unhappy with the roughing the passer penalties, but are unsure if there will be a change proposed in next week's scheduled conference call.
Anyway, on to the Week 4, the Byes start for the teams this week, Panthers and Redskins are off. But, week 4 is still loaded with some good games, especially in the prime time slot. Let's take a look at three top matchups from Week 4.
#3 Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) at Denver Broncos (2-1) (MNF)
The Kansas City Chiefs and their dynamic young quarterback have taken the league by storm. Patrick Mahomes is already creating records. He passed the Peyton Manning's record of most Touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season by tossing 13 touchdowns in three weeks. The Chiefs have enjoyed the great success many haven't predicted. They are a top on their division followed by their this week's opponent Denver Broncos, who are coming from a crushing defeat against the Ravens in Week 3.
Chief's Defense woes, terrible Broncos O
There is nothing more to talk about the Chiefs offence; they are hands down the best offence in the league. They have playmakers in every spot of the offence. But the defence, as expected before the start of the season, has been a colossal disappointment. The first three weeks the offence raced up to fast starts getting three touchdown leads against the opponents in the first half, but the defence lets the teams come back and close the gaps.
It happened in all three weeks. The Chiefs were able to get past the game thanks to an unfortunate injury to the 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garropolo, who was mounting an improbable comeback before getting hurt. 49ers outscored Chiefs 17-3 in the second half. If the Chiefs defence does not start picking it up things are going to turn to soar for Chiefs rather quickly.
The real test for the Mahomes and the offence start this week. Mahomes and the rest of the offence did not face a top-shelf defence. They faced two good, but injury-riddled Chargers and Steelers defences and another sub-par 49ers defence who saw their star players got injured against the Chiefs. That is going to change this week as the Chiefs will be travelling to their division rivals in Denver Broncos.
Broncos boast one of the best defences in the league. Von Miller looks as dominant as ever who leads the league with 4 sacks and should be an early candidate for the defensive player of the year award. It will not be that easy for Mahomes this week as he will be on the road in one of the toughest atmosphere's to play in prime time against a top-shelf defence.
This could also be considered as a bounce-back game for the defence as they face a sub-par offence in Denver led by Case Keenum, who hasn't really replicated his last year's success with Vikings. But, the Broncos offence came from behind at home in the first two weeks to win, which could be easy to replicate against this porous Chiefs defence.
Keenum, who had an amazing year last year with Vikings tossing 22 Touchdowns to just seven interceptions, already threw for 5 interceptions this year so far. Last week, after starting strong against the Ravens the offence fell flat after the 14-0 start. The O-line could protect Keenum, The running game was almost non-existent, largely thanks to the ejection of rookie undrafted sensation Phillip Lindsay.
The Broncos defence and Keenum need a lot of help and better play from the O-line, holding their line and avoiding penalties. Emmanuel Sanders, who has been his favourite target out of the slot, also could use help from the fellow receivers, especially the veteran Demariyus Thomas.
Fantasy Outlook
Must Start:
Chiefs Skill Position players: It is tough to sit any Chiefs skill position players until proven otherwise, which could very well be this game.
Emmanuel Sanders: Sanders has been clearly the favourite target to Keenum, who can be a threat in both passing game and the ground game.
Under-the-Radar:
Case Keenum: Keenum could be a good streaming option this week, or a must-start in DFS leagues. After two back to back disappointing games in fantasy perspective, he will be available for cheap and help use those extra resources for other positions.
Caution:
Patrick Mahomes: This will be the real test for Mahomes and the offence against a Top defence.
Denver Broncos Defense: well, Patrick Mahomes. As good as this defence is, it is tough to ignore a fearless quarterback like Mahomes. If the defence slips up just for a second, he will make them pay.
Prediction
The Chiefs have rough three-game stretch starting against Denver Broncos in Denver, followed by Jaguars at Home and again on the road against Patriots. The Broncos would like to continue their home streak and have an advantage by remaining undefeated in the division. The game will come down the battle of two Kliff Kingsbury Quarterbacks in college, Case Keenum and Patrick Mahomes, I will go with the one that is creating record now instead of the one that created before.
Chiefs 27, Broncos 24
#2 Miami Dolphins (3-0) at New England Patriots (1-2)
Miami Dolphins are undefeated, and Patriots are under 500. There is a statement no one predicted before the start of the season. Dolphins are one of the only three teams that remain undefeated this season. While Dolphins are getting some unprecedented success, Patriots are struggling to score. This game will set the tone for the AFC East rest of the season.
Patriots September troubles, Dolphins' Dreams
Patriots struggles in September continues. These kind of slow starts are common for the Patriots, remember 2014 loss against Kansas City. But, this start seems different. Even, their lone win this season against Houston was ugly. They came so close to blowing that one up too. But, the loss against Lions is bad. Patriots almost had no answer to former Bellichick's pupil Matt Patricia, who himself had a very rough start to the season.
The Patriots roster looks incomplete. They are not the same time like in 2014 when they bounced back to win the Superbowl. There are glaring holes in all but Quarterback and Tight End positions. Also, there are these off the field distractions about Brady-Belichick tension isn't helping.
While the Patriots get back Julian Edelman from the suspension next week and they traded for Josh Gordon from Browns, there is some hope that the offence could get back on track. But, the defence is still a mess. They let Blake Bortles go berserk who couldn't move the ball against the Tennessee Titans. Matthew Stafford, who threw for four picks in the season opener against the Jets, picked apart the Patriots defence by finding the receivers consistently.
The defence will be facing another tough task this week against the underrated Dolphins offence led by, Comeback player of the year candidate Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill who missed all of last season due to a knee injury came back and proved that he is still the guy in Miami. He ranked fourth in the passer rating and helped Miami win with an underwhelming receiving corps.
If Tannehill could keep up his performance, this could be an easy win and could also have an early 2-0 advantage in the AFC East division. The Win will most certainly depend on the defence more than offence, who were decent themselves. If they could hold out Rob Gronkowski as he was the last two weeks, with Edelman still out the Patriots could struggle to distribute the ball well.
Fantasy Outlook
Must Start:
Kenny Stills, Dolphins WR: Stills found his true calling this year as the WR1, thanks to Landry not being here, he is being targeted more than in the past.
Rob Gronkowski, Patriots TE: Although he has been quite the past couple of seasons, there never was a three-game losing streak in Patriots history since 2002. Gronk remains Brady's top choice. Look for more targets coming his way.
Under the Radar:
Kenyan Drake, Dolphins RB: Drake had a slow start and just had 5 attempts for 3 yards against the struggling Oakland Raiders. But, this game could be the launch pad for the back who was expected to be one of the top backs in the league.
Caution:
Dolphins Defense: Tom Brady will on fire after back to back losses, Angry Brady is not someone to be messed with.
Prediction:
If this was a week 1 matchup, I probably wouldn't have this in Top 3. But the 2018 season off to an unusual start and this matchup could set the course for AFC East and also AFC in general. I think Patriots will bounce back with Angry Brady and Gronk having a big game at Home.
Patriots 27 Dolphins 20
#1 Minnesota Vikings (1-1-1) at Los Angeles Rams (3-0) (TNF)
How one week could change the perceptions of a team. Minnesota Vikings opened the season not only as favourites to with the North but also as one of the teams that would be representing the NFC in Superbowl. But, all of those changed last week, when Vikings were whipped by previously win-less, a supposed worst team in the league, Buffalo Bills at home.
Vikings Questions, Rams Rampages
After the loss Sunday, there are more questions than answers on Vikings. The offence fell flat for most pf the three quarters. The running game was almost non-existent. The offensive line broke playing the key factor in letting the Bills getting a 27-0 lead in the first half.
The defence couldn't help especially since they were put in the short field situations by the turnovers by the offence. But, the news that broke out Monday about DE Everson Griffen's mental illness hits the team hard as they clearly missed one of their dominant players on the field this Sunday.
With the Running Back Dalvin Cook possibly suit up on Thursday, the offence and the defence need to step up and go aggressive from the get-go against a very dominant Rams defence. The Rams themselves got hit by the injury bug with both Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters getting injured, will not be playing the Thursday Night affair, leaving the backend of the defence to the backups.
This is the best case scenario for the Vikings. With Talib and Peters out Thielen and Diggs could find themselves open quite a few times, If that O-line could hold off the Aaron Donald and co and give Cousins enough time, the Vikings could go on a roll.
Similar to Rams missing their secondary, Vikings will miss Griffen in the D-Line which could open up lanes for an elusive running back in Gurley. Vikings gave up two rushing touchdowns to the rookie quarterback Josh Allen. This game comes down to who wins the battle in the Rams Running vs Vikings Passing.
Fantasy Outlook
Must Start:
Todd Gurley, RB Rams: No brainer here. Gurley has been excellent this season and is poised to have a big game against a vulnerable Vikings D-line.
Thielen and Diggs, WRs Vikings: NO Talib, NO Peters, No Rams Secondary.
Under the Radar:
Kirk Cousins, QB Vikings: This could be a very good week for Cousins with Rams missing key players in the defence.
Cooper Kupp, WR Rams: Look for both Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods held out by this amazing Vikings secondary which could open up this second-year player.
Caution:
Rams Defense: This is a caution play as they miss Talib and Peters, and also they face a tough and more determined Vikings Offense.
Prediction
All my Three matchups today have the undefeated teams remained in the league this year. I think that number could go down to 1( even 0, Broncos could surprise everyone). I think the Rams will miss their secondary and Vikings will bounce back form that horrendous loss on Sunday.
Vikings 24, Rams 21
