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Top NFL Week 10 Fantasy Football Performers: The Bears and Saints are Rolling on Offense, More

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter at Soldier Field.

Before moving on to Week 11, let’s break down some key fantasy football performances from this Sunday’s action.

Sunday’s action featured infuriating vulture touchdowns from Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and Patriots full back James Develin, 30-plus points from the Seahawks, Rams, Bears, Saints, Titans, Bills and Packers, as well as disappointing efforts from the Bucs, Jets and Patriots.

The following four players were the brightest stars at their respective positions in Week 10.

>> Sign up for The Action Network’s daily newsletter to get the smartest conversation delivered into your inbox each morning.

Fantasy Quarterback of the Day: Mitch Trubisky

The Bears have won three consecutive games thanks in large part to their new-look offense, as new head coach Matt Nagy and second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky have spearheaded one of the league’s most-productive attacks after 10 weeks of action.

Trubisky was nothing short of spectacular against the Lions on Sunday, completing 23-of-30 passes (77%) for 355 yards (11.8 Y/A) with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The 2017 No. 2 overall pick also chipped in another 18 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Overall, Trubisky joins Patrick Mahomes (five), Matt Ryan (five) and Drew Brees (four) as the only quarterbacks with at least four games with 30-plus DraftKings points this season.

The weekly floor of the Bears’ franchise quarterback is boosted by his fantasy-friendly rushing workload, while the likes of Allen Robinson (six receptions, 133 yards, two touchdowns), Taylor Gabriel (0-0-0), Anthony Miller (5-122-1), Tarik Cohen (6-29-0) and Trey Burton (4-40-0) provide a plethora of dangerous options in the pass game.

The offense as a whole will continue to be a problem for any defense moving forward. The division rival Vikings are up next in Week 11.

Fantasy Running Back of the Day: David Johnson

It’s been a rough season for DJ’s fantasy investors, but the Cardinals’ featured back has been rejuvenated by new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

Overall, Johnson has averaged 25.5 PPR per game in two games with Leftwich calling plays compared to just 15.2 PPR in Weeks 1-7. Further helping matters for Johnson is a mouth-watering second-half schedule.

  • Week 11: Raiders (24th-ranked defense in DraftKings PPG allowed to running backs)
  • Week 12: Chargers (18th)
  • Week 13: Packers (17th)
  • Week 14: Lions (25th)
  • Week 15: Falcons (32nd)
  • Week 16: Rams  (15th)

The Cardinals’ offense as a whole still hasn’t been great considering they’ve scored 20-plus points in just one game this season, but they’re at least no longer functioning as the league’s clear-cut worst offense.

Fantasy Wide Receiver of the Day: Allen Robinson

A large part of Trubisky’s success this afternoon was thanks to the return of his No. 1 receiver. A-Rob caught six of his eight targets for 133 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions’ over-matched secondary:

Robinson hadn’t gained over 100 yards in a game since Dec. 24, 2016 and hadn’t scored multiple touchdowns in a game since Sep. 25, 2016.

The Lions were without first-team All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay (knee), but it was still refreshing to see Robinson demonstrate his lofty ceiling. Still, the Bears have demonstrated routine volatility in the pass game this season, as the aforementioned likes of Gabriel, Miller, Burton and Cohen are also solid options.

A-Rob will have his hands full in Week 11 during a likely shadow date with stud Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

Fantasy Tight End of the Day: Eric Ebron

It’s amazing what a change of scenery can do. The Lions drafted Ebron with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 draft. It’s tough to view his four seasons in Detroit as anything other than a disappointment, as Ebron scored just 12 touchdowns in 56 games.

Andrew Luck has helped Ebron find the end zone 10 times in nine games this season, with Sunday’s performance consisting of 3-69-2 receiving and 1-2-1 rushing lines against the Jaguars.

Of course, this early-season performance doesn’t appear to be particularly sustainable. Jack Doyle (three targets) and Mo Alie-Cox (four) were as involved as Ebron (three) on Sunday, as the offense has routinely been elevated by Andrew Luck’s super-human performance.

Luck’s streak of six-consecutive games with at least three touchdown passes has only been bested by Tom Brady (10), Peyton Manning (eight) and Dan Marino (seven) among all quarterbacks in NFL history.

They’ll have their hands full in next week’s AFC South battle against the Titans’ league-best scoring defense.



This Saints Offense is Special

There’s little doubt that the Saints are operating as one of the league’s very best teams at the moment. Their 51-14 victory over the Bengals is the latest example of Drew Brees and company completely overwhelming their opponent’s defense.

  • Brees had more total touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three)
  • Alvin Kamara converted 16 touches into 102 yards and two touchdowns
  • Mark Ingram posted 13-104-0 rushing and 3-58-1 receiving lines
  • Michael Thomas caught all eight targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns

The Brees-Thomas connection in particular has been downright ridiculous this season considering they’ve accounted for nearly as many touchdowns (seven) as incompletions (nine) on 87 targets.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Paul Brown Stadium.

Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9).

The backfield is also plenty dynamic, as Kamara and Ingram have successfully co-existed since the latter back returned from suspension in Week 5.

  • Ingram per-game Weeks 5-10: 31.8 snaps, 12.6 rushes, 2.6 targets
  • Kamara: 36.6 snaps, 13.4 rushes, 4.8 targets

Up next will be a more-challenging home matchup against the Eagles.

The Patriots Got Served a Slice of Humble Pie

Tom Brady and company aren’t used to getting their butts handed to them, but that’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s 24-point loss marked just the sixth time the Patriots have lost by more than 20 points with Brady under center since 2001.

The Titans’ league-best scoring defense made things difficult for the Patriots all afternoon long, sacking Brady a season-high three times and holding the New England offense to just 284 total yards. Julian Edelman (9-104-0) was the only Patriots skill player to smash in fantasy, as James White (26 total yards) and Josh Gordon (4-81-0 on 12 targets) failed to get much of anything going.

The Patriots’ poor performance shouldn’t take away from the fact that the Titans were terrific in almost every facet of the game. Wide receiver Corey Davis (7-125-1) and running back Derrick Henry (11-58-2) were responsible for the scoring, while Dion Lewis provided the emotional edge during his #RevengeGame.

Mariota and company will take on the Colts in Indianapolis next week.

Aaron Jones is THE Running Back, Ya’ll

Jones has finally emerged as the Packers’ undisputed starting running back thanks to the combination of Jamaal Williams’ consistent ineffectiveness and the Ty Montgomery trade.

The NFL’s leader in yards per attempt since the beginning of last season (minimum 100 carries) has made good use of his enhanced workload.

Anyone involved in an offense led by Aaron Rodgers will inevitably have fantasy-friendly opportunities, and Jones didn’t disappoint on Sunday with 15-145-2 rushing and 3-27-0 receiving lines.

The Packers have gained at least 100 rushing yards in three consecutive games after reaching that threshold just twice in Weeks 1-5. They’ll face the Seahawks and Vikings in consecutive road matchups moving forward.

Welcome Back, LeSean McCoy!

Sunday marked the second time this season that the Bills resembled an actual NFL offense. They’ve scored 68 points against the Jets and Vikings and 69 points in their other eight games combined.

The Bills’ 41-10 victory over the Jets was fueled by great defense paired with an efficient running game. The absence of Chris Ivory (shoulder) helped lead to a season-high 27 touches for Shady, who made great use of the workload.

Matt Barkley also deserves plenty of credit for completing 15-of-25 passes for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He’s now thrown for multiple touchdowns in four of seven career starts.

#BillsMafia has a Week 11 bye to savor their victory, and they are reportedly expected to get rookie Josh Allen back under center for their Week 12 matchup against the Jaguars.

The Falcons Defense is a Cheat Code for Running Backs

The Browns won just four games from 2015-2017, but they enter their Week 11 bye at 3-6-1. New offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has done an excellent job with Baker Mayfield, who has been sacked just twice over the last two weeks after taking an average of 3.3 sacks per game in Weeks 1-8.

  • Mayfield in Weeks 3-8: 58% completion rate, 6.6 Y/A, eight touchdowns, six interceptions
  • Mayfield in Weeks 9-10: 74% completion rate, 8.3 Y/A, five touchdowns, one interception

However, Mayfield received plenty of help from his backfield during Sunday’s 28-16 win over the Falcons. Nick Chubb (20-176-1 rushing and 2-33-1 receiving) and Duke Johnson (3-15-0 rushing and 4-31-1 receiving) were too much for the Falcons’ injury-riddled defense to handle.

Of course, the Browns’ backfield production isn’t particularly surprising considering the Falcons have largely been gashed by any and every starting running back they’ve faced this season.

  • Week 1: Jay Ajayi 20.2 DraftKings points
  • Week 2: Christian McCaffrey 30.9
  • Week 3: Alvin Kamara 37
  • Week 4: Gio Bernard 25.6
  • Week 5: James Conner 37.5
  • Week 6: Peyton Barber 20.6
  • Week 7: Saquon Barkley 26.4
  • Week 9: Adrian Peterson 6.3
  • Week 10: Chubb 38.9

We’ll find out if the Saints can slow down Ezekiel Elliott next week.

Hurt in Battle and Returning Soldiers

There were plenty of key injuries on both sides of the ball this week. We won’t know more about Week 10 availability until later in the week, but the following skill-position players will certainly be worth monitoring:

  • Martavis Bryant, WR, Raiders (knee)
  • Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams (knee)
  • Jakeem Grant, WR, Dolphins (leg)
  • DaVante Parker, WR, Dolphins (shoulder)
  • Kenyan Drake, RB, Dolphins (shoulder)
  • Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots (ankle)
  • Marvin Jones, WR, Lions (knee)
  • Dwayne Allen, TE, Patriots (knee)


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Before moving on to Week 11, let’s break down some key fantasy football performances from this Sunday’s action.

Sunday’s action featured infuriating vulture touchdowns from Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and Patriots full back James Develin, 30-plus points from the Seahawks, Rams, Bears, Saints, Titans, Bills and Packers, as well as disappointing efforts from the Bucs, Jets and Patriots.

The following four players were the brightest stars at their respective positions in Week 10.

>> Sign up for The Action Network’s daily newsletter to get the smartest conversation delivered into your inbox each morning.

Fantasy Quarterback of the Day: Mitch Trubisky

The Bears have won three consecutive games thanks in large part to their new-look offense, as new head coach Matt Nagy and second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky have spearheaded one of the league’s most-productive attacks after 10 weeks of action.

Trubisky was nothing short of spectacular against the Lions on Sunday, completing 23-of-30 passes (77%) for 355 yards (11.8 Y/A) with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The 2017 No. 2 overall pick also chipped in another 18 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Overall, Trubisky joins Patrick Mahomes (five), Matt Ryan (five) and Drew Brees (four) as the only quarterbacks with at least four games with 30-plus DraftKings points this season.

The weekly floor of the Bears’ franchise quarterback is boosted by his fantasy-friendly rushing workload, while the likes of Allen Robinson (six receptions, 133 yards, two touchdowns), Taylor Gabriel (0-0-0), Anthony Miller (5-122-1), Tarik Cohen (6-29-0) and Trey Burton (4-40-0) provide a plethora of dangerous options in the pass game.

The offense as a whole will continue to be a problem for any defense moving forward. The division rival Vikings are up next in Week 11.

Fantasy Running Back of the Day: David Johnson

It’s been a rough season for DJ’s fantasy investors, but the Cardinals’ featured back has been rejuvenated by new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

Overall, Johnson has averaged 25.5 PPR per game in two games with Leftwich calling plays compared to just 15.2 PPR in Weeks 1-7. Further helping matters for Johnson is a mouth-watering second-half schedule.

  • Week 11: Raiders (24th-ranked defense in DraftKings PPG allowed to running backs)
  • Week 12: Chargers (18th)
  • Week 13: Packers (17th)
  • Week 14: Lions (25th)
  • Week 15: Falcons (32nd)
  • Week 16: Rams  (15th)

The Cardinals’ offense as a whole still hasn’t been great considering they’ve scored 20-plus points in just one game this season, but they’re at least no longer functioning as the league’s clear-cut worst offense.

Fantasy Wide Receiver of the Day: Allen Robinson

A large part of Trubisky’s success this afternoon was thanks to the return of his No. 1 receiver. A-Rob caught six of his eight targets for 133 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions’ over-matched secondary:

Robinson hadn’t gained over 100 yards in a game since Dec. 24, 2016 and hadn’t scored multiple touchdowns in a game since Sep. 25, 2016.

The Lions were without first-team All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay (knee), but it was still refreshing to see Robinson demonstrate his lofty ceiling. Still, the Bears have demonstrated routine volatility in the pass game this season, as the aforementioned likes of Gabriel, Miller, Burton and Cohen are also solid options.

A-Rob will have his hands full in Week 11 during a likely shadow date with stud Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

Fantasy Tight End of the Day: Eric Ebron

It’s amazing what a change of scenery can do. The Lions drafted Ebron with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 draft. It’s tough to view his four seasons in Detroit as anything other than a disappointment, as Ebron scored just 12 touchdowns in 56 games.

Andrew Luck has helped Ebron find the end zone 10 times in nine games this season, with Sunday’s performance consisting of 3-69-2 receiving and 1-2-1 rushing lines against the Jaguars.

Of course, this early-season performance doesn’t appear to be particularly sustainable. Jack Doyle (three targets) and Mo Alie-Cox (four) were as involved as Ebron (three) on Sunday, as the offense has routinely been elevated by Andrew Luck’s super-human performance.

Luck’s streak of six-consecutive games with at least three touchdown passes has only been bested by Tom Brady (10), Peyton Manning (eight) and Dan Marino (seven) among all quarterbacks in NFL history.

They’ll have their hands full in next week’s AFC South battle against the Titans’ league-best scoring defense.



This Saints Offense is Special

There’s little doubt that the Saints are operating as one of the league’s very best teams at the moment. Their 51-14 victory over the Bengals is the latest example of Drew Brees and company completely overwhelming their opponent’s defense.

  • Brees had more total touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three)
  • Alvin Kamara converted 16 touches into 102 yards and two touchdowns
  • Mark Ingram posted 13-104-0 rushing and 3-58-1 receiving lines
  • Michael Thomas caught all eight targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns

The Brees-Thomas connection in particular has been downright ridiculous this season considering they’ve accounted for nearly as many touchdowns (seven) as incompletions (nine) on 87 targets.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Paul Brown Stadium.

Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9).

The backfield is also plenty dynamic, as Kamara and Ingram have successfully co-existed since the latter back returned from suspension in Week 5.

  • Ingram per-game Weeks 5-10: 31.8 snaps, 12.6 rushes, 2.6 targets
  • Kamara: 36.6 snaps, 13.4 rushes, 4.8 targets

Up next will be a more-challenging home matchup against the Eagles.

The Patriots Got Served a Slice of Humble Pie

Tom Brady and company aren’t used to getting their butts handed to them, but that’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s 24-point loss marked just the sixth time the Patriots have lost by more than 20 points with Brady under center since 2001.

The Titans’ league-best scoring defense made things difficult for the Patriots all afternoon long, sacking Brady a season-high three times and holding the New England offense to just 284 total yards. Julian Edelman (9-104-0) was the only Patriots skill player to smash in fantasy, as James White (26 total yards) and Josh Gordon (4-81-0 on 12 targets) failed to get much of anything going.

The Patriots’ poor performance shouldn’t take away from the fact that the Titans were terrific in almost every facet of the game. Wide receiver Corey Davis (7-125-1) and running back Derrick Henry (11-58-2) were responsible for the scoring, while Dion Lewis provided the emotional edge during his #RevengeGame.

Mariota and company will take on the Colts in Indianapolis next week.

Aaron Jones is THE Running Back, Ya’ll

Jones has finally emerged as the Packers’ undisputed starting running back thanks to the combination of Jamaal Williams’ consistent ineffectiveness and the Ty Montgomery trade.

The NFL’s leader in yards per attempt since the beginning of last season (minimum 100 carries) has made good use of his enhanced workload.

Anyone involved in an offense led by Aaron Rodgers will inevitably have fantasy-friendly opportunities, and Jones didn’t disappoint on Sunday with 15-145-2 rushing and 3-27-0 receiving lines.

The Packers have gained at least 100 rushing yards in three consecutive games after reaching that threshold just twice in Weeks 1-5. They’ll face the Seahawks and Vikings in consecutive road matchups moving forward.

Welcome Back, LeSean McCoy!

Sunday marked the second time this season that the Bills resembled an actual NFL offense. They’ve scored 68 points against the Jets and Vikings and 69 points in their other eight games combined.

The Bills’ 41-10 victory over the Jets was fueled by great defense paired with an efficient running game. The absence of Chris Ivory (shoulder) helped lead to a season-high 27 touches for Shady, who made great use of the workload.

Matt Barkley also deserves plenty of credit for completing 15-of-25 passes for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He’s now thrown for multiple touchdowns in four of seven career starts.

#BillsMafia has a Week 11 bye to savor their victory, and they are reportedly expected to get rookie Josh Allen back under center for their Week 12 matchup against the Jaguars.

The Falcons Defense is a Cheat Code for Running Backs

The Browns won just four games from 2015-2017, but they enter their Week 11 bye at 3-6-1. New offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has done an excellent job with Baker Mayfield, who has been sacked just twice over the last two weeks after taking an average of 3.3 sacks per game in Weeks 1-8.

  • Mayfield in Weeks 3-8: 58% completion rate, 6.6 Y/A, eight touchdowns, six interceptions
  • Mayfield in Weeks 9-10: 74% completion rate, 8.3 Y/A, five touchdowns, one interception

However, Mayfield received plenty of help from his backfield during Sunday’s 28-16 win over the Falcons. Nick Chubb (20-176-1 rushing and 2-33-1 receiving) and Duke Johnson (3-15-0 rushing and 4-31-1 receiving) were too much for the Falcons’ injury-riddled defense to handle.

Of course, the Browns’ backfield production isn’t particularly surprising considering the Falcons have largely been gashed by any and every starting running back they’ve faced this season.

  • Week 1: Jay Ajayi 20.2 DraftKings points
  • Week 2: Christian McCaffrey 30.9
  • Week 3: Alvin Kamara 37
  • Week 4: Gio Bernard 25.6
  • Week 5: James Conner 37.5
  • Week 6: Peyton Barber 20.6
  • Week 7: Saquon Barkley 26.4
  • Week 9: Adrian Peterson 6.3
  • Week 10: Chubb 38.9

We’ll find out if the Saints can slow down Ezekiel Elliott next week.

Hurt in Battle and Returning Soldiers

There were plenty of key injuries on both sides of the ball this week. We won’t know more about Week 10 availability until later in the week, but the following skill-position players will certainly be worth monitoring:

  • Martavis Bryant, WR, Raiders (knee)
  • Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams (knee)
  • Jakeem Grant, WR, Dolphins (leg)
  • DaVante Parker, WR, Dolphins (shoulder)
  • Kenyan Drake, RB, Dolphins (shoulder)
  • Julian Edelman, WR, Patriots (ankle)
  • Marvin Jones, WR, Lions (knee)
  • Dwayne Allen, TE, Patriots (knee)


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