Fantasy Football: Russell Wilson, Ben Tate Among Week 7 Studs, Duds

It wasn’t a good Sunday for major NFL record holders.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, arguably the two best players in fantasy football this year, entered Week 7 on the doorstep of historic milestones. Both delivered in huge ways and broke longstanding league marks.

Murray rushed for 128 yards and one touchdown to give him seven consecutive games with 100 or more rushing yards to start a season, breaking Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record of six in a row. Manning, meanwhile, threw for three touchdowns in the first half to eclipse Brett Favre as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing TDs with 509.

Both of those achievements are good news for fantasy owners. What’s not good news, however, is what happened to the Buffalo Bills’ backfield. C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson went down early with serious injuries, and Spiller could be out for the season.

Such is life on the wild, unpredictable frontier that is fantasy football. Let’s check out some of the best and worst performances from Week 7.

STUDS
Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks: Wilson is emerging as an elite fantasy quarterback, and he’s doing it with his legs, too. This week’s leading scorer added 106 yards and one touchdown on the ground to go with 313 yards and two scores through the air, bringing his Week 7 point total to an eye-popping 37 in standard leagues. He also became the first NFL player to pass for 300 yards and run for 100 in the same game.

Shane Vereen, Running Back, New England Patriots: Vereen is the new lead back in New England with Stevan Ridley out for the season, but he still used the passing game to rack up his points Thursday night, leading the team with 71 receiving yards and hauling in two touchdown passes in the process.

DeMarco Murray, Running Back, Dallas Cowboys: Murray has been an animal all season, and it’s time to give him his due. The record-setting back has scored no less than 17 fantasy points in every game so far this season after Sunday’s huge performance. That’s insane.

Golden Tate, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson’s injury suddenly has turned Tate into a fantasy star. The Lions wideout was second among all NFL pass-catchers in Week 7 with 154 receiving yards, giving him 445 in four games since Johnson’s ankle injury. Tate snagged a 73-yard touchdown pass to boot.

Sammy Watkins, Wide Receiver, Buffalo Bills: Watkins’ production has been up and down this season. File this week under “up.” The rookie caught a last-second touchdown pass to help the Bills beat the Minnesota Vikings, and he had another score along with 122 receiving yards to tally a season-high 24 fantasy points.

DUDS
Jay Cutler, Quarterback, Chicago Bears: For whatever reason, the Bears just stink at home. Cutler’s performance was especially ripe, as he totaled just eight fantasy points on 190 passing yards and one touchdown with an interception and a fumble. No wonder Brandon Marshall was so mad.

Ben Tate, Running Back, Cleveland Browns: The entire Browns team was a dud in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Tate has the most fantasy relevance, so we’ll pick on him. He somehow was bottled up by one of the NFL’s worst defenses, gaining just 36 yards on 16 carries for a brutal 2.2-yard average. Let’s hope that’s an anomaly.

Bills running backs: Spiller was nice enough to give fantasy owners a 53-yard run before his devastating injury, while Jackson left after garnering just 12 rushing yards. More importantly, it’s time for Spiller and Jackson owners to look for long-term replacements.

Alshon Jeffery, Wide Receiver, Bears: Jeffery had been a beast in the last four weeks, but that came to a screeching halt Sunday. The wideout was held to just two receptions for 9 yards, which means a big ol’ goose egg if your league doesn’t do fractional points. Certainly not ideal.

Jimmy Graham, Tight End, New Orleans Saints: Did you see “Active” next to Graham’s name and toss him in your lineup? If so, you paid the price. Graham was a shell of himself after “returning” from a shoulder injury, failing to record a catch in the Saints’ disappointing loss to the Lions. Make sure Graham is fully good to go next week before starting him.