Fantasy Football Reaction: Week 3 Winners, Losers And Surprises
It may not have been a great week for Nick Chubb owners
Another NFL week is in the books and there was both plenty to like and dislike for fantasy football players.
Perhaps Alvin Kamara helped you bounce back in a big way after the New Orleans Saints running back was rather pedestrian in Week 2. Or maybe you benefitted from the latest strong performance from Los Angeles Chargers receiver Mike Williams, who has entered must-start territory after three weeks.
Here is our latest rundown of winners, losers and surprises from Week 3 of the fantasy football season. Of note, all data and statistics included are based on full-point PPR scoring and according to SportRadar.
Winners
Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
If you either elevated Mattison from your bench or inserted him into the lineup after putting in a waiver claim, you were not left disappointed. He had with a league-high 32 Week 3 touches against the Seattle Seahawks and finished with 23 fantasy points on 0.72 points per touch.
DeSean Jackson, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Jackson roasted the Buccaneers secondary in LA’s 34-24 win. The aging speedster averaged seven points per touch (!!) and 4.20 points per target (five). The Rams wideout ranked in the top 10 among receivers in air yards per catch (18.7) and was fourth in yards gained after the catch — an average of 21.33 yards. His three catches for 120 yards and one 75-yard touchdown earned him 21 fantasy points.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo’s QB1 absolutely shredded the Washington Football Team for a one-sided Week 3 win. The Football Team, which was thought to have one of the better defenses in the NFL this season, pressured Allen 32.6% of the time while blitzing on 16.3% of total snaps It allowed Allen to throw four passes of 20 or more yards while 35 of his 43 passes (third best) were deemed catchable. He also reset the chains by throwing for first downs on 46.5% of his attempts (second best) while his 9.4 air yards per attempt ranked seventh this week.
Losers
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
Chubb’s day would have been a lot better had he found the end zone, but that was not in the cards. Chubb, who entered Week 3 as Yahoo Sports’ fourth-ranked running back, finished the week as the 141st player at the position in points per touch (0.38). The hard-running back broke just one tackle against the Bears defense while gaining 76% of his yards before contract.
Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears
It was a brutal start for the rookie first-rounder, who may have been enticing to some fantasy football owners depending on their situation at the position. The Bears netted just one passing yard — yes, literally — after taking nine sacks. While he was not put in position to win by head coach Matt Nagy, it was Fields who threw just six catchable passes (receptions and drops) with only two moving the chains. Fields ranked 27th in the league in air yards per attempt (5.3) while completing just 20% of his passes to running backs and 55% of his throws to receivers — both of which were in the bottom half of the league.
Surprises
Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills
Moss entered Week 3 as the 48th running back by Yahoo! Sports and nearly tripled his projected point total. Moss, who’s owned in just 54% of Yahoo! leagues, was able to do so as he took over the lead back duties from Devin Singletary and led Buffalo in rushing attempts and yards. Moss recorded 82% of his rushing yards before contact while recording 1.13 points per touch on 16 touches.
Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots
Bourne has been largely silent through the start of the season, best depicted as he’s owned in just 1% of Yahoo! leagues. The first-year Patriot, who was the 84th ranked wideout entering Week 3, responded by recording the eighth most points by a receiver (21.60) this past weekend. He averaged 2.70 points per target (eight targets) on 10.5 air yards per reception. Bourne racked up 63 of his 96 yards through the air behind two big plays of more than 20 yards.
