Fantasy Football Week 1 Reaction: Kyler Murray Among Winners, James Robinson Losers
Did any of these players win or lose you your matchup?
Chances are your Monday morning coffee tasted all the better or worse depending on how your fantasy football team performed in the Week 1 opener.
There were plenty of impressive performances to go around with a number of quarterbacks — Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott — all starting off their campaigns (and yours) on a strong note. Then again, perhaps it was one running back’s bad day — Ezekiel Elliot, James Robinson, Aaron Jones — which kept you from celebrating.
Here are a handful of our biggest winners, losers and surprises from Week 1 of the fantasy football season. Of note, all information included is based on standard leagues with point scoring according to SportRadar.
Winners
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Murray accounted for five touchdowns — four passing, one rushing — as the Cardinals absolutely dominated the Tennessee Titans. Murray was 21-for-32 passing for 289 yards with 38 percent of those passes leading to first downs. He was a perfect 6-for-6 on throws of 20 yards or more, as well. Murray was the highest scoring quarterback of the week as he recorded 33.56 fantasy points.
Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Cooper was the star wideout in a Buccaneers-Cowboys matchup which featured plenty of them. He scored a pair of touchdowns while recording 10.7 yards per touch (13 catches, 139 yards) and 8.69 yards per target (16). SportsRadar scored Cooper the highest receiver having tallied 25.90 points on 2.99 points per touch.
Losers
James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
We’re not exactly sure what head coach Urban Meyer was thinking with Robinson, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, who was limited to just five carries. The second-year back, and probably the RB2 option for many, record a brutal 0.68 points per touch and was looked to just 11 times in the contest. He ranked among the bottom running back options having just 5.40 points in standard leagues.
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Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
What in the world was the deal with the Packers? Green Bay was routed by the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, and in doing so had a number of performers worthy of being on our list of losers. Rodgers, though, was who we decided to go with as he recorded merely 1.32 fantasy points. Rodgers threw just one pass of more than 20 yards and compiled merely 133 yards with 53.6 percent of his passes being deemed catchable. He also threw two interceptions.
Surprises
Pittsburgh Steelers defense
The Steelers defense went against what was thought to be one of the league’s best offenses in Buffalo and did more than hold their own. Pittsburgh allowed just two big plays (20 or more yards) and recorded the fourth most sacks in the league (3). The Steelers also forced one Bills turnover, which ultimately ended in a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt to boost their scoring number.
Jameis Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints
Winston, shockingly, was one of the highest scoring signal-callers during Week 1 after throwing for five (!!) touchdowns. And he did so despite throwing just 20 passes with only one throw of 20 or more yards while averaging 7.40 passing yards per drop back. SportsRadar scored him third best in the league (29.62 points) behind just Murray and Patrick Mahomes.
