You thought I’d start in Miami, didn’t you?
No, I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the Sunday night beat down administered by the Saints on the Colts. You probably tuned out of this early, so here’s the final tally from the carnage.
Drew Brees completed 31-of-35 pass attempts for 325 yards with two sacks and five touchdowns. He accomplished those eye-popping totals in just three quarters of play. The Saints’ recent red zone efficiency issues disappeared quickly. The woeful Rams are the next unit to be sliced and diced.
Marques Colston caught seven passes for the second consecutive game and scored the Saints’ first two touchdowns in the resounding victory. He finished with 98 receiving yards. In the past three weeks, Colston has amassed 19 receptions for 285 yards with three touchdowns.
Jimmy Graham’s run of 100-yard games came to a close on Sunday night. I don’t think anybody’s complaining after watching the second-year tight end score two touchdowns. Graham caught six passes for 54 yards, his fifth game with at least six receptions this season (45 total).
Darren Sproles has been a fixture in lineups in PPR leagues. He delivered for fantasy owners everywhere on Sunday night. Sproles caught six passes for 19 yards and scored a first-quarter touchdown. He later posted a 16-yard touchdown run to cap a fantastic day. Sproles rushed for 88 yards on 12 carries. Sproles has amassed at least 82 total yards in five of seven games this season.
The lone statistical standout for the Colts was running back Delone Carter. Carter performed well in place of Joseph Addai, who reinjured his hamstring. He finished with 89 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown and a lost fumble.
Finally, the New Orleans defense was allowed to go into attack mode early and harassed Curtis Painter all night. The Saints allowed just seven points. There were no “garbage time” stats accrued here. New Orleans forced three turnovers and capped the scoring onslaught by returning an interception for a touchdown.
Now, let’s get back to the four minutes heard around the world. Tim Tebow and the Denver offense were absolutely painful to watch all day. In fact, there were many discussions about switching the big monitor to another game where I was watching the early games. The crowd assembled cheered wildly as Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas on the five-yard touchdown pass with just under three minutes remaining. Following an onside kick, the Broncos moved the ball well again and Tebow found Daniel Fells for a touchdown. There was no question that Tebow was calling his own number on the two-point conversion try. It didn’t matter. Tie score.
He finished with 161 passing yards with two touchdowns, 65 yards rushing and the two-point conversion. Look, Tebow absorbed seven sacks and looked lost at times. He overthrew Knowshon Moreno on a screen and missed a wide-open Eric Decker early in the game. Still, revel in the moment and sit back and watch. You can’t say that he doesn’t put on a show.
Matt Ryan is at the center of a controversy involving the Lions’ defensive line and sportsmanship, but he earned the last laugh by leading the Falcons to a road win. Ryan passed for 218 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He added a rushing touchdown to earn a spot among this week’s “Heroes.” Ryan has rushed for touchdowns in back-to-back weeks to bolster middling passing numbers. He’s thrown multiple passing touchdowns in one game this season (Week 2 against Philadelphia).
Michael Turner didn’t find the end zone, but he logged 122 rushing yards on 27 carries against the Lions. Turner has either rushed for at least 100 yards or scored in six of the Falcons’ first seven games this season.
Calvin Johnson continued his first-half heroics with a five-reception, 115-yard effort against the Falcons that included a 57-yard touchdown sprint. Johnson has registered at least 88 receiving yards in every game this season and has scored 10 touchdowns.
The Green Bay-Minnesota game ended as one of the week’s best contests. Aaron Rodgers completed 24-of-30 attempts for 335 yards with four sacks and three touchdowns. Rodgers threw three or more touchdown passes in five of the Packers’ first seven games while averaging 338.9 passing yards. If you’re a Rodgers owner, who are you substituting for him during the Week 8 Bye?
Greg Jennings matched his season-high mark with seven receptions against the Vikings and established a new high with 147 receiving yards, including his 79-yard touchdown. Jennings scored in five of the Packers’ first seven games and registered 119 and 82 receiving yards in contests in which he didn’t score.
Jermichael Finley didn’t dominate, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had an opportunity to put him in the “Heroes” piece. I’ll celebrate his short touchdown reception and two receptions for 13 yards.
Adrian Peterson ran wild against the formerly stout Minnesota run defense. He rumbled for 175 yards on 24 carries and scored his eighth touchdown of the season. Peterson’s been the picture of consistency this season, held back only by Leslie Frazier. He’s rushed for at least 80 yards or scored in every game this season.
Christian Ponder performed well in his first NFL start and made things interesting against the Packers. He passed for 219 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and two sacks. Ponder added 31 yards on four rushing attempts and was sacked twice. Granted, Ponder completed only 13-of-32 of his pass attempts, but he made big plays when it counted. He delivered the ball downfield with confidence and kept firing.
Michael Jenkins came through as Ponder’s top option. He caught three of his eight targets for 111 yards with a touchdown. Jenkins also nearly scored on an early deep ball from Ponder, when he was tripped up and downed at the two-yard line after sprinting 74 yards.
Owners looking for help at tight end on the waiver wire might also take a gander at Visanthe Shiancoe, who finished off the drive following the deep pass to Jenkins. Shiancoe caught four passes for 45 yards and scored his second touchdown of the year. He has caught four or more passes in three of his past four games, producing at least 45 receiving yards in those contests.
DeMarco Murray set the bar high for his career as a featured back in Dallas. He sprinted for a 91-yard touchdown on his first carry. That single carry would have tied him for seventh among runners in Sunday’s games. Murray rushed 25 times for 253 yards, including two 19-yard runs and a 43-yarder.
On a day owned by DeMarco Murray, two Dallas receivers added support to fantasy owners.
• Dez Bryant caught five passes for 90 yards and scored his fourth touchdown of the season. Bryant has averaged 3.8 receptions and 67.8 receiving yards in five games.
• Jason Witten posted a shrug-inducing 35 receiving yards on his five receptions against the Rams. However, Witten scored for the third consecutive game. The veteran tight end averaged six receptions and 74.8 receiving yards through the Cowboys’ first six games.
I don’t have many positive things to say about that dreadful Kansas City-Oakland tilt. The Kansas City defense owned the Raiders, producing six interceptions and a sack in the road shutout. Two of the Chiefs’ six interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Michael Bush rushed 17 times for 99 yards in place of the injured Darren McFadden. Check the wire for his availability.
Ben Roethlisberger carved up the Cardinals for 361 yards with three touchdowns, including a 95-yard connection with speedster Mike Wallace. Roethlisberger completed 26-of-39 attempts and was sacked twice. In the past three weeks, Roethlisberger has thrown nine touchdowns against one interception. He’ll face the Patriots in Week 9.
• Wallace finished the game with three receptions for 118 yards, as the Jaguars did a fine job against him … except for that whole 95-yard sprint thing. Wallace has scored in five of the Steelers’ past six games and has finished every game with at least 76 receiving yards. He’s logged a reception of at least 40 yards in six of seven games.
• Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 102 yards, his fourth game with at least four receptions this season.
• Heath Miller scored for the second time in three weeks and finished the day with four receptions for 59 yards. Miller has caught three or more passes in six of seven games.
Kevin Kolb posted a solid day statistically for the Cardinals in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers. Kolb completed 18-of-34 attempts for 272 yards with two sacks, two touchdowns and an interception. He’d been held without a touchdown pass in the Cardinals’ previous two games.
On paper, it looked like a difficult matchup for Cam Newton against the Redskins. Burn the paper. Newton completed 18-of-23 attempts for 256 yards with four sacks and a touchdown, adding 59 rushing yards and another rushing touchdown. He’s second only to Adrian Peterson in rushing touchdowns.
Steve Smith caught seven passes for 143 yards. Smith logged his first 100-yard game since Week 4 and fourth of the season. He’s averaging 116.9 yards per game, though he’s only scored one touchdown in the past six weeks.
Washington quarterback John Beck passed for 279 yards with three sacks and a touchdown. Beck added a rushing touchdown and committed two turnovers (one interception).
Fred Davis caught six passes for 80 yards with a touchdown. Davis has caught four or more passes in five of the Redskins’ first six games and achieved at least 80 receiving yards for the fourth time.
Mark Sanchez was a Bye week fill-in for many fantasy owners in Week 7. He delivered with strong numbers in the Jets’ comeback win over San Diego. Sanchez completed 18-of-33 attempts for 173 yards with two sacks, three touchdowns and an interception. He added three rushing attempts for 25 yards. For all of the issues in the New York offense, Sanchez has produced consistency fantasy totals. He’s accounted for multiple touchdowns in six of seven games.
Plaxico Burress was a red zone beast against the Chargers, producing four receptions for 25 yards and three touchdowns. Hey, maybe your league awards some kind of prize for most points scored by “Bench” players?
Antonio Gates rewarded his faithful fantasy owners by clearing out and making good on a red zone opportunity early in Sunday’s loss to the Jets. Gates finished the game with five receptions for 54 yards to lead the Chargers.
Montario Hardesty is the only player to get a head nod in that awful Cleveland-Seattle game. Hardesty amassed 122 total yards on 35 touches (33 carries for 95 yards) in the worst game of the Sunday slate. Hey, a win is a win.
Matt Forte continued his contract negotiations on the field of play against the Buccaneers in Sunday. Forte rushed 25 times for 145 yards with a touchdown, his second rushing touchdown of the year. He added two receptions for 38 yards. Forte amassed nearly 1,100 total yards in the Bears’ first seven games.
Roy Williams caught multiple passes for the second straight game and scored his first touchdown of the season. Williams caught four passes for 59 yards and got to perform his patented first-down move for the London faithful.
Kellen Winslow caught four passes for 25 yards with a touchdown, his first of the season. You played him in PPR leagues, and received a bonus touchdown reception to boot.
I started the piece by saluting Drew Brees’ output in New Orleans. I end by raising my coffee cup to Matt Schaub and the Texans. The offense had had issues offensively without Andre Johnson, but they positively manhandled the Titans in Week 7. Matt Schaub completed 18-of-23 passes for 296 yards with two touchdowns (Joel Dreessen and Arian Foster)
Arian Foster obliterated the Titans to the tune of 234 total yards on 30 touches (115 rushing and 119 receiving) and scored on the ground and by air. Foster’s receiving touchdown was a 78-yard catch and sprint. In his past four games, Foster is averaging 171.3 total yards per game.
