One word for the 2024 Jets? Finality. The gambits have not worked. Robert Saleh’s firing has left the defense in disarray. Davante Adams’ addition hasn’t moved the needle enough on offense. The man himself, Aaron Rodgers, can no longer navigate the pocket well enough to play hero ball.
Not that he hasn’t tried. Rodgers is clearly desperate to make this work, laying his body on the line more often than he did his final few seasons in Green Bay. The result has been more injury tent visits than game-changing plays. Nothing is going to bail out this ship at this point, and the question now becomes: How much longer can Rodgers last?
Brett Favre attempted seven passes after Week 13 in 2010. Peyton Manning attempted nine after Week 10 in 2015 before coming back for the playoffs. Can Rodgers make it to December? Not at this rate. Will the Jets even want him to? They’re 3-7 without a coach or quarterback of the future. A mad dash to 9-8 and 10-7 and subsequent playoff run appears all but impossible. That leaves this team playing for 2025. They may not even want the miracle Rodgers is so desperately trying to will into existence.
Rodgers’ injury or benching would be bad news for fantasy managers — Tyrod Taylor isn’t supporting two top-20 wideouts, especially behind this good but not great offensive line — but it’s starting to feel like an inescapable outcome. Not for performance. Taylor doesn’t give the Jets a better chance to win. But reality. This experiment, which to be frank never even really began, is over. It’s a sad end, but an inevitable one. Time is marching on. Rodgers is marching out of the league.
Five Week 10 Storylines
Kyler Murray comes close to pitching a perfect game vs. Jets. As Rodgers collapsed, Murray continued to ascend. He completed 17 straight passes and averaged 11.1 yards per attempt. How long had it been since Murray had that kind of start? The last time he averaged more than 10 yards per pass was Week 2, 2021. A collapsing Jets defense provided an assist, but Murray finally used his entire arsenal of weapons. He found Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone, targeted Trey McBride to move the chains, and twice used his own legs to score. It’s frustrating how infrequently a player this talented puts it all together to this degree, but Murray is finally stacking strong performances. Expect him to keep it up when the Cardinals come off bye in Week 12 against the Seahawks.
Christian McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings’ returns shake up 49ers’ skill corps. 56-of-64. That’s how many snaps CMC played in his 2024 debut. No pitch counts, no nonsense. It didn’t translate to a bountiful box score, but McCaffrey appeared neither sluggish nor diminished. Fantasy managers are going to get the real thing down the stretch. “The real thing” appears to be what Jennings is, as the former role player has emerged as a target commander to a startling degree this year. While Deebo Samuel focuses on busting zones, George Kittle fights for down-field looks amidst blocking, and Ricky Pearsall hunts for big-play opportunities, Jennings just keeps catching the ball and moving the chains. “Jauan Jennings” probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think “top-30 receiver,” but the case has long since been proven.
Dalton Kincaid suffers knee injury vs. Colts. With Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman both sidelined with sprained wrists, it was Kincaid’s time to shine. Instead he picked up a sprain of his own. Battling a knee issue that seems likely to sideline him for at least Week 11 ahead of the Bills’ Week 12 bye, Kincaid is fumbling away what could be his last, best opportunity to actually make a fantasy impact this season. Yet to post more than 52 yards, Kincaid has caught more than four balls twice. That’s also how many times he’s found the end zone. Face-planting in the Bills’ moment of pass catcher need, Kincaid is looking like the latest in a long line of ballyhooed seam stretchers whose breakout is either going to be late or never.
Audric Estime leads Broncos’ ever-more confusing backfield. Or, maybe it’s not confusing. Maybe it’s just Estime at this point. His 14 Kansas City carries were 11 more than any other Bronco. They were 12 more than any other running back. They were 13 more than Javonte Williams. The featured option late, the featured option early, the featured option in the red zone: Estime was the featured option. It produced a modest 53 yards rushing to go along with zero targets in the passing game, but coach Sean Payton said Monday it would remain a theme going forward. Stuck between competing and evaluating, the Broncos lack any real reason to feature Williams over Estime since the veteran is barely producing. Making Estime the No. 1 back aligns with their twin goals of building for the future while maybe also sneaking into the playoffs. Estime is a must-add in all formats of fantasy.
The Daniel Jones era reaches its latest end. Do you know how bad you have to be playing for fans to call for Drew Lock? Jones does. It’s become a near weekly occurrence in New York City. The latest indignity? Jones flew to Germany for the right to not out-duel Bryce Young. His highest-impact pass was a Malik Nabers hospital ball that earned the gifted young wideout another concussion evaluation. A deadly combination of both hopelessly conservative yet also somehow turnover-prone, Jones’ “wins” are simply when he keeps it close. Making it impossible to evaluate young pass catchers like Nabers, Theo Johnson and even Wan’Dale Robinson, Jones has put the Giants in position to find out if Lock can really be worse.
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Five More Week 10 Storylines
Bears further implode as schedule prepares to stiffen. The Commanders and Cardinals weren’t exactly difficult matchups, but the Patriots were supposed to be where the schedule briefly eased up. Instead, Caleb Williams had his third straight scoreless start and took a preposterous nine sacks against a defense that had previously lacked a pass rush. He completed 53.3 percent of his throws, making it the third straight game he failed to reach 60.0. Unlike earlier in the season, Williams’ supporting cast is at full health. He’s also more experienced. We know this is not all on him, far from it. It’s also going to take a lot more than just his talent to turn this around, and that probably just won’t be possible for the brutal three-game divisional gauntlet the Bears now embark upon in vs. GB, vs. MIN, @DET. DJ Moore can no longer be considered a top-24 receiver until we see some signs of progress.
Cooper Rush renders every Cowboy close to unplayable. It was the sun that blinded CeeDee Lamb on his would-be touchdown grab, but the superstar receiver certainly isn’t going to un-see what he got from Rush Sunday. Rush “generated” an unfathomable 45 yards on 23 attempts, That was the second lowest yardage total this century on at least that many attempts. Listen, this is not a great skill corps, but it, uhh, has one of the 2-3 best receivers in the NFL. It also has a top 10 tight end. It shouldn’t be possible to generate this little production. And yet, here we are. Playing nowhere close to 100 percent health, Lamb is now looking like more of a mid-range WR2. Jake Ferguson? A player who was trending toward top 5-6 status just a few short weeks ago is now tumbling outside the top 12.
Sam Darnold looks lost against one of the league’s worst defenses. The red flags continue to mount for the early-season hero, who has turned in back-to-back multi-INT starts after previously going seven games without doing so. Sunday was also his second scoreless outing of the season against a defense that had been allowing … not that. That’s what’s most concerning about Darnold’s deepening slump. His past two starts have come against the defensive doormats of Jacksonville and Indy. It’s also coincided with the return of chain-moving TE T.J. Hockenson. What’s going to happen against better Tennessee and Chicago units the next two weeks? It’s not too late for coach Kevin O’Connell to make a few more adjustments. It probably is too late for fantasy managers to keep up any QB1 delusions.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans continue the Bearsification of their offense. Poor offensive design? Check. Insta pressure allowed on the quarterback? Check. Poor decisions the rare times the QB doesn’t immediately have the rush in his face? Check. Problems are spiraling and compounding in Houston, and at this point, there appears to be only one possible 2024 corrective: Get Nico Collins back in the lineup. Thankfully for both the Texans and fantasy managers, it appears that will happen in Week 11 after Collins’ late-week about-face vs. the Lions. This issues are now running deep enough that not even Collins may be able to put a happy face on them, but then again … Collins runs deep enough to blow right by the safeties. He also has the Monday night matchup of a lifetime in the Cowboys. Whereas these other struggling offenses have little to no hope, Houston is hopefully finally on the comeback trail.
Joe Flacco leads to increased Colts soul searching. Sticking with the inept quarterback theme, Flacco is playing like he never spent any time in Kevin Stefanski finishing school. He looks like what he is: An old man who throws deep but produces just as many interceptions as touchdowns. Unlike some of the other QBs on this list, Flacco has at least been struggling against good defenses. There is hope on the horizon in the suddenly defenseless Jets. It will disappear as soon as it appeared, however, in Week 12 against the Lions. By now it’s clear the Colts aren’t so much trying to win as they are attempting to reboot young QB Anthony Richardson. The fantasy hope was that it would at least lead to a points bonanza for players like Josh Downs. It’s been … WR3 numbers for Downs and not much else. That will remain for a theme for however long Joltin’ Joe remains under center., especially if Michael Pittman Jr. returns in Week 12 to cannibalize AD Mitchell’s promising Week 11.
Questions
1. Did the Bears fire Matt Eberflus yet dot gov?
2. Did the Jaguars fire Doug Pederson yet?
3. Did the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy yet?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Russell Wilson (vs. BAL), Jameis Winston (@NO), Bo Nix (vs. ATL), Drake Maye (vs. LAR), Derek Carr (vs. CLE)
RB: Audric Estime, Cam Akers, Trey Benson, Tyjae Spears, Tyler Allgeier, Gus Edwards, Ray Davis
WR: Jerry Jeudy, Ricky Pearsall, Quentin Johnston, Adonai Mitchell, Alec Pierce, Mike Williams, Kayshon Boutte, Adam Thielen
TE: Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, Jonnu Smith, Zach Ertz, Will Dissly, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Theo Johnson
DEF: Texans (@DAL), Browns (@NO), Packers (@CHI), Dolphins (vs. LV), Saints (vs. CLE), Rams (@NE), Colts (@NYJ)
Stats of the Week
Via the NFL: “Jared Goff is first Lions quarterback to throw at least five interceptions in a win since Frankie Sinkwich tossed six picks against Cleveland Rams in 1944.”
J.K. Dobbins played 66 percent of the Chargers’ snaps. Not an awful total, though it was his lowest since the last time Gus Edwards finished a game in Week 3. Not producing, Dobbins has become difficult to trust as an RB2.
Adam Levitan breaks down Adonai Mitchell’s big day: “AD Mitchell in first game with Michael Pittman (back) sidelined: 60-of-64 snaps. 51 wide, eight slot, one inline. 37 routes on 39 Joe Flacco dropbacks. Six targets for a 17 percent share. 6-71-0 result.”
Via Football Perspective: “Sam Darnold and Mac Jones have played each other two times. In those games, the QBs have combined to throw for 663 yards, with one touchdown, nine interceptions, two lost fumbles, and seven sacks.”
Awards Section
Week 10 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Joe Burrow, RB Bijan Robinson, RB Chuba Hubbard, WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Calvin Ridley, WR George Pickens, TE
Week 10 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Sam Darnold, RB Javonte Williams, RB Travis Etienne WR DJ Moore, WR Brian Thomas Jr., WR Xavier Worthy, TE Jake Ferguson
Quote of the Week, Jerry Jones on his world-famous sun-blinding window: “I’m saying, the world knows where the sun is. You get to know that almost a year in advance. Someone asked me about the sun. What about the sun? Where’s the moon?”
