“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” is a column by Kyle Frankel about fantasy football.
There really never is a boring week in the NFL. However, there are absolutely boring games, and we got treated to one for the ages this past Sunday.
Before I say this, understand that as a Jets fan, this is not an accolade I take lightly. I’ve seen more terrible football games than anyone should have to in their lifetime. The Jets-Giants game this past weekend might have been the worst I’ve ever seen.
The Jets walked away from the battle of New York with a 13-10 overtime victory, but don’t let that fool you. Punters Jamie Gillan of the Giants and Thomas Morstead of the Jets combined for 24 punts, which is the most in an NFL game since 2003! I think that just about tells you all you need to know.
Early game injuries left the Jets with a makeshift offensive line and the Giants with third-string rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito thrusted into his first NFL action. The catch is his head coach literally wouldn’t let him throw the ball. DeVito finished the game 2-for-7 for -1 yards — a truly one of a kind box score.
Now the end was definitely a roller coaster. The Giants missed a late field goal in an attempt to take a six-point lead and Zach Wilson, shortly after taking sacks that almost cost his team the game, led a 24-second, 58-yard drive with no timeouts. As time expired, Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein drained the game-tying field goal, and he would later do the same to seal a walk-off win in overtime.
Now that I was finally able to get my thoughts out on that brutal victory, let’s get into the good stuff.
Be my McBride
If you weren’t expecting to see Cardinals Trey McBride in this column, then you simply didn’t pay attention to the slate this weekend. The second-year tight end has been trending in the right direction the last few weeks with his targets steadily increasing, and he finally broke out on Sunday.
McBride set career highs in targets (14), catches (10) and yards (95), with a touchdown for good measure. This all added up to 25.5 PPR fantasy points, making him the highest-scoring TE of the week.
While this was an outlier on the season, his increased role in the offense over his last few games and performance against the Ravens this past Sunday indicate that he should continue to see his fair share of opportunities. Further, the deadline deal sending quarterback Josh Dobbs to Minnesota points to starter Kyler Murray returning from injury in the next week or two, which should make this offense significantly better.
If you don’t have a steady starter every week for your tight end position, McBride is a great guy to take a chance on filling that role. He’s also widely available, only being rostered in 7.9% of ESPN leagues prior to waiver claims going through.
Look to Commanders for a QB reinforcement
Who else, just like McBride, balled out in a loss in Week 8? None other than Washington’s sophomore signal caller: Sam Howell.
The Commanders fell to the Eagles 31-24, which is their second time losing to the division rival in a one-score game this season. Despite not getting the win, Howell was stellar.
The quarterback completed 75% of his passes for just shy of 400 yards and four touchdowns while only tossing one interception. This all summed up to 30.98 PPR points, the highest score from a quarterback this week.
It was his best game all season, but Howell’s been a consistent producer throughout the year, notching three outings of over 20 points and ranking as the eighth-best QB in total points in standard PPR formats.
One huge improvement on Sunday was his ability to limit sacks. They have plagued him this season, as he’s well on pace to break the single-season record for sacks taken by a quarterback. However, against the Eagles on Sunday, Howell only got taken down behind the line of scrimmage once, the lowest for a game in his career.
With guys like Kirk Cousins sidelined, he’s the perfect replacement if you find yourself in a QB predicament. Howell is only rostered in 30.4% of ESPN leagues at the time of writing.
That’s about all for this week. It’s slim pickings on the waiver wire, but I will leave you with one final thought. Don’t be afraid to buy low on guys out with injuries. If your team is in a good spot and you want to take some chances, feel out the owners for De’Von Achane and Justin Jefferson in your league. Obviously, you’ll still have to give up quite a haul for players of this caliber, but it’s probably your only opportunity to snag them at a discounted cost.
“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” runs every Wednesday.