The latest week of NFL action delivered some surprising performances that will shake up fantasy football lineups across the league. Several quarterbacks experienced dramatic swings in their perceived value, with some breakout performances finally materializing while others continued disappointing trends.
These shifts create both opportunities for savvy managers to capitalize on emerging talent and warnings about previously reliable options that may be losing their fantasy relevance. The results from this week will likely influence waiver wire priorities and trade discussions heading into the following slate of games.
Winners: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
It took a game against the deplorable Dallas Cowboys’ defense, but Ben Johnson’s offense finally delivered. The Bears did whatever they wanted, putting up 31 points, their high on the season.
Caleb Williams looked the best he has so far, throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns. He did it by completely spreading the ball around, with no receiver hauling in more than four passes. His pièce de résistance was a 65-yard bomb to rookie Luther Burden III for a touchdown.
It remains to be seen how real this performance was, but there’s no denying that Williams has shown flashes of the talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick last year.
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
It turns out the Philadelphia Eagles are capable of calling pass plays. Jalen Hurts threw for a season-high 226 yards and three touchdowns (his first three of the season) in a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The bulk of Hurts’ fantasy value comes from his rushing, more specifically, the Tush Push. However, it is refreshing to see that he can do it through the air if he needs to.
Hurts found A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for touchdowns, representing each of his top wide receivers’ firsts of the season. His other touchdown pass went to tight end Dallas Goedert. There were no ancillary players vulturing production in this one.
Unfortunately, the Eagles won’t face a team in a shootout environment with the potential to force them into a negative game script until Week 11 against the Detroit Lions.
Losers: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Remember when C.J. Stroud had one of the greatest rookie seasons by a quarterback in NFL history? It seems so long ago. Stroud was being drafted as a top-eight fantasy quarterback just one year ago, but now, he shouldn’t even be on fantasy rosters.
The Houston Texans’ signal-caller has been nothing short of abysmal to open his third professional season. Stroud has more interceptions than touchdown passes and has a season high of a mere 207 passing yards.
There was hope that a matchup against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars would help get Stroud back on track, but no such thing occurred. The Texans fell to 0-3 and will, at best, be 1-4 heading into their Week 6 bye. Yet to so much as reach 15 fantasy points, the days of Stroud being viewed as a potential fantasy QB1 are over.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
When Dak Prescott faces a team that just gave up 334 yards and five touchdowns to Jared Goff, you expect more than 251 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Chicago Bears do not have a good defense, but you wouldn’t know that if you watched Prescott against them.
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The Dallas Cowboys did lose WR CeeDee Lamb to an ankle injury in the first half, but that’s not enough of an excuse. Prescott now has as many touchdowns as interceptions through three weeks, and he’s only posted one game worthy of being in fantasy lineups.
Next week, the Cowboys get the Green Bay Packers at home, who are coming off a crushing loss to the Cleveland Browns. This is not going to be pretty. Fantasy managers cannot trust Prescott in Week 4 lineups.
