Fantasy Football: Monday Night Football wrap up, plus the latest injuries and news

A couple of blowouts on Monday Night Football may not have made for great viewing, but Fantasy players can learn a thing or two about what went down.

By Chris Towers

Sep 11, 2018 at 9:27 am ET • 5 min read

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Jets 48-Lions 17

There's no No. 1 RB in Detroit yet

Granted, as you can probably tell from the final score, there wasn't much opportunity, as the Lions ran the ball just 15 times. Still, they split those 15 carries in a most inopportune manner for Fantasy purposes, with LeGarrette Blount getting four carries, and Kerryon Johnson seeing five. Neither did much with their carries, but you can hardly pin that on the backs, given what a disaster this game was for the Lions overall.

Blount did leave the game in the third quarter and went to the locker room but was back on the sidelines with his helmet in his hand. No official announcement was made on an injury, so it doesn't sound like something to be too concerned with. The more concerning thing was the usage split, and I don't think you can rely on anyone in Detroit's backfield yet.

There's no No. 1 RB in New York yet

This one had a bit of a happier ending, especially for those of you who relied on Isaiah Crowell in Week 1. Crowell made the most of his 10 carries, rushing for 102 yards and a pair of scores, including a 62-yarder in the blowout. Bilal Powell got 12 carries and a catch for his troubles, while the duo each saw 24 of the team's 60 offensive snaps. Given that this game was such a blowout, it's hard to take too much from it, other than that they'll split work, which we knew coming in.

The Kenny Golladay breakout may be happening

The one bright spot to come out of Monday for the Lions was the play of second-year wideout Golladay. Golladay was a popular sleeper pick last year after an impressive preseason, but a hamstring injury kept the breakout from happening. He was the most impressive member of the Lions' passing game Monday, hauling in seven of 12 targets for 114 yards. He led the team in snaps at WR and was second on the team in targets after Golden Tate.

Given his lack of track record, it will be tough to trust Golladay in Week 2 against the 49ers, but if he has another big game, we'll have to start considering moving him ahead of Marvin Jones in the ranks.

Other notes

Welcome back, Quincy Enunwa … Robby Anderson was the No. 1 receiver in New York last year, but he was limited to just one target Monday. It was Enunwa, who missed all of 2017 with a neck injury, who established himself as rookie Sam Darnold's favorite target, racking up 10 of Darnold's 21 passes for six catches, 63 yards, and a score.

Rams 33-Raiders 13

Amari Cooper was not a "focal point" of the Raiders' offense

Look, it's fair to say just about nothing went as planned for the Raiders after an impressive opening drive, so maybe they need a mulligan. It was a tough matchup against a revamped Rams' defense, and Derek Carr just wasn't on his game, tossing three picks without a score.

On the other hand, it's dispiriting to see Cooper garner a measly one catch on three targets, the same number as Derek Carrier. Jon Gruden talked up Cooper in the offseason as someone he wanted to "headline" in his offense, but it just looked like more of the same after Cooper's disastrous 2017 season. I'm not ready to give up on him entirely, but it's going to be tough to rely on Cooper in Week 2 against the Broncos, even if their pass defense looks softer than it has in years past.

There just may be enough to go around in Los Angeles

We didn't expect anyone to dominate targets in the Rams' offense, and nobody did in Week 1. However, that didn't prove to be a huge problem, as Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods all saw at least eight targets in the game. Cooks had the fewest with eight, but he led the team with five catches for 87 yards. Jared Goff still underthrew a couple of deep balls that had a chance to be big plays, which was disappointing to see, but it was nice to see him air it out 33 times even in an easy win. If the Rams give him a chance to air it out a bit more, there might be enough volume to sustain all three, though I still like Cooks best.

Other notes

Jared Cook had a huge game … From the very first drive, the Rams had no answer for Cook, who racked up nearly two-thirds of the Raiders' passing offense. He had nine catches for 180 yards on 12 targets in the game and could matter more than expected.
Jalen Richard is the passing down's guy … And there were a lot of passing downs last night, as he led the team in snaps at RB with 36. He ended up with nine catches for 55 yards and five carries for 24 and could be someone worth a look in PPR leagues, in the Theo Riddick/James White mold.

More from around the league Monday

Leonard Fournette's hamstring injury is considered minor … We'll get more updates on this as the week goes on, but I would still consider him a risk for Week 2 until we see multiple practices featuring Fournette. Consider adding T.J. Yeldon.
Doug Baldwin was diagnosed with a Grade 2 MCL sprain ... The Seahawks haven't announced how long Baldwin will be out, but the shred of good news here is, this isn't the knee he injured coming into the season. Or maybe that just means he has two bad knees now. Either way, we likely won't see Baldwin for a few weeks, at least.
No update for Marcus Mariota (elbow) yet … Like Fournette, this will be one to monitor throughout the week, though it'll be hard to trust Mariota at this point. Especially with ...
Delanie Walker (ankle) is likely done for the year … Jonnu Smith has a big opportunity, and there's a lot to like about his athletic profile. He just has to turn that into production, something he hasn't done yet in his career.
Jeremy Hill suffered a torn ACL … This is a disappointing one, as Hill had some potential as a sleeper with Sony Michel slowed to start the season. We should see Michel soon, and he has a big opportunity, especially if Rex Burkhead can't manage better than his 3.6 YPC average from Week 1. Michel will get his chance eventually.
Seantrel Henderson (ankle) will miss the rest of the season … A shaky Texans' line gets even worse, which is a bad sign after how rusty Deshaun Watson looked in Week 1. This one could be a problem.