The New Orleans Saints won their seventh consecutive game on Sunday with an impressive 47-10 drubbing of the Buffalo Bills, achieving this on the road and without the aid of quarterback Drew Brees throwing for some ridiculous number of yards and a myriad of touchdowns. In fact, Brees threw for nary a score, and for the sixth consecutive game, he did not reach as many as 20 fantasy points. These Saints rely on a fantastic and versatile running game -- even Brees scrambled for a score for the first time in four years -- and an underrated but surging defense to win games. And it sure is working.
Both veteran Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara continued to secure RB1 status in fantasy leagues, combining for a cool 55.9 PPR points. No other team can claim a pair of running backs worthy of top-20 status, let alone top-10. Ingram led all Week 10 running back scorers entering the Sunday night game with 31.1 points, achieved with 131 rushing yards and a club-record-tying three touchdowns, while Kamara totaled 138 yards and scored a touchdown for the fourth consecutive week. Kamara led all running backs in fantasy points in Week 9, and each player was in the top 10 in Week 8, as well.
The last time a pair of Saints each rushed for more than 100 yards in a game was more than a decade ago when Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister achieved it late in the 2006 campaign, and no Saints team had rushed for more than Sunday’s 298 yards in a game since 1981. Indeed, this isn’t a typical Saints team at all, or even like last year’s version that was 16th in rushing, but it can support two star running backs. Incidentally, the Bills entered play having allowed an average of only 84 rushing yards per game, and while they’re no offensive juggernaut themselves, their only touchdown came with backups in the final minutes.
Certainly what Ingram and Kamara are achieving appears legitimate, and the ESPN Fantasy rankings boasted each in the top 10 for this week. That should continue. Now we’re also going to have to consider the Saints D/ST as a top-10 unit, which is truly rare. The Saints D/ST entered Week 10 sixth in season scoring but first since Week 3. The Saints lost their first two games and permitted 65 points, but since then, the Saints have allowed more than 17 points in just one game, and the D/ST boasts five games with double-digit fantasy points. No opposing quarterback has reached as many as 15 fantasy points in a game since Tom Brady in Week 2. If you’re thinking Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Cam Newton are great plays over the next three weeks, think again.
Second down: Few teams in recent seasons have been able to provide multiple running backs as top-20 fantasy options, but the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons have been one of them. However, that’s changed this season as both Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, among other Falcons, have disappointed. Freeman left Sunday’s impressive win over the Dallas Cowboys early with a concussion, leaving Coleman his first opportunity of the season for volume, and he rushed for a season-best 83 yards and scored a touchdown. Let’s remember Coleman was actually Atlanta’s choice for lead back duties in 2015, but he missed Week 1 and Freeman seized the job. It doesn’t seem likely that Freeman will miss considerable, if any, time with his head injury, but if he does, Coleman would step into his RB1 status.
But all eyes weren’t on the Atlanta running backs. Instead, the focus entering the Sunday afternoon game was on those of the Cowboys with Ezekiel Elliott serving the first game of his six-game suspension. As expected, Alfred Morris saw the first opportunity to seize the role, and he ended up with 11 of the team’s 15 carries from a running back. Morris broke a 20-yard run in the second half to buoy what was otherwise an uninspiring performance, as his other 10 runs totaled 33 yards. Rod Smith, as expected, was a factor in the passing game with four catches on six targets, while Darren McFadden, in his first action of the season, lost 2 yards on his lone rush. This is a time-share. Morris leads it, but Smith could be more valuable in PPR formats. And roster McFadden, as well, just in case. No Cowboys running back will come recommended in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Third down: As for quarterbacks who provided big numbers, Washington’s Kirk Cousins and Minnesota’s Case Keenum were the leaders from the early Sunday games. Cousins rushed for a pair of touchdowns and threw for another as he continues to prove he’s matchup-proof, though that will certainly be tested against the Saints. Cousins continues to thrive with little consistent aid from teammates. Even running back Chris Thompson was quiet on Sunday. Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Jamison Crowder each caught seven passes on 11 targets, and they should be rostered in more leagues. Davis has outscored brittle Jordan Reed this season, and there’s no telling when Reed will play again. Maurice Harris essentially replaced Terrelle Pryor Sr. in the rotation and made an acrobatic touchdown reception, though it’s premature to call him a 10-team league addition.
Keenum threw four touchdown passes, but his security as the starter will likely remain week-to-week, as Teddy Bridgewater suited up for the first time since the 2015 season as the backup for this game and shed pregame tears of joy. Keenum also threw a pair of ugly second-half interceptions as his team was holding on to a large lead and might have become the first quarterback in recent memory to throw for 300 yards and four scores and still get pulled. It could still occur at any point, so if you roster Keenum, be prepared. However, it shouldn’t matter to awesome wide receiver Adam Thielen. The sure-handed Thielen continues to be the lone player this season with five receptions in every game. He caught eight passes for 166 yards and his second touchdown in as many weeks, looking like a safe WR1 option regardless of his quarterback.
Fourth down: More than a few of the wide receivers appearing on the latest ESPN most added list came through for fantasy managers with performances proving their worth. Robert Woods of the Los Angeles Rams entered the Sunday night Patriots-Broncos game as fantasy’s top PPR scorer for the week with 37.1 points. It included 171 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of them an electrifying 94-yarder. As colleague Tristan H. Cockcroft noted, Woods boasts consecutive games of 23-plus PPR points after achieving such a mark only three times in his previous 64 games. While Sammy Watkins found the end zone on Sunday, Woods is the top Rams receiver, though he’ll likely miss the top 20 in our rankings for the next three weeks against the Vikings, Saints and Cardinals, each featuring strong cover cornerbacks who figure to shadow him.
The schedule looks easier in future weeks for the New York Giants’ Sterling Shepard, Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster and New York Jets’ Robby Anderson, each of whom continued to produce. Shepard and teammate Evan Engram are the top targets for beleaguered quarterback Eli Manning, who can’t win games with this team but can keep his top targets busy. Shepard had 142 receiving yards. The Giants play the Chiefs, Redskins and Raiders over the next three weeks. Smith-Schuster caught a touchdown for the third consecutive game and should no longer feel threatened by the presence of Martavis Bryant. The Steelers have home games with the Titans and Packers ahead. Anderson has scored a touchdown in four consecutive games. He won’t score in Week 11, as his team has its bye week, but he has become dependable.