Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook followed up his dominant Week 8 performance against the Green Bay Packers by embarrassing the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and for those keeping track, he scored 87.8 PPR points combined those games. He rushed for 369 yards combined, added 109 receiving yards and scored six touchdowns.
Yeah, that will certainly work in fantasy football, and there is a case to make that Cook, now averaging better than 100 rushing yards per game and despite the lofty production of the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara and the fantastic return of Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey, warrants legit attention as the top player in fantasy.
OK, easy stuff there, but what about the Vikings wide receivers? Hello, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson? Remember us in the fantasy world, because we still need you, too.
Cook and the Vikings get the Monday Night Football nod in Week 10 with a road NFC North battle against the sputtering Chicago Bears, and fantasy managers have to wonder whether Cook performing at the highest of levels can effectively coexist with the team's once-prolific passing game, at least statistically. Remember, both the veteran Thielen and the rookie Jefferson were among the top 10 fantasy wide receivers in PPR scoring through six games -- and while that might seem minor, it definitely mattered.
Then came the Week 7 bye, then the wins over the Packers and Lions in which Cook did the proverbial heavy lifting, and now neither Thielen nor Jefferson will enter Week 10 as top-10 fantasy wide receivers. The Bears, for all their troubles on one side of the football, do remain defensively stingy.
It is hardly breaking news to remind fantasy managers that quarterback Kirk Cousins is not a fantasy stalwart, but there seemed a solid balance of run and throw for the Vikings halfway into October. Cook was great, but not every week and not to the highest level on a consistent basis. Fantasy managers assumed Cook would be great, of course, making him a top-five pick in nearly every draft. Still, Minnesota's passing game worked well, in part because the Minnesota defense struggled so much that it created deficits that warranted much passing. That has not happened since the bye week.
However, the Bears, with Nick Foles at quarterback and a terrible running game, seem unlikely to get into a shootout with the Vikings. In fact, the Bears have not scored as many as 24 points in their past six games. The Chicago defense kept Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry in check Sunday, holding the league's top rusher to 68 yards on 21 carries, a season-low 6.8 PPR points (no catches). It hardly means this defense can contain Cook, as well, but it does seem likely Cousins will need to throw a bit more than the past fortnight, in which he has attempted 34 passes. That is two games worth of passing, not one. Not good for fantasy!
Perhaps we can no longer presume Thielen holds on to his WR1 spot, but it seems foolish to bench him off two likely aberrant performances in which he caught five passes for 65 yards and nary a touchdown. Jefferson has six catches for 90 yards in those two games. Disregard these paltry numbers, to some degree. The Packers and Lions have struggled this season versus running backs, and the Bears have not. Momentum in this sport is as good as the following week's game plan. Thielen and Jefferson remain relevant fantasy options, and we hope we do not need to reevaluate after the Bears game.
Windy City struggles: Meanwhile, the Bears are reeling with three consecutive defeats, posing little offensive threat thanks to injuries, penalties and a running game that entered Week 9 second-to-last in rushing yards per game, ahead of only the Texans. Things did not improve in the 24-17 loss to the Titans, as linebacker Barkevious Mingo registered the team's lone double-digit run of the afternoon, it coming on a fake punt. Excluding Mingo, the team averaged 2.4 yards per carry. Second-year running back David Montgomery could use better blocking, surely, but even with volume after Tarik Cohen's season-ending injury, he seems rather ordinary and more flex choice than definite fantasy starter.
The lone Bears fantasy option that must be in lineups on a weekly basis is veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II, and the Vikings, with their young, revamped secondary, generally struggle to defend the pass. Expect Foles to throw early and often and Robinson to get his numbers, while Darnell Mooney and tight end Jimmy Graham warrant attention, as well, due to the matchup and circumstances. The Bears still have more wins than losses, unlike the Vikings, so this is indeed an intriguing matchup.
In the Nick of time: Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb sprained an MCL in Week 4, and word is he could return for the Week 10 matchup with the Houston Texans. Chubb surpassed 100 rushing yards in Weeks 2 and 3 and scored a pair of touchdowns in each contest, so it is safe to say fantasy managers have missed his production and will look to push him into lineups right away. Chubb and Kareem Hunt comprise arguably the league's top running back duo, and since the former left the lineup, the latter produced a mixed bag for fantasy managers, with two solid statistical outings and two other subpar ones with fewer than double-digit PPR points.
The Cleveland passing game is not one of the stronger ones in the league, and it is not because Odell Beckham Jr. tore his ACL in Week 7. It was struggling prior to that as quarterback Baker Mayfield has drastically underachieved -- other than a five-touchdown outing versus the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 -- even with rather modest standards. Mayfield has reached 16 fantasy points in one game. One! He is currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list and self-isolating, but even if he starts in Week 10, fantasy managers should look elsewhere and not to his backup Case Keenum.
Rookie-quarterback matchup: Los Angeles Chargers right-hander Justin Herbert continues to produce numbers worthy of a clear fantasy starter, eclipsing 20 fantasy points in six of his seven starts, including Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Miami Dolphins lefty Tua Tagovailoa went over 20 fantasy points in Week 9 for the first time, stealing a win from Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray. Nobody would claim Tagovailoa has reached QB1 status yet, but his Dolphins did win both his starts. Herbert, however, has won only one of his myriad starts, as the Chargers find new and unfortunately innovative ways to lose football games in the closing seconds. Life is simply not fair, fantasy or otherwise.
Still, this is an intriguing matchup of the Nos. 5 and 6 picks (Tagovailoa went one spot ahead) and for fantasy purposes, it is possible that the team's running games warrant the most following during the week. After all, Herbert investors know to start him, while Tagovailoa backers might need to only if rostering Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, who serves his bye week. Though Chubb could return for Cleveland, the Chargers have given no indication that star Austin Ekeler is likely to return for Week 10. Justin Jackson hurt a knee early Sunday and did not record a touch, while rookie Joshua Kelley struggled again. Young journeyman Kalen Ballage, of all people, took the lead and scored 16.4 PPR points. He could be an intriguing waiver wire pickup this week. For Miami, Myles Gaskin remains on injured reserve and Jordan Howard remains, well, not good. Perhaps Matt Breida recovers from a hamstring injury to aid with touches.