It's a long season. Last night was one game. But it also mattered. These are two evenly matched teams on paper. And candidly, I thought the Rams would win, in part because I trusted their backfield to rise to the occasion. So let's briefly touch on each main player's performance, and what it *might* (and in some cases, might *not*) tell us about their fantasy values going forward.
Matthew Stafford -- Has a Super-Bowl-winning QB ever had a worse performance in his next game? The warning signs were everywhere the past month: elbow tendinitis, offseason elbow surgery, elbow-elbow-elbow. For a guy who's thrown as many passes as he has, there were reasons to believe he would not be a top-10 QB. Full disclosure: I kept him as my QB12, and still believe that he's likely to be "very good" this season. Last year's Bills had the best pass defense in more than a decade. So on the one hand, let's not overreact to one game; he'll be able to get Allen Robinson more involved going forward. At the same time, Stafford circa 2021 almost certainly would have performed better.
Josh Allen -- It took a little more than a half, but once he got going, Allen made good on his QB1 ranking. If you drafted him first in superflex leagues, congratulations (again). If you snagged him around the third round in regular leagues, fantastic. Buffalo has a fairly tough schedule, but not too many games as tough as Week 1 on the road against the Super Bowl champs.
Cam Akers -- What happened? Well, he's clearly not all the way back. I'm still all in on Akers based on his preseason value. If you can buy low and have the bench space to be patient, I'd go for it. If my PFFL opponent wants to trade him to me, I'm ready.
Darrell Henderson -- A big reason *not* to panic is because Henderson has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career. Kudos to those who paired Akers with the cheaper Henderson in drafts. I did that a few nights ago while drafting for a friend. If you only have Henderson, he's a solid sell-high guy if you can get value at least a couple rounds better than where you drafted him. Or trade him to whoever has Akers, and see if you can get a Rhamondre-Stevenson-level player in return.
Devin Singletary -- He did what he needed to do for managers. Remember, this was in L.A. Couldn't expect a dominating output. There are two keys: he led his RB corps in rushing attempts, and he was the only RB not to lost a fumble. Oh, and he averaged a terrific YPC, while his teammates (aside from Allen) were pretty bad. Game 2 will tell us a lot more about whether we'll see the December 2021 / January 2022 version of Singletary, or the frustrating RBBC of earlier last season. But rest assured, Singletary's fantasy value increased last night.
James Cook -- A disaster. Lost the ball on his first carry. Never touched it again. Not much more can be said.
Zack Moss -- Don't let the five catches fool you: Moss didn't look great last year, and last night wasn't much better. I'd be surprised if he earns this many touches in any game the rest of the month.
Cooper Kupp -- He was my WR5 this preseason, not my WR1. Time will tell if I'm an idiot. For now, he looks locked in, and certainly gave managers who invested a first round exactly what was needed.
Allen Robinson -- What happened? Such high hopes. I'm not worried yet. But this is looking a little too familiar. Robinson was money until last season, and we could chalk that up to poor QB play and injuries. Let's see what the next 10 days looks like, and how he and the team adjust in Week 2.
Stefon Diggs -- Most of us believed in Diggs this summer, because why not? He's in his prime, etc. Just as with Kupp, he met lofty expectations.
Gabriel Davis -- I had Davis as a slight bargain in my rankings compared to ADP, making him my WR23 and lacking the courage to go all in. Because this is such a top-heavy receiving corps, Davis should continue to flirt with weekly must-start production. I don't think last night was a fluke.
Tyler Higbee -- The good news: 11 targets. The bad news: a miscommunication early that led to a Stafford interception, and only 39 total yards. He's more TD-dependent than last night's attention suggests.
Dawson Knox -- Buy low. Pretty straightforward. And I get it: easier said than done. Knox is a great bet for 8+ TDs in one of the league's best offenses. I'm not concerned about Jamison Crowder and Isaiah McKenzie. If you don't have a top-8 TE, he'd be a nice get if you're not spending top-8-TE prices.
Finally, and almost as importantly, who picked the closest score? Most of you had the Bills, so congrats on that. I was way off, and can only take comfort that my prediction of a surprising defensive battle (36 total points) mostly held.
But enough about me. This paragraph -- this one right here -- is about Craig Mavis, the first of many 2022 winners (unless he wins all of them). Craig picked the Bills to win 33-24. I've scanned all of the predictions twice and cannot find a pick that's closer to the final score. That's good enough for me, and hopefully for all of you, and certainly for Craig. So congratulations Craig! I will add you to my list of final-score-picking winners.
What, you don't believe me? Ask Harley Swan. He believes-- What? You don't either? Well here it is:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13SZPKEL8x861lE5yy4_E8fPS5D9jVXmMf1d7BXi9Aws/edit#gid=1358794746
Some of you will recognize this as the Fantasy Bingo spreadsheet. Last night I added a new tab to track the final-score-picking winners. I believe Rick Easterly won several times last year. But because I didn't track them, Rick's success will fade like the Jets' playoff hopes. (Sorry, Rick.) (Sorry, Jets.)
So one last time: congratulations, Craig. Nobody panic about their players (yet). Capitalize on panicking opponents. And have a great Friday.
Matthew Stafford -- Has a Super-Bowl-winning QB ever had a worse performance in his next game? The warning signs were everywhere the past month: elbow tendinitis, offseason elbow surgery, elbow-elbow-elbow. For a guy who's thrown as many passes as he has, there were reasons to believe he would not be a top-10 QB. Full disclosure: I kept him as my QB12, and still believe that he's likely to be "very good" this season. Last year's Bills had the best pass defense in more than a decade. So on the one hand, let's not overreact to one game; he'll be able to get Allen Robinson more involved going forward. At the same time, Stafford circa 2021 almost certainly would have performed better.
Josh Allen -- It took a little more than a half, but once he got going, Allen made good on his QB1 ranking. If you drafted him first in superflex leagues, congratulations (again). If you snagged him around the third round in regular leagues, fantastic. Buffalo has a fairly tough schedule, but not too many games as tough as Week 1 on the road against the Super Bowl champs.
Cam Akers -- What happened? Well, he's clearly not all the way back. I'm still all in on Akers based on his preseason value. If you can buy low and have the bench space to be patient, I'd go for it. If my PFFL opponent wants to trade him to me, I'm ready.
Darrell Henderson -- A big reason *not* to panic is because Henderson has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career. Kudos to those who paired Akers with the cheaper Henderson in drafts. I did that a few nights ago while drafting for a friend. If you only have Henderson, he's a solid sell-high guy if you can get value at least a couple rounds better than where you drafted him. Or trade him to whoever has Akers, and see if you can get a Rhamondre-Stevenson-level player in return.
Devin Singletary -- He did what he needed to do for managers. Remember, this was in L.A. Couldn't expect a dominating output. There are two keys: he led his RB corps in rushing attempts, and he was the only RB not to lost a fumble. Oh, and he averaged a terrific YPC, while his teammates (aside from Allen) were pretty bad. Game 2 will tell us a lot more about whether we'll see the December 2021 / January 2022 version of Singletary, or the frustrating RBBC of earlier last season. But rest assured, Singletary's fantasy value increased last night.
James Cook -- A disaster. Lost the ball on his first carry. Never touched it again. Not much more can be said.
Zack Moss -- Don't let the five catches fool you: Moss didn't look great last year, and last night wasn't much better. I'd be surprised if he earns this many touches in any game the rest of the month.
Cooper Kupp -- He was my WR5 this preseason, not my WR1. Time will tell if I'm an idiot. For now, he looks locked in, and certainly gave managers who invested a first round exactly what was needed.
Allen Robinson -- What happened? Such high hopes. I'm not worried yet. But this is looking a little too familiar. Robinson was money until last season, and we could chalk that up to poor QB play and injuries. Let's see what the next 10 days looks like, and how he and the team adjust in Week 2.
Stefon Diggs -- Most of us believed in Diggs this summer, because why not? He's in his prime, etc. Just as with Kupp, he met lofty expectations.
Gabriel Davis -- I had Davis as a slight bargain in my rankings compared to ADP, making him my WR23 and lacking the courage to go all in. Because this is such a top-heavy receiving corps, Davis should continue to flirt with weekly must-start production. I don't think last night was a fluke.
Tyler Higbee -- The good news: 11 targets. The bad news: a miscommunication early that led to a Stafford interception, and only 39 total yards. He's more TD-dependent than last night's attention suggests.
Dawson Knox -- Buy low. Pretty straightforward. And I get it: easier said than done. Knox is a great bet for 8+ TDs in one of the league's best offenses. I'm not concerned about Jamison Crowder and Isaiah McKenzie. If you don't have a top-8 TE, he'd be a nice get if you're not spending top-8-TE prices.
Finally, and almost as importantly, who picked the closest score? Most of you had the Bills, so congrats on that. I was way off, and can only take comfort that my prediction of a surprising defensive battle (36 total points) mostly held.
But enough about me. This paragraph -- this one right here -- is about Craig Mavis, the first of many 2022 winners (unless he wins all of them). Craig picked the Bills to win 33-24. I've scanned all of the predictions twice and cannot find a pick that's closer to the final score. That's good enough for me, and hopefully for all of you, and certainly for Craig. So congratulations Craig! I will add you to my list of final-score-picking winners.
What, you don't believe me? Ask Harley Swan. He believes-- What? You don't either? Well here it is:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13SZPKEL8x861lE5yy4_E8fPS5D9jVXmMf1d7BXi9Aws/edit#gid=1358794746
Some of you will recognize this as the Fantasy Bingo spreadsheet. Last night I added a new tab to track the final-score-picking winners. I believe Rick Easterly won several times last year. But because I didn't track them, Rick's success will fade like the Jets' playoff hopes. (Sorry, Rick.) (Sorry, Jets.)
So one last time: congratulations, Craig. Nobody panic about their players (yet). Capitalize on panicking opponents. And have a great Friday.