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Mostly NFL Notes: Talking Drew Brees, Todd Gurley and a look around the league

It’s clear Drew Brees is still dealing with a shoulder that’s not 100% (he said after the game it felt “good enough”), relegating him to mostly underneath throws. But Sunday night showed that doesn’t mean he can’t still possess plenty of fantasy value, as he threw for 359 yards and got 8.9 YPA with a 2:0 TD:INT ratio. A missed New Orleans 30-yard field goal at the end of regulation helped, as it sent the game to overtime, where Brees connected with C.J. Spiller for an 80-yard score that marked the 400th TD pass of his career. He may be on the decline, but in the year of the injured quarterback, Brees can still be a top-five type fantasy QB from here on out. A healthy Spiller filling the old Darren Sproles role would certainly go a long way. The Saints’ upcoming schedule (@Phi, Atl, @Ind, NYG, Ten) should feature a bunch of shootouts.

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Lance Dunbar’s injury looked serious, but it’s unclear who’d benefit from his absence. Joseph Randle scored again but got just 2.4 YPC, was nowhere to be found in the second half for the second straight week and has never proven to be much of a pass catcher. He lost a yard on his first and only carry of the season Sunday night, but Christine Michael needs to be stashed in fantasy leagues...What a catch by Terrance Williams...This marked the fastest regular season overtime finish in NFL history, which ended two streaks (the Saints had lost six straight home games while the Cowboys had won 10 straight regular season games on the road).

Devonta Freeman not only has six rushing scores over the past two weeks, he’s secured 10-of-11 targets for 133 receiving yards over that span as well. His day would’ve been even bigger Sunday had he not been removed early with Atlanta holding a huge lead. Freeman looks like a sure RB1 even when Tevin Coleman returns...Roddy White is on pace to finish with 24 catches for 368 yards this season...A disappointing game from Arian Foster, but he’ll be a must-start Week 5 against Indy...Hard not to see the Texans turning back to Brian Hoyer, which should be good news for the owners of DeAndre Hopkins, who’s on pace to see 240 targets (Demaryius Thomas led the league last year with 184).

Karlos Williams didn’t live up to the hype, but the Giants have been extremely tough against the run, having allowed the fewest YPC (3.1) in the NFL. LeSean McCoy is going to be sidelined for at least the next few weeks, so still count on Williams as an RB1 for the time being...Rashad Jennings’ first TD catch of his career was impressive, as he took a short screen 51 yards to the house while breaking multiple tackles in the process.

Jay Cutler committed a couple of turnovers and got just 6.5 YPA, but his return was a boost to Chicago with Jimmy Clausen the alternative...The Raiders have allowed 32 catches for 388 yards and six touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season. Owen Daniels is next on the docket, and Antonio Gates should be in store for a big game in Week 7 after Oakland’s bye...Latavius Murray didn’t have his best game, getting just 3.1 YPC while allowing a pass to bounce off his hands for an interception and losing a fumble on a simple toss.

After recording just 40 receptions for 291 yards last season, Jamaal Charles is on pace to haul in 80 catches for 906 yards. It appears Charcandrick West has surpassed Knile Davis on the Chiefs depth chart, so Charles owners looking to handcuff should make that swap...Jeremy Hill scored three touchdowns and punched in a two-point conversion but got out carried 13-9 by Gio Bernard, which remains concerning. Still, Hill’s TD runs were impressive, even if they all were inside the 10. The yardage should come...Brandon Tate sure made the most of his first target of the season...Alex Smith’s 386 passing yards were a career high. He’s attempted 110 passes over the past three weeks, resulting in just one TD toss, and he’s on pace to be sacked 72 times.

Jameis Winston looks unusable even in 2-QB formats. It’s too early to come to any conclusions, and Carolina’s secondary has been stout, but Winston was terrible Sunday. The narrative entering the year was “the TB QB can’t be any worse than last season” (I agreed, admittedly), but Mike Evans owners might be disagreeing with that sentiment throughout 2015...I can’t foresee any scenario outside of leagues bigger than 14 teams in which I’d start Jonathan Stewart...Nice to see Doug Martin show a pulse, albeit one week after I ‘d finally given up on him...Here’s TE Ed Dickson returning a fumble 57 yards for a score...Kyle Brindza has missed five field goals and two extra points over the past two weeks.

After yet another slow start, Sam Bradford finished with 9.6 YPA and a 3:0 TD:INT ratio, but his scoring recipients were Riley Cooper, Miles Austin and Brent Celek, all of whom were unlikely to be in fantasy lineups. Meanwhile, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews totaled 56 yards on 13 carries (it doesn’t help Mathews that he lost another fumble either). I have no idea what to make of Philadelphia right now...Here’s Pierre Garcon’s game-winning TD.

Headlines of the Week: Bundle Of Marijuana Worth $10,000 Falls From The Sky And Crushes Doghouse...Passenger Who Tried To Open Plane Door At 30,000 Feet ‘Thought It Was A Toilet’...Doctor Punches Patient In Stomach After Third Visit To ER In One Night...Two Die In Mexico Car Crash After Air Bag Replaced With Cocaine Packages...‘Scratching Noise’ In Woman’s Ear Caused By Spider Weaving Web...Woman Says She Is Happier Than Ever After Fulfilling Lifelong Wish Of Becoming Blind.

Frank Gore got just 3.1 YPC and lost another fumble at the goal line, but he recorded five catches in a game for the first time since Oct. 18, 2012...Matt Hasselbeck played well enough given the circumstances, yet the Colts were lucky to win, as Jason Myers’ missed FG at the end of regulation was nullified by Chuck Pagano calling a timeout in a silly effort to ice him. Myers proceeded to miss again on his second try (effectively his third miss of the game on what was an epic day of bad kicking performances), helping Indy win its 15th straight division game, tying the record for the most since the merger...I’d throw trade offers at T.Y. Hilton’s owner and see if you can get any sort of discount.

Chris Ivory was terrific, breaking a whopping nine tackles Sunday, but that Dolphins run defense is a mess (and they have just one sack on the year)...Eric Decker looked healthy enough and now gets a bye to hopefully get back to full strength...Miami has been outscored 37-3 in the first quarter this season...Jarvis Landry and Jordan Cameron combined for 2.8 YPT (on 21 looks), which isn’t ideal.

San Diego entered allowing the fourth fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs, yet Josh McCown completed 78.0 percent of his passes and threw for 356 yards (8.7 YPA) with a 2:0 TD:INT ratio...The Chargers had a lead during the first three quarters of a game for the first time this season...Duke Johnson impressed and gives Cleveland one fantasy worthy player to roster...This Gary Barnidge TD catch might have been the best of the day...Josh Lambo missed a FG as time expired in the fourth quarter only to get another try (which he made) thanks to the Browns jumping offside.

Police Blotter: Bank Robbers Arrested After Posting Selfies On Facebook Flashing Cash...Florida Resident Calls 911 Because Monkey Was Sitting On A Mailbox Eating Mail...Driver With Bear In His Car Let Off By Police ‘Because It Was Wearing A Seatbelt’...Man Breaks Into Home, Showers, Shaves, Feeds Cats, Writes In Diary, Starts Fire, Caught Watching TV.

The Cardinals didn’t exactly deserve to win, but there were back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter in which the refs robbed them of what appeared to be fumble recoveries by their defense...David Johnson had a rollercoaster game, losing a fumble on the opening kickoff and dropping a sure TD pass on third-and-goal, but he also hauled in a nice touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter...I hope you didn’t miss Todd Gurley’s coming out party. He had 144 rushing yards in the second half and looks primed to be a top-10 fantasy back from here on out. Make sure his owner in your league also views him as such.

Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb and James Jones were likely in many DFS lineups, so naturally, it’s John Kuhn and Richard Rodgers who score Green Bay’s touchdowns...The 49ers have been outscored 29-0 in the first quarter this season...Colin Kaepernick has a 0:5 TD:INT ratio over the past two weeks, and as ugly as San Francisco has looked recently, don’t expect a turnaround any time soon, as its schedule remains brutal (@NYG, Bal, Sea, @Stl, Atl, @Sea, Ari). I’m afraid Carlos Hyde’s clear talent is going to go mostly to waste this year.

Longread of the Week: Terrence Howard’s Dangerous Mind

This is what you risk when stacking the box on fourth-and-short. The Broncos held Adrian Peterson to just 23 yards on his other 15 carries and recorded seven sacks, as their defense continues to look like the best in football...Ronnie Hillman’s 72-yard TD run was the longest rush of the season so far, and he nearly added a goal line score later as well. It would be a mild surprise if Hillman doesn’t see more touches than C.J. Anderson in Week 5.

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