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Sunday Scene, Week 8: Kyle Orton and Sammy Watkins roast the Jets; Big Ben chases records

It isn't every day that fantasy owners are disgusted by an 84-yard reception, but Sammy Watkins is in the business of making the impossible happen. Early in the second quarter of Buffalo's decisive win over the Jets on Sunday, Watkins hauled in a deep dart from Kyle Orton, raced for the end-zone, and ... well, he did not quite arrive at his intended destination.

Watkins decelerated, gave us a premature sky-point celebration, and was caught from behind by Saalim Hakim just short of the goal line. Brutal play by an otherwise brilliant rookie — and Sammy even took a peek over his shoulder after the catch, so it's not like he was unaware of the pursuit.

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Despite the unfortunate non-touchdown, Watkins still delivered his usual excellent fantasy line. He finished with 157 yards on three catches with a late 61-yard score included. Buffalo quarterback Kyle Orton passed for 238 yards and four TDs on only 17 attempts, which is absurd. The Bills head into their bye week at 5-3, with a competent quarterback and a top-ten defense, looking suspiciously like a postseason contender.

But we're not here to hype Buffalo. Instead, let's take a moment to consider the defense that Orton and Watkins set ablaze, then tossed in a dumpster.

At the halfway point in a lost season, New York has already allowed a league-worst 22 touchdown passes (no other team is close) while snagging just one interception (also league-worst). It's a combination of injuries, inadequacy and incompetence, with each week more discouraging than the last. For fantasy purposes, the advice here is simple: pick on this secondary whenever possible.

If you find yourself in need of quarterback assistance, New York's schedule is loaded with streaming opportunities:

Week 9 – at KC (Alex Smith is 42 percent owned)
Week 10 – Pit (Ben Roethlisberger, 73 percent)
Week 11 – bye
Week 12 – at Buf (Kyle Orton, 8 percent)
Week 13 – Mia (Ryan Tannehill, 51 percent)
Week 14 – at Min (Teddy Bridgewater, 10 percent)
Week 15 – at Ten (Zach Mettenberger, 2 percent)
Week 16 – NE (Tom Brady, owned everywhere. He will pick clean the bones of this team.)

I'll probably rank "bye" as a top-15 quarterback in Week 11. New York has been that bad.

Ben Roethlisberger, dressed to thrill (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Ben Roethlisberger, dressed to thrill (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Entering the week, the Colts D was allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and the second-fewest to quarterbacks. It appears those ranks are not gonna hold. Ben Roethlisberger shredded Indy's defense for a ridiculous 522 yards and six touchdowns in Week 8, with five of the scores caught by wideouts. (Heath Miller corralled the sixth, on a gutsy fourth-and-inches call.) Antonio Brown had his usual two TDs, and rookie burner Martavis Bryant hauled in a pair as well, finishing with 83 yards on five catches. That's back-to-back useful games for Bryant, a kid who probably belongs in your waiver plans. You can't argue with his physical tools — speedy, 6-foot-4, 39-inch vert — and the recent production is obscene.

Big Ben essentially delivered a four-hour quarterback camp, challenging the NFL single-game yardage record while completing 40 of 49 throws. In a week loaded with stellar individual performances, Roethlisberger's afternoon was the best by a wide margin, an all-timer. He was so ludicrously good that he turned a 400-yard passing performance by Andrew Luck into an afterthought. (Fantasy owners, please note that rookie receiver Donte Moncrief saw a team-high 12 targets, finishing with seven receptions for 113 yards and one score.)

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No need to thank us for another gem of a game, London. It's our pleasure. Atlanta coughed up a 21-0 lead to the Lions at Wembley, in a game that neither team deserved to win. Golden Tate feasted again (7-151-1), as pretty much everyone predicted, and running back Theo Riddick had an excellent PPR day, hauling in eight balls for 74 yards and one score on 12 targets. Detroit tried to bungle the end-game, but Matt Prater managed to kick a 48-yard game-winner (shortly after missing from 43).

Mike Vick replaced Geno Smith at quarterback for the Jets on Sunday, but did so with Geno-like effectiveness. Vick lost a pair of fumbles, tossed an interception and averaged just 4.3 yards per pass attempt. Unsurprisingly, Rex Ryan isn't prepared to choose a starting quarterback for Week 9 just yet. He's got nothin' on his roster but bad ideas, so it's tough to blame him for waffling.

So Jeff Fisher and Brian Schottenheimer followed through on their threat to use both of St. Louis' uninteresting backfield options (Stacy, Cunningham), along with the one exciting back on the roster (Tre Mason). The trio split touches for the Rams, just one week after Mason carried 18 times for 85 yards and a score against Seattle. I'd assumed we were getting only misdirection from the coaching, but no. Mason is the guy I'd want going forward, but it's clearly a fantasy quagmire. If you'd prefer to stay away, I get it. This team is not where I'll make a stand.

Have a day, Arian Foster (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Have a day, Arian Foster (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Without actually crunching the numbers, I'm gonna estimate that Arian Foster has accounted for something like 79 percent of the Texans total net yards this year and 94 percent of the scoring. (Too low? Yeah, maybe.) Foster found the end-zone three times against the Titans on Sunday, gaining another 173 yards from scrimmage. He's seen 20-plus carries and gained over 100 yards in six of his seven games so far this season, generally running like the 2010 version of himself. The skeptic in me wants to tell you to flip Foster soon, that he still feels like an injury-risk time bomb. But I own the guy in two leagues and he's not on the block. He's the centerpiece of his team's offense, and Houston's second-half schedule includes matchups with the Browns, Titans and Jags.

Doug Martin was having another meh day for Tampa Bay (10 touches, 26 yards) before exiting with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Bobby Rainey accounted for 66 yards on 14 touches in a messy overtime loss. With Martin re-tweaked, Rainey running well and rookie Charles Sims set to return ... well, the short-term outlook isn't great for Doug. He's clearly droppable in leagues of standard size.

Russell Wilson had a mostly ugly afternoon at Carolina, punctuated by a game-winning drive. His team edged the Panthers 13-9, but it was hardly a clinic. Marshawn Lynch had another quiet day (14-62-0), plus he allowed a well-thrown ball to sail through his hands near the goal-line, resulting in a pick. Not great. Presumably the offense will get right next week, when Seattle hosts the Raiders.

Andre Holmes and Derek Carr gave us a garbage-time gift on Sunday, connecting for a 10-yard TD for Oakland in the closing seconds of a lost game. If that play cost you a fantasy win, you may proceed directly to comments to file a complaint. We've all been there; it never gets easy.

Foles and Maclin, mid-feast (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Foles and Maclin, mid-feast (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Philly and Arizona gave us an enormously entertaining game on Sunday, satisfying to every corner of the fantasy community, except the friends of Michael Floyd (zero catches, four targets). Jeremy Maclin was a monster (12-187-2), Nick Foles and Carson Palmer combined for 740 yards, and Larry Fitzgerald delivered a vintage stat line (7-160-1). Fitz also demonstrated the ability to outrun defensive backs, in case you thought he'd lost it. Palmer and rookie John Brown connected on a gorgeous 75-yard completion that provided the winning margin, and Arizona's defense repelled a final assault (barely). All things considered, an excellent game for those of us who had no rooting interest, outside of our fantasy needs. If these teams meet in January, that's cool with me.

Blake Bortles was pick-six'd twice by Miami on Sunday, which is everything we hoped for when we streamed the Dolphins D. The Jaguars have Cincinnati on deck, with Dallas, Indy, the Giants and Houston to follow. That team is a fantasy gift, in various ways.

We should note that Denard Robinson doubled-down, giving us a second straight 100-plus yard rushing performance. With his unusual-yet-awesome dual position eligibility (RB/WR), Robinson will remain a solid fantasy asset while healthy. He took 18 carries on Sunday, leaving just four for Toby Gerhart and two for Jordan Todman.

I, for one, am shocked that Ryan Mundy, Chris Conte and Shea McClellin were all unable to adequately cover Rob Gronkowski on Sunday. SHOCKED.

(No, actually. Not shocked at all, not even a little.)

The Bears were beaten so thoroughly by New England, in all phases, that it feels as if Chicago should be facing relegation. The Bears defense was remarkably inept and ineffective. Tom Brady performed surgery, while Jay Cutler engaged in some sort of 19th Century battlefield medicine. It wasn't pretty. I can't tell you why Marc Trestman left his varsity offense on the field throughout he fourth quarter, trailing by a zillion points, but I'm glad he did it for fantasy reasons. The global community of Cutler owners approves of the decision.

EARLY PICKUPS FOR WEEK 9

QB Alex Smith, KC (vs. NYJ)
QB Robert Griffin III, Was (at Min)
QB Teddy Bridgewater, Min (vs. Was)
RB Jeremy Hill, Cin (vs. Jac)
RB Bobby Rainey, TB (at Cle)
RB Charles Sims, TB (at Cle)
RB Lorenzo Taliaferro, Bal (at Pit)
RB Theo Riddick, Det (bye)
RB Jonas Gray, NE (vs. Den)
RB Juwan Thompson, Den (at NE)
WR Martavis Bryant, Pit (vs. Bal)
WR Donte Moncrief, Ind (at NYG)
WR Kenny Britt, STL (at SF)
WR Allen Robinson, Jac (at Cin)
WR Justin Hunter, Ten (bye)
DEF Cincinnati (vs. Jac)
DEF Minnesota (vs. Was)

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