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Booms and Busts: Aaron Rodgers early, Matthew Stafford late

When Aaron Rodgers says relax, we relax. And the Packers might just be a fantasy carnival again — because of their offense and their defense.

Rodgers was just about perfect in Sunday’s 34-27 victory over the Lions, rolling up four first-half touchdown passes and a 129.3 rating for the day. The early efficiency cost him some fantasy stats — Green Bay was conservative in the second half, and Rodgers finished with just 24 pass attempts. But this was nonetheless the game his fantasy owners were looking for. Rodgers also broke Detroit’s back in the second half with a couple of well-timed scrambles.

Happy Days at Lambeau (Getty)
Happy Days at Lambeau (Getty)

Rodgers and Jordy Nelson are copacetic again, that much is clear. Nelson caught two of the TD passes, logging a 6-101-2 day on just seven targets. Nelson’s scored in every game this year, though his best foot showed in the Lambeau Field opener. Unfortunately for the fantasy chase, the other two touchdown passes went to the unstartable Richard Rodgers and Davante Adams. Meanwhile, Randall Cobb and Jared Cook combined for two catches on six targets.

On the other side of the ball, the Packers are easy to decipher. They’re murder against the run — allowing less than two yards an attempt — and leaky against the pass (about eight yards per attempt). Perhaps that’s why the Lions gashed the Packers through the air (Matthew Stafford threw for 385 yards and three scores) and went nowhere on the ground (23 team carries, 50 yards). Heck, we should credit Dwayne Washington for somehow grinding out 38 yards on 10 carries against this group.

Marvin Jones looks like the receiver to own in Detroit. He burned the Pack for a couple of long scores (73, 35 yards) en route to a 6-205-2 day. Meanwhile, Golden Tate (4-40-0, six targets) can’t seem to get any momentum going. Anquan Boldin had a short touchdown, but his four catches netted just 22 yards.

Green Bay’s momentum is going on ice for a bit — the Packers don’t play in Week 4. Chew on that juicy boxscore, but get your replacements ready. Detroit has another divisional grudge match, heading to Chicago.

In other Week 3 Booms & Busts:

— Let’s give credit to Rex Ryan and the Buffalo coaching staff for having his group ready to go after two ugly defeats. The Bills throttled the Cardinals from opening whistle to final gun, rolling to a 33-18 victory. LeSean McCoy (17-110-2) showed the form that made him fantasy’s best back a few years ago, and the rushing lanes no doubt were widened because of mobile QB Tyrod Taylor (9-76-1). On a day where Sammy Watkins didn’t even suit up, the Bills offense still looked like a fun group. A fascinating showdown at New England is next.

— There are all sorts of problems in Jacksonville, with head coach Gus Bradley and quarterback Blake Bortles at the top of the list. But there’s nothing wrong with elite WR Allen Robinson. The third-year receiver snagged seven passes and scored twice in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, including one boundary score which included a logical catch-rule enforcement. The miracles never cease with Robinson, though it’s not going to be easy to overcome the scattershot Bortles on a weekly basis. Jacksonville’s rebooted rushing game continues to go nowhere — T.J. Yeldon had six carries for 17 yards, while Chris Ivory gave us a 12-rush, 14-yard nightmare.

— Before the season, I thought the Vikings had a good defense, maybe a great defense. Now I’m starting to think “best in the NFL” might be in play for the Purple People Eaters. Minnesota went down to Charlotte and decisively thumped the Panthers, 22-10, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

You want goodies, the Vikings gave us goodies. They sacked Cam Newton eight times, once for a safety. They collected three interceptions. Kelvin Benjamin, fantasy’s best receiver through the opening two weeks, was held without a catch on just one target. Take a bow, Minnesota. You’ve made your statement.

The Vikings backfield didn’t do much for fantasy purposes, even with all that favorable game script. Sixteen Jerick McKinnon carries netted just 45 yards, and Matt Asiata (6-15-0) ran like he was wearing ski boots. The passing production was also muted, though Kyle Rudolph (7-70-1) continued his strong push. Stefon Diggs was held to four catches for 40 yards, covering seven targets.

If you want to get an up close and personal look at the Minnesota defense, they’re making two prime-time appearances in October. Minnesota hosts the Giants a week from Monday, and they’ll visit the Bears four weeks later, on Halloween night.

— Seattle’s offense needed a get-back game, and a home date against San Francisco fit perfectly. The Seahawks rolled to a 37-18 victory — the final score is misleading, it was a blowout — and most of the key Hawks were in on the fun. Doug Baldwin’s just fine, thanks (8-164-1). Jimmy Graham (6-100-1) was winning jump balls and dominating smaller defenders; it was a reminder of his New Orleans days. Christine Michael (20-106-2) rumbled to a pair of early scores.

Ah, but if Russell Wilson isn’t hale, will the Seahawks remain a formidable group? Wilson was sharp throwing the ball (15-23-243, 1-0, 114.9 rating) before a knee injury forced him to the sidelines. Just what he didn’t need, a knee problem to go with his wonky ankle. Seattle’s Week 5 bye might turn out to be heaven sent; perhaps Trevone Boykin will have to play against the Jets next week.

Tyler Lockett owners will probably tune this entire paragraph out; although Lockett had a snappy 62-yard punt return, he wasn’t targeted in this game. He’s stuck on seven catches for 116 yards for the year.

— A 7.0 YPA, that’s nothing special. But if you chuck the ball 58 times, you’ll probably have a fruitful fantasy game. That’s what happened with Jameis Winston, who was fun, erratic, productive and mistake-prone in a 37-32 loss to the Rams.

As for the targets, it was the Three Amigos: Mike Evans, as expected (10-132-1); emerging receiver Adam Humphries (9-100-0, on 12 targets) and red-zone weapon Cameron Brate (5-46-2, just narrowly missed a third score). Charles Sims also had six catches (and 124 total yards), but Vincent Jackson (3-37-0, six targets) might be near the end of the line. He’s stuck on 99 yards for the season.

The Rams hit on a couple of big passing plays, but mostly their offense was Todd Gurley (27-85-2) and a chunk of mud. Gurley owners can spin it how they like — the volume was great and the two short touchdowns appreciated, but he also went for a mere 3.1 YPC and the Rams run-blocking hasn’t been good. Los Angeles travels to Arizona next week.