This article is part of our NFL Reactions series.
-Several jarring injuries arguably headlined the day Sunday, with Nick Chubb suffering a potentially severe knee injury and OJ Howard suffering what appears to be a season-ending Achilles' tendon injury. Austin Ekeler left early with a hamstring trouble, meanwhile, one that might have him week-to-week at the moment.
-Through four weeks it appears safe to say that, in maximum contrast to prior seasons under Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer, the 2020 Seahawks offense will stick to an approach of scoring (throwing) first and running later, rather than running first and only throwing later to get out of the hole they needlessly dug for themselves. Most of Chris Carson's 16 carries for 80 yards and two scores occurred in the second half of Sunday's win over the Dolphins, protecting the lead the Seahawks established earlier as Russell Wilson completed 24-of-34 passes for 360 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tyler Lockett had an off game (two catches for 39 yards on four targets), but DK Metcalf remained hyper-efficient by turning six targets into four catches for 106 yards. Now that Carroll and Schottenheimer are no longer stopping it, it's hard to imagine what could slow this Seattle offense down.
-In an offense with no coherent identity otherwise, DeVante Parker continues to prove he's the real deal for the Dolphins. In a day where Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 29-of-45 passes for 315 yards and two interceptions, Parker was the only pass catcher who really showed up, catching 10 of 12 targets for
-Several jarring injuries arguably headlined the day Sunday, with Nick Chubb suffering a potentially severe knee injury and OJ Howard suffering what appears to be a season-ending Achilles' tendon injury. Austin Ekeler left early with a hamstring trouble, meanwhile, one that might have him week-to-week at the moment.
-Through four weeks it appears safe to say that, in maximum contrast to prior seasons under Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer, the 2020 Seahawks offense will stick to an approach of scoring (throwing) first and running later, rather than running first and only throwing later to get out of the hole they needlessly dug for themselves. Most of Chris Carson's 16 carries for 80 yards and two scores occurred in the second half of Sunday's win over the Dolphins, protecting the lead the Seahawks established earlier as Russell Wilson completed 24-of-34 passes for 360 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tyler Lockett had an off game (two catches for 39 yards on four targets), but DK Metcalf remained hyper-efficient by turning six targets into four catches for 106 yards. Now that Carroll and Schottenheimer are no longer stopping it, it's hard to imagine what could slow this Seattle offense down.
-In an offense with no coherent identity otherwise, DeVante Parker continues to prove he's the real deal for the Dolphins. In a day where Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 29-of-45 passes for 315 yards and two interceptions, Parker was the only pass catcher who really showed up, catching 10 of 12 targets for 110 yards. With the Dolphins defense and run game both still struggling, Parker's situation this year still resembles that of his 2019 breakout season, meaning he should continue to offer top-20ish wideout production if his health cooperates.
-Gardner Minshew couldn't lead the Jaguars to points for most of the game against Cincinnati, but he was solid for fantasy investors by throwing for 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. DJ Chark caught both of the touchdowns in his triumphant return, catching eight of nine targets for 95 yards otherwise. Laviska Shenault (five catches for 86 yards on six targets) and Keelan Cole (four catches for 46 yards on five targets) were also hyper-efficient for the Jaguars. James Robinson was quietly effective, turning 17 carries into 75 yards and catching all four of his targets for 32 yards. Robinson seems to stay busy even when the Jags fall behind in games.
-Joe Mixon finally broke out for the Bengals, taking 25 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns while snagging all six of his targets for 30 yards and a third touchdown. A.J. Green's season sank to a new low, meanwhile, catching just one of his five targets for three yards. Rookie Tee Higgins might already be better than Green, as the Clemson product caught four of his seven targets for 77 yards.
-Justin Jefferson is no joke – the rookie from LSU is locked into the starting lineup for Minnesota, and he followed up his breakout Week 3 performance with four catches for 103 yards on five targets against Houston. Adam Thielen remains the the lead wideout of course, and he reiterated that point by catching eight of 10 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook offered his own reminder with 130 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 27 carries.
-Deshaun Watson struggled in most of Sunday's loss to Minnesota, but salvaged the week for his fantasy investors by finishing 20-of-33 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Will Fuller was almost automatic (six catches for 108 yards and one touchdown on seven targets), but Brandin Cooks' season continues to disappoint (zero catches on three targets).
-Baker Mayfield was borderline useless for fantasy investors even on a day where the Browns scored 49 points against the Cowboys. Odell Beckham gets almost all the credit for that, as he caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets while taking two carries for 73 yards and a third touchdown.
-Dak Prescott stuffed the stat sheet against the Browns, completing 41-of-58 passes for 502 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Basically everyone got in on the pass-catching production for Dallas, but a notable exception was Michael Gallup (two catches for 29 yards on five targets).
-It was a somewhat difficult day for the Washington offense against the Ravens, yet it might have been their most promising showing to this point in 2020. Dwayne Haskins didn't throw any touchdowns but ran for one and avoided turnovers, completing 32-of-45 passes for 314 yards otherwise. Antonio Gibson finally had a breakout game, taking 13 carries for 46 yards and a score while catching four of five targets for 82 yards. Terry McLaurin was excellent, playing through injury to catch 10 of 14 targets for 118 yards.
-After opening the game with a 14-0 lead, the Lions managed to lose to the Saints 35-29. Matthew Stafford started hot but finished 17-of-31 for 206 yards, three touchdowns and one interception with both Kenny Golladay (four catches for 62 yards and one touchdown on eight targets) and Marvin Jones (one catch for nine yards on two targets) putting forth inefficient production. D'Andre Swift got some traction at least, taking four carries for 22 yards and catching all four of his targets for 30 yards and a touchdown.
-They'll be hard-pressed to stay relevant upon the eventual return of Michael Thomas (ankle), but Emmanuel Sanders (six catches for 93 yards on nine targets) and Tre'Quan Smith (four receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns on four targets) were both efficient as they carried the Saints passing game in the comeback effort. Perhaps it'll be too crowded when Thomas returns, but at least the Saints know how they need to run the offense if he misses another game.
-Kliff Kingsbury's game plan played into the hands of the Carolina defense, as Kyler Murray generated just 133 yards passing on 24-of-31 attempts, amounting to three meaningless touchdowns. Luckily for Murray's fantasy investors, he salvaged the day a bit further with 78 yards rushing on six attempts.
-Mike Davis rolled again for the Panthers, taking 16 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown while catching five of six targets for 27 yards. Backup Reggie Bonnafon was also effective, taking 10 carries for 53 yards and catching both of his targets for 18 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Robby Anderson might be the WR1 for the Panthers at this point, as he caught eight of 11 targets for 99 yards while D.J. Moore totaled just four receptions for 49 yards on six targets.
-Justin Herbert was impressive against a tough Tampa Bay defense, completing 20-of-25 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Although most of that production was propelled by big plays to Jalen Guyton (72-yard touchdown) and Tyron Johnson (53-yard touchdown), both plays were great throws by Herbert. So was the third touchdown, a pass to tight end Donald Parham.
-Tom Brady wasn't as good as his fantasy production implied Sunday, but he gets a pass considering the quality of the Chargers defense. His fantasy investors will gladly accept the final point total, as Brady completed 30-of-46 passes for 369 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Mike Evans (seven catches for 122 yards and one touchdown on eight targets) is a beast of course, but Scotty Miller (five catches for 83 yards and one touchdown on seven targets) is the real deal, too.
-Jon Gruden's Sloth Ball strategy successfully limited Buffalo's play count, but the Bills still comfortably secured the win as Josh Allen scored three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). Allen briefly left with a left (non-throwing) shoulder issue, but it didn't seem to affect him much upon his return. Allen is of course playing at a high level, but it's also becoming clear that his top four receivers (Stefon Diggs, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis) is one of the best in the league.
-Darren Waller is a monster at tight end, and without him Derek Carr would be in big trouble. In a day where Carr completed 32-of-44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns, Waller caught nine of 12 targets for 88 yards. Although it's early, Waller appears to be a triple-digit reception candidate if he plays 16 games.
