• Bijan Robinson dominates the Atlanta Falcons backfield: The Falcons gave the ball to Robinson early and often, leading him to over 20 touches in the first three quarters.

• Some rookie wide receivers shine: Malik Nabers was the New York Giants‘ clear top wide receiver while Brian Thomas Jr. caught a touchdown for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Atlanta Falcons

Coming soon!

Arizona Cardinals @ Buffalo Bills

• James Conner: 16 carries, 50 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 33 receiving yards
• James Cook: 19 carries, 71 yards, 3 receptions, 32 receiving yards

Coming soon!

Tennessee Titans @ Chicago Bears

• Tony Pollard: 16 carries, 82 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 12 receiving yards
• D.J. Moore: 5 receptions, 35 yards, 1 carry, 14 rushing yards

Coming soon!

New England Patriots @ Cincinnati Bengals

• Rhamondre Stevenson: 25 carries, 120 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 6 receiving yards
• Zack Moss: 9 carries, 44 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 receptions, 17 receiving yards

Rhamondre Stevenson finally sees the feature role again: Stevenson’s playing time was about what everyone expected from him last season.

Stevenson played nearly 80% of New England’s offensive snaps, which is more than he played in any single game last season and a mark he only hit five times in 2022. He was the primary running back in every situation. The only situation he was in danger of fully losing was third downs, as that was Antonio Gibson’s role all of last season. Throughout the preseason, it was clear that Stevenson was ahead, but we couldn’t know how far ahead until this game.

Stevenson was already at a point where he was a fantasy starter just based on how many backfields were viewed as committees, but now people can more comfortably put Stevenson in starting lineups going forward. Gibson can remain on benches in leagues where most backup running backs are rostered, but it would take an injury to Stevenson for Gibson to have any fantasy value.

Patriots wide receiver rotation continues to evolve: The Patriots used a four-man rotation where no one was a clear lead wide receiver.

New England tried out several wide receivers throughout the preseason but simplified things with a four-man rotation in this game. In 11 personnel, the primary wide receiver group was Tyquan Thornton, Ja’Lynn Polk and Demario Douglas. Outside of 11 personnel, the Patriots ran some 12 personnel and some 13 with a sixth offensive linemen instead of a third tight end. K.J. Osborn was the primary wide receiver in this group.

One main difference from the preseason is Osborn and Polk were together on the field more frequently. Typically, only Tyquan Thornton or someone like Jalen Reagor or Javon Baker would be the X receiver, but they were more OK with other wide receivers taking the X role. Douglas also never played outside of 11 personnel in the preseason, and he played four-of-25 snaps outside of 11 in this game.

Ideally, Polk can take a higher percentage of snaps over time, potentially leading this group in offensive snaps as early as next week.

Zack Moss is the clear leader in the Bengals backfield: Moss was the Bengals’ primary running back in every situation.

Cincinnati’s backfield was a bit of an unknown after Moss missed all of training camp and was expected to be the starter, but all of the training camp hype was around Brown. The two had been early-down backs during their career, so anything was possible for this game.

On early downs, it was close to a 50/50 split, but Moss played in clear passing situations as well as short-yardage situations. The Bengals offense didn’t play very well in this game, leading to an OK game from Moss. Assuming Cincinnati can turn this around, Moss could become a consistent fantasy starter. In shallow leagues, it would be OK to drop Brown. Considering the 50/50 split on early downs, there is still a chance Brown can earn more playing time as the season progresses.

Bengals adjust without Tee Higgins: Higgins missed this game due to a hamstring injury while Ja’Marr Chase was reportedly on a snap count.

While Chase didn’t play as much as usual, it was only by a couple of snaps. He was still the clear leader among the Bengals receivers, doubling everyone else in terms of both receptions and receiving yards.

Andrei Iosivas replaced Higgins as the Bengals’ other ever-down wide receiver, while Trenton Irwin took over the slot role. While Jermaine Burton made several big plays throughout the preseason, he only played four offensive snaps and ran one route in this game. It’s possible he could be a gameday inactive once Higgins is back and healthy.

In general, the wide receivers outside of Chase and Higgins should be avoided. If the backups couldn’t take advantage of this matchup, then they can’t be trusted in future games.

Mike Gesicki only plays a fraction of routes: Gesicki caught three passes but is unlikely to be a viable fantasy option this season.

Gesicki only played on 14-of-36 snaps in 11 personnel, and all 14 of his plays were passing plays. Drew Sample played most of the 11 personnel snaps in run situations, but that also led to Sample taking some pass routes. Tanner Hudson also played six snaps out of 11 personnel — all were pass plays.

Gesicki also only played in three-of-14 snaps in 12 personnel. Erick All joined Sample on most plays out of that personnel grouping. This led Gesicki to only play 35% of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps, which isn’t nearly enough to be a fantasy starter. This was supposed to be a game where Gesicki could shine in terms of playing time without Higgins. While he almost caught an amazing touchdown, he simply won’t get enough opportunities to score fantasy points to be worth having him on your fantasy roster.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Hunter Henry missed all of the preseason but was back to being a clear starter for the Patriots. He played 84% of New England’s offensive snaps, which is a mark he only hit four times last season. He can be a fantasy backup with this playing time and a borderline starter if the offense improves.
• Rookie Patriots wide receiver Javon Baker was a healthy inactive for this game.

Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts

• Joe Mixon: 30 carries, 159 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 19 receiving yards
• Alec Pierce: 3 receptions, 125 yards, 1 touchdown

Coming soon!

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Miami Dolphins

• Tyreek Hill: 7 receptions, 130 yards, 1 touchdown
• De’Von Achane: 10 carries, 25 yards, 1 touchdown, 7 receptions, 75 receiving yards

Coming soon!

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

Coming soon!

Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants

Coming soon!

Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers

Coming soon!

Denver Broncos @ Seattle Seahawks

Coming soon!

Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns

Coming soon!

Washington Commanders @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Coming soon!

Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions

Coming soon!

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.