Fantasy Football Week 3 Booms and Busts: Some backup QBs keep offenses afloat, but Bengals have reasons to worry

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The Week 3 early window had a bunch of ugly football, and that’s to be expected. A number of teams are using a backup quarterback these days, as injuries have ravaged the most important position in sports. Depth has never been so important.

Let’s take a look around and see who survived, and who did not, with those backup quarterback in the saddle.

Commanders with Marcus Mariota

Mariota moves to the head of the class, posting a seamless 118.6 passer rating in a romp over the Raiders. Mariota completed 15-of-21 passes for 207 yards, had a touchdown throw and a touchdown run (6-40-1 on the ground). The Washington design didn’t look radically different even without Jayden Daniels on the field. Mariota’s day could have been better — a 56-yard completion to Terry McLaurin probably should have been a touchdown — but we’ll gladly accept the 20.28 fantasy points he posted in Yahoo default scoring.

Mariota’s smooth relief appearance deflects attention from a crowded Washington backfield. Chris Rodriguez Jr. (11-39-0) had early opportunities, but Jacory Croskey-Merritt (8-26-1) and Jeremy McNichols (4-78-1) had later touchdowns. Mariota did his ground thing, as Daniels will also do, and then there were three Deebo Samuel Sr. carries (good for 18 yards). Until we can reduce this backfield to a pair of primary contributors, it’s probably too splintered to offer reliable fantasy value.

Jets with Tyrod Taylor

I’m going to give Taylor a passing grade because he did the one thing fantasy managers were begging for — he pumped the ball to top receiver Garrett Wilson (10-84-1, 13 targets). Otherwise, it was an ordinary Taylor day — 5.5 YPA, two touchdowns, one pick (returned from a TD), four drive-stalling sacks. He lost a fumble, too. The Jets offense will probably be trick-or-treat with Taylor or Justin Fields this season, but at least both of them can run (Taylor scrambled for 48 yards) and both recognize that Wilson must be prioritized. Feature back Breece Hall was stuffed as a runner (9-21-0), but did catch four passes for 31 yards.

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Bengals with Jake Browning

Browning wasn’t the only Cincinnati player who played poorly in an ugly 48-10 loss at Minnesota, but in the NFL, the analysis starts at quarterback. Browning managed just 140 yards passing and threw two picks (part of five Cincinnati turnovers — two of them returned for touchdowns). He also took three sacks, and the Cincinnati running game went nowhere for the third straight week. It’s time to get worried about Chase Brown (10 rushes, three yards). The holes simply aren’t there.

Browning was a passable quarterback when forced to play in the second half of 2023, and Cincinnati has a better chance to hide its weak offensive line through the passing game. But the schedule runout is downright cruel for this year’s Browning onboarding. Cincinnati plays the Broncos, Lions and Packers the next three weeks, all teams with threatening defenses. It could be a rough first quarter for Ja’Marr Chase (5-50-0), Tee Higgins (1-15-0) and company.

Vikings with Carson Wentz

The other side of that fantasy boxscore is the Minnesota defense, which scored an absurd 30 fantasy points. Four sacks, five takeaways, the two touchdowns — it was a glorious day. The score was even higher before a late Cincinnati touchdown in garbage time.

But we should give Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell credit for keeping his offense afloat with another backup quarterback — journeyman Carson Wentz. Sure, it helps that Wentz was spotted to an early lead and mostly just had to manage the game. But a 14-for-20, 173-yard effort is useful, especially with no turnovers. Justin Jefferson had a handy game despite the immediate blowout (5-75-0, seven targets) and T.J. Hockenson produced (5-49-1) after two slow games. The Vikings also had a monster day from shifty Jordan Mason (16-116-2), who probably is the team’s best back even after Aaron Jones Sr. returns.

We'll follow up with a look at the 49ers with Mac Jones getting his second straight start after that game wraps.

As for the teams not forced into a backup quarterback situation, let’s examine some of the Week 3 booms and busts.

Booms

— The Eagles finally had to play catch-up for once, and it forced the offense to throw the ball proactively. Jalen Hurts was up to the task, running in one score and throwing for three more, pushing him past 29 fantasy points. The beleaguered Philly wideouts had the best of it — A.J. Brown exploded for 6-109-1 and DeVonta Smith logged 8-60-1, including the game-winning score. Dallas Goedert only had one catch, but it went for a 33-yard touchdown. The only down player for the Eagles was Saquon Barkley, bottled up for 55 total yards (and no touchdowns) on 22 touches.

— When I need to fall in love with football again in 2025, I watch the Indianapolis Colts. Man, these guys are humming. Jonathan Taylor rang up 118 total yards and three scores in a romp over the Titans, and Daniel Jones played another near-perfect game (228 yards, 9.1 YPA, 27 rushing yards, no sacks or turnovers). Jones could have posted better stats if not for a first-half defensive touchdown and the game quickly getting out of hand. Michael Pittman Jr. (6-73-1) had the best day of the Indy pass catchers. Indy at the Rams next week should be a fun game.

— It’s hard to know what’s going on with Tre Tucker, the field stretcher in the Las Vegas offense. He had a touchdown in the opener at New England, and the Raiders tried to get him going against the Chargers (eight targets), with meager results (3-12-0). But something connected in the loss at Washington, with Tucker exploding for an 8-145-3 day, chasing up to 36.9 fantasy points. On an offense filled with name players — Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers, even Jacobi Meyers — Tucker is the last guy we expected a smash performance from.

Tucker was just 3% rostered (and 0% started) in Yahoo formats before the week, so he’ll be a hot pickup discussion in the next 72 hours. But even after managers land Tucker, it will be difficult to know where this story is headed. At least the Week 4 draw — the leaky Chicago defense — looks fun on paper.

Busts

The Falcons did move the ball regularly at Carolina — 17 first downs, 332 total yards. Those aren’t pinball stats, but they’re respectable. But Atlanta missed two field goals and never got in the end zone in what became an embarrassing, if somewhat misleading, 30-0 loss to the Panthers. Michael Penix Jr. had two picks and a number of off-target throws, and too many of his completions came on harmless, short connections. Eventually he was mercifully benched, with Kirk Cousins mopping up. Washington presents a benign matchup next week, but it’s worrisome that Penix couldn’t produce any points against a bad Carolina team.

Drake Maye was solid against a likely-overrated Pittsburgh defense, throwing for 268 yards (7.2 YPA) and a couple of touchdowns. But the error-prone Patriots threw the game away with five turnovers, including two fumbles by veteran RB Rhamondre Stevenson (56 total yards). Tre’Veyon Henderson didn’t pop in his 14 opportunities (47 total yards), but he might have gained ground given that Stevenson had a miserable day and Antonio Gibson also fumbled. The New England wideouts were a no-show, but Maye and Hunter Henry (8-90-2) were cooking throughout.

We won’t not throw a parade for Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense. Flacco averaged just 3.9 per attempt, and the Browns scored just 13 points — though it was enough to steal a win over Green Bay. But for anyone with fantasy interests tied to the Browns, you want to see Flacco keep the job as long as he can. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are long-term projects at best. At least this Cleveland upset win buys us some time.

As for the Browns defense, this unit is a major problem for all opponents. It held the Bengals to seven second-half yards in the season opener, and all the Green Bay offensive players underachieved this week. Next week will be an interesting battle of styles — the physical Browns defense traveling to Detroit, where the Lions play their best offense. The Vikings and Steelers follow Detroit on the Cleveland dance card.

The Jaguars escaped with a 17-10 win over Houston but the Jacksonville offense didn’t pay a lot of fantasy bills. Trevor Lawrence (222 yards, no touchdowns) targeted a whopping 11 players, and outside of one 46-yard catch, Brian Thomas Jr. (2-55-0) and Travis Hinter (1-21-0) were invisible. Travis Etienne (16-56-1) had a late touchdown, perhaps a giveaway from the Houston defense because the Texans needed the ball back. Bhayshul Tuten matched the 3.5 YPC that Etienne posted, and had his own short touchdown run in the first half. The Liam Coen offense has not popped yet.