NFL Week 7 Highlights: Key Fantasy Football Insights from Thursday’s Game

Basio badr

ago 2 days

The NFL Week 7 Thursday night game featured key insights for fantasy football players, especially focusing on the performances of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. This match provided several takeaways regarding player usage, strategies, and possible implications for future games.

NFL Week 7 Highlights: Key Fantasy Football Insights

Steelers’ Receiving Dynamics

The Steelers faced the Bengals with notable changes in their receiving lineup. Calvin Austin III missed the game due to a shoulder injury. In his absence, Roman Wilson’s snap count increased. Throughout the season, D.K. Metcalf has emerged as the lead wide receiver for the Steelers, while Austin was positioned as the second option when healthy.

In last week’s game, Wilson caught two passes for 17 yards, a noticeable improvement from his previous total of 19 yards in his career. The Steelers appear to be searching for more depth at wide receiver, potentially inspired by recent performances.

Bengals’ Running Game Triumphs

Chase Brown had an impressive performance, achieving his season-high for rushing yards by halftime. This season, the Bengals have maintained a straightforward running back rotation, with Brown consistently taking the lead during early downs. Meanwhile, Samaje Perine has typically been involved in third-down plays.

Recent adjustments indicate that Perine saw increased usage in the game, likely due to Brown’s previous performance inconsistencies. This increase could affect Brown’s overall fantasy value if it continues in future matches.

Tight End Challenges for Cincinnati

The Bengals entered the game without their top two tight ends, Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson, due to injuries. This situation led to minimal contributions from their tight ends, pushing them to use alternative personnel. They surprisingly continued to employ 11 personnel formations despite having fewer tight ends available.

Gesicki was placed on injured reserve due to a pectoral injury.
Hudson was ruled out due to a concussion.
Cam Grandy filled the void and was active for the game.

Noah Fant emerged as the only tight end actively contributing, scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Player Snap Counts and Future Implications

Steelers’ rookie running back Kaleb Johnson saw a decline in offensive snaps, a trend indicating he could be dropped from consideration in standard fantasy leagues. Additionally, the tight end rotation for the Steelers showed a shift, with Darnell Washington becoming the primary option in single-tight-end formations.

The Bengals also restructured their receiving strategy, rotating Mitch Tinsley more frequently in response to prior performance issues from Andrei Iosivas, who had dropped passes in the previous week.

Conclusion

As teams navigate through injuries and player performance issues, the insights gathered from Week 7 are crucial for fantasy football players. Adjustments in player roles and snap counts may significantly affect their potential in future games. Monitoring these trends will be essential as teams advance through the season.