With the fantasy football playoffs inching ever closer, it's time to take a look at four impact players who suffered severe setbacks during Week 10 and made NFL player news.
Ben Roethlisberger
Although the New York Jets have a defense that is far superior to their offense, they are a mess of a team that had one win going into Sunday. Factor that in with the fact that Big Ben had racked up 12 TD’s in the last two weeks and fantasy owners thought they had a sure thing going. Well, welcome to the NFL. On Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger was all over the place and while he managed at least one touchdown pass, he also had two interceptions. Oh, and the Steelers LOST to the Jets.
It was ugly, but Roethlisberger most likely had a bad week and will rebound going forward.
Carson Palmer
Success and optimism are ever fleeting at the professional level. The Arizona Cardinals sit at 8-1, with the best record in the NFL. However, Palmer, re-energized after a bizarre stint in Oakland, is out for the year with a torn ACL. The injury occurred early in the fourth quarter, and although he has been steady while healthy this season, Sunday’s game against the Rams produced one of Palmer’s weakest efforts of the year. No touchdowns, one pick, and three sacks. In fact, the Cardinals were losing when Palmer went down only to rally for a 17 point victory.
But, the biggest reason for that victory was the defense. Drew Stanton will be inserted as Arizona’s QB for the remainder of the campaign, and you’d have to be pretty desperate to use him on a fantasy roster.
Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.
Although the Ravens beat the Titans 21-7 on Sunday, Flacco didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet. He didn’t throw an interception, but only tossed one TD, and totaled a measly 169 yards through the air. No turnovers is an admirable accomplishment, but with the amount of money Flacco is making and the passing stats elite quarterbacks are putting up, 169 yards and 1 TD is not acceptable for those owners who count on him.
Flacco still ranks tied for 10th in touchdown passes, but he’s always liable to throw up a dud like Sunday’s.
Matt Forte
Somebody tell the Bears they were supposed to play on Sunday night, because the Packers were the only team that showed up. Instead of trying to control the clock, run the ball and keep Aaron Rodgers off of the field, the Bears coaching staff did the EXACT OPPOSITE. They abandoned the run at the beginning of the game and got humiliated on national television.
The Bad News Bears took to the air and gave Chicago a black eye that they will be talking about for years. Forte is one of the best backs in the league, yet he was a forgotten man in the first half finishing with 8 points in standard scoring, when owners needed a 20-point or more performance from a typical NFL fantasy stud.
Forte will keep grinding, but he should be monitored because the Bears coaching staff is a complete train wreck and it may get uglier before it sorts itself out.
