Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments

Week 3 had a mix of surprises. Some of them were pleasant, namely, two offenses playing well. Others were disappointing. Specifically, three offenses are on dumpster fire alert after embarrassing themselves by combining for 20 points, with one of the mystery teams contributing zero points.

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Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways

Let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from Week 3.

Fantasy Football Week 3 Surprises

Eagles Thrived Through the Air

The Eagles moved to 3-0, and their two blocked field goals will garner attention in recaps from a reality perspective. However, the passing game coming back to life is the fantasy football storyline to note. After attempting 23 and 22 passes in Week 1 and Week 2, respectively, Hurts had season-highs in completions (21), pass attempts (32), passing yards (226) and touchdown passes (three) in a game that the Eagles clawed back to win. Hurts also ran nine times for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Revisiting Philadelphia’s passing attack, A.J. Brown snapped out of his funk with 10 targets, six receptions, 109 receiving yards and one touchdown reception. DeVonta Smith had nine targets, eight receptions, 60 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Dallas Goedert was targeted only twice, but he salvaged his day with a 33-yard touchdown reception. Goedert is essentially a touchdown-dependent tight end in a run-heavy offense, trailing Brown and Smith in the passing-game hierarchy. Saquon Barkley had just 46 scoreless rushing yards on 18 attempts. Yet, Barkley had five targets, four receptions and nine scoreless receiving yards.

Hurts alleviated some concerns about the passing game today. The Rams pushed them harder than many teams will, but the narrow target and usage distribution should salvage the value of Brown and Smith, even in less competitive games for the Eagles. And, of course, Brown and Smith have weekly blow-up potential when the Eagles need to lean on the pass.

Minnesota’s Offense Got Right

The Vikings steamrolled the Bengals, beating them 48-10. Isaiah Rodgers scored two touchdowns on defense, and Minnesota never faced resistance from the Bengals, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 34-3 at the half. Regardless, the offense played well, too.

The Vikings generated 353 yards on offense. Carson Wentz was 14-of-20 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and Max Brosmer completed two out of four passes for 29 yards in garbage time. Justin Jefferson reeled in five receptions on seven targets for 75 yards, and T.J. Hockenson had six targets, five receptions, 49 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Wentz will start in Week 4. Jefferson is a locked-in starter in leagues of all shapes and sizes, and Hockenson is back in the circle of trust against the Steelers in Ireland after Pittsburgh surrendered eight receptions, 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns to Hunter Henry this week.

Jordan Mason was Minnesota’s offensive star, though. He handled 16 rush attempts for 116 yards and two touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Mason ran 16 routes, pacing the backfield. Mason is an exciting fantasy option for the time being, and he could relegate Jones to a smaller change-of-pace role when he returns from the injured reserve (IR) if Mason plays well in his absence.

Fantasy Football Week 3 Disappointments

Texans are Toast on Offense

The Texans scored nine points against the Rams in Week 1 and 19 against the Buccaneers in Week 2. Any hopes that the revamped offensive line and new first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley would find their footing in Week 3 were dashed, despite the return of Christian Kirk.

Instead, the Texans amassed 271 yards at 4.6 yards per play and 10 points against the Jaguars. C.J. Stroud had another stinker, completing 25-of-38 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Stroud has cleared 20 rushing yards in all three games this season, which would have been an exciting development if he were passing like he did in his rookie campaign. Instead, Stroud’s ineptitude as a passer from his sophomore season carried over to this year.

Fortunately for gamers who used a first or second-round pick on Nico Collins, Houston’s No. 1 wideout corralled eight out of 11 targets for 104 yards and a touchdown. The outburst should be viewed as an opening to sell Collins and avoid investment in Houston’s inept offense.

Nick Chubb was Houston’s leading rusher with 38 scoreless yards on nine attempts. The veteran runner also had four targets, three receptions and two receiving yards. Receiving has never been a strength of Chubb’s game, leaving him dependent on the game script and elite efficiency on the ground to be an asset. He’s no longer an elite runner, and the Texans will likely be in many neutral or negative game scripts because their offense is dreadful.

While Houston’s offense is unlikely to emerge as a fantasy football treasure trove, Woody Marks is an ascending player. According to PFF, Marks played 30 snaps, ran 19 routes, had two targets and toted the rock five times in Week 3 versus 33, 17, three and nine for Chubb. With the Texans sitting at 0-3, they could have further incentive to keep shifting work to Marks, a rookie they traded up to select in this year’s draft.

Michael Penix Jr. is a Problem

Michael Penix Jr. had an encouraging 2025 debut, passing for 298 yards and one touchdown, and sprinkling in six rushes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he’s been a disaster in two subsequent games. He completed 13-of-21 passes for 135 scoreless yards, took three sacks and had -1 rushing yards on one attempt (a kneel to end the game) in Week 2. Week 3 was the equivalent of the rubber match between his stellar showing in Week 1 and his dud in Week 2, and Penix actually found a new low in a 30-0 shutout against Carolina’s lousy defense.

Penix completed just 18-of-36 passes for 172 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, Penix was 23rd in average depth of target (aDOT) with a mark of 6.8 among quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks through two weeks. The shallow depth of target was perplexing, given Penix’s arm strength and inconsistent accuracy. While I don’t have his average depth of target data for Week 3, his odd usage through two weeks and back-to-back clunkers are suboptimal for Atlanta’s offense’s outlook.

Bijan Robinson is a workhorse with an elite fantasy profile, and Kyle Pitts‘ spike in playing time can keep him in the starting tight end mix despite Penix’s struggles. Sadly, gamers must recalibrate expectations for Drake London and Darnell Mooney.

London and Mooney have favorable roles in Atlanta’s offense, but they’re victims of the systemic failures of Atlanta’s offense. London should probably be treated as a volume-driven WR2 in most formats, but hopes for him becoming a top-five fantasy wide receiver are far-fetched until the Falcons can fix their quarterbacking and offensive issues. Mooney is a decent bench option in 12-team leagues with medium-sized or larger benches, and he’ll probably be an adequate WR3/Flex during byes.

Time to Panic About the Bengals

I have egg on my face after preaching patience and level-headedness regarding Cincinnati’s playmakers after Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury in Week 2 that projected to sideline him for at least three months. Jake Browning played competently in his seven starts for the Bengals in 2023, and with more time in the system, I expected him to keep Cincinnati’s offense afloat while force-feeding Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins the ball.

Browning had a mistake-laden game in his first start this year. The Vikings picked him off twice and sacked him three times. He threw three interceptions and took a sack in relief of Burrow last week. Not every defense will be as aggressive and challenging for Browning as Brian Flores’ defense was in Week 3. Nevertheless, Browning’s showing after having the entire week to work as the starter in practice must cause panic for gamers with Chase and Higgins.

Moreover, Chase Brown should be glued to the bench for the time being. He had 10 rush attempts for three scoreless yards and four receptions on five targets for 17 scoreless yards on Sunday. Brown has a pitiful 93 rushing yards and one touchdown on 47 carries this year, and he’s reeled in eight receptions for 43 scoreless yards on 11 targets this season. Brown is closer to the cut line than being a viable starting option in fantasy leagues.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.