Fantasy football fans continue to worry about injuries to the big defender

I feel like a broken record, but here we are again with injuries…and they keep happening, particularly at one offensive skill position.

We saw four more superstar wide receivers go down in Week 9, and one of them could also lose his quarterback. Speaking of receivers, we also saw one of our heroes continue to struggle in the stat sheets while the tight ends went straight back into the tank.

With that in mind, here are my Fabs’ five storylines from Week 9 Fantasy Football that stood out the most. Be sure to get all the latest news and fantastic tips see Fantasy Dirt five days a week!

The Cowboys offense is falling apart

Being a Cowboys fan these days is bad enough (trust me, I know better than anyone), but now their poor play on the field has been compounded by injuries… and serious ones.

Dak Prescott, who had a very “average” game on the stat sheets against the Atlanta Falcons, has a hamstring injury that will require an MRI this week. He left the game, was unable to return and finished with a paltry 12.3 fantasy points. (Come on, Cooper Rush!) Ugh.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Cowboys then saw CD Lamb miss time with a shoulder injury. Although he returned for the two-point conversion, he was clearly uncomfortable. Reports after the game indicate that he will have an MRI to detect a sprained right ACL. Lamb finished with eight catches for just 47 yards and 16.2 points. The superstar, who scored 403.2 points last season, can only score 314.5 points in 2024…and if he misses time (likely?) or catches passes from a backup Rush, Lamb’s current pace could be even worse.

More loud receivers will suffer

Lamb wasn’t the only one to fall this week. Chris Olave (concussion), Drake London (thigh) and AJ Brown (knee) were also injured here and did not return. Olave’s concussion was his second of the season, so you have to worry about his health going forward.

This continues a terrible trend of valuable fantasy losses. Fantasy fans are without Brown (who has already missed games), Malik Nabers, Nico Collins, Chris Godwin (IR), Cooper Kupp, Puck Naqua, Rashee Rice (IR), Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, Stefon Diggs (IR) . ), DeVonta Smith, Davante Adams, Tee Higgins, Brandon Ayuk (IR), Josh Downs, Rasheed Shahid, Amari Cooper, Jawan Jennings, Dionte Johnson, Keenan Allen, Christian Kirk (IR), Jameson Williams (SSPD), Hollywood Brown ( IR), Jordan Addison, Brandin Cooks, Quentin Johnston and Adam Thielen for at least one or more games.

(Am I missing something… is this crazy or what?)

This season has shown that running backs aren’t always the most injury-prone skill players, proving that the Zero-RB strategy has failed miserably.

Has Tyreek Hill really lost this season?

Hill started the season looking like the fantasy superstar we all drafted, scoring 26 points in a win over the Jaguars. Little did we know it would be his best game (by a mile) ever the next two months. While we’ve forgiven him for his lack of scoring without Tua Tagovailoa (he scored single-digit goals in four of the next five games), the Cheetah hasn’t been great since Tua’s return. In fact, he’s averaging just 12.6 points without a touchdown. What more? Hill hasn’t found the end zone since week one! With eight games under his belt, he’s on pace to finish with 187.5 points…that less than half up from the 376.4 points he had last season.

Joe Burrow throws for five touchdowns

Burrow had a great game against both the Bengals and fantasy managers, throwing for 251 yards with five touchdowns in a blowout win over the Raiders. The performance was good for 29.1 fantasy points, and it was his second game in five weeks with five touchdown passes.

Surprisingly, Burrow’s excellent performance did not benefit Ja’Marr Chase. He did finish with seven catches, but only had 43 yards and no scores. Touchdowns were scored by Mike Gesicki (2), Chase Brown, Drew Semple and Andriy Josivas. But Burrow and Chase should find success in Week 10, facing a poor Baltimore defense on Thursday night.

Hard ends give, hard ends take away…

Remember how happy we all were last week when 18 tight ends averaged at least 10.8 points, nine averaged at least 16.8 points and five exceeded 21 points… on National Tight End Day? Well, every Sunday should have a label like this. The position deteriorated significantly in terms of fantasy points, with only 11 scoring in double figures heading into Sunday night, and only one (Mike Gesicki) had more than 20 points.

Moreover, the six tight ends who scored in double figures (Hesicki, Taysom Hill, Theo Johnson, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Drew Sample, Nick Vannett) did not start in most leagues. In fact, only Hill and Gesicki were tied owned in a double-digit percentage of leagues. So we can go back to complaining about tight ends!