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Week 9 fantasy football notebook

» Well he did it. Ben Roethlisberger just threw his sixth touchdown pass of the night. That's 12 in a span of just two games and 22 for the season. His 340 yards and six scores put Big Ben atop all fantasy scorers for two straight weeks, this time with 35.54 fantasy points.  - MF

» And the Steelers continue to pile it on with no intention of running out the clock in the fourth quarter. Ben Roethlisberger tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the game to rookie Martavis Bryant. It's Bryant's second score of the night and Pittsburgh now leads Baltimore 36-17. There's still a chance Big Ben throws for six scores in back-to-back weeks but even if he doesn't he's still the top scoring fantasy quarterback of Week 9.  - MF

» Pittsburgh added to its lead when Antonio Brown took a 54-yard reception into the end zone in the fourth quarter. Brown continues his monster season and now has eight touchdowns on the year, has two straight 100-yard games and remains the No. 1 wideout in all of fantasy. Oh yeah, and that's Big Ben's fourth touchdown pass of the game. No big deal.  - MF

» Remember when we said Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't throw another six touchdowns? Well, he's halfway there with two quarters left to play. It still seems unlikely that it happens, but it's obvious that Ben is on a roll right now. And that the Ravens secondary isn't the same without Jimmy Smith. - MG

» Two turnovers by the Ravens have led to two quick scores for the Steelers. The Bell touchdown was set up by a Lorenzo Taliaferro fumble, and a bad Flacco interception allowed Roethlisberger to find Martavis Bryant wide open in the end zone to make it 14-7, Steelers. - AG

» Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers have answered back with a touchdown pass to Le'Veon Bell to tie the score at 7-7 midway through the second quarter. - AG

» The Ravens struck first in the this bitter AFC North rivalry with a Joe Flacco touchdown toss to Torrey Smith. Other than that, offense has been pretty minimal thus far -- the Steelers just notched their first first down not too long ago. - AG

» Did you start Mychal Rivera at tight end? Yeah, didn't think so. Well he ended up with two touchdowns for the Raiders and is a great Week 9 candidate for #ThatHelpsNoOne.  - MF (Franchise)

» Don't count Peyton Manning out of Manning-Brady XVI just yet. Manning found his big tight end Julius Thomas for a touchdown to bring the Broncos back into the game. It's 27-14, Patriots with a whole lot of ballgame left to play. That touchdown was the first for Thomas since Week 6. - AG

» Manning-Brady XVI is starting to get out of hand. Tom Brady has thrown his second touchdown of the game, this one to Shane Vereen to push the Patriots lead to 27-7. - AG

» Marshawn Lynch must have gone trick-or-treating a few nights ago because he seems pretty loaded up on Skittles. He just scored his second rushing touchdown of the first half against the Raiders. This one is getting of hand quickly.  - MF (Franchise)

» Robert Quinn and the rest of the Rams defense is eating today. Six sacks and a recovered fumble in the first half. San Francisco's offensive line has been a sieve over the past couple of weeks. - MG

» Julian Edelman is taking the fate of Manning-Brady XVI out of the hands of Manning and Brady! He just returned a punt 84-yards for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 20-7 lead over the Broncos. - AG

» Manning-Brady XVI has gotten interesting. Peyton Manning threw an interception, which gave Tom Brady the opportunity he needed to find Julian Edelman for a touchdown. The Patriots have taken the lead, 13-7. - AG

» The Legion of Boom is off to a good start after a 35-yard pick six by Bruce Irvin at the end of the first quarter to put Seattle up 14-3. It hasn't been a great season from a fantasy perspective for the Seahawks' defensive unit but they managed 11.00 points last week so they'll look to keep it rolling today against the rookie quarterback-led Raiders.  - MF (Franchise)

» In Manning-Brady XVI, it was Peyton Manning who got his offense into the end zone first, thanks to a 1-yard Ronnie Hillman touchdown scamper. The Patriots will look to respond down 7-3. - AG

» After three straight weeks of disappointment for Marshawn Lynch owners, BeastMode started things off right with an early touchdown run against the Raiders. He's already got 28 yards from scrimmage and the score late in the first quarter. It could be a big game for Lynch.  - MF (Franchise)

» Well, I guess it's safe to say Jeremy Maclin is playing well. He has 345 receiving yards and four touchdowns over the last two weeks. The Texans last gasp drive ended on a 4th-down incompletion, and odds are the Eagles will run the clock out here to walk away with the win. - AG

» Better late than never for Dez Bryant owners as he picked up a garbage time touchdown toss from Brandon Weeden. Meanwhile, DeMarco Murray's streak of 100-rushing yard games stops at eight, as he finished with 79 rushing yards on the day. Oh, and Marion Grice vultured a touchdown from Ellington for the Cardinals, so there's that. - AG

» In the absence of Giovani Bernard, rookie Jeremy Hill is having a huge day. He just broke a 60-yard touchdown run and now has 131 total rushing yards and two touchdowns. That's good enough for 26.00 fantasy points. #KABOOM  - MF (Franchise)

» Apparently Matt Asiata is a thing again. He has three rushing touchdowns despite Jerick McKinnon having a better game running the football. Give Asiata the Vulture Award for Week 9. - MG

» You're forgiven if you didn't notice that Percy Harvin had 129 receiving yards today. Garbage time or not, he and Eric Decker had pretty decent fantasy days.  - MG

» Denard Robinson is the truth. He just got into the end zone after a Bengals' turnover and has 93 yards from scrimmage on the day. He's approaching his third straight 100-yard game. - MF (Franchise)

» Allen Hurns has joined the two-touchdown club as he caught an 18-yarder for a fourth quarter score. The Jaguars are trying to chip away at the Bengals' lead but failed to convert on a 2-point conversion after the Hurns score. The rookie now has 18.90 fantasy points in the game.  - MF (Franchise)

» In a #ThatHelpsNoOne moment, Browns receiver Taylor Gabriel (owned in zero percent of NFL.com leagues) scored on a 34-yard reception in the fourth quarter to put Cleveland ahead of Tampa Bay with about nine minutes left to play. Gabriel has five catches for 87 yards and the score on the day.  - MF (Franchise)

» And A.J. Green is back to save the day for fantasy owners around the universe with an 18-yard touchdown catch. He hasn't looked limited at all by the nagging toe injury that has kept him out of action for weeks and now has three catches for 44 yards and the score.  - MF (Franchise)

» Andre Ellington has now found the end zone on a short pass from Carson Palmer to extend the Cardinals lead, 21-10. After a slow start, DeMarco Murray is now up to 79 rushing yards, but Dez Bryant is still catchless on the day.  - AG

» DeAndre Hopkins is having himself a day. The Texans started turning to him with Foster on the sideline, and he has responded when they needed him most. Hopkins now has 104 receiving yards and just caught a 7-yard touchdownd from Ryan Fitzpatrick.  - AG

» It's been a day to forget for Philip Rivers. He has four turnovers and negative fantasy points. And now Kellen Clemens is in the ballgame. Sigh. - MG

» Chris Polk has landed on the #ThatHelpsNoOne radar after vulturing a touchdown from the likes of LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles. On the flipside, it appears that Arian Foster might have reinjured his hamstring. He's been on the sideline since he pulled up with a non-contact injury.  - AG

» Rookie Mike Evans is the only wideout of the day so far with two touchdowns as the Bucs took the lead over the Browns late in the third quarter on a spectacular scoring grab. Evans has four catches for 79 yards and the two scores in the 1-point game.  - MF (Franchise)

» Allen Hurns might have been a desperation play for some deeper league fantasy owners with all the byes. If you actually did start him then good for you because he caught a 40-yard touchdown reception for the Jaguars and is their leading receiving with three catches for 51 yards so far.  - MF (Franchise)

» The Browns scored their first touchdown of the day in the second half on a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Terrance West. West is surprisingly leading Cleveland's backfield with nine carries for 30 yards and the score. It's definitely a situation to monitor for Ben Tate owners.  - MF (Franchise)

» At halftime, Terrance West is the leading rusher for the Browns with four carries for 16 yards while Ben Tate has five attempts for negative two (but has three receptions for 31 yards). All of the scoring for Cleveland has been by Billy Cundiff with three field goals. And that is whack.  - MF (Franchise)

» Chase Ford has caught his first career touchdown for the Vikings on a pass from Teddy Bridgewater. Cordarrelle Patterson managers are throwing things. - MG

» It's been quite the first half for Ryan Tannehill with 208 passing yards and a touchdown and another 36 rushing yards. Likewise, the Dolphins defense has put the clamps on Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense. - MG

» Another Alex Smith touchdown pass to a tight end. This one was to Travis Kelce and was a little more conventional. Kelce already has 60 yards and a touchdown. That's what you call paying dividends.  - MG

» Jaron Brown has now found paydirt for the Cardinals, pushing them into the lead 14-10. DeMarco Murray has been surprisingly quiet with only five rushes for 13 yards thus far.  - AG

» Arian Foster went to the sideline briefly holding his wrist, sending fantasy owners into a panic. Consider his 56-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Fitzpatrick Foster's way of telling us he's fine. - AG

» The Bucs took a 1-point lead over the Browns on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans in the second quarter. The rookie wideout currently leads Tampa Bay with three receptions for 55 yards and the score. Also of note is the strong start of Bobby Rainey in Doug Martin's stead. Rainey already has 107 yards from scrimmage.  - MF (Franchise)

» Mohamed Sanu was the first wideout on the Bengals to get into the end zone proving that he still has fantasy value even when A.J. Green is on the field. It was a 19-yard scoring play and was Sanu's first reception of the day. Green has two grabs for 26 yards early in the second quarter.  - MF (Franchise)

» Carson Palmer rebounded after his terrible pick six by finding John Carlson in the end zone. At least that helps those who started Palmer during this loaded bye week. 10-7 midway through the second quarter in Dallas. - AG

» Nick Foles went to the locker room with a left shoulder injury, paving the way Mark Sanchez to enter the game. So far, so good, though, as Sanchez hit Maclin deep on his first throw and then connected with Jordan Matthews for a touchdown. The Houston pass rush remains fierce, however, with three sacks already. - AG

» Eagles fans must have a love/hate relationship with Nick Foles. One series after his dime of a touchdown pass to Maclin, he tries to shurg off J.J. Watt to throw deep. The result? An ugly pick six for the Texans. We're tied at 7-7 in Houston. - AG

» You want the Jets season in microcosm? How about Anthony Fasano catching a deflected pass while sitting on his backside, then lunging ahead for the touchdown? But ... that's good news for Alex Smith. - MG

» Jamaal Charles scored a rushing touchdown on the Chiefs' opening drive. This should come as a surprise to no one. Equally unsurprising, the Jets went three-and-out on their first possession. - MG

» The Eagles struggled to get going on their first drive, but Nick Foles and Jeremy Maclin changed that on the second drive when they connected on a 59-yard touchdown toss. - AG

» The Cardinals were moving the ball well on their opening drive against Dallas, until Carson Palmer threw a pick six. It's 7-0 Dallas, and after stopping the Cards again they'll be taking over on offense. - AG

» A few surprises hit the inactives this week, most notably Tony Romo and Geno Smith. We knew Smith wasn't going to start, but who thought he wouldn't even suit up? Also, it's all about Bobby Rainey today with Doug Martin and Charles Sims inactive. Then again, the last time we counted on Rainey, he fumbled twice and the Bucs got blown out. We'll see how it goes today. - MG