Welcome to Overreaction Monday (Week 9). This is where we come to take a completely reasonable look at this week’s slate of NFL games and react to them in a calm, cool, and collected manner. Just kidding!
It’s Overreaction Monday! Let’s get crazy and see what the guys have to say.
Ty Recino’s Overreactions
Concern over Daniel Jones?
Daniel Jones has led the Colts to a 7-1 record entering week 9, with 15 passing touchdowns on the year and only 3 interceptions. He’s had himself in legitimate MVP conversations with how well he’s been playing. This weekend, the Colts lost, and Daniel Jones looked human again. Jones might’ve had 342 yards passing, which had him relevant in fantasy for the week, but it was not a pretty sight. Jones had 5 turnovers, 3 interceptions, and 2 fumbles lost. It was his worst performance of the year, and looking at the schedule ahead, it does not look easy. The Colts have matchups against Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, and 2 matchups against the Houston Texans remaining on their schedule. The road ahead is going to be tough for Daniel Jones, and I’m not sure he’s able to play at the level he’s been playing at down this stretch. I’m trying to trade him away and get someone to buy on his hype. I’m a little concerned that the turnovers will persist and the Colts won’t be as dominant with the tougher matchups ahead.
Verdict: Slight Overreaction, Mostly Not an Overreaction
Rico Dowdle is an RB1 Moving Forward
Any concern over Rico Dowdle splitting carries with Chuba Hubbard was just put to rest. Chuba Hubbard was only given 5 carries, compared to Rico Dowdle getting a whopping 25. Rico Dowdle is the RB1 in Carolina. This past game, though, was also against the Green Bay Packers, a top defense in the NFL. Dowdle had 100+ yards against them. Rico’s the guy in Carolin, and this game just proved he’s matchup resistant and can be trusted moving forward. Rico is a top-15 back for the remainder of the year.
Verdict: Not an Overreaction
Chase Thornton’s Overreactions
Kyle Monangai is a god among men and should be the Bears’ primary back!
Kyle Monangai was a collegiate star at Rutgers, which convinced the Chicago Bears to take him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. With such limited draft capital invested, you could forgive the Bears (and fantasy managers) if they believed he was destined to be a third-stringer or practice squad all-star. D’Andre Swift was the presumed starter entering the season. And Roschon Johnson seemingly had a lock on the backup job. But Johnson can’t stay healthy or perform consistently. And so Monangai finds himself with an opportunity. In Week 9, he seized that opportunity with an iron grip. 198 total yards later, Monangai has himself a top-five fantasy finish for the week, and folks are ready to forget yesterday’s news in the form of D’Andre Swift.
But let’s all pump the brakes a bit. Yes, Monangai turned in the best Bears rushing performance since Matt Forte in 2011. And he may have earned himself a piece of a timeshare here. But dig just a bit deeper for a minute. The Cincinnati Bengals have allowed the most yards rushing per game of any team in the league this season. While this game ended up a much bigger shoot-out than anyone anticipated, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that an opposing running back carved up the Bengals’ defense. They’ve surrendered the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Your cousin Kyle, who can’t hold down a job for more than five weeks at a time, could’ve performed against the Bengals. Swift has a top-20 running back contract. He’ll play when he’s healthy, and should. Monangai has earned a role, but this is still Swift’s job to lose, and should be. The best you can hope for is a Lions-type role share here. But Monangai is David Montgomery, not Jahmyr Gibbs.
Verdict: Overreaction
Kimani Vidal is nothing special and can be dropped after his Week 9 disaster.
Vidal has been serviceable for fantasy managers who have been playing him in the wake of Omarion Hampton’s injury. Vidal has supplied a pair of top-10 fantasy finishes in four weeks since taking over as the lead back in Greg Roman’s offense. But Week 9 was a different story. Vidal had arguably his worst fantasy game of the season against a Tennessee defense that previously had been a fantasy goldmine for running backs. Now, some of the blame can be placed on the Chargers’ defense for not being able to contain the Titans’ offense. But ultimately, Vidal had an underwhelming day by any objective metric.
The Chargers have games coming up against a couple of tougher fantasy run defenses in Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. Hampton will most likely not play in either of those contests and is expected back after Los Angeles’s Week 12 bye. But can we really trust Vidal in the meantime? After all, Jaret Patterson has come on and played passably well as a backup. And the Tennessee game should’ve been a showcase opportunity for Vidal. Jim Harbaugh has already shown a tendency to use other backs (Hassan Haskins as a third-down back, anyone??) in whatever role he sees fit. There’s not a lot of upside to Vidal in the next three weeks or so. If I’m forced to bank on a timeshare back during the height of bye week season, I’d much rather have, say, an RJ Harvey or Woody Marks. Those two are at least plausibly ascendant, whereas we know Vidal will take an immediate backseat to Hampton once the latter is healthy. I’m just too worried about the role and the schedule to comfortably recommend Vidal at this point.
Verdict: NOT an Overreaction
GoYAADi’s Overreactions
JJ McCarthy is a QB1 from now on
Buckle up! It’s time to talk about J.J. McCarthy as a bona fide QB1 fantasy asset for the rest of the 2025 season. Yes, even with the quasi-rookie label still attached, everything is aligning for him to crash the “top-12 quarterback” party.
Look at the artillery he’s rolling with. Justin Jefferson is still the Thanos of wide receivers. Jordan Addison, the former Best Ball darling who wins everywhere. Even T.J. Hockenson is making appearances on 3rd and must-have-its. Sprinkle in a coordinator who actually schemes open space instead of praying for it, and you’ve got a passing ecosystem that prints fantasy points like the Federal Reserve prints dollar bills.
And then there’s Kevin O’Connell. QB whisperer, fantasy cheat code architect, certified “unlocker” of dudes. Wherever he goes, quarterbacks cook. From peak Kirk Cousins efficiency days to last year’s surgical passing attack, KOC has turned “good enough” into “get in the playoff picture.” Now he’s got a five-star talent who throws darts and moves like he has two functional Achilles tendons.
Welcome to the Church of JJ. Hymn books are optional; touchdowns are mandatory. Tell your league you saw it coming, even if you didn’t.
Verdict: 50% Overreaction
The Patriots are one weapon away from being Super Bowl favorites
The New England Patriots are standing on the doorstep of villain-era greatness again. They are one offensive Infinity Stone from the full gauntlet. This is what happens when a franchise rebuild starts cooking faster than the league expected.
Drake Maye didn’t “develop.” He detonated. The kid went from wide-eyed rookie to laser-guided missile system in record time. His improvisational brilliance and composure were manufactured in a secret underground quarterback lab somewhere in Foxborough.
And Mike Vrabel? The man didn’t bring a coaching staff; he brought a football militia. Toughness, detail, accountability, all backed by defensive swagger and offensive precision. These aren’t entry-level employees learning on the job; this is a clan of samurai sharpening their blades. You feel the identity already: punch you in the mouth, make you like it, then punch you again.
All that’s missing is one apex predator. Drop in a true Alpha WR or Pinball RB, and the rest of the AFC starts sweating like they just saw Darth Hoodie’s ghost rise over the horizon.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Well, there you have it, folks. Those are our completely rational and not at all knee-jerk reactions to this week in the NFL. Check back next week for more level-headed fantasy football takes at FSAN.