The high powered Philadelphia Eagles offense found it’s match Thursday Night as a stingy Kansas City Chiefs defense held Chip Kelly’s high-powered attack to just 16 points, in a 26-16 victory that included five Eagle turnovers, three by quarterback Michael Vick.
One thing is for sure, it’s not the way the Eagles wanted to welcome back former head coach Andy Reid, who came to Philly and got his new team to 3-0 with an impressive victory over his old one.
Before we got too far into what happened Thursday Night in Philadelphia Here are the top five fantasy football takeaways from the Eagles defeat at the hands of the Chiefs:
1. LeSean McCoy continues to roll:
All offseason I talked about how McCoy would be the biggest beneficiary of Kelly’s offense and so far that has proven to be true. After two weeks, McCoy was first among running backs in PPR leagues with 46 fantasy points, then added 21 more fantasy points Thursday night after posting 158 rushing yards and a touchdown. If you were smart enough to draft McCoy in the first round of your fantasy draft, thank your lucky stars because he may be the top fantasy back in 2013 when all is said and done.
2. Same old Michael Vick:
There’s a reason fantasy owners were warned to be cautious with Michael Vick and Thursday Night against the Chiefs showed why. Vick struggled in the passing game, completing just 13 of 30 passes for 201 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Vick earned eight points as a passer but managed to contribute 95 rushing yards to finish with a respectable 15 points. Yet, it was still a below average performance for a fantasy starter. I’m not saying you should stop using Vick going forward, he will still put up good numbers but he will turn the ball over and have struggles throwing but as long as he keeps racking up rushing yards he will remain a viable fantasy quarterback.
3. Jamal Charles Is a Beast:
Speaking of dominant running backs, if you actually look at the stats it was Charles not McCoy, who had the best fantasy night Thursday. The shifty runner did it with his hands and his feet, as he rushed for 92 yards on 20 carries and grabbed seven passes for 80 yards, while also added a rushing touchdown. Overall, it was a 30-point performance for Charles, who actually surpassed McCoy last night as the top fantasy back in PPR formats…for the moment.
4. What Happened to Dwayne Bowe and DeSean Jackson?
While Charles and McCoy had big fantasy days, the top wide receiver on each team ended up being a disappointment. For his part, at least Jackson hauled in three passes for 62 yards, equalling nine fantasy points in PPR leagues. Yet he failed to live up to the lofty expectations that accompanied his hot start to the season.
Bowe, who was coming off a solid game against Dallas in Week 2 seemed poised to have a big game against a weak Eagles defense, yet managed just one catch for four yards. These are the kinds of things that make fantasy owners pull their hair out. Jackson has always been inconsistent. He’s a big play guy and if he doesn’t hit a big play or two he won’t produce much. Bowe on the other hand, should have torched that Eagles secondary but despite his poor performance, he’s still a solid WR2 going forward.
5. Big Nights from Avery and Avant
The biggest surprise of the evening had to be the 21 fantasy points put up by Chiefs wide out Donnie Avery, who was targeted seven times by Alex Smith. Avery took those seven targets and turned them into seven receptions for 141 yards in a break out game. Avery has talent but has been injury prone throughout his career, so I wouldn’t trust him to do this again, especially after catching just two passes in each of the first two games. Maybe a in a deep dynasty league you might consider adding him to your roster, otherwise make him do it again before making a move.
Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant also had a big night with five receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown, which equates to 19 fantasy points. This isn’t a huge shock cause Avant will do this from time to time but he has never shown any kind of consistency in terms of fantasy production. During the first two weeks of the season he caught six passes for 52 yards, so don’t expect him to start lighting the world on fire or anything, he’s really not worth a roster spot unless you are desperate for wide receiver help.
