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Sporting the blue and yellow throwbacks, the Packers were able to right the ship on Sunday with a decisive win over the Buffalo Bills. While there wasn’t a whole lot of offensive scoring, there was plenty of optimism gained against a Bills defense that gave the Vikings fits last week.
There were plenty of passes to go around and the running game looks like it’s starting to solidify itself to provide real balance. Even the defense had themselves a day, though, I wouldn’t recommend plugging them in to start just yet. Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down.
Trending Up
Aaron Jones, RB
It’s starting to get redundant at this point, but Aaron Jones is the best running back on the roster. I get that Coach Mike McCarthy wants to “ride the hot hand,” but Jones consistently has a hot hand. He ran the ball 11 times today and finished with 65 yards and a touchdown. He also added a reception for 17 yards. Packer fans and fantasy players alike would love to see Jones get 20+ carries per game. Given his explosion and how much better his average yards per rush is, there’s no reason he shouldn’t get more carries.
Aaron Rodgers, QB
Again with the redundancy because you’re not going to not start Rodgers. By watching the game from start-to-finish, though, one would notice that Rodgers looked really good health-wise. He was moving well in the pocket, scrambling with ease, and even took off a few times to gain 31 rushing yards. There wasn’t a limp in his gait during the game and even though he threw a pick, it was off of a tipped ball. After a rough looking week in Washington, Rodgers looks good and I’d even expect him to heat up a little more.
Packers Defense
After trending down last week, the Packers defense rebounded in a big way. This would’ve been a matchup-based play considering they played the Bills. Josh Allen was (I’ll be nice here) bad. He missed recievers all day long, but some credit has to go to the defensive backs. They did exactly what they were supposed to do against a subpar receiving corp, while the Packers repeatedly pressured Allen to the tune of seven sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Kyler Fackrell was a pleasant surprise by grabbing three of those seven sacks. Jaire Alexander erased possible points off the board by getting an interception near the end zone, helping the Packers secure their first shutout at Lambeau since 2009.
The defense scored 22 points in standard ESPN leagues which may be out of the ordinary, but against the right offense, they could be worth the stream.
Trending Down
Jamaal Williams, RB
Not a lot of downward trending players considering Jimmy Graham saved his fantasy day with his first touchdown in a Packer uniform. But again, it’s got to be Jamaal Williams. Number 30 started the game off well, but once Jones got in the game, it was evident who should be carrying the load. Both backs ended with 11 carries, but Jones had 65 yards on the ground and Williams had 27. Adding nothing to the passing game—even with the absence of Randall Cobb— there wasn’t much reason to call Williams’ number. And neither should you on your fantasy rosters.