Fantasy Football Recap-Thursday Night Football

Which stars shone on Thursday and made teams almost impossible to beat on Sunday and which starters let their owners down with duds? We’ve got all the breakdown from last night’s TNF on today’s special Friday edition of the Star Watch. As usual on the Star Watch we’ll break down who was a shining star (living up to high expectations), a falling star (failing to live up to high expectations), a rising star (exceeding expectations), and a hurting star (notable fantasy injury). Today we’re also debuting our new category the “shooting star” a player who did well in the one game, but doesn’t have any staying power over the long haul.

Seattle 31, Philadelphia 14

Marshawn Lynch went "beast mode" with most of his handoffs from Tavaris Jackson as he destroyed the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Shining Star: Marshawn Lynch-He single-handedly beat the Eagles defense up and down the field all day long and ended up with 148 yards and 2 TDs. He ran to contact and usually right over the first few defenders there. He’s as locked in as any back in the league and should be a key performer for your team as you move into the playoffs as a sure-fire RB1 in most matchups… LeSean McCoy-He started (as reported here and elsewhere before the game) and played and had a very good game tallying 84 yards on the ground and a TD plus 4 catches for 49 yards and another TD through the air. McCoy was all that was worth owning on the woeful Eagles offense. The Eagles need to get him the ball more and get it out of the hands of Vince Young if they want to succeed while Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin continue to recover (they both sat out this game).

Falling Star: DeSean Jackson-Another miserable game for DJax who spent most of the game moping on the sidelines and staring vacantly into space wishing he was elsewhere. He was only targeted 5 times and he caught 4 for 34 yards but is not an elite option and at this point is nothing more than a borderline WR3 with some upside if Vick can find his way back onto the field…Vince Young-Some fantasy sites had him top 5 is starting QB’s for this week after his high yardage total last week. VY is just not ready to play QB in this league. He threw for a TD and 208 yards with 4 picks tonight and killed you in any league where you lose points for INTs. His 32 yards rushing are a bonus, but Eagles fans have had enough of Young and are longing for Vick to get back fast and then for Philly to dump Young as fast as possible.

Rising Star: Riley Cooper-Cooper was targeted a whopping 10 times and despite missing one for an ugly interception had 5 catches for 94 yards. If Young is the QB, Cooper is worth owning, but it’s impossible to foresee what his roll will be when/if Vick and Maclin make it back to the field. Golden Tate: Tate was highlighted in our preview as someone who needed to step up for the Seahawks while Sidney Rice is out for the year. He made a beautiful touchdown catch and added 4 catches for 47 yards despite only being targeted those 4 times. Seattle is run-first right now, but Tate is someone to take note of for next year depending on the QB situation he’s a breakout candidate for next year.

Shooting Star: Zach Miller-the TE for the Seahawks has been AWOL all year because he’s been asked to block all year. He had his best game of the year last night as he caught 2 passes for 53 yards. His role in the passing game though is still minimal since he only received 2 targets, and his upside is limited since his opportunities to make plays have been and will be few and far between.

Hurting Star: Nnamdi Asomugha left the game with a head/neck injury and did not return. He joins Vick and Maclin as injured Eagles to watch in the lead up to next week’s game. Zach Miler also went down injured but did return and play later in the game.

Tags: Eagles, Fantasy Football, fantasy football recap, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks