Quarterback
MVP: Joe Burrow (Bengals)
Burrow has definitely shaken off all of his early season rust. The Bengals signalcaller somehow managed to be even better in Week 7 than he was in Week 6, as he lit up the Falcons for a ridiculous 481 YDS and 3 TD's while adding 20 YDS and another TD on the ground. Burrow will look to keep rolling against a Browns defense that has struggled to contain the pass all season long but is coming off a strong showing against the Ravens.
Honorable Mentions: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars), Justin Herbert (Chargers)
LVP: Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
The return of Gus Edwards from IR brought on a sudden shift to a run-dominant game script from Greg Roman and that led to Jackson having a very unremarkable showing (120 YDS, 59 YDS Rushing, 0 TD's or turnovers) on a day where he attempted just 15 passes. After an MVP-caliber start to the year, Jackson has put up average-to-below-average numbers in 3 straight games and is at risk of falling out of the top-tier QB1 hierarchy if this troubling trend continues for another couple weeks.
Dishonorable Mentions: Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Derek Carr (Raiders)
Running Back
MVP: Josh Jacobs (Raiders)
Jacobs picked up right where he left off before the Raiders Week 6 bye by exploding for 143 YDS and 3 TD's on 20 carries versus a porous Texans defense. He'll look to keep his stunning high-end RB1 caliber play going on Sunday against a Saints team that gave up some big runs to Eno Benjamin and Kyler Murray last week.
Honorable Mentions: Austin Ekeler (Chargers), Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Aaron Jones (Packers)
LVP: James Robinson (Jaguars)
Doug Pederson ruined the days of quite a few fantasy mangers when he suddenly switched the Jaguars backfield from a timeshare to the Travis Etienne show on Sunday against the Giants. Not only was Robinson barely on the field, he ended up getting zero touches and just a lone target in the passing game. Fortunately for Robinson's fantasy owners, his usage/workload arrow is already going back up as he got traded to the RB-needy Jets last night. While he's definitely not a terrific starting option for a Week 8 matchup with Patriots team that should be eager to atone for their embarrassing loss to the Bears on Monday Night Football, he should get enough run alongside Michael Carter in a run-heavy offense to at least be a passable FLEX play.
Dishonorable Mentions: Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers), Damien Harris (Patriots), AJ Dillon (Packers)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)
Although he did get outshined by slot receiver Tyler Boyd, Chase was still a major beneficiary of Burrow's passing eruption against the Falcons-registering 8 catches for 130 YDS and 2 TD's. The Burrow to Chase connection is alive and well after a quiet-ish start to the year and the Browns are going to have to bring their A-game to slow it down on Monday night.
Honorable Mentions: JuJu Smith-Schuster (Chiefs), Mike Williams (Chargers), Tyler Boyd (Bengals)
LVP: Drake London (Falcons)
A double-digit deficit that lasted from midway through the 1st quarter until the final whistle apparently still wasn't a deep hole enough hole to inspire Arthur Smith to call more passing plays. On an even weirder note, top wideout London-who had received over 35% of the team's passing targets coming into this game-only got 1 look from Marcus Mariota all day. The good news is that he did catch it for a 9 YD gain. As talented as London has proven to be as a rookie, Smith has no faith in Mariota's passing ability and the comically run-heavy system he's using makes London nothing more than a bye week replacement moving forward.
Dishonorable Mentions: Courtland Sutton (Broncos), Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts), Rashod Bateman (Ravens)
Tight End
MVP: George Kittle (49ers)
There wasn't a lot to smile about for the 49ers in real life after the Chiefs dismantled them for the final 3 quarters of play in their own building, but seeing Kittle put together his best game of the season so far was a nice silver lining. The oft injured yet electric star tight end lead the 49ers in YDS (98), finished 2nd in receptions behind Brandon Aiyuk (6) and scored a TD before sitting down for the final 8 or so minutes of play after the game got completely out of hand. Kittle has the tough task of going against a Rams defense in Week 8 that has yet to allow a TE to score a TD or gain more than 45 YDS against them this season.
Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Pat Friermuth (Steelers), David Njoku (Browns)
LVP: Mark Andrews (Ravens)
The aforementioned low volume passing attack, constant double coverage from the Browns defense and the potential effects of a knee injury that held him out of practice for 2 days last week rendered Andrews useless against the Browns as he failed to catch either of his 2 targets. He was however able to pick up 4 YDS on 1 carry that prevented him from finishing the day with a dreaded donut. Fantasy owners and the Ravens offense will be hoping for Andrews to make much more of an impact in Thursday night's critical showdown with the Buccaneers.
Dishonorable Mentions: Kyle Pitts (Falcons), Hunter Henry (Patriots), Robert Tonyan (Packers)
Defense/Special Teams
MVP: Cowboys
A date with the suddenly reeling Lions offense was just the pick me up the Cowboys defense after a so-so showing against the Eagles in Week 6. Dan Quinn's troops made life miserable for Jared Goff and co., finishing the day with 5 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 INT's in a 24-6 victory for the 'Boys. Look for the Cowboys to return to the top 3 this week when they face off against a Bears offense that has struggled with pass protection and turnovers in nearly every game this season.
Honorable Mentions: Titans, Ravens, Dolphins
LVP: Buccaneers
Tom Brady and the offense aren't the only underperformers in Tampa Bay right now. Just a week after they failed to score an offensive TD against the Rams and a mere 4 days after they traded offensive cornerstone Christian McCaffery, the P.J. Walker-led Panthers scored 21 points against their vaunted defense while getting 0 takeaways and only 1 sack in what was arguably the most shocking lopsided loss in a week that had a few of them. Although they haven't been playing to their usual level over the past few weeks, starting the Bucs D on a short week against the Ravens seems like a bad idea.
Dishonorable Mentions: 49ers, Bengals, Broncos
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