Fantasy Footnotes: Takeaways from Sunday's action

Every game day during the regular season, theScore's fantasy editors recap the important takeaways from around the league.​

Beckham's back

Forget everything you read about how defenses have figured out how to slow down Odell Beckham Jr., or how to throw him off mentally. Forget everything about Beckham no longer having fun playing football.

The old Odell is back.

Beckham oozed fun on an afternoon where he tore the Ravens secondary to shreds for 222 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a late winner.

When Beckham wasn't racing down the field with Ravens in his wake, he was pretending to be an Olympic triple-jumper, simulating sex with the kicking net he fought earlier this season, and finally proposing marriage to that same kicking net.

No word on whether the kicking net said yes, but wouldn't you?

Beckham is a refreshing return to the outlandish, braggadocios kind of receiver we haven't seen since the days of Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson.

Fantasy owners should root for drama with Beckham. It's what fuels him toward the kind of day he had Sunday. Expect many similar days in the future.

Steelers fall flat

The Steelers had all the ingredients to mix up a tasty fantasy concoction Sunday, but somehow the final result was a dry, tasteless dud.

And hours after the game when a report that Ben Roethlisberger will undergo meniscus surgery emerged, the taste turned bitter.

At home against a Dolphins defense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in yards and points per game surrendered, the Steelers' "big three" all disappointed.

Roethlisberger left briefly with his knee injury and clearly wasn't the same player upon his return. He finished 19-of-34 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Though it seemed perhaps Roethlisberger's injury was minor in nature - he re-entered the game, after all - that isn't the case. There's no timetable for Roethlisberger's return from surgery. Meniscus surgery comes in several very different forms, one of which allows a player to return in a matter of weeks and one of which is season-ending. We'll know more about Roethlisberger's status soon.

From a fantasy perspective, Antonio Brown's Sunday output was even worse than Roethlisberger's. Against one of the NFL's worst secondaries, the man with a case for being the NFL's best receiver managed a mere 39 yards on four catches. There could be more days like Sunday if Roethlisberger isn't back soon.

Le'Veon Bell's day (53 yards rushing, 55 yards receiving) was a little better than Brown's, but it's frustrating that Bell still doesn't have a touchdown after returning from suspension.

The Steelers' two touchdowns were scored by Darrius Heyward-Bey (remember him?) and Cobi Hamilton (don't lie and claim you know who he is), which helped precisely zero fantasy owners.

With Landry Jones at quarterback, the Steelers' elite offense could suddenly become very mediocre.

Instant Impressions

• Cam Newton (27-of-47, 322 yards, 2 TDs; 1 carries, 1 yard, TD) nearly propelled the Panthers to a comeback win after they spotted the Saints a 21-0 lead early. One wonders if the Panthers' mounting losses might sap some of Newton's competitiveness, especially considering the beating he's taken this season. He's an admitted sore loser.
• The days of the Panthers' defense being a unit to avoid for fantasy purposes are over. With no Josh Norman, and no one even close to matching his effectiveness in the secondary, the Panthers have now been torched by opposing passers in two of the past three weeks. Drew Brees (465 yards passing, 4 TDs) is the latest passer to feast, but he probably won't be the last. Next up for the Panthers is an NFC title game rematch with the Cardinals. Who on this sinking Panthers defense can match up with Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, or David Johnson?
• Is Jay Ajayi the Dolphins runner to own even with a healthy Arian Foster? The latter was active for the first time in three weeks Sunday, but spent most of the afternoon on the bench and finished with three yards rushing and 12 receiving. Ajayi's final stats? Oh, just 204 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
• After Sunday morning reports that Jamaal Charles would see an increased workload in the Chiefs' first game since their bye, Spencer Ware out-carried Charles 24 to nine. Both players had two catches and both scored a touchdown, so fantasy owners of both were left satisfied.
• In the Ravens' first game since firing offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, running back Terrance West out-snapped rookie Kenneth Dixon 50 to 10. This doesn't look like a committee moving forward.

Notable Performances

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys
27 carries, 154 yards; 2 receptions, 17 yards
The NFL's rushing leader (in yards and carries) is the first rookie ever to rush for at least 130 yards in four straight games. Will the Cowboys keep riding him or will they at some point decide to limit his work to keep him fresh for late in the season?

LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills
19 carries, 140 yards, 3 TDs
McCoy looked like the 2013 version of himself, beating defenders to the edge and knifing upfield with speed. But it's hard to say whether his big day had more to do with his efforts or the 49ers' putrid run defense.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers
19 carries, 85 yards, 2 TDs
A productive return from injury for the Panthers' starting rusher.

James White, RB, Patriots
7 carries, 19 yards; 8 receptions, 47 yards, 2 TDs
Tom Brady looked to White, who out-snapped LeGarrette Blount, throughout the afternoon.

Arian Foster, RB, Dolphins
3 carries, 3 yards; 2 receptions, 12 yards
Hope you waited a week to see how Foster looks before putting him into your starting lineup.

Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons
27-of-42, 335 yards, 3 TDs, INT; 1 carry, 2 yards
The Falcons are absolutely for real. Ryan is for real. He's putting up QB1 stats against the NFL's best defenses.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Titans
17-of-24, 284 yards, 3 TDs; 7 carries, 64 yards
Back to back weeks with three passing touchdowns for Mariota.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers
31-of-42, 294 yards, TD, INT
Something is wrong with the Packers offense. Did the rest of the NFL simply figure out what they want to do - and figure out how to stop it?

Terrelle Pryor, WR, Browns
9 receptions, 75 yards, 2 TDs
Pryor could finish the season as the waiver wire pickup of the year.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Saints
7 receptions, 173 yards, TD
Cooks has seven touchdown catches in his last eight home games. He's money in the Superdome.

Sammie Coates, WR, Steelers
0 receptions
Coates was active despite a reported fractured finger. Owners who started him in hopes he would overcome the injury like last week and produce another two-touchdown game were burned.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England
7 receptions, 162 yards, TD
Gronk is healthy again and he is an unstoppable beast again. Surprisingly, 162 yards is a career high.

Coby Fleener, TE, Saints
6 receptions, 74 yards, TD; 1 carry, 2 yards, TD
Bizarrely, Fleener scored a rushing touchdown on a goal-line gadget play.

Injury Ward

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers
Big Ben's future will come down to whether he has meniscus removal (which can allow a player to return in a matter of weeks) or the more complicated meniscus repair (which could be season-ending). It's not simply a matter of choice; it will come down to the nature of the injury. All Roethlisberger's owners can do now is cross their fingers.

LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills
It looked like McCoy's season was over when he injured his knee in the first half, but he got checked out by doctors and returned to the game showing no ill effects.

Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers
Hyde hurt his shoulder, but returned to the game after missing only one series.

Eddie Royal, QB, Bears
Royal hurt his toe and didn't return to the game. If he misses time, it will only serve to boost Cameron Meredith's already ascending fantasy value.

Waiver Wire Targets

Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys
The rookie is for real. And he's not going to give way to Tony Romo without a big, big fight.

Brian Hoyer, QB, Bears
Hoyer put up 300 yards passing for a fourth straight game. Jay Cutler probably won't get this job back. Hoyer is viable in deep leagues.

Jay Ajayi, RB, Dolphins
204 yards rushing skyrockets him to the top of every owner's waiver wire priority list.

James White, RB, Patriots
Could White keep the Patriots' passing-down back job when Dion Lewis returns? It's not a crazy proposition considering how well White is playing.

Zach Zenner, RB, Lions
Zenner led the Lions with 14 carries, which he took for 58 yards. He added two catches for 19 yards. There isn't much fantasy value to be found in the Lions' backfield, and what there is could disappear when Theo Riddick and Dwayne Washington get healthy. But crazier things have happened than Zenner emerging from this pack as the player to own.

Cameron Meredith, WR, Bears
27 passing targets in the past two weeks.

Torrey Smith, WR, 49ers
Smith led the 49ers with 76 yards receiving and a touchdown in Colin Kaepernick's first game back as starter. It's possible the pair will continue to develop chemistry.

Kenny Britt, WR, Rams
Britt had seven catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in Week 6. He's worth adding, but we know who he is: the kind of player who has one huge week every year or two.

Vernon Davis, TE, Redskins
If Jordan Reed's concussion issues linger, Davis is the Redskins' tight end to own.