You are not seeing things. Brown went 58 minutes without a target, finally corralling his lone look at the 1:51 mark of the fourth quarter. As was usual last season, Jalen Hurts attempted only 23 passes, but he managed to look No. 3 Jahan Dotson’s way three times. Saquon Barkley also drew five looks. We’re not film watchers, but Brown didn’t seem to be running free. He was either frustrated by sticky coverage or given to decoy usage this evening. It’s an awful way to start the season for fantasy managers, but players like Brown don’t stay down for long. He gets a Week 2 Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs.

It’s a strong box score for the WR1, but one that hides 3-4 drops, two of which came on the Cowboys’ futile final series. Although one would have been a difficult diving catch, the other was a long strike that hit him right in the numbers. Brutal. Lamb visited the blue injury tent after the series but appeared no worse for the wear on the sideline, where he was indicating to teammates his displeasure with the drops. These things happen. In addition to the cough-ups, Lamb’s box score would also fail to reveal the end zone DPI he drew to set up a Javonte Williams touchdown plunge. He drew another DPI late in the first half. Fantasy managers and Cowboys fans will lament what might have been, but 7/110 is what first-round drafters were hoping for. The Cowboys now have 10 days to rest up for the Giants in Week 2.

On a night where the Eagles struggled for explosive plays in the passing game — or any plays to No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown — Hurts compensated with his 16th career multi-touchdown effort on the ground. Hurts’ running was the story of the game for the Eagles. After reaching 14 attempts only two times all last season, Hurts looked much freer in the open field. He seems to finally be over the lower-body injuries that have been slowing him down since the second half of the 2023 campaign. As for his passing, it was an unimaginative night for the Eagles’ play-calling. If not for a 51-yard strike to Jahan Doton, it would have been a truly brutal effort. For whatever reason, Hurts targeted AJB only one time all night. That’s not going to cut it. The Eagles now have 10 days to mull it over before a Week 2 Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs.

Stupefying. As the players and refs milled about the field following an Eagles special teams injury on the opening kickoff, Carter began jawing with Prescott literally right in front of a ref. He then spit on the quarterback and was instantly ejected. Mortifying, foolish behavior from one of the Eagles’ most important players. The de facto one-game suspension means Carter is unlikely to face further discipline, but the Eagles’ coaching staff figures to be shaking its collective head for weeks.

Teams often give veteran players, particularly older running backs, days off at the first sign of irritation or discomfort, so it is entirely possible this is simply the 49ers acting out of an abundance of caution. McCaffrey does have a history of calf and Achilles tendon issues dating back to Week 17, 2023, so managing his practice load is prudent. Tomorrow’s injury report should help clarify his Week 1 status. In the meantime, fantasy managers are advised to pickup Brian Robinson if he available in free agency. McCaffrey typically makes himself available to the media on Thursday, after practice, but the veteran running back was reportedly absent this afternoon. He could be undergoing treatment or even imaging. Stay tuned.

Rapoport relayed his source’s info, saying, Parsons’ facet sprain is something he “needs to take some medicine for” and that an “epidural could potentially await him if he keeps having problems with it.” Shot or not, Parsons is all but guaranteed to be on the field when the Packers host the Lions on Sunday. The Packers face Parsons’ former Cowboys squad in Week 4, and play the Browns in Week 3. The Packers’ D/ST could be a high-scoring unit, racking up sacks aplenty both weeks.

It’s a brutal (seemingly) healthy scratch for Blue, who was an early summer hype merchant who slowly faded from fantasy consciousness after suffering a bruised heel and a low-ankle sprain in training camp. He was not listed on the injury report, but perhaps he needs more time. The Cowboys will instead roll with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders as their two active backs. Williams will likely handle passing down duties while Sanders rotates in for change-of-pace rushes. The Cowboys also declared LB Shemar James, DT Mazi Smith, OT Ajani Cornelius, OL Hakeem Adeniji, OL Trevor Keegan and DT Perrion Winfrey.

The Vikings managed Jefferson’s hamstring injury beautifully. He can be trusted to handle elite WR1 duties in primetime on Monday night. Fantasy managers should closely follow the health of Bears No. 1 CB Jaylon Johnson, who was known to be nursing a groin injury but also appeared on Thursday’s injury report with a calf injury. If Johnson is unable to play, Jefferson could take a significant number of snaps against every fantasy manager’s favorite cornerback, Tyrique Stevenson.

Hill doesn’t look to be in any real danger of missing time in Week 1, but playing through yet another set of injuries won’t be doing him any favors in fantasy football. There’s still a good chance he stumbles into plenty of value in Week 1 against a Colts cornerback room that can best be described as “veteran-laden,” but they won’t be playing Indianapolis every week. We’d like to see Hill get a full practice in on Friday to be confident that he’s got it all working, but he’ll be on the WR2/WR3 even if he is questionable on the final injury report.

Johnson’s leg issue was initially reported as a hamstring injury, suffered in a “freak accident,” but it was recently reported as a groin injury instead. The calf aspect is entirely new, and we do not know when it happened. The Bears need Johnson on the field if they hope to contain Justin Jefferson in primetime on Monday night, but his status is firmly in the questionable camp despite today’s participation. Bears LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and DB Josh Blackwell (Groin) did not practice.