Week 3 fantasy winners and losers: A.J. Green goes off, Philip Rivers disappoints

ByESPN.COM
September 27, 2015, 4:43 PM

— -- Here's who turned in strong fantasy performances in Week 3 -- and who left fantasy owners wanting more.

Winners

Joseph Randle: The Cowboys running back scored more fantasy points in the first quarter against the Falcons (22) than he had in the first two games combined (16). Randle took advantage of a dominant performance from Dallas' offensive line (particularly in the first half), as he finished with 105 total yards, two touchdowns and 27 fantasy points -- by far the highest total of his young career (12 was his previous best). 

Le'Veon BellThe Steelers RB wasted little time making a fantasy impact, reminding owners why he was touted as a top pick even with a two-game suspension to start the season. Bell converted his 26 touches versus the Rams into 19 fantasy points thanks to 132 total yards and one TD. 

Adrian PetersonJust hours after his wife gave birth to their son, Peterson scored his first touchdown since Nov. 24, 2014. The Vikings RB had two scores on the day, compiling 24 fantasy points. Owners who bought low on Peterson after a slow Week 1 have been rewarded with 318 yards from scrimmage over the last two games.

Devonta FreemanWith rookie Tevin Coleman (broken rib) missing Sunday's game, Freeman got the start for Atlanta. All he did was put up 37 fantasy points. To put that number into perspective, that's more than Freeman had scored in his previous 10 games

Tom BradyHow good has Brady been to start the season? He put up 22 fantasy points on Sunday against the Jaguars, and it represented his worst fantasy game in 2015. Brady tossed two touchdowns against Jacksonville, but neither of them went to Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman, who had six combined scores through two weeks.  

Julio Jones Matt Ryan threw to Jones an amazing 20 times Sunday against the Cowboys. Only six players in the last five seasons have gotten more targets in a single game. Jones took full advantage, compiling 12 catches, 164 yards and two TDs on his way to a monster fantasy day (28 points).  

A.J. GreenThe Bengals WR was having a good day -- and then it turned into a great one after he scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to lead Cincinnati to a win over the Ravens. Anyone who traded away Green after a slow start has to be disappointed. His 10 catches, 227 yards, two TDs and 34 fantasy points on Sunday easily surpassed his totals in each of those categories after two games.

Larry Fitzgerald: The renaissance of Fitz continued Sunday. A week after putting up 28 fantasy points, the Cardinals WR torched San Francisco for nine catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs and 25 points. It's clear he's Carson Palmer's No. 1 target. Through three weeks, the QB has looked Fitzgerald's way 28 times.

Jimmy Graham: Believe it or not, Graham had gone seven regular season games without scoring more than 11 fantasy points. That changed on Sunday, as he made his presence felt in Seattle (seven catches, 83 yards and 14 fantasy points). After getting just 10 targets in the first two weeks, Graham saw eight looks against the Bears -- a good sign for owners counting on top-tier TE1 production.

Cardinals D/ST: Colin Kaepernick's first and fourth passes of the day went for six points the other way, which was the beginning of a huge day for the Cardinals defense. With those two scores, four forced turnovers and a safety, Arizona put up 30 fantasy points, the highest total we've seen all season from a defense.

Losers

Justin ForsettIt might be panic time for Forsett owners. He was held to single-digit fantasy points for the third consecutive game to start the season, as he found little room to run against the Bengals (10 carries, 13 yards). 

Philip Rivers Keenan Allen and Rivers connected on a beautiful 34-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but it was all downhill after that for the QB. Rivers turned the ball over twice and scored just nine fantasy points against the Vikings. 

T.J. YeldonThe Jaguars got run off the field by the Patriots, which certainly didn't help Yeldon's cause. After getting 25 carries in Week 2, the rookie got just 11 looks on Sunday. And without many opportunities, Yeldon mustered just three fantasy points.

Melvin GordonThe Chargers' 2015 first-round pick continued to struggle during his rookie season. Gordon mustered just five fantasy points (15 carries, 58 yards) against a Vikings defense that entered the game allowing 4.87 yards per carry (30th in the NFL).

Colin Kaepernick: The 49ers QB shredded the Steelers' secondary last week, putting up 26 fantasy points, the fifth-best mark of his career. Kaepernick followed that up with an abysmal performance against the division-rival Cardinals on Sunday. He threw four interceptions and mustered only 67 passing yards, on his way to his worst fantasy performance (four points) in two years.

Marshawn Lynch: Beast Mode left Sunday's game against the Bears early with a hamstring injury. So what owners were hoping would be a slump-busting matchup for Lynch turned into a one-point performance against one of the league's worst defenses.

Lamar Miller: It's been a nightmarish start to the season for Miller, who entered the year as a trendy RB1 pick but has scored just 15 fantasy points through three games. Miller wasn't expected to go off against the Bills' tough run defense on Sunday, but owners were certainly hoping for more than seven carries and 38 yards. Miller will continue to struggle from a fantasy perspective until he gets more looks in the run game (just 30 carries through three games).