It was QB carnage Thursday night between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns as both starting passers went out with injury and the game itself was a bore. Let's get to the fantasy football news coming out of this horror show.
-In two games Brian Hoyer went from unknown backup passer to a fantasy football starter in more than a few leagues. After throwing four touchdowns in winning his first two NFL starts, many new Hoyer owners put him out there Thursday night in order to capitalize going against an awful Bills defense. Well Hoyer barely made it past the National Anthem as he went out in the first quarter with a knee injury and didn't return. Initial reports coming out of the Cleveland locker room were that Hoyer has torn ligaments in the knee which would finish him for 2013. For Hoyer owners who did play him Thursday night, the result was crushing and a major setback towards winning in Week 5 given that he hardly accumulated any points. Wait for the official news before cutting him loose but you should have already started making backup plans that don't include Brandon Weeden.
-On the other side, Bills rookie QB E.J. Manuel left in the third quarter with what initially looked like a very painful knee injury of his own after taking a hit there along the sidelines during a scramble. Manuel rolled on the ground for a minute and soon headed to the locker room. No word was released as of this writing as to the severity but Manuel didn't do much himself before the injury with 129 passing yards. Manuel has had his moments as a rookie this season but he really should have been a backup guy going into the game.
-Add Stevie Johnson to the list of the injured as well. The star wideout for the Bills caught only 2 balls for 19 yards while missing the majority of the game with a back injury. Johnson owners no doubt were crying in their dip last night watching this no-show performance and like Hoyer owners, the lack of numbers is a big time blow heading into Sunday's slate. Picking up the slack for Johnson was impressive rookie Robert Woods who caught 5 balls for 74 yards. Still with Manuel's status up in the air all Bills receivers are to be avoided.
-Brandon Weeden was not terrible in replacing Hoyer after the injury, throwing for 197 yards. For the first time this season though Jordan Cameron was not much of a factor in catching three passes for 36 yards. No scores for Cameron as well which had to be a shock to the system of his spoiled owners.
Josh Gordon however continues his big start to his own season in catching 4 balls for 86 yards and a score. Gordon clearly has a knack for getting into the end zone but things could be a bit more rocky with the shaky Weeden under center the rest of the way.
-I wrote a piece on how poor Bills RB C.J. Spiller has been this season due to health issues and just plain bad running. He was limited to the part-time duty Thursday night due to the ankle injury he suffered last week and for the first time this season Spiller scored after breaking a 54 yard run. However Spiller only gained 12 yards on his 7 other carries which speaks to how he continues to let down in his overall running. Fred Jackson meanwhile scored twice while rushing for 53 yards on 17 carries. Jackson was able to score easily from his two goal-line carries which likely cemented his role in that regard which is more bad news for Spiller and his owners. Yuck.
-Last but not least Willis McGahee looked all right at times but is still nothing but a backup option after rushing for 72 yards on 26 carries and a score. At least by the looks of it he will be the bellcow back.
There you have it. Let us hear your thoughts.
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