Every year, a host of NFL players and teams head into seasons looking to prove themselves.
Some fall short, but others rise to the occasion spectacularly.
It is the latter Stats Perform has focused on for this week's edition of fantasy picks, with every selection except for that at tight end for Week 10 looking at players and areas of certain teams that have emphatically answered the bell.
These offensive players and our selection in the defense slot deserve to be taken seriously, and they deserve a place in your fantasy team if you have them rostered or they are somehow available on the waiver wire.
Quarterback – Justin Fields, Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions
After following up impressive games against the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys with a spectacular performance in defeat to the Miami Dolphins last week, it’s time to accept Fields is a starter-level quarterback in fantasy football.
Against Miami, Fields threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another score while adding 178 yards on the ground, that tally the most by a quarterback in a regular-season game since 1940.
The Lions may have only conceded nine points against the Green Bay Packers last week, but they still surrendered 389 net yards, with theirs a defense allowing a league-high 6.39 yards per play. Facing an opponent ill-equipped to stop him on the ground or through the air, Fields will reaffirm his legitimacy as a fantasy quarterback and one of the NFL’s most promising young signal-callers at Ford Field.
Running Back – Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars @ Kansas City Chiefs
Etienne, effectively playing his rookie year having seen his 2021 season lost to injury, is now the undisputed focal point of the Jacksonville run game following the Jaguars' decision to trade James Robinson to the New York Jets.
It is a role in which Etienne has thrived, racking up 100 yards in each of his last three games, across which he has scored four touchdowns.
This week, he faces a Chiefs run defense that has allowed a success rate of 41.5 per cent, the fourth-worst in the NFL.
Jacksonville may eventually be forced to move away from the run game if they fall behind against the Chiefs as most expect, but the numbers suggest Etienne will put up good enough numbers to be worthy of a fantasy start regardless.
Wide Receiver – Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins vs. Cleveland Browns
There was plenty of doubt surrounding a Dolphin offense helmed by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa going into the season. Those concerns have been emphatically allayed, however, with the Miami attack second in the NFL in yards per play through nine weeks of the season.
Waddle and Tyreek Hill have been the primary beneficiaries of the beautiful marriage between Tagovailoa and Dolphins head coach and offensive play-caller Mike McDaniel.
Hill has already surpassed 1,000 yards receiving, and Waddle is rapidly closing in on four figures. He heads into the Dolphins' meeting with the Browns on 812.
Cleveland's defense has been solid against the pass but has allowed 12 big play touchdowns, tied for the third-most in the NFL, with eight of those coming through the air. The Browns are therefore still a defense Waddle and Hill can exploit, with the former joining his three-time first-team All-Pro team-mate as one of the most dynamic deep threats in the NFL.
Tight End – Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans
There has been little reason to take the Bronco offense seriously so far this season, but Dulcich's emergence in recent weeks has provided something for Denver to be optimistic about.
He has 12 receptions in his three games so far as a rookie, averaging 15.2 yards per reception and swiftly earning the trust of Russell Wilson
With 14 targets over the last two games, Dulcich already looks to be an established part of the passing attack, and that is likely to remain the case against a Titans defense in the bottom half of the league in success rate against the pass (41.7 per cent). Dulcich is an intriguing fantasy play this week at a position where it is famously difficult to find consistent contributors outside of the league’s elite.
Defense/Special Teams – Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
The Cowboys' high dependence on turnovers last season made their defense a tough one to trust going into the campaign.
However, it has remained one of the best in the NFL and is fourth in the league by success rate (36.1 per cent). Only two defenses have forced more negative plays than Dallas (62), and this week the Cowboys get to face a Packers team in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has grown increasingly careless with the ball as their woes have continued, and with the Packers dealing with injuries on the offensive line, this is a matchup that looks ripe for Micah Parsons and Co. to dominate and deliver substantial fantasy points.
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
McKenna fired up for 'biggest game in world football' against Man United
Kieran McKenna believes Ipswich Town's Premier League clash with Manchester United will be the "biggest game in world football" this weekend.
United are in action under new manager Ruben Amorim for the first time since the Portuguese officially replaced Arne Slot as head coach.
While plenty of focus is on the visitors at Portman Road, Ipswich are fired up after beating Tottenham 2-1 before the international break.
That was Ipswich's first league win of the season – and their first in the Premier League in 22 years – and now attention turns to facing United.
McKenna, who previously coached United, said at a fan event this week: "Sunday, what a game. It's one we're really, really looking forward to.
"Not for the personal connection, but as manager of Ipswich Town, to be on that stage, it's what we've worked so hard for.
"It's the biggest game in world football anywhere this weekend, the biggest game in the world in the biggest sport in the world and it's at Portman Road."
Ipswich's surprise win at Tottenham last time out moved them up to 17th, while United are 13th after beating Leicester City 3-0 in Ruud van Nistelrooy's final game in caretaker charge.
Amorim took his first training session on Monday, albeit with many first-team stars away on international duty, and the former Sporting CP boss believes his style of play will be clear to see from the off.
"I think you will see an idea," he told the club's website. "You could like it or not, I don't know, but you will see an idea.
"You will see a positioning. You will see something that we want to reach that kind of level. You will feel that.
"We have to know it's [only] two trainings before the first match. This is the best league in the world. But if I have to say something to you, [it's that] you will see an idea. This I can guarantee."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich Town - Liam Delap
Delap scored what proved to be Ipswich's winner against Tottenham and has now netted six of his side's 12 Premier League goals this term.
That makes the Manchester City academy product one of only three players to have scored at least half of his side's goals in the competition this season, along with Erling Haaland at City (55%) and Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest (53%).
Manchester United - Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho was among the scorers against Leicester two weeks ago and has now been directly involved in 20 Premier League goals for United (13 goals and seven assists).
The Argentina international is one of only two non-British players to reach that figure for United before turning 21, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (25 goals).
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN
Ipswich are seeking back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since February 2022, with that run also beginning with a 2-1 victory against Tottenham.
The Tractor Boys are the only side in the competition without a home win this season. Only five newly promoted clubs have failed to win any of their first six home matches, all of whom went back down.
United have won 17 of their past 19 Premier League games against newly promoted opponents, meanwhile, including nine wins in a row in away fixtures.
The Red Devils were 1-0 winners on their most recent league trip to Portman Road in April 2022, but only once have they won successive league games away to Ipswich.
However, the Tractor Boys have lost four of their past five league matches against Man United, failing to score in each of those losses.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich Town - 22.2%
Draw - 23%
Manchester United - 54.8%
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
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