Fantasy football highlights: Julio Jones hits paydirt, Saints-Rams exceeds expectations

For the first eight weeks of the NFL season, there were two certainties among the pass-catching ranks: Adam Thielen would have 100 receiving yards and Julio Jones would not get in the end zone.

Both streaks were broken on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons star caught seven passes for 121 and his first TD of the season. 

Despite his lack of scoring, Jones was the No. 14 fantasy wide receiver on the season with 53 catches for 812 yards. He trailed only Devone Bess of the 2009 Miami Dolphins for the most yards in a season before scoring a TD.

But with 3:45 to play in the game, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan hit Jones for a 35-yard score.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings didn't have starting wideout Stefon Diggs for their game against the Detroit Lions. That should have made Thielen — fantasy's No. 1 wide receiver by a mile -- an even better play. 

Instead, the game turned into a defensive struggle and Thielen was held to four catches for 22 yards. But he did get into the end zone to salvage his fantasy day. 

Living up to the hype

Fantasy owners anxiously awaited what figured to be a high-scoring affair between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. In some places, the projected over/under in points scored was 60 — the first game of the season to go that high.

The players did not disappoint.

The Saints produced the week's two highest overall scorers as wide receiver Michael Thomas caught 12 passes for 211 yards, including a game-breaking 72-yard touchdown (with a special cell-e-bration at the end).

Running back Alvin Kamara had 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground to go with four receptions for 34 yards and another score. Benjamin Watson and TreQuan Smith also added TD catches.

On the Rams side, Todd Gurley didn't hit 20 fantasy points for the first time all season, finishing with 19.9 on 79 total yards, six receptions and a touchdown. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp finished with the exact same fantasy point total (five catches, 89 yards, TD), while wideout Brandin Cooks led L.A.'s skill players with six grabs, 114 yards and a touchdown for 23.4 FP.

And of course, quarterbacks Drew Brees and Jared Goff finished 1-2 at the position in fantasy points for the week. 

Broad Shoulders Award

However ... our weekly honor for the player who single-handedly carried his fantasy owners to victory goes to Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman.

Despite Jones' heroics, Coleman carried the load for Atlanta. He ran the ball 13 times for 88 yards and caught five passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns. 

Four other players tallied more than Coleman's 32.6 fantasy points (PPR scoring) but those were every-week starters: Thomas, Kamara, Kareem Hunt and Christian McCaffrey.

Coleman was likely a RB2 or a flex starter -— and getting that kind of production out of a secondary lineup spot made a huge impact for fantasy owners with Coleman in their lineups (and those who left him on their benches).

Defenses make a difference

Defenses rarely get much attention in fantasy football. Only two teams entered the week averaging more than 8.5 fantasy points per game on defense. 

However, several defenses came up big in Week 9. The Chicago Bears (29 FP) led the way with a pair of touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Nathan Peterman (although neither score was Peterman's fault). 

The Miami Dolphins also returned an interception for a touchdown, one of four picks on the day, on their way to 24 fantasy points.

And the Minnesota Vikings' Danielle Hunter was an IDP monster with 3.5 sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. The Vikes set a team record with 10 sacks.  

Early waiver wire

Looking ahead to Week 10, four more teams will be on a bye. So fantasy owners will need to continue to be vigilant in finding plug-and-play starters.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Adam Humphries made a strong case for himself by catching all eight of his targets for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball once for 7 more yards. While the Bucs' star wideout, Mike Evans, caught just one of 10 targets, Humphries finished with the second-highest fantasy point total among wide receivers.

In the same game, Carolina Panthers wideout Curtis Samuel also showed off his rushing and receiving skills. He had a magnificent 33-yard touchdown on a reverse and also caught two passes for 25 yards and a score.

The Washington Redskins didn't have perhaps their best wide receiver, Jamison Crowder, so Maurice Harris raised his game. The third-year pro caught a career-high 10 passes for 124 yards — and he gets to play the Buccaneers next week.

The Seattle Seahawks' top running back, Chris Carson, exited early with an injury — which left Mike Davis with the majority of the workload. He totaled 107 yards from scrimmage and caught seven passes. Davis could have a similar role next week if Carson's injury lingers.

And Broncos tight end Jeff Heuerman was targeted 11 times (he caught 10) for 83 yards and a touchdown. With the lack of depth at the position, he could be this week’s most popular pickup.

Follow Steve Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner