Week Three in a fantasy football season is highly significant. You can begin to see trends and separate the players who got off to a slow start vs. those who are now in danger of failing to meet expectations longer term. On the flip side, some of the matchups that dictated scoring in the first two weeks begin to even out. In short, there’s a lot to talk about and chew on, so let’s get the Buzz rolling this week with the game that took place last Thursday…

Julio Jones led all fantasy receivers in Week 3 with 161 yards and three touchdowns.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
Since I was away from home/out of town on Thursday evening, I had nothing better to do than watch this whole game. If you owned Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, or even Steven Jackson, it was a fun game to watch as it got your fantasy team off to a great start this past week. If you started a Buccaneer, not so much. Bobby Rainey got the lamest 10 points ever as he collected garbage points, but those totals would obviously be lower if you receive negative points for fumbles. Bottom line on Atlanta is that when they’re at home, they’re going to be a fantasy gold mine. Julio Jones is back to being what he was in early 2013- the best WR in fantasy football- and even Devin Hester has a chance to be fantasy relevant. Tampa needs help.

San Diego @ Buffalo
The Chargers are for real, both in the real NFL and fantasy realm. Now, if they can just keep their running backs healthy. Donald Brown gained 62 yards on the ground on Sunday, but it took 31 carries to get there. On the other side of the ball, Fred Jackson showed that in spite of C.J. Spiller’s big-play potential, he’s still the running back to own in Buffalo. The buzz on Sammy Watkins was silenced this week, but don’t give up on him just yet. Another guy who was quiet this week and has been quiet all year long is Keenan Allen. If there’s such thing as a sophomore slump, we may be seeing it. Finally, if you pulled Antonio Gates off your bench this week in recognition of his contributions in Week 1 & 2, my condolences. This hobby can truly push us to the brink sometimes.

Oakland @ New England
If you’ve been reading the Buzz all year, you’ve read all the cautions regarding Tom Brady and counting on him to be your starting fantasy quarterback. Brady now hasn’t thrown for 250+ yards in three contests and has only one TD per game. It’s time to go get a different starter if you can find one. Julian Edelman, meanwhile, is re-visiting his role from last year as a PPR stud (10 more catches this week) and while there isn’t much to be excited about in New England fantasy-wise outside of team defense, Edelman looks to be as steady as they come. Oakland remains a fantasy wasteland for the most part, although McFadden’s lost TD on a phantom holding call cost him a second straight double-digit scoring day.

Tennessee @ Cincinnati
It’s always hard to say how the death of a former teammate (Rob Bironas) just before kickoff affects a team, but the Titans looked flat yesterday. And, you can’t play that way against the Bengals or they’ll run you over. Specifically, the Bengals are running the ball tremendously in the red zone and near the goal line. Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill have now combined for five touchdowns rushing in three weeks and as it appears the Bengals are going to continue playing from ahead a lot. Both running backs could end up in the top fifteen in fantasy points when all is said and done. Nice to see A.J. Green get back on the field so quickly (6 rec., 102 yards) and also nice to see Bishop Sankey begin to take on a bigger role for Tennessee (61 yards rushing). Look for Sankey’s role to expand in the weeks to come.

Baltimore @ Cleveland
Lorenzo Taliaferro? Kyle Juszczyk? Who are these guys? I can tell you that this err…dynamic Ravens duo ran for 145 yards and 2 TDs combined on Sunday as Bernard Pierce sat and Justin Forsett resumed his change of pace role. With Torrey Smith struggling and Dennis Pitta now out for the season again, these two could be asked to continue providing some support to a team in flux offensively. Taliaferro will be a hot waiver wire pick-up this week to be sure. Cleveland’s offense remained productive this past weekend (sans a disappointing return for Jordan Cameron), but everything is a timeshare for the Browns, leaving all skill position players as marginal fantasy starters at best. Hoyer is playing well enough at present to keep his job…

Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
Speaking of keeping his job, Chad Henne no longer has his as the Blake Bortles era has begun. Yes, Bortles threw a couple of interceptions yesterday, but he also put up 233 yards passing, 2 passing TDs, and 30 rushing yards- all in one half. That’s eye-opening. Andrew Luck’s beginning to the season has eyes more than open…he’s got them looking towards winning fantasy football championships. Luck’s 912 passing yards and 10 total TDs leads all signal callers thus far and he’s driving up the value of players like Ahmad Bradshaw, Coby Fleener, and Dwayne Allen to boot. But, even Luck can’t propel Trent Richardson to greater things as he was stuffed on multiple runs from the 1-yard line Sunday. At this point, Trent just needs to be the running back that keeps Bradshaw fresh.

Houston @ NY Giants
No Arian Foster on Sunday meant little fantasy production from the Texans while Rashad Jennings continued to show why he should have been the lead back in both Jacksonville and Oakland the past couple of years. Yes, the Texans have struggled mightily against the run thus far, but Jennings’s 31 carries for 176 yards was still overwhelmingly impressive. It allowed Victor Cruz (100+ yards, 1 TD) to finally get on track and return to being an every-week option at wide receiver. There has to be some concern for Andre Johnson owners at this point. DeAndre Hopkins is getting the deep balls thrown his way and separating better from cornerbacks. The Buzz is curious to know: Have Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald hit the wall? It’s hard to watch longtime fantasy studs begin to fade…

Washington @ Philadelphia
We call them “shoot-outs”. Every week, there’s a game or two that you want to have as many players in as possible and this week, it turned out to be Redskins-Eagles. Considerable differences of opinion existed before the season started about Nick Foles, but after throwing for nearly 1,000 yards and 6 TDs in three weeks, we believe in Foles. It had been the “Foles and Sproles” show up until Sunday, but Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews combined for 213 yards and 3 TDs in this game cementing Maclin as a WR2 moving forward and Matthews as an intriguing WR3. With Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson finally breaking out in this game and Kirk Cousins going bonkers as well, about the only unhappy fantasy storyline was that of LeSean McCoy (20 carries, 22 yards). He never seemed the same after taking a hard blow to the head early in the game.

Green Bay @ Detroit
He loves me. He loves me not. Such is the tale of Aaron Rodgers this season as sandwiched in between two subpar performances was his big Week 2. That’s one more than teammate, Eddie Lacy, has enjoyed. The Packers have lined up against strong defensive fronts thus far and the result has been getting whipped at the line of scrimmage. As the opponents soften, Lacy should begin producing better numbers. In the meantime, Reggie Bush was about the only bright spot in this whole game from a fantasy perspective. Rodgers vs. Stafford was supposed to be a high-scoring affair. In the end, defenses ruled and fantasy owners everywhere suffered the consequences.

Dallas @ St. Louis
Dallas has won two straight games coming from behind because they are willing to stay true to the run even when they fall behind or their starting running back fumbles. The lack of deviation from that game plan is allowing DeMarco Murray to enjoy one heckuva start to the 2014 season, even if your league does penalize for his fumbles. Elsewhere, don’t get excited about Austin Davis just yet. I know Sunday’s numbers look great, but remember that he played against the Cowboys D. Zac Stacy remains the primary fantasy option for St. Louis moving forward. Tony Romo had a fairly lackluster game sans the long bomb to Dez Bryant, but long bombs for TDs cover a multitude of sins, so to speak.

Minnesota @ New Orleans
The Vikings season offensively is beginning to erode in a really big hurry. The running game simply isn’t the same without Adrian Peterson and now Kyle Rudolph (groin) is going to miss some time moving forward. That being said, Teddy Bridgewater’s insertion into the lineup over the next few weeks will keep the Buzz invested in tracking Minnesota’s progress or lack thereof. Cordarrelle Patterson probably benefits most from that change. New Orleans enjoyed a balanced effort in this game with respect to passing the ball and running it. Brandin Cooks continues to have strong appeal in future weeks, but his numbers the past two weeks have cooled. Marques Colston avoided another goose egg with a late TD.

San Francisco @ Arizona
It’s hard to believe that Drew Stanton could look as good as he looked yesterday. And, it’s also becoming apparent that when Arizona needs to get separation from defenders inside the red zone, they’re looking for rookie John Brown. Brown now has 3 touchdowns in three weeks and if you’re keeping score, that three more than Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald…combined. For the 49ers, the leading rusher by far on Sunday was Colin Kaepernick (54 yards). I don’t think Kaepernick getting more rushing attempts than Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde combined (13 to 9) is a good recipe for success moving forward. As such, look for the 49ers to get back to basics in the weeks to come and don’t give up on Gore and Hyde in the process.

Kansas City @ Miami
Generally speaking, 0-2 teams play with a strong sense of urgency (for an exception to this rule, see Buccaneers and Jaguars), so Kansas City’s effort at Miami was not a surprise. What continued to be a surprise, though, was how little the team seems to lose in the running game with Knile Davis (132 yards, 1 TD) in for Jamaal Charles. It makes the Buzz wonder how the Chiefs will opt to rotate their two talented running backs moving forward. In Miami, the rumors about Ryan Tannehill losing his job are beginning to swirl. As if Matt Moore is the better option…? Miami would do well to be patient and continue trying to run the ball effectively. That’s how they won in Week 1.

Denver @ Seattle
Hard to say who was more impressive on Sunday: Russell Wilson or Peyton Manning. Both showcased what they can do in a competitive matchup in terms of fantasy production with Manning finally throwing for 300+ and Wilson hurting the Broncos as a ball carrier (and receiver). Emmanuel Sanders seems like the better fit at wide receiver right now with Manning not able to go deep like he once could, which could lead to him having more overall fantasy points at year’s end than DeMaryius Thomas. DT owners can officially begin to be concerned with Sanders chewing up yards between the 20s and Julius Thomas getting more redzone looks. For Seattle, it’s all about Marshawn Lynch right now. The ageless one looks to be on pace for another top five fantasy season at his position.

Pittsburgh @ Carolina
And now we come to Sunday’s most shocking fantasy development bar none for me. Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount rushing for 265 combined yards vs. a defense that we at the Buzz referred to as “great” last week was stunning. Both look fantastic as rushers in the Pittsburgh offense so far this year and the re-establishment of a ground game is both taking pressure off Ben Roethlisberger and allowing Antonio Brown to avoid constant double coverage. Brown’s stat line through three games (22 rec., 296 yards, 3 TDs) is impressive to say the least. In Carolina, the question is becoming how long fantasy owners are going to be able to keep Kelvin Benjamin out of their starting lineups. Our take here at the Buzz? Not. Much. Longer.

Chicago @ NY Jets
I thought for sure that Martellus Bennett would begin to slow down this week, but with Brandon Marshall far less than 100%, Bennett continued his role as Jay Cutler’s primary red zone option on Monday night and owners starting Bennett are really getting their money’s worth as he notched two more TDs. Geno Smith’s numbers continue to be solid despite his poor play in the red zone and in spite of Eric Decker not being able to stay healthy. Chris Ivory appears to be the Jets’ best offensive weapon, but they must play from ahead if they’re going to use him properly. Here’s hoping Brandon Marshall can get healthy…unless you’re a Martellus Bennett owner in which case you’ll gladly take Marshall at half speed for as long as it will last.

And so comes to an end another edition of the Buzz. With so many highly drafted running backs (McCoy, Charles, Forte, Lacy) struggling, success has depended upon depth and quality production from quarterbacks and wide receivers thus far. One thing is for sure: The Bye Weeks are coming! The Bye Weeks are coming! Better embrace that reality and prepare for what’s ahead. Week Three is behind us. Good luck in Week Four!