Season 4 Episode 7
NFL Week 2 Recap & Week 3 Preview | The Injury Bug Bites
The Screenplay Podcast — Week 2 Recap
The Screenplay Podcast broke down every marquee Week 2 game, updated power rankings, fantasy
football alarm bells and buy-ins, Week 3 starts and sits, betting picks, and the Survivor Pool standings.
Host Andrew Novak also checked in from the road after his Week 2 finish at the Biltmore Asheville
Championship.
Andrew’s Week on Tour: T17 at the Biltmore Asheville Championship
Andrew Novak tied for 17th in his first tournament back, highlighted by a Saturday round where he gained
over four strokes putting — a level he said he hadn’t hit in years — before giving a bit back on Sunday
and battling some inconsistency on the par 5s. He called it a strong starting point for the fall season and
is playing next in Bermuda in about a month.
NFL Week 2 Recap
Rams 28, Giants 6 (Monday Night)
New York lost both Jaxson Dart (a knee injury that later proved worse than initially believed) and Malik
Nabers (a shoulder injury that limited him to essentially a decoy role) early, while the Rams defense
dominated even without Myles Garrett. Aaron Donald’s season debut drew praise from both hosts — 32
snaps, 58% of defensive plays, three tackles and constant double teams — with Andrew comparing the
uncertainty around his post-suspension form to Deshaun Watson’s rusty return before noting Donald still
looked like “a problem out there.” Davante Adams went off (8-for-10, 195 yards, two touchdowns) and
Isaiah Likely drew 10 targets, cementing his role in the offense even in a sloppy game for backup
quarterback Jameis Winston.
Bills 41, Lions 31 (Thursday Night)
Buffalo’s offense overwhelmed a Detroit defense missing both starting safeties (Brian Branch and Kerby
Joseph) coming off a short week following an overtime game, with both hosts agreeing the Lions’s defense
will cap the teams ceiling even as an easier schedule keeps them competitive. Jared Goff and Amon-Ra
St. Brown stacked a big fantasy day off a late fourth-and-long conversion, and Dalton Kincaid (7-for-8, 95
yards, a touchdown) continued to benefit from Buffalo running the NFL&’s second-most 13-personnel
packages behind only the Rams, with DJ Moore’s AC joint injury opening more opportunity for Keon
Coleman.
Broncos 20, Jaguars 13
Jacksonville led 13-3 in the third quarter before a turnover swung the game to Denver, who both hosts
said bounced back well behind more involvement for Courtland Sutton/Jalen Waddle and a run-first
approach after a disastrous Week 1. Both hosts flagged Brian Thomas Jr.’s struggling hands (three
catches on eight targets) as the reason volume is funneling to Parker Washington, with Andrew calling for
Jacksonville’s receiving room to develop a reliable No. 2 option alongside him.
Bears Injury Fallout
Caleb Williams was carted off in wet conditions with a hamstring injury that has him week-to-week, with
backup Tyson Bagent now in the concussion protocol after also going down — leaving Chicago’s Week 3
quarterback outlook uncertain. Both hosts were critical of the passing offense’s inconsistent distribution to
its top weapons (Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III) all season, and Evan pushed back
on Williams’s sideline reaction to the injury as overly dramatic given the diagnosis.
Chargers 0-2: What’s Going Wrong
Justin Herbert has completed 59% of his passes for 401 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions
through two games (a 71.6 QBR) as Los Angeles ranks 29th in the NFL in scoring, with both hosts
pointing to a struggling interior offensive line, a rash of injuries among offseason free-agent additions
(Bradley Bozeman, Njoku, Charlie Kolar), and a shaky receiving corps as the core issues. Both hosts see
an 0-3 start as a near-death blow for the Chargers season given the difficulty of making the playoffs after
an 0-3 start, especially with Buffalo up next.
Other Storylines
Washington’s Jaden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow — the same injury that limited him to seven
starts last season — in what both hosts called a fluke, non-contact play, raising real concern about his
durability given a lack of surrounding weapons and a tough NFC East. Tampa Bay fell to 0-2, with Andrew
walking back his preseason 12-5 prediction and blaming a disappointing offensive line and defensive
scheme under Todd Bowles rather than the roster talent itself. Aaron Rodgers, who has already
announced this will be his final season, took a brutal hit from New England and showed
uncharacteristically little fire afterward, with both hosts skeptical of a late-career playoff run in Pittsburgh.
Screenplay Podcast Power Rankings — Week 3
1. Buffalo Bills (2-0) 2. Seattle Seahawks (2-0) 3. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) 4. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) 6. Los Angeles Rams (1-1) 7. Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) 8. New England
Patriots (1-1) 9. Denver Broncos (1-1) 10. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)
The Ravens and Saints both sit just outside the top ten, with Evan reluctant to drop Baltimore despite a
loss to New Orleans and not yet ready to rank the surprising Saints inside the top ten.
Fantasy Football: Sound the Alarm (Two-Week Trends)
Colston Loveland has produced almost nothing through two weeks despite lofty preseason expectations,
with the Bears passing offense strangely reluctant to target him. New Orleans free-agent running back
Travis Achan has been buried in a confusing backfield committee behind Alvin Kamara, undercutting a
nearly $15 million investment. Marvin Harrison Jr. is viewed as a near-unrosterable bust at this point, and
Drake Maye (9.8 and 8 fantasy points through two weeks) is a concern behind a banged-up offensive line
now without starting guard Mike Onwenu (broken ankle, headed to IR). Rashee Rice’s per-target value
has dropped now that Kansas City has weaned him off the run-game-extension role that inflated his
numbers last year, and the Dolphins Devon Achane has managed only three to four catches per game
despite an ideal blowout-loss game script that should have produced garbage-time volume.
Fantasy Football: Full Buy-In
Parker Washington is drawing JSN/Amon-Ra St. Brown-level usage and yards-per-route-run numbers,
with both hosts fully bought in on a path to weekly top-ten wide receiver production. CeeDee Lamb looks
fully healthy and back to his old form with Dak Prescott, and Jalen Coker has a clear, high-target role in
Carolinas increasingly pass-heavy offense alongside Tetairoa McMillan. On the quarterback side, Tyler
Shough (27 and 21 fantasy points through two weeks, QB5 overall) and Dalton Kincaid (leading all tight
ends in receiving yards on a 70% snap share) are both viewed as legitimate weekly starters going
forward.
Week 3 Fantasy Football: Starts and Sits
Start Em
David Montgomery (vs. Colts, who've allowed 100-plus rushing yards to both Derrick Henry and Kenneth
Walker III), Matthew Golden (Thursday night vs. Falcons, who just lost cornerback AJ Terrell), Rashad
Bateman (vs. Cowboys, in a likely shootout), George Kittle (now healthy with the 49ers down other pass-
catchers), Jameis Winston (vs. Titans, with a full week to prepare), Jared Goff (vs. Jets, coming off extra
rest), TreVeyon Henderson (vs. Jaguars, in an expanding role over Rhamondre Stevenson), and Josh
Downs (vs. Texans, with Alec Pierce out).
Sit Em
Bill Kroskey-Merritt (Washington’s backfield outlook worsens without Jaden Daniels vs. a tough Seattle
defense), Denzel Boston (tough Panthers cornerback matchup despite a strong start to his Cleveland
career), Rome Odunze (likely facing Quinyon Mitchell with Case Keenum probably starting), Brian
Thomas Jr. (vs. Patriots, amid ongoing drop issues), and Davante Adams (vs. Broncos, likely shadowed
by Patrick Surtain II with Puka Nacua back to share targets).
Week 3 NFL Betting Picks
Both hosts are 3-3 against the spread this season, with Evan at 54% and Andrew at 56.1% all-time.
Andrew’s picks: Seahawks −7 vs. Commanders; Jaguars −3 vs. Patriots; Eagles −4.5 vs. Bears
(assuming Case Keenum starts over Tyson Bagent).
Evan’s picks: Falcons +6.5 vs. Packers (Thursday night); Lions −6.5 vs. Jets; Cardinals +8 vs. 49ers.
Screenplay Podcast Survivor Pool Update
The pool has narrowed dramatically from 200 entrants to just 50 remaining heading into Week 3. The
49ers (22% of the field, favored by 14 over Miami) were the smart play, while 40% of the field took Tampa
Bay and were eliminated; 12% took the Eagles and 5.7% took the Chargers. Only one entrant picked the
Falcons, a pick that did not survive.
Listen to the Full Episode
New episodes of The Screenplay Podcast drop every Wednesday at 8 a.m. wherever you stream
podcasts, hosted by Evan Grenus and PGA Tour winner Andrew Novak, running from now through the
Super Bowl. A full written recap with fantasy starts/sits, bets, and more is also posted to the site's blog
every week.