Jets QB Justin Fields gave us the good.
The Detroit Lions offense gave us the bad.
Bengals WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins gave us the ugly.
That’s just a small — very small — sampling of NFL fantasy football Week 1 winners and losers. So who else made (or ruined) your fantasy weekend?
All rankings and fantasy point totals courtesy of FantasyPros.
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NFL Fantasy Football Week 1 Winners and Losers
Winner: Colts QB Daniel Jones
To quote me from last week’s Playbook Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em masterwork: “As a fan, if Daniel Jones was my team’s starting QB, I wouldn’t feel great about life. But fantasy-wise, if Daniel Jones was my QB2 in a two-quarterback league, I’d be like, 'Yeah, okay, that’ll do.'”
Dude was Week 1’s QB3. Nailed it. And FWIW, Colts fans are probably feeling great about life.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Daniel Jones - 210.5 pass yards
Loser: Texans QB C.J. Stroud
The third-year man out of The Ohio State University racked up 9.7 fantasy points and finished the week as QB24. Compounding fantasy owners’ frustration is the fact that he spread the ball around, like, wayyyy too much, feeding eight different receivers, none of whom grabbed more than 3 catches. And seriously, how does stud Texans WR Nico Collins manage just 3 catches and 25 yards on Opening Day? Ugh.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: C.J. Stroud - 226.5 pass yards
Winner: Jets QB Justin Fields
Did the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers blow it with Justin Fields? Or was his monster performance against the Steelers (29.5 fantasy points, QB2) an anomaly, and he’ll soon regress to the inconsistent, one-dimensional signal caller we’ve known and loved for the last four years? Right now, who cares? Let’s just enjoy.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Justin Fields - 183.5 pass yards, 46.5 rush yards
Loser: Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
Raise your hand if you thought Darnold would replicate his stellar 2024 performance...and before you decide, remember that Darnold had eternal WR1 Justin Jefferson and Vikings head coach/QB whisperer Kevin O’Connell on his side. Yeah, not seeing any hands, but when you eke out 5.4 fantasy points in a Week 1 divisional game against the rival 49ers, you really don’t deserve any hands.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Sam Darnold - 199.5 pass yards
Winner: Jaguars RB Chuba Hubbard
Admittedly, putting up 14.9 fantasy points against the reliably lousy Carolina defense isn’t any great shakes. But you can only play who’s on the schedule, so here we are.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Chuba Hubbard - 60.5 rush yards
Loser: Commanders RB Austin Ekeler
Five years ago, Austin Ekeler was a top-ten fantasy pick. On Sunday, he probably lost his starting gig at halftime, as rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt out-fantasy-pointed him 14.2 to 5.7. Would you be shocked if Ekeler eventually slides down the Washington depth chart behind JCM and Chris Rodriguez? Yeah, me neither.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Austin Ekeler - 22.5 rush yards, 19.5 receiving yards
Winner: Green Bay Packers defense
Breaking news: Micah Parsons is good at football. The Packers D finished the weekend as DST5, and the newly-arrived Parsons barely knows the playbook. Imagine how he’ll roll in Week 4. The NFC North is quivering in their collective boots.
Loser: Detroit Lions offense
Jahmyr Gibbs: RB33. David Montgomery: RB34. Amon-Ra St. Brown: WR45. Jameson Williams: WR70. You think the Lions miss their old OC Ben Johnson? Moi aussi.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Jahmyr Gibbs – 64.5 rush yards, 30.5 receiving yards
Winner: Fantasy Players Who Drafted Ravens RB Derrick Henry in the Second Round
At some point in the past three years, Father Time and Derrick Henry got into a fist fight, and Henry smacked him down, hard. The 31-year-old finished Week 1 as RB1, and it wasn’t even close, as he trounced RB2, Bijan Robinson, by 9.9 fantasy points. Father Time isn’t pleased.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Derrick Henry – 94.5 rush yards
Loser: Fantasy Players Who Drafted Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty in the First Round
It’s not like the highly-touted rookie was bad or anything — 10.0 fantasy points in your NFL debut doesn’t suck — but 38 rushing yards on 19 carries is concerning…especially for dummies like me who have him on not one, not two, but three of their fantasy rosters.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Ashton Jeanty – 67.5 rush yards
Winner: Los Angeles Chargers low-end wide receivers
If you had “Quentin Johnson: WR2” on your Week 1 bingo card, well…you didn’t have “Quentin Johnson: WR2” on your bingo card. Nor did you have “Keenen Allen: WR11” or “Justin Herbert QB5.” And the Bolts made all of this Week 1 noise against a decent Kansas City Chiefs defense, which begs the question, are the Chargers 2025’s surprise fantasy football beasts? I’m putting it on my bingo card.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Justin Herbert – 240.5 pass yards, 1.5 pass TDs
Loser: Cincinnati Bengals high-end wide receivers
Since February, I’ve been hyping Joe Burrow as the 2025 NFL MVP. Welp, apparently Browns D-lineman Myles Garrett heard me, and got annoyed, and took it out on the entire Bengals offense. In their team’s Week 1 win over Cleveland, Cincy’s WR duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined — combined — for 6.1 fantasy points, which put them behind New England WR’s DeMario Douglas’ 6.2. DFS players who rolled with a Bengals stack (like me) aren’t pleased. Not one bit.
PrizePicks Week 2 Projection: Ja’Marr Chase – 84.5 receiving yards
C.J. Stroud was one of last week's losers, but you can be every week's fantasy winner if hit up PrizePicks, you pick your players, predict More or Less on their season-long stats, and lock in your PrizePicks Lineup. And be sure to stick with PrizePicks Playbook all year for the latest news, tips, winners, and losers.
