Week Two Fantasy Football Losers

Week Two was filled with a lot of disappointing performances from players who were drafted with high expectations. To be fair, some players held injury designations going into gameday or suffered injuries mid-game. Joe Burrow, for example, suffered an injury that will sideline him for more than three months, but the injury occurred in the second quarter. While he underperformed in terms of his ADP and projection for the week, I cannot hold the injury against him, considering he performed well before coming out of the game. On the other hand, players like J.J. McCarthy or Justin Fields played more than three quarters, giving me enough evidence to determine if they deserve to be on this list. For the other players on this list, they fell victim to the game script and depth players who were in the right place at the right time.

WR A.J. Brown – 9.3 and WR Devonta Smith – 7.7 Fantasy Points

Making their second appearance on the list of fantasy football losers of the week, the duo of A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith made improvements in their offensive involvement, but still fell short of their projections. Brown was targeted six times for four catches compared to his measly singular catch from the opening win versus the Cowboys, and Smith hauled five of his eight targets. Despite getting the win over the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch, the game script was not in Philadelphia’s favor. Jalen Hurts has yet to throw for a touchdown while adding three ground scores to his season statistics, which drastically hinders the value of Brown and Smith. The Eagles obviously care more about overall wins and playoff seeding rather than a fantasy team owned by someone the franchise doesn’t know exists. However, Smith and Brown will remain easy starts in all lineups due to the incredible potential and upside of the star receivers.

RB Derrick Henry – 2.3 and TE Mark Andrews – 1.2 Fantasy Points

This entry is the tale of two stories: A player who had a great game in Week One but struggled in Week Two, and another who struggled in both weeks. Guess as to who is who. Derrick Henry torched the Bills' defense for over 150 yards and two touchdowns in Week One, but after a late fumble that shifted momentum into Buffalo’s favor, Henry was ready to bounce back and run all over the Browns. Except that didn’t happen. Despite fumbling early in the game, Henry remained the lead running back with 11 carries. The Browns planned to stop the run and were, for the most part, successful, but failed in two other crucial aspects of the game. Preparing for Lamar Jackson’s arm and the revenge of the defense against the doubters. Lamar completed 19 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, but was put in great field position with a Nate Wiggins interception, a Jake Hummel blocked punt, and even a defensive touchdown scored by Roquan Smith.

While the defense was creating problems for Cleveland, Lamar was successfully airing the ball out, but Mark Andrews was unable to capitalize, making fans question whether he is better suited for the fantasy football bench or waivers. Andrews was targeted three times against the Browns, catching one for two yards, barely missing a first down, and having another punched out while attempting to get his feet down in the endzone. Devontez Walker, Tylan Wallace, and DeAndre Hopkins all benefitted from the lack of targets to Mark Andrews, and it will be interesting to see how Andrews is used in the offense when Isaiah Likely returns from injury. Both will look to bounce back big against the Lions on Monday Night Football, but Mark Andrews is walking on thin ice with fantasy owners in a real-life contract year.

QB J.J. McCarthy – 2.82 Fantasy Points

J.J. McCarthy is a rollercoaster, but the ride has been shut down for a few weeks as he has been all but confirmed out with a high ankle sprain suffered in the Week Two Sunday Night Football loss against the Falcons. After having decent production in the Week One win over the Bears, McCarthy was eaten alive by the Falcons' defense, getting sacked six times, throwing two interceptions, and losing a fumble. While only the interceptions and lost fumbles count against his fantasy football production, there is concern about overall offensive success with the lack of protection. McCarthy finished the game with 158 yards on 50% completion and 25 rushing yards, but 50 of his 158 yards came on a deep shot towards the end of the first half to Justin Jefferson. Without that play, McCarthy would have been flirting with negative points. Since he is injured, it is safe to leave him on the bench, but when McCarthy returns, wait until there is evidence that he deserves to be in the starting lineup of fantasy football leagues before taking a chance on him.

QB Justin Fields – 3.98 fantasy points

Justin Fields was not having a productive day before he was removed from the game and placed in concussion protocol. Fields was sacked at the beginning of the fourth quarter, fumbling the ball and hitting the back of his head on the turf, getting replaced by Tyrod Taylor for the remainder of the game. At the time of the injury, the Bills were winning 30-3, and Josh Allen only played one more drive before Mitchell Trubisky relieved him of his duties. Taylor threw a touchdown to Jeremy Ruckert, making the final score 30-10. Through three quarters against the Bills, Fields looked lost, completing three of his 11 pass attempts for 27 yards, adding 49 yards on the ground, and losing the fumble mentioned above. Even if Fields were to clear concussion protocol, it is hard to stand behind starting him, especially after one good and one bad game against two respectable defenses.

K Chase McLaughlin – 1.0 Fantasy Points

Chase McLaughlin makes this list because of his rocky start to the 2025 NFL season. After missing two field goals and two extra points all last season, the K5 of 2024 has already missed two field goals and an extra point through two weeks. The distance of his two missed field goals is worrisome, as they were from 44 and 38 yards, whereas his only two misses in 2024 were from 50+. It is rough to watch McLaughlin struggle like this because the 2-0 Bucs won both games on last-second game-winning touchdowns where a field goal wouldn’t cut it, but the three points could have changed the outlook of the drive. McLaughlin needs to string together a few perfect games from inside 50 to get back into starting lineups because kickers, like defenses, can be a weekly waiver carousel.