The Broncos jumped all over the Chiefs, as Kyle Orton (296 yards, 4 TD) hooked up with Brandon Lloyd (6-90-2) for several big plays. Knowshon Moreno finished with 156 yards on 25 touches and scored on a 17-yard catch. With the Chiefs playing from behind the entire game, Jamaal Charles (19 touches, 121 yards, TD) dominated the work in the KC backfield. Thomas Jones (5 touches, 22 yards) never really got it going. In the passing game, Matt Cassel (469 yards, 4 TD) connected with Dwayne Bowe (13-186-2) over and over and over. Many prognosticators were down on Bowe this week due to his matchup with Champ Bailey, but that clearly wasn’t an issue. What’s strange is that Cassel only targeted Tony Moeaki (1-34) three times even though he threw 53 passes.

Bills 14, Lions 12…That’s a fairly stunning score given the offenses and defenses involved. Shaun Hill (323 yards, TD, INT) finished with pretty nice numbers, though he didn’t throw his TD until late in the 4th quarter. Calvin Johnson (10-128-1) continues to dominate, but Jahvid Best‘s numbers (17 carries, 35 yards) are very worrisome considering the Bills own the 32nd-ranked rush defense in the league. Plus, he only had four yards in the passing game, marking the first game in his last six in which he had fewer than 30 yards through the air. For the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick (146 yards, TD) was pretty quiet, so as a result Lee Evans (2-52) and Steve Johnson (3-37) were quiet too. Instead, it was the Fred Jackson show. He racked up 170 total yards and scored twice. C.J. Spiller left with a hamstring injury, so look for Jackson to be a good start in the weeks to come.

The Browns and Jets went to overtime, and New York won on a 37-yard TD catch by Santonio Holmes (5-76-1), who continues to come up big in clutch situations. Mark Sanchez (299 yards, 2 TD, INT, rush TD) showed a lot of grit by shaking off a calf injury and dodging a number of sacks that could have snuffed out the Jets’ chances. The Jets promised a 50/50 split in the backfield and they delivered; Shonn Greene (23 touches, 94 yards) and LaDainian Tomlinson (24 touches, 110 yards) split the work but were both heavily involved. For the Browns, Peyton Hillis (23 touches, 109 yards, TD) put up great numbers in a terrible matchup, so he’s entering ‘must-start’ territory. Benjamin Watson (5-74) bounced back from a couple of bad games with a big outing.

The Tennessee debut of Randy Moss (1-24, 4 targets) was not good, but Nate Washington (3-26-1) and Bo Scaife (7-51) benefited from the attention the Dolphins were paying to Moss. Miami had to use all three QBs, so there’s no telling who will be under center in Week 11. Brandon Marshall (3-36) continues to struggle, and while Ronnie Brown scored, he only gained 11 yards on the day. Ricky Williams (12 touches, 60 yards) outplayed him. Anthony Fasano (5-110-1) had his best game of the year.

The HOU/JAX game was fun, and David Garrard (342 yards, 2 TD) continues to play well in good matchups. His second TD came on the game-winning Hail Mary which ricocheted into Mike Thomas‘s hands. Thomas finished with 8-149-1 and benefited from Mike Sims-Walker (3-26) missing big chunks of the game with some sort of leg injury. Thomas continues to play well with Garrard under center. The old Maurice Jones-Drew (26 touches, 123 yards, 2 TD) seems to be back. Meanwhile, Kevin Walter (6-90-1) stepped up for the Texans after being very quiet the last few weeks. He had six targets to Jacoby Jones’s two.

The Cowboys looked a lot better in their first game in the Jason Garrett era. Jon Kitna (327 yards, 3 TD, INT) posted great numbers in a terrible passing matchup, and Dez Bryant (3-104-1) continues to be his favorite target. Miles Austin (2-68-1) caught a TD which saved him from another disappointing day. Jason Witten (1-7) was a non-factor, but Felix Jones (17 touches, 136 yards, TD) had a big day, thanks to his 71-yard TD catch and run. For the Giants, Mario Manningham (10-91-1) and Kevin Boss (5-81-1) stepped up with Steve Smith 2.0 sidelined with a injured pec.

In this, the last week of byes, there are a few situations that have created opportunity for (somewhat desperate) fantasy owners to pluck a player off the waiver wire and immediately insert them in their starting lineups:

1. Steve Smith 2.0 is out. Mario Manningham is a top 20 play this week. Manningham is available in about 40% of ESPN leagues, so he’s not widely available. But if he’s out there, he’s a pretty solid WR2/flex option with Smith 2.0 sidelined in a great matchup with a very suspect Cowboys’ pass defense. If Manningham is on your bench, consider starting him this week. I have him ranked #19.

2. Owen Daniels is ruled out. Joel Dreessen looks like a sneaky good play. Last week, with Daniels sidelined, Dreessen caught five passes for 67 yards and was the most-targeted Texan receiver (8). He has caught two TDs on the year and has a terrific matchup with Jacksonville, who is among the worst at giving up points to opposing TEs. I have him ranked #14 this week.

3. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are out. Mike Goodson gets the start. Tyrell Sutton is out as well, so Goodson has no competition for carries this week. The Bucs are 30th against the run, so there is some opportunity for Goodson to rack up some yards on the ground. He is also dangerous as a pass catcher, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gained 120+ yards from scrimmage. I have him ranked #26 this week, so he’s a fringe RB2/flex play.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, John Paulsen (The Scores Report) currently sits atop the YTD leaderboard as the most accurate expert in our study. This now marks the fifth consecutive week that he has occupied the #1 position. To put this in perspective, Randy Moss has been a member of 3 different teams since Paulsen last trailed someone else in the standings. It’s an impressive feat and Paulsen shows no signs of letting up considering that he extended his lead in week 9. A quick glance at his positional rankings reveals just how dominant he has been thus far. Of the four key positions that factor into our overall results, Paulsen currently ranks in the top 2 for three of them: RB (#1), WR (#2) & TE (#2). It’s been a remarkable run of quality advice and we can only hope the readers at The Scores Report are taking advantage of it.

Anyway, here are my Week 10 rankings which are sure to change over the next few days, so check them often. I’ll post my defensive rankings on Thursday.

(Updated Sunday, November 14.)

The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Let’s see how my Week 9 picks fared:

#1 Giants: 7 PA (6) + 2 INT + 1 FR = 9 fantasy points
#2 Falcons: 1 SK + 2 INT = 3 fp
#3 Bills: 1 SK + 1 FR = 2 fp

Well, aside from the G-Men, that was pretty dreadful. The upshot is that it was a pretty bad day defensively from all the mediocre (i.e. available) defenses. Only the Cardinals (18), Raiders (11), Browns (8) and the Bucs (6) had six or more fantasy points and outside of ARI, their matchups looked pretty bad heading into the week.

On the season, DTBWW is averaging 7.8 | 10.4 | 4.4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) for a total of 7.6 fantasy points per game.

Let’s take a look at my Week 10 picks keeping in mind that to be eligible, defenses must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues:

#1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. CAR)
Two words: Jimmy Clausen. Need I say more?

#2: Arizona Cardinals (vs. SEA)
The Cards have averaged 14.3 fantasy points at home and this week a suspect Seahawks’ offense comes to town. This is a tasty matchup.

#3: Indianapolis Colts (vs. CIN)
I’ll say it: The Colts DT stinks on the road. But at home (12.3 ppg), they are a completely different animal. Cincy isn’t the greatest matchup, but the Colts made mincemeat of the Giants, Chiefs and Texans this season and they weren’t great matchups either.

Bonus Picks: CLE (vs. NYJ), STL (@ SF), KC (@ DEN)

Wondering who to add/drop or whether or not a trade is fair?

I’m here to help.

After checking out our Waiver Wire Watch, you can post your questions here, and unless you say differently, I’m assuming your league has a standard (non-PPR) scoring system.

If you are wondering who to start in a standard scoring league, please wait until later this week (usually Wednesday or Thursday) when I’ll release my official Week 10 rankings.

And if you’re a regular visitor, please take a moment to rate my advice at Fantasy Pros (under Member Rating). I’d appreciate it.

Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only guys eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance scoring system.

Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (33.3)
If it seems like Fitzy’s sheen has worn off a little bit, it has, but only because he’s hit the rough part of his schedule with games against the Ravens (whom he torched), Chiefs and Bears. His schedule is pretty favorable the rest of the way and the Bills are bad enough that he’ll always be throwing.

Josh Freeman (43.8)
With two TDs against the Falcons, Freeman now has thrown at least one TD pass in seven of his eight games. His matchup this week against the Panthers isn’t great, but at least it’s at home. Things are shaping up quite nicely down the stretch with a very nice W14-16 schedule (WAS, DET, SEA).

Vince Young (59.4)
He’s having trouble staying healthy, but with Randy Moss in town, Young shouldn’t be hamstrung by the loss of Kenny Britt. Schedule-wise, things look great, with WAS, HOU (x 2) and JAX on tap down the stretch.

Matt Cassel (34.6)
Cassel has tossed eight TDs in the last four games and his schedule is very favorable in the short-term (DEN x2, ARI, SEA over the next four weeks).

Sam Bradford (27.8)
Fantasy-wise, the rookie has been terrific all season and now has 11 TDs in eight games. The schedule looks pretty nice down the stretch, but I wonder if his lack of weapons is going to come back to bite him.

David Garrard (27.3)
When last we left him, Garrard was tossing four touchdowns against the Cowboys while running for a fifth score. He has HOU and CLE in the next two weeks, so he’s definitely startable in the short-term.

Jon Kitna (13.4)
Boy I was expecting bigger things from Kitna, who has struggled to execute Jason Garrett’s offense. He isn’t being helped by the Cowboys’ anemic running game and with the Giants on tap, I’d steer clear for now.

Chad Henne (58.4)
After a nice five-game run where he threw eight TDs against six interceptions, Henne has zero scores and four picks in his last two games. With Tennessee and Chicago up next, he’s not looking like a strong start.

Jason Campbell (8.7)
As the Raiders head into their bye, Tom Cable is left with a decision. Does he bench Campbell after he led Oakland to three straight wins? Or does he give the reins back to Bruce Gradkowski? With the Steelers up after the bye, I’d wait a while and let this one sort itself out.

Matthew Stafford (40.4)
If healthy, Stafford is probably the best QB available out there on a reasonable amount of waiver wires. He has six TDs over the last two weeks, but obviously his shoulder injury in Week 9 is a big concern. He had an MRI on Monday and won’t need surgery, but he could be out a while. Update: MLive is reporting that he may miss the rest of the season.

Derek Anderson (3.3)
Anderson should only be used under the most dire of circumstances. One look at his game log and it’s easy to see that he should not be trusted.

Colt McCoy (2.1)
McCoy has a couple of tasty matchups (JAX in W11 and BUF in W14) and a few scary ones, but he’s okay as a spot starter.

Troy Smith (1.9)
Smith has a pretty nice schedule so if he continues to play solid football, he should be able to keep the starting gig.

Jimmy Clausen (0.9)
Matt Moore is out for the season. My heart goes out to anyone who has to pick up Clausen.

Willis McGahee (56.1)
McGahee now has a TD in four of his last five games, which makes him a solid RB3 in most leagues.

Danny Woodhead (49.3)
Woodhead has averaged 73 yards from scrimmage over the last five games and has scored two TDs during that span.

Clinton Portis (54.8)
He’s baaaaaaack. Maybe.

Tim Hightower (57.2)
Hightower’s very quiet Week 8 caused him to start hitting the waiver wire at a greater rate. He only gained 39 yards on 13 carries, but he got the start with Chris Wells out.

Mike Hart (7.6)
If Hart can get back on the field, there may be an opportunity for him to make some fantasy hay. Donald Brown was mediocre (3.3 ypc) running the ball against the Eagles.

Javarris James (0.6)
He had four carries, but two were for TDs. He’s the Colts’ goal line back with Mike Hart and Joseph Addai sidelined.

Keiland Williams (1.2)
Ryan Torain and Clinton Portis were both in pads on Monday, but Williams would get the start if neither can play.

Ladell Betts (1.7)
Chris Ivory (21.3)
Julius Jones (1.4)
Betts got the start in Sean Payton’s rotating cast of running backs. Honestly, I’ve given up trying to figure out where this is headed.

Mike Goodson (0.6)
He gained 47 total yards with Jonathan Stewart (knee) and Tyrell Sutton (ankle) out with injuries.

Vincent Jackson (52.6)
He’s due back Week 12, and with the way the San Diego passing attack is firing away, he could be very valuable down the stretch.

Davone Bess (33.0)
He had his second-worst game of the season but still managed double figures in PPR formats.

Steve Breaston (53.2)
3-28 in Week 9 isn’t encouraging, but the Vikings are tough against the pass. He should find the going easier against Seattle.

Danny Amendola (20.1)
He’s the Rams receiver to own, especially in PPR formats. Plus, he has caught two TDs in the last two weeks.

Sidney Rice (31.2)
Due back soon. But don’t expect too much too early.

Mario Manningham (49.1)
Along with Austin Collie, James Jones and Robert Meachem, Manningham is one of the best WR3s in the league. He’s been solid outside of a couple of goose eggs in Weeks 4 & 5.

Jacoby Ford (0.2)
The rookie went for 6-148 to lead the Raiders’ dilapidated receiving corps against the Chiefs. With Louis Murphy hobbled and Darrius Heyward-Bey completely undependable, Ford is an interesting flier this week.

Mike Thomas (5.7)
I get the trepidation after his goose egg in Week 7. But when David Garrard plays, Thomas puts up good numbers (4.7-55), though the TDs leave something to be desired. He definitely has more value in PPR leagues.

Nate Burleson (26.4)
He now has 24 catches and three TDs in the last four weeks, and has an outstanding schedule (BUF, DAL, NE) coming up.

Patrick Crayton (33.4)
Seyi Ajirotutu (0.5)
With his 20 catches over the last four weeks, Crayton seems likely to perform well over the short term, but there won’t be as many balls headed his way when/if V-Jax and Malcom Floyd rejoin the lineup. That goes double for Ajirotutu, who is fine a spot starter in the next week or two.

Bernard Berrian (51.6)
Clearly, Randy Moss’s departure was good for Berrian, who racked up 9-89 against the Cardinals. But his value is going to take a hit when Sidney Rice returns.

Jabar Gaffney (42.6)
Eddie Royal (44.5)
Bothered by a leg injury, Royal hasn’t cracked 8 points in a month and Gaffney has been held under 10 in the last two weeks. They are both PPR WR4/WR5 fodder at the moment.

Nate Washington (33.5)
With Kenny Britt out, Washington broke out of his slump to the tune of 4-117-1, but there’s no telling how many looks he’ll get in the Titans’ run-oriented offense with Randy Moss on board.

James Jones (5.4)
Believe me, I like Jones, but if Driver comes back after GB’s bye, his value is going to take a big hit.

Robert Meachem (58.7)
He’ll have a nice game every so often as Drew Brees continues to spread the ball around.

Brian Hartline (0.7)
He has 29 catches in the last seven games, and that’s something in PPR formats.

Blair White (0.6)
Keep an eye on Austin Collie this week. If he can’t go, White would be the Colts’ WR3.

Jacob Tamme (52.2)
If Gates’s foot doesn’t allow him to play, there’s a decent chance Tamme will be the top TE over the second half of the season.

Tony Moeaki (30.1)
Moeaki had a great recent schedule, but didn’t do much with it, though he did post 6-63 against the Raiders this week. His matchups the next two weeks are average.

Brandon Pettigrew (26.4)
Thanks to Nate Burleson, Pettigrew isn’t getting a ton of targets lately, but he’s making the most of them. He has two TDs in his last two games.

Greg Olsen (59.1)
Has he been disappointing? Yes. But even counting that goose egg in Seattle, he has been decent (3.0-36-0.4) with Jay Cutler under center.

Heath Miller (48.1)
Miller has a terrific upcoming schedule. Will he capitalize?

Joel Dreessen (0.3)
He’s a decent start as long as Owen Daniels is sidelined.

Benjamin Watson (27.9)
His nice run seems to have ended. He has just two catches in the last two weeks. His schedule down the stretch is favorable, however.

Randy McMichael (1.1)
I guess you could run him out there if Gates can’t go. Antonio should be back after the Chargers’ bye, however.

Jeremy Shockey (54.0)
He went to the hospital after his TD catch on Sunday, but should be available after the Saints’ bye.

Jermaine Gresham (10.7)
He’s involved. That’s something.

John Carlson (15.8)
Ugh.

Kevin Boss (10.1)
He’ll catch the occasional TD.