Week 3 Fantasy Football Bad Beats

Week 3 is barely in the rearview mirror, but the sting of victory being snatched by the jaws of defeat is still very fresh — maybe even somewhat raw. That’s what this article is for: to deal with that — and it will be each week throughout the fantasy football season.

We put out the call to the fantasy football community for everyone’s Week 3 bad beats. Call it part-group therapy, part-group hug. Even a little bit screaming into the night. We’ve all had those bad beats that are so razor-thin they hurt like a paper cut with salt dumped on it.

This is to let everyone who had a bad beat know that they’re not alone. Time for us to commiserate in our shared misery.

If there ever were a week to “Shake it Off,” this is it. Maybe an De'Von Achane sit was the difference in a loss. Maybe it was a trip to Davante’s Inferno. Or maybe a late Monday night touchdown left the score not very All Tutu Atwell. The Bad Beats are plentiful.

Down goes Puka, yards from victory

The Matthew Stafford-Puka Nacua stack was doing well for @Vpolatian to keep up with Ja’Marr Chase’s return to relevance on "Monday Night Football." Then a late shot to Nacua looked like it might pull off a victory, only to have him drop a knee down at the 3-yard line. Missed a win by that much.

The kicker got me

Monster game from Raheem Mostert? Check. D’Andre Swift goes back-to-back 100-yard games? Check. Have a kicker go off? Uncheck. Our friend @chiptoon was one of the fantasy managers with half the Miami record-setting backfield — and still losing. This time thanks to Evan McPherson’s four field goals and a PAT. Solution: Next year drop the kicker and add a flex.

Playing any other team

It happens. Several players on a fantasy team go loco, with the Yahoo app sending scoring alerts so often it feels like they’re repeating. Then @perry_pga checks the matchup and sees the opposing squad getting seemingly endless interceptions from the Buffalo defense. At least the Davante Adams Sunday Night stampede has happened often enough. You gotta check out Yahoo Fantasy Commissioner Plus, so you can also play against the league median score when you suffer a bad beat like this.

It’s all in the name

So @bigslim_jr plays around and gives his team the name Justin HIMbert. Then sees the real Justin Herbert throw for 405 yards and three touchdowns. That was enough to outlast the Buffalo defense. Maybe change the team name for a week if the teams meet in the playoffs.

Monday night comeback, not quite

The Bucs were finally moving the ball against the Eagles in their Monday night clash. It was enough to give @CrankyMaddog some glimmer of hope, with Mike Evans definitely getting Baker Mayfield’s attention early in 2023. The fourth-quarter, 1-yard jump ball was a late burst of points. Just .08 shy, though. Could that touchdown have come from the 10 instead?

Take a knee

The margin between victory and defeat can be so hair-splitting thin that a kneel-down could give a team a glimmer of hope or three. That’s where @nopigs21 was in the waning seconds Monday as Joe Burrow, after a gutty, 259-yard performance playing through a calf injury, was taking a knee multiple times with Mack Attack clinging to a fractional-point lead over Bijan Mustard. After Burrow dropped to the knee three times, Mack Attack barely escaped, and the bad beat belonged to Bijan Mustard. Next time, try ketchup.

Unlikely AFC West duo

When Keenan Allen (36.46) and Adams (35.70) team up for a big day alongside Kirk Cousins (26.68), it could've spelled a blowout for @patel0604 and Kobe’s Notable Team. But somehow, the team had enough Mamba Mentality to make it close but lose by less than half a point. Seeing all those passes go toward Ja’Marr Chase had to be tough with Tee Higgins having multiple drops on the Kobe roster.