FanHouse Visanthe Shiancoe

Things seemed pretty elementary for the Minnesota Vikings through much of their game Sunday afternoon. They held a 14-0 lead over the Baltimore Ravens after a quarter, a 14-3 halftime lead, and then a 27-10 margin early in the fourth quarter -- margins that likely inspired tons of confidence for the Vikes. Who would have thought they would need to be bailed out by a missed field goal as time expired in order to escape with a victory?

Yet that's exactly what happened, because the Ravens, behind explosive plays from Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton, used just 11 offensive plays in 6:24 to score three touchdowns and take a 31-30 fourth-quarter lead. The Vikings did drive down and kick a field goal with 2:00 left in the game, which made the score -- the eventual final -- 33-31.

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Here's how it works. We throw some intriguing matchups at the FanHouse staff and ask whether each player will be over or under a certain point total. The result? Fantasy Football Over/Under. Makes sense, right?

Sure, it's the Over/Under, but let's throw some fantasy point lines out there as well:

Marshawn Lynch (-4) over Fred Jackson. Who scores the TD? I say neither, but Lynch breaks a long carry and pulls ahead in the passing game.

Leon Washington (+5) over Thomas Jones. I'll take a long TD or two from sparkplug Washington against sparkless Buffalo.

Kevin Walter (+6) over Andre Johnson. Johnson will eat up the attention while Walter does the damage.

Ronnie Brown (NL) over the bye. Not even a bye week can stop Brown.

There are plenty of solid options to be had this weekend at the tight end position. Sure, Dallas Clark, Jason Witten and Vernon Davis are all on the bye week. If you need to replace one of those guys this week, you'll be able to get by via playing the matchups correctly. (As a side note: it just feels right to have Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates back atop the fantasy tight end hierarchy)

Both Gonzo and Gates have prime-time favorable matchups that they should very well dominate. On the heels of his monster game against the Eagles, Kellen Winslow has caught our eye and deserves even more attention based upon the soft matchup against the Panthers. It hasn't hurt that Josh Johnson is locked in on Winslow as his new favorite target. Chris Cooley and Brent Celek are also eying down cupcake matchups. You're in good shape if you're starting any of these guys.

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Every week in this space we've been bragging about the abundance of depth at the tight end position. Well, thanks to the bye weeks the pickings have gotten just a little slimmer. Or maybe, it's just that some of the hot starts have cooled off a little. Anyhow, prepare to yawn as it's another week and yet again Dallas Clark clutches onto the top spot. Until we see proof otherwise, that's that.

Tony Gonzalez returns from the bye week, but faces a tough defense in San Francisco. Surely, the 49ers will be amped to stop the run which may lead to Gonzo slipping in a nice game. John Carlson returns to the upper echelon this week and should be primed to get back into good graces against a soft Jaguars defense at home. If Jason Witten can't somehow exploit the Chiefs' horrid defense, then you may want to press the panic button. And as for the rest of the ranks, follow along...

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We've been down this road before. We get it -- Dallas Clark is distancing himself as the clear-cut top tight end option in fantasy football. So, don't expect us to bump him from his lofty perch just yet. Really the only other tight end keeping the pace might be Brent Celek, but he's on a bye this week.

Well, insert Jason Witten to finally break out in a big way against the Broncos this weekend. We saw that the Cowboys were comfortable playing it safe on MNF with a lot of Tony Romo dump-offs to Witten. That was good enough for Witten to rope in nine passes. Of course, he didn't find the end zone, but that's coming on Sunday. Welcome back to the elite, Mr. Witten.

As for the rest of the ranks...

1. Dallas Clark, IND vs SEA
2. Jason Witten, DAL @ DEN
3. Chris Cooley, WAS vs TB
4. Jeremy Shockey, NO vs NYJ
5. Greg Olsen, CHI vs DET

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Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Riser of the Week: Pierre Thomas was the apple of many a fantasy owner's eye heading into the season, but he was hampered by a knee injury for the first two weeks. Sunday, he reintroduced himself to the fantasy football world -- so let's hope you held onto him if you drafted him. Thomas ran through the Buffalo defense for 126 yards on just 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns. The Saints do have two tough matchups coming (Jets and Giants), but, long-term, Pierre is going to be a solid RB2.

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With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

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Santana Moss and LaDainian Tomlinson have fantasy football owners concerned, but they sure aren't the only ones. After a frustrating Week 1, there are plenty of questions to answer. Will Steve Slaton bounce back? How do you cope with the loss of Donovan McNabb? Get injury analysis, start 'em/sit 'em choices and even some trade advice in Fantasy FanHouse's jam-packed podcast after the jump.

Each Monday morning of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

You know what Kyle Orton's line should have been? 16 of 28 with 156 yards and no touchdowns. He would have had a few more passing attempts before losing the game, which likely would have made him 16 of 30 or 17 of 31 or so. Instead, he was the beneficiary of the most insane amount of luck we've ever seen on one play in fantasy football. He forces a throw to Brandon Marshall in double-coverage, badly under-throws him and the Bengals tip the ball up in the air. The rest is history. And Kyle Orton had a decent fantasy day.

But don't be fooled.

We know over the course of the season, it appears tight end is going to be a deep position, and this week there seem to be a lot of good plays. Sure, it's top-heavy, as the top four form the proverbial "Big Four," but take a look in the teens. There are plenty of viable options this week with a chance to put up numbers rivaling anyone in the top 10.

Of course, we're pretty confident Dallas Clark goes nuts against the Jags at home.

1. Dallas Clark, IND vs. JAX
2. Antonio Gates, SD at OAK
3. Jason Witten, DAL at TB
4. Tony Gonzalez, ATL vs. MIA
5. Greg Olsen, CHI at GB

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