Week 6 Revenge Games: 5 Players Out to Torch Their Ex-Teams
I turned to real life for inspiration for the intro to this article this week and remembered a doozy of a revenge headline from 2004. A welding shop owner in Granby, Colorado built a makeshift bulldozer/tank hybrid and plowed through the small town, causing $7 million worth of damage.
His revenge? A zoning dispute between himself, the city’s zoning commission, and a concrete company that wanted to build a plant on his land. When the city approved the proposal, he complained that the construction blocked him from getting into his shop. He did attempt the civil route by petitioning the commission to prevent the rezoning. However, after multiple rejections and fines for various violations, the welder decided to make things happen his way.
The man sealed himself inside his creation and drove into town, plowing through the concrete plant, City Hall, and every other business that was connected to his case against the zoning committee. His revenge took two hours and seven minutes and ended tragically. They actually made a movie about it, check out the trailer below.
Revenge is always on the minds of those done dirty, and not all NFL players who changed teams were necessarily wronged, but we have to assume some sort of vengeance lies within.
I outlined what I found from 10 years of data in the article Revenge Games: 10 Years of Data on Fantasy Breakouts vs. Former Teams, and this weekly article dives into who’s seeking retribution each week.
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Before I get into this week's revengers, let’s look at how Week 5 shook out:
- Stefon Diggs WR5, 19.6
- DeAndre Hopkins WR58. 5.6
- Nick Folk K14, 6
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley @ Giants
We get the first of two revenge games for Saquon Barkley this week, and last year, he rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown with a massive 10.4 yards per attempt against the team he played for from 2018-2023. Bring on angry, vengeful Barkley, and let's get a top 5 performance from the Philly RB this week.
Rico Dowdle vs. Cowboys
He's coming off a career game of 246 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown to face the team he was a part of from 2020-2024. A positive for Rico Dowdle is that Dallas is dead last in schedule-adjusted fantasy points to RBs this season, allowing a whopping 31.7 in half-PPR scoring to opposing backfields weekly. However, Chuba Hubbard could be back, forcing some sort of committee. Either way, a trip down revenge game narrative street could mean another solid day for Dowdle.
Miles Sanders @ Panthers
He's been sidelined with a knee/ankle injury combo and is still questionable for this week's matchup against his former Carolina team. Miles Sanders was a Panther from 2023-2024, where he rushed for 637 yards and three touchdowns, with an additional 302 receiving yards and one score. The backfield is Javonte Williams for now, and Sanders isn't much of a factor even if he suits up, but if you're truly desperate, the retaliation alone could be worth the stab in larger leagues if he's out there.
Wide Receivers
This duo of WRs isn't exactly fantasy superstar caliber, but they all do have revenge games this week. It's highly unlikely you're starting any of them, but maybe a sprinkle in DFS to be contrarian?
- Olamide Zaccheaus (CHI) @ Commanders - 2024
- Brandin Cooks (NO) vs. Patriots - 2017
