Karlos Williams, Tavon Austin come through for fantasy owners

Three unbeaten teams remain after the Denver Broncos were upset by the Indianapolis Colts. And when teams fail, fantasy players fail. We’re at that time of the season when the good teams are getting even better and more in sync and the bad teams are starting to tinker with lineups, if only to look like they are still trying.

The real McCoy

The Buffalo Bills acquired LeSean McCoy to lead their rushing offense. They also spent a fifth-round draft pick on Karlos Williams out of Florida State. McCoy missed two games with a hamstring strain but has rushed for 416 yards and two touchdowns while adding 13 receptions for 130 yards and a third score.

Williams has played in only five games because of a concussion, and he’s been the No. 2 back. All he’s done is rush for 6.6 yards a carry and score a touchdown … in every game he has played. Williams has already posted two efforts of 100-plus yards and comes off a 110-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins in which he scored twice. He’s been limited to as few as six carries a week yet always scored.

McCoy injured his shoulder last weekend and has been less than durable for 2015. Williams has quietly become the best running back in Buffalo.

All about the non-Benjamins

The Carolina Panthers lost their top wideout, Kelvin Benjamin, before the season to a knee injury. That cast a shadow over the team’s passing offense. Eight consecutive wins later, the Panthers might be OK without him.

Ted Ginn Jr. was an early-season surprise with three scores but has since gone quiet. That’s because quarterback Cam Newton is making use of all of his receivers. Corey Brown scored in each of the last two games, and Jerricho Cotchery turned in three catches for 82 yards in the win against the Green Bay Packers.

Most exciting of all was rookie Devin Funchess with three catches for a season-high 71 yards, along with his first NFL touchdown. It is not unusual for a young set of receivers to improve over the course of the season. But the team is not usually undefeated and getting even better at midseason.

But can he throw?

For many years, the St. Louis Rams have been a fantasy wasteland for receivers. That might be changing and not because there is a hot new receiver.

Tavon Austin was a first-round pick in 2013, but the Rams never quite figured out how to use the speedy 5-8, 178-pound wideout. Ends up he just needed to run more.

Austin only caught four passes for 15 yards in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but he ran for a season-best 66 yards on eight carries. The previous week he ran three times for 21 yards and a score, plus caught four passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. He has scored six times this season and receives more touches each week. The next two games — against the Chicago Bears and at the Baltimore Ravens — are soft matchups with plenty of opportunities.

Like a shooting star

Gary Barnidge is a 30-year-old Cleveland Browns tight end who became an elite fantasy player this year. That could be ending depending on when the 2-7 Browns decide this season is officially over and they need to give Johnny Manziel another go as the starter.

Josh McCown, 36, is not the future, and coach Mike Pettine would not automatically deem him the starter upon his return from a rib injury this week.

The problem for Barnidge is that in three starts with Manziel he has averaged two catches for 27 yards with no scores. With McCown as the starter, Barnidge has averaged six catches for 87 yards and one touchdown a game. Manziel might start this week and possibly for the rest of the season. If so, Barnidge’s magical fantasy value evaporates.

Week 9 Notables

•New England Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell returned in Week 7 after starting the season on the physically unable to perform list because of a foot injury. He had a slow start, but in the win against the Washington Redskins he led the team with five receptions for 102 yards. His next two games will be at the New York Giants, who gave up 505 passing yards and seven touchdowns in Week 8, and then at home against the Bills, who allowed Tom Brady to throw for 466 yards and three scores in Week 2.

•Michael Crabtree of the Oakland Raiders has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last three weeks and topped 100 yards in the last two. Over the past month he’s been more productive than Amari Cooper.

•The Colts fired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and promoted Rob Chudzinski, who promised to focus more on the ground game. In Chudzinski’s first game calling the plays, Frank Gore had a season-high 28 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown against the stingy Broncos defense. The Colts have a bye this weekend but return to face the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

•Philadelphia Eagles wideout Jordan Matthews had a 41-yard touchdown catch in overtime to beat the Dallas Cowboys. He ended with an impressive nine-catch, 133-yard effort for his best fantasy game of the season. He has scored only one other touchdown this year — in Week 2 against those same Cowboys.

•Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy only gets worse. He ran five times for 10 yards at Carolina while backup James Starks turned 10 carries into 39 yards and added six receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown. Lacy averages 3.7 yards a carry, has only 23 touches over the last three games and has scored once since the season opener. Meanwhile, Starks has accounted for three touchdowns and a 4.3-yard rushing average. After two solid seasons, Lacy has been in a slump all year. He left the game with an injured groin, which makes Starks an even better play this weekend against the Detroit Lions.

•Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins entered Sunday questionable to play because of a twisted ankle he suffered in practice. That naturally left him on many fantasy benches, because reports said he could be limited and would not be 100% healthy. All he did was record a career-best eight catches for 168 yards and one touchdown. He caught every pass. On the horizon are three consecutive road games against the New York Jets, the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. There is no reason to leave Watkins on your bench.