This was quite a week for football games: the Broncos are no longer unbeaten; the once 5-0 Giants are suddenly third in the NFC East; the Titans and Rams are no longer winless; and no one could stop talking about Brett Favre beating the Packers at Lambeau. The story lines were compelling this weekend, and the fantasy lines were just as irritating as usual. Here are your starting lineup’s shining stars and biggest mistakes, and what to look for moving forward.

STEVE SLATON — OK, I remained confident on Slaton this year. The problems with fumbling (seven times after Sunday) were unfortunate, but I stuck with him. This week, Houston benched him against the league’s worst rush defense after he lost yet another fumble, and backup Ryan Moats ran wild for 126 yards and three scores. THOSE POINTS BELONGED TO SLATON! If he hadn’t fumbled AGAIN we’d all be happy campers. Now, not only did we get stuck with one lousy fantasy performance, we have a guy that was sure to be the main ball carrier on a high-octane offense that is now subject to an extremely unpredictable time-share situation. It’s definitely time to panic.

JONATHAN STEWART — So I dropped him a couple weeks ago; so what? Oh great, he’s run wild in three of the past four games for double-digit fantasy points after having little output through the first three weeks. But take this with a grain of salt; two of his strong games came against Washington and Tampa Bay. Even if Stewart gets a few more carries than he has been getting, he won’t be a consistent source of points in the immediate future while DeAngelo dominates for the Panthers.

RAY RICE — Every week, this guy produces. He had over a hundred yards from scrimmage yet again and notched another touchdown against a very stout Denver defense. He’s got some soft matchups left (Cleveland, Detroit, Oakland) and some tough ones (Pittsburgh twice, Indy, Cincinnati, Chicago), but Rice should produce in some way in almost every matchup he sees. Right now, he’s playing like an elite fantasy back, and he should be of that status for the remainder of the season.

MARSHAWN LYNCH and FRED JACKSON — Owners were concerned about how many carries Jackson would steal from Lynch, but it doesn’t really matter — both of them are putting up horrendous stats right now. I’d blame the Buffalo play-calling and other severe offensive struggles before I’d fault Lynch and Jackson — they’re both phenomenal running backs. But you have to park Lynch on your bench until things perk up and you probably have to drop Jackson at this point.

ELI MANNING — After the 5-0 start, Manning has been extremely mediocre through three consecutive losses: just one touchdown in each game, and six total interceptions, compared with two through the first five games. Manning faded fast, and you have to wonder whether he’ll get back on track this year.

RICKY WILLIAMS — Miami’s running game didn’t shine against the tough Jets’ D, but who can ignore Williams’s three scores against the Saints in Week 7? He’s got six total scores and some decent yardage totals, and he’s the 12th-ranked running back in terms of points in ESPN leagues. You can’t overlook that.

BRENT CELEK — Celek is a frustrating tight end because usually, when he has a soft matchup, he doesn’t get points, and when it seems like a tough matchup, he lights it up. After the first three weeks, many made Celek their starting TE, given the lack of tight end talent in the fantasy world. It’s tough to stick with that inconsistency, but almost any tight end, including Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez this year (who were the only three tight ends I trusted for reliability in the preseason, go figure) is going to be inconsistent.

JOHN CARLSON — Speaking of inconsistent tight ends, it’s time to give up on Carlson, if you haven’t already. His monstrous Week 1 (95 yards, two scores) has been followed by zero touchdowns since and no yardage total higher than 55.

DONALD DRIVER — After he underachieved last year, he’s turned in quite respectable numbers this year, accumulating three touchdowns and four games with 80-plus yards receiving. He’s not a stud by any means, but he’s a decent source of points in a shallow pool of productive wide receivers this year.

MICHAEL CRABTREE — So everyone who drafted him, then dropped him: go grab him again! If you’re in deep leagues and he’s still available, you could do worse. He had a decent debut, and then had six catches for 81 yards against the Colts. The Niners are a competitive football team, and that alone warrants a look at Crabtree.

FRANK GORE — Guess who’s back? Crabtree’s teammate ran for 91 yards and a score as well as catching five passes for 43 yards in his best receiving output of the season. Unlike many running backs that come back from injury and falter (see Clinton Portis, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook), Gore seems to be showing no ill effects of recovery thus far and appears to be at 100 percent.

WILLIS MCGAHEE — I would only say “I told you so” about a guy that I really dislike. After his early-season explosion, I said on Sept. 20, “I wouldn’t expect too many more days like this from McGahee.” Since Week 3, McGahee has exactly 11 rushing yards, and no touchdowns, of course. Now that Ray Rice is the main man, McGahee didn’t even get a timeshare out of the situation like most backs in the NFL would. Time to drop it like it’s cold, cause McGahee definitely is.

VINCENT JACKSON — Talk about a stud. Flying mostly under the radar in the talks about this year’s elite wide receivers, V-Jack has posted double-digit fantasy points in all but one game so far this season, including four 100-yard games and five total touchdowns. He is money; you’re lucky to have him if you do, because he’s as consistent as they come thus far.

JAMAL LEWIS — I don’t care that he gets the most offense on a horrible team, because that translates to absolute mediocrity. Not in all cases (see Steven Jackson), but this running back is so far past his prime that he doesn’t have a productive bone left in his body.