Josh McCown, Robby Anderson and More Fantasy Reaction from Bills vs. Jets

The New York Jets earned a 34-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, and it was a good night to start Josh McCown and Robby Anderson.

Few would've predicted either player would be a better fantasy football option than Bills running back LeSean McCoy, who ran for 25 yards and had zero receptions on one target.

McCown and Anderson have performed well in recent weeks, so their Week 9 showings weren't entirely unexpected. Zay Jones, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise and one of the few bright spots for the Bills in defeat.

Below are the fantasy outlooks for all three players after Thursday's game.

Josh McCown

The general hesitancy to climb aboard the McCown bandwagon is understandable. He has been a thoroughly average NFL quarterback for much of his career. A career 60.3 percent completion rate and 91 touchdowns to 76 interceptions in 90 games don't jump off the page.

Fantasy owners should begin moving past some of the skepticism toward McCown. He has been a low-end QB1 for much of the 2017 season, and that continued Thursday night as he threw for 140 yards and one touchdown 14-of-20 passing.

CBS Sports' Heath Cummings is a little less than enthusiastic about McCown's potential over the rest of the year:

Perhaps the other shoe will drop for McCown and he'll revert back to his old self. But only twice this year has he been an obvious fantasy liability by the standard scoring format.

While the 38-year-old's ceiling isn't very high, he's arguably moving beyond being just a streaming option and warrants bench status for QB-needy fantasy owners.

Robby Anderson

Anderson was New York's leading receiver Thursday, catching four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown on five targets.

The second-year wide receiver raised eyebrows last week when he blew past Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant for a 24-yard touchdown pass. While Anderson has impressive speed, NJ Advance Media's Connor Hughes and SportsNet New York's Taylor Rooks tweeted how he brings much more to the table: 

Anderson is owned in 53 percent of standard leagues on Yahoo, which is up 25 percent from Wednesday. His stock is rising rapidly, and that trend will continue after his performance against the Bills.

Anderson's three-game touchdown streak is likely to end at some point. When it does, his fantasy value will diminish slightly.

He's averaging a little over six targets a game, and he's by far the most dynamic receiver on the Jets. Both of those facts should ensure Anderson retains a steady ceiling in the second half.

With the porous Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary ahead in Week 10, Anderson could be worth a gamble in the flex position.

Zay Jones

Jones had his best game to date as a rookie Thursday night. He finished with six receptions for 53 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career. The NFL shared a replay of his grab in the back of the end zone in the second quarter:

Jones appeared to injure his knee in the second quarter but returned for the second half, which was good news for those excited by the former East Carolina star:

Week 9 could offer a sign of what's to come from Jones in the second half of the season, but it's too early to go overboard with praise.

One good game doesn't erase what has been an otherwise lackluster first year from the second-round pick. Jones will soon also be competing with Kelvin Benjamin for targets as well. Although Benjamin was inactive for Thursday night, he should be on the field for Buffalo in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints.

Until Jones shows more consistency and it's clear how much Benjamin's presence impacts the Bills offense as a whole, Jones should remain on the waiver wire.