Most of the time, the interests of NFL teams and fantasy owners are in alignment. Teams want to score as many points and gain as many yards as they can. 

However, there are rare instances with the interests diverge. We saw one in the final moments of the Los Angeles Rams’ 29-27 win over the Green Bay Packers.

The Rams had the ball deep in Packers territory and a two-point lead in the final minute when star running back Todd Gurley took a pitch on third and 10 and broke into the clear.

But instead of cruising into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day and putting the Rams up eight points, Gurley intentionally fell down inside the 5-yard line — which allowed the Rams to run out the clock.

Gurley started slowly, but finished with 114 yards on the ground, 81 yards and a touchdown on six receptions and a two-point conversion for a total of 33.5 PPR fantasy points. When he’s put up at least 20 fantasy points in every game this season, his fantasy owners can forgive this missed scoring opportunity. (Unless of course, it kept them from winning THEIR game.)

Offensive momentum

The Indianapolis Colts have become one of the league’s most potent offenses in recent weeks — and with top wideout T.Y. Hilton, running back Marlon Mack and tight end Jack Doyle finally healthy, they rolled up 461 yards and 42 points.

Despite a sore ankle that had him questionable on the pregame injury report, Mack rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Two weeks ago, he had never had a 100-yard game in the NFL. Now he has two in a row.

On the other side, reports of the demise of the Oakland Raiders’ offense might have been overly exaggerated. 

The Raiders lost their No. 1 running back (Marshawn Lynch) to injury and their No. 1 wide receiver (Amari Cooper) to a trade, but quarterback Derek Carr was incredibly efficient against the Colts — throwing for 244 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored on a 1-yard run. 

As for filling the void left by Lynch, Doug Martin rushed for 72 yards and Jalen Richard caught eight passes for 50.

QB change for the Bucs?

In the highest-scoring game of the day, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 276 yards and a touchdown by the end of the third quarter. However, he also threw four interceptions — the last one returned 21 yards for a touchdown.

Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the first four games before giving way to Winston. Fitz-magic completed 11-of-14 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. His two-point conversion pass to Chris Godwin brought the Bucs all the way back from an 18-point deficit to tie. But the Bucs lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on a field goal at the gun. 

Mike Evans caught six passes for 179 yards, including a 72-yard score from Fitzpatrick.

It was Evans’ first TD reception since Week 3 … when Fitzpatrick was the starter.

The Buccaneers had the NFL’s No. 1 offense entering the week. What will they do next week when they travel to 5-2 Carolina? 

Broad Shoulders Award

Our weekly honor for the player who single-handedly carried his fantasy teams to victory goes to (once again) Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner.

The second-year back did it all against the Cleveland Browns with 24 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also chipped in five catches for 66 yards to lead all players in Week 8 with 38.2 fantasy points (PPR scoring).

It’s becoming more and more obvious the Steelers really don’t need holdout running back Le’Veon Bell to make their offense go. Even if Bell does rejoin the team by Week 10, as expected, Conner’s effectiveness could turn the free-agent-to-be into little more than a third-down change-of-pace back. 

According to ESPN, Conner’s 179.2 fantasy points through his first seven games this season are more than Bell has scored in his career over any seven-game stretch.

Early waiver wire

Here are some early candidates fantasy owners can consider picking up on the waiver wire this week: 

We have a DeVante Parker sighting! After doing nothing for the previous four weeks, injuries to Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson gave Parker a chance to shine on Thursday. The Miami Dolphins wide receiver broke out with six catches for a career-high 134 yards and should return to the staring lineup. 

A hip injury had kept Colts tight end Jack Doyle out of action since Week 2, but he returned in a big way with six receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. After highly regarded tight end options David Njoku and C.J. Uzomah put up zeros this week, Doyle looks even more appealing going forward.

It isn’t easy to tell them apart, but wideouts David Moore and D.J. Moore are both worth a look. David, of the Seattle Seahawks, has four TD catches in his last three games … while rookie D.J. of the Carolina Panthers grabbed five of six targets for a career-high 90 yards.

It was hard to tell who might fill the void left when the Raiders traded Amari Cooper. Martavis Bryant? Or maybe Seth Roberts? But hardly anyone figured veteran Brandon LaFell. After being inactive or invisible for the first seven weeks, LaFell caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. (Roberts did catch two for 42 and a score though.)

And finally, the Philadelphia Eagles gave unheralded running back Josh Adams a decent amount of work in London. He had a team-high nine carries for 61 yards. Just what fantasy owners need, another mouth to feed in the Eagles backfield.

Follow Steve Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner.

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.