Tunnel Vision of Week 6

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Ryan Tannehill 364-0 4
 Matt Ryan 371-8 4
 Carson Wentz 213-49 3
 Kirk Cousins 343-0 3
 Lamar Jackson 186-108 2
Running Backs Yards TD
Derrick Henry 22-212
2-52
2
D’Andre Switft 14-116
3-7
2
James Conner 20-101
1-1
1
Myles Gaskin 18-91
4-35
0
Ronald Jones  23-113
2-8
2
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Justin Jefferson 9-166 2
Julio Jones 8-137 2
Will Fuller 6-123 1
A.J. Brown 5-56 2
Brandin Cooks 9-68 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
Anthony Firkser 8-113 1
Trey Burton 4-58 2
Darren Fells 6-85 1
George Kittle 7-109 1
Hayden Hurst 4-57 1
Placekickers XP FG
Brandon McManus 0 6
Younghoe Koo 4 4
Justin Tucker 3 3
Cairo Santos 2 3
Joey Slye 1 3
Defense Sck-TO TD
Steelers 4-2 1
Ravens 1-6 0
Buccaneers 2-5 1
Giants 2-2 1
Broncos 3-4 0

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Baker Mayfield – Benched
RB Mark Ingram – Ankle
RB Joe Mixon – Foot (returned)
RB Miles Sanders – Ankle
RB Raheem Mostert – Ankle
WR Antonio Golden-Gandy – Hamstring
WR C.J. Board – Neck
TE Tyler Eifert – Neck
TE Zach Ertz – Foot
TE Jonnu Smith – Ankle
TE Robert Tonyan – Ankle

Chasing Ambulances

A lighter week is always welcomed.

RB Mark Ingram – Early speculation was that his ankle injury would not be anything significant and that he has a bye week to heal up in any case. Notable was that the Ravens turned to the rookie J.K. Dobbins for nine runs while Gus Edwards ended with 14 on the day. Unless surprising news comes back, Ingram should be fine for Week 8 against the Steelers.

RB Miles Sanders – Injured himself at the end of a 74-yard run when he was pulled down from behind and lost a fumble that was recovered by J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for the touchdown.  There has been no word by late Sunday as to his status but he remained on the sideline after leaving the injury tent – usually a positive sign.  Boston Scott would take his place if needed against the Giants this week, but an MRI on Monday should determine the severity.

RB Raheem Mostert – Left the win over the Rams with an ankle injury, and this time it didn’t just turn into Jerick McKinnon as the replacement. JaMycal Hasty is an undrafted back out of Baylor who was promoted from the practice squad. Hasty closed out the win over the Rams with nine carries for 37 yards. If Mostert’s ankle ends up costing him even more missed games, Hasty is making a case for a shared backfield with McKinnon.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

Monday Night – The Cardinals are at the Cowboys on ESPN at 8:15 PM EST as was always scheduled. The Chiefs are at the Bills on Fox at 5:00 PM EST as the “early” game.

WR A.J. Green – Faced the Colts defense and still caught a season-best 8-of-11 targets for 96 yards. This was the first sign of life in the aging wideout and enough to get him back off the waiver wire after just one catch over the last two games combined.

WR Tee Higgins – The Bengals rookie caught six passes for 125 yards for his first 100-yard game. By the looks of his growing chemistry with Joe Burrow, it is the first of many to come.

QB Philip Rivers – After five mediocre games that never produced more than one touchdown, Rivers posted 371 yards and three touchdowns in the Colts’ win over the Bengals. And he did it, sadly, without the use of T.Y. Hilton (1-11).

RB D’Andre Swift – Enjoyed his breakout game in the Lions’ win over the Jaguars. The rookie ran for 116 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns while Adrian Peterson ran 15 times for 40 yards. Swift added three receptions for seven yards as well. This was the first time that he was allowed more than five carries in a game.

WR Justin Jefferson – The Vikings rookie already recorded a 100-yard effort in Week 4 and upped that with nine catches for 166 yards and two scores in the loss to the Falcons. He’s just a rookie and the Vikings don’t throw as much as most teams, but Jefferson is currently the No. 6 fantasy wideout.

RB Phillip Lindsay – The Patriots have long had a good defense and yet Lindsay replaced the ill Melvin Gordon and ran for 101 yards on 23 carries at their stadium. The Broncos line has exceeded expectations.

QB Baker Mayfield – Benched in the third quarter for Case Keenum, Mayfield only passed for 119 yards and one score with two interceptions when he left. HC Kevin Stefanski said it was to protect his quarterback in what had become an obvious loss and he had already been sacked four times. It was the first time that Mayfield was held to fewer than two passing scores since Week 1but also his fourth game with under 200 passing yards.

TE Anthony Firkser – Jonnu Smith had a nice matchup with the Texans but sprained his ankle after just one catch. In his place, Firkser became the receiving tight end and led the team with eight catches for 113 yards and one touchdown that helped no one.

The Jets – It bears mentioning. The Jets are now the only winless team in the NFL and come off a shutout loss to the Dolphins, 24-0. HC Adam Gase remains employed despite being only slightly more popular than COVID-19.

TE Mike Gesicki – No matter that he caught five passes for 91 yards in Week 5 in the win at the 49ers. Or that Adam Shaheen only totaled two catches for seven yards on the year. In Week 6, Gesicki failed to catch either targets while Shaheen led the Dolphins with 51 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

The NFC East – The Cowboys are guaranteed to lead the division after playing the Cardinals on Monday night because they are already 2-3 and none of the other three teams have more than one win after six games. And yes, they still get to send a team to the playoffs.

RB Ronald Jones – The Buccaneers running back gained 113 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and added two catches for eight yards in the dominating win over the Packers. That makes three straight weeks that Jones rushed for over 100 yards and even less reason to expect Leonard Fournette will experience a resurgence in 2020. Jones is currently the No. 12 fantasy running back despite being drafted as just fantasy depth.

RB vs. TE touchdowns – Only 13 running backs scored a touchdown in Week 6. There were 14 tight ends with a touchdown. That’s just wrong. Only George Kittle, Hayden Hurst, Rob Gronkowski, and T.J. Hockenson are likely on a fantasy roster and the 10 others are not. Trey Burton, Cole Kmet, Anthony Firkser, Nick Boyle, Logan Thomas, Adam Shaheen, Durham Smythe, Darren Fells, Jack Doyle, and Jason Croom – take your pick.

WR Travis Fulgham – The Eagles wideout turned in 75 yards and a touchdown on six catches. He’s only played in three games this year and scored in each while averaging 95 yards.

QB Kyle Allen – The starting quarterback of the Football Team may not sound that fantasy relevant, but Allen threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to the Giants. More notably, they play the Cowboys this week and then the Giants again in Week 9 after their bye. Those two matchups alone make owning Allen worthwhile.

Where’s the aspirin? – Of the 24 quarterbacks that started so far this week, 12 of them failed to pass for over 200 yards. Only four failed to throw for over 200 yards in Week 5.

Huddle player of the week

Derrick Henry  –  The Titans remain one of only three unbeaten teams and Henry has been instrumental in attaining that record. He had yet another of his monster games when facing the Texans on Sunday. King Henry ran for 212 yards on 22 carries and added two receptions for 52 yards. His first touchdown was merely a 94-yard jaunt and his last was as the wild cat quarterback when he won the game with a five-yard run.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Philip Rivers 371 3 QB Aaron Rodgers 160-14 0
RB Giovani Bernard 8-15
3-13
1 RB Mark Ingram 5-20 0
RB Phillip Lindsay 23-101 0 RB Alexander Mattison 10-26
1-4
0
WR Keelan Cole 6-143 0 WR Mike Evans 1-10 0
WR Travis Fulgham 6-75 1 WR T.Y. Hilton 1-11 0
WR James Washington 4-68 1 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster 2-6 0
TE Anthony Firkser 8-113 1 TE Mark Andrews 2-21 0
PK Brandon McManus   6   FG PK Jake Elliott  zip
Huddle Fantasy Points = 146 Huddle Fantasy Points = 24

Now get back to work…