Week 10 Target Watch: NFC
Welcome to the NFC targets and touches for Week 10 of the NFL season. The AFC portion will be up tomorrow night, so mark your calendars.
I have all the targets for each player since Week 5, and then in parentheses I have the average targets per game played for that player. Then below that I have the Red Zone targets and touches for each player. It’s as easy as following me on Twitter.
Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald: 6-12-5-7-BYE (30) (7.5), Michael Floyd: 7-6-10-4-BYE (27) (6.8), Andre Ellington: 4-5-5-2-BYE (16) (4), Andre Roberts: 1-4-8-2-BYE (15) (3.8), Rob Housler: 2-5-7-1-BYE (15) (3.8), Alfonso Smith: 3-1-4-0-BYE (8) (2), Jim Dray: 2-2-2-0-BYE (6) (1.5), Jaron Brown: 0-1-2-0-BYE (3) (0.8), Rashard Mendenhall: 2-1-0-dnp-BYE (3) (1)
It’s odd to say, but the Cardinals didn’t need to do much after halftime because they had the game in hand, but before then Andre Ellington, Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd all scored touchdowns. Carson Palmer only needed 13-of-18 completions for 172 yards and two touchdowns so there weren’t many targets and yards to go around for the receivers, especially the secondary receivers.
With Rashard Mendenhall out of the lineup with a toe injury, Andre Ellington went off for 154 rushing yards on just 15 carries. He had an 80 yard touchdown run, so of course his yards per carry is insane, but even if you take away that carry he had 76 yards on 14 carries, so the guy was getting it done on every carry. He was the lead back and was in on 63% of the snaps. He’s been around 45% over the last three games. His 17 total touches was his season high with 11 and 12 being his previous highs in Weeks 5 and 6.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Rashard Mendenhall: 1-2-0-2-5-1-1-0-BYE (12), Andre Ellington: 0-1-0-1-0-1-3-2-BYE (8), Larry Fitzgerald: 3-0-0-1-0-1-1-2-BYE (8), Michael Floyd: 0-3-0-1-0-1-1-1-BYE (7), Stepfan Taylor: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-3-BYE (3), Andre Roberts: 0-0-1-0-0-1-1-0-BYE (3), Alfonso Smith: 1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-BYE (2), Jim Dray: 0-0-0-0-1-0-1-0-BYE (2), Jaron Brown: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-BYE (1), Rob Housler: 0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-BYE (1), Kerry Taylor: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-BYE (0)
The Cardinals haven’t been in the red zone all that often this season so we have a bit of a scattershot look at their usage, but it does look like Ellington and Larry Fitzgerald have been getting the most looks down there of late and that’s the way it should be.
Editor's Note: Rotoworld's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-week $300,000 Fantasy Football league for Week 10. It's $25 to join and first prize is $25,000. Starts Sunday at 1pm ET. Here's the link.
Atlanta Falcons
Harry Douglas: 4-BYE-7-18-5 (34) (8.5), Tony Gonzalez: 14-BYE-4-8-7 (33) (8.2), Jacquizz Rodgers: 4-BYE-9-5-6 (24) (6), Darius Johnson: dnp-BYE-3-9-2 (14) (4.7), Drew Davis: 0-BYE-1-7-2 (10) (2.5), Steven Jackson: dnp-BYE-dnp-5-4 (9) (4.5), Levine Toilolo: 2-BYE-0-3-0 (5) (1.2), Jason Snelling: 5-BYE-0-dnp-0 (5) (1.7), Roddy White: 4-BYE-dnp-0-dnp (4) (2), Patrick DiMarco: dnp-BYE-dnp-2-1 (3) (1.5), Chase Coffman: dnp-BYE-dnp-2-0 (2) (1), Brian Robiskie: dnp-BYE-1-dnp-dnp (1) (1), Kevin Cone: 1-BYE-0-0-0 (1) (0.2)
Tony Gonzalez was finally able to get back on track by leading the team with seven targets, catching six for 81 yards and a touchdown. Harry Douglas saw a huge drop in targets from 18 the week before to five against the Panthers, but he made the most of them as he caught three for 82 yards. Drew Davis and Darius Johnson only had two targets apiece while the running backs Jacquizz Rodgers had six and Steven Jackson had four. The return of Roddy White will help lengthen and widen the field for Ryan and company.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Jacquizz Rodgers: 1-1-5-1-6-0-4-1-2 (21), Tony Gonzalez: 2-2-1-4-5-0-0-1-1 (16), Jason Snelling: 0-1-4-2-4-0-3-0-0 (14), Steven Jackson: 4-1-0-0-0-0-0-3-2 (10), Julio Jones: 2-0-1-2-4-0-0-0-0 (9), Harry Douglas: 2-0-2-1-2-0-0-2-0 (9), Roddy White: 1-0-0-4-0-0-0-0-0 (5), Levine Toilolo: 0-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-0 (4), Darius Johnson: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-0 (2), Antone Smith: 0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0 (1), Drew Davis: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0 (1), Brian Robiskie: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0 (1)
Jacquizz Rodgers is still a big part of the offense in the red zone, but Steven Jackson looked better, not great, but better than his first game back, especially on runs to the outside.
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith: 10-7-6-7-10 (40) (8), Brandon LaFell: 9-4-4-5-9 (31) (6.2), Greg Olsen: 6-4-4-4-5 (23) (4.6), Ted Ginn: 5-3-2-6-3 (19) (3.8), DeAngelo Williams: 3-5-1-3-2 (14) (2.8), Mike Tolbert: 1-3-0-4-4 (12) (2.4), Kenjon Barner: 2-dnp-dnp-1-dnp (3) (1.5), Jonathan Stewart: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-3 (3) (3), Richie Brockel: 0-0-0-1-0 (1) (0.2), Domenik Hixon: 0-0-0-1-0 (1) (0.2)
The Panthers didn’t have much trouble with the Falcons and were greatly aided by their defense intercepting Matt Ryan three times. Cam Newton threw two picks himself, but was able to overcome them and helped his team out with a rushing touchdown, his third in four games. Greg Olsen had the only receiving touchdown of the game and looks like he needed the bye week to help get healed up. The passing game is hit or miss with the Panthers and this week it was mostly miss for Steve Smith who only was able to catch four of 10 targets for 52 yards. Brandon LaFell had one of his better games with six receptions for 74 yards on nine targets.
Jonathan Stewart returned for this game and the looks predictably spread out even more. DeAngelo Williams had 15 touches to Stewart’s 12 and Mike Tolbert’s nine, but Tolbert, as usual, scored a rushing touchdown. That makes three out of his last four games.
We could see more work for Stewart going forward since he was being eased back in this one. Even though he had three less touches he finished with 65 yards to Williams’ 54.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: DeAngelo Williams: 1-5-2-BYE-3-5-1-4-6 (27), Mike Tolbert: 0-1-2-BYE-1-4-3-2-3 (16), Steve Smith: 2-1-1-BYE-2-2-2-0-1 (11), Greg Olsen: 1-1-2-BYE-0-0-0-2-1 (7), Brandon LaFell: 0-1-2-BYE-1-1-0-0-0 (5), Kenjon Barner: 0-0-0-BYE-1-0-0-1-0 (2), Ted Ginn: 0-1-0-BYE-0-0-0-1-0 (2), Richie Brockel: 0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-1-0 (1)
Williams saw a season high six red zone looks and even a goal line run, but was unable to convert and Tolbert came in and was.
Chicago Bears
Brandon Marshall: 5-11-10-BYE-13 (39) (9.8), Alshon Jeffery: 13-5-7-BYE-9 (34) (8.5), Martellus Bennett: 5-7-3-BYE-8 (23) (5.8), Matt Forte: 6-6-3-BYE-8 (23) (5.8), Earl Bennett: 3-2-4-BYE-0 (9) (2.2), Michael Bush: 0-2-dnp-BYE-1 (3) (1), Marquess Wilson: 0-dnp-1-BYE-1 (2) (0.7), Joe Anderson: 0-1-0-BYE-dnp (1) (0.3), Tony Fiammetta: 0-1-0-BYE-0 (1) (0.2), Dante Rosario: 1-0-0-BYE-0 (1) (0.2)
Josh McCown completed 22-of-41 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers on Monday night. He did little to slow down Marc Trestman’s offense and distributed his targets well to the top Bears’ offensive players. The only player that missed out on a good fantasy night was Martellus Bennett and he at least had opportunities with his eight targets.
Matt Forte is on pace for 80 receptions this season. His previous high was his rookie season when he caught 63. He’s also on pace for 1,316 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns and 632 receiving yards, which would all be career highs. Marc Trestman knows offense.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Matt Forte: 3-4-5-1-1-6-4-BYE-3 (27), Martellus Bennett: 1-3-3-2-1-0-2-BYE-0 (12), Alshon Jeffery: 0-2-0-4-3-0-0-BYE-2 (11), Brandon Marshall: 1-1-0-1-2-3-2-BYE-1 (11), Michael Bush: 0-0-4-0-0-0-0-BYE-3 (7), Earl Bennett: 0-0-1-2-1-0-0-BYE-0 (4)
Michael Bush got three red zone looks against the Packers, but so did Forte and he was able to get in for a touchdown. Forte’s past trouble at the goal line may not have been his problem, but maybe it was the offensive line and coordinator’s fault.
Dallas Cowboys
Dez Bryant: 10-8-16-6-11 (51) (10.2), Jason Witten: 10-5-6-2-10 (33) (6.6), Terrance Williams: 4-2-7-10-7 (30) (6), Cole Beasley: 4-5-7-3-9 (28) (5.6), DeMarco Murray: 1-2-dnp-dnp-7 (10) (3.3), Joseph Randle: 0-2-4-4-0 (10) (2), Miles Austin: dnp-4-3-dnp-dnp (7) (3.5), Dwayne Harris: 2-0-0-2-2 (6) (1.2), James Hanna: 1-1-0-2-1 (5) (1), Gavin Escobar: 3-0-1-0-0 (4) (0.8), Lance Dunbar: 0-dnp-dnp-0-3 (3) (1), Phillip Tanner: 0-0-2-1-0 (3) (0.6)
Jason Witten has three games with 16 or more fantasy points and six with six or less fantasy points. He’s been wildly inconsistent at least in the fantasy department. If you knew when he was going to see ten targets you might have a shot at predicting the good game, but alas.
DeMarco Murray only ran the ball four times for 31 yards and caught six of seven targets for 19 yards. He saw 40 snaps to Lance Dunbar’s eight and Joseph Randle’s one.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: DeMarco Murray: 3-2-8-1-4-1-0-0-0 (19), Dez Bryant: 0-2-2-1-3-0-1-2-0 (11), Jason Witten: 3-0-1-1-3-0-0-0-1 (9), Terrance Williams: 1-1-0-1-0-2-2-0-0 (7), Joseph Randle: 0-0-0-0-0-3-0-1-0 (4), Cole Beasley: 0-0-0-0-1-0-2-0-1 (4), Dwayne Harris: 1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1 (2), Gavin Escobar: 1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0 (2), Lance Dunbar: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 (1), Phillip Tanner: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0 (1), Miles Austin: 0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0 (1), James Hanna: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0 (1)
There weren’t many plays run in the red zone against Minnesota, but Jason Witten and Dwayne Harris made the best of their two red zone targets and caught touchdowns.
Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson: dnp-8-15-16-BYE (39) (13), Kris Durham: 8-13-8-6-BYE (35) (8.8), Reggie Bush: 6-6-5-9-BYE (26) (6.5), Brandon Pettigrew: 5-4-7-6-BYE (22) (5.5), Joique Bell: 4-2-4-1-BYE (11) (2.8), Ryan Broyles: 2-2-4-2-BYE (10) (2.5), Patrick Edwards: 5-3-dnp-dnp-BYE (8) (4), Kevin Ogletree: 3-2-2-0-BYE (7) (1.8), Tony Scheffler: 7-dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE (7) (7), Joseph Fauria: 0-3-4-0-BYE (7) (1.8), Jeremy Ross: dnp-dnp-0-3-BYE (3) (1.5), Theo Riddick: 0-dnp-dnp-1-BYE (1) (0.5)
It was clear last week that there really is no #2 receiver for the Lions. The pecking order is Calvin Johnson. Kris Durham is second in targets, but he’s still just in the running with Reggie Bush and Brandon Pettigrew. Once Nate Burleson returns he will easily fill that #2 position again.
Reggie Bush is the clear lead back with 67 snaps compared to Joique Bell’s 20 and is easily the second most trusted player on the team in the passing game.
When Ryan Broyles went down Jeremy Ross took his snaps.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Reggie Bush: 7-0-0-4-0-3-4-4-BYE (22), Calvin Johnson: 3-1-5-3-0-1-1-3-BYE (17), Joique Bell: 2-0-6-1-0-0-0-1-BYE (10), Kris Durham: 1-0-1-1-1-0-3-1-BYE (8), Joseph Fauria: 1-0-3-0-0-2-2-0-BYE (8), Brandon Pettigrew: 0-0-0-1-0-0-2-1-BYE (4), Nate Burleson: 2-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-BYE (3), Theo Riddick: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-BYE (1), Ryan Broyles: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-BYE (1), Jeremy Ross: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-BYE (1)
Calvin Johnson is the red zone king for Matthew Stafford as he should be. After that it’s whoever is around.
Green Bay Packers
Jordy Nelson: 7-10-6-8-9 (40) (8), Jarrett Boykin: 0-6-10-6-1 (23) (4.6), Jermichael Finley: 6-7-5-dnp-dnp (18) (6), Eddie Lacy: 1-1-7-4-0 (13) (2.6), Randall Cobb: 8-4-dnp-dnp-dnp (12) (6), James Jones: 6-1-dnp-dnp-3 (10) (3.3), Andrew Quarless: 0-0-1-2-7 (10) (2), John Kuhn: 0-2-1-2-0 (5) (1), Johnathan Franklin: 0-1-1-0-0 (2) (0.4), Ryan Taylor: 1-0-dnp-dnp-0 (1) (0.3)
The injury to Aaron Rodgers really shut down the passing game with Seneca Wallace taking over. He only threw the ball 19 times, completing 11 for 114 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. That didn’t leave many targets to go around, but Jordy Nelson and Andrew Quarless were the main targets as they saw 16.
Eddie Lacy remained the workhorse with 22 carries, but James Starks was able to produce with his six carries when he ran through a stadium-sized hole for a touchdown. The loss of Rodgers hurt Lacy’s receiving game as neither he nor Starks saw a target all game.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Eddie Lacy: 3-0-0-BYE-1-3-2-10-2 (21), Jordy Nelson: 1-2-1-BYE-2-1-1-2-1 (11), James Starks: 0-4-5-BYE-0-0-0-0-1 (10), Randall Cobb: 4-3-1-BYE-1-0-0-0-0 (9), James Jones: 0-2-3-BYE-1-0-0-0-1 (7), Johnathan Franklin: 0-0-4-BYE-0-0-2-0-0 (6), Jermichael Finley: 1-2-0-BYE-1-0-1-0-0 (5), John Kuhn: 1-0-0-BYE-0-1-0-1-0 (3), Jarrett Boykin: 0-0-0-BYE-0-0-2-0-0 (2), Andrew Quarless: 0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-0-1 (1)
The whole offense for the Packers was the run game and Lacy was able to convert from the goal line after he had taken the team down there with a 50+ yard run.
Minnesota Vikings
Greg Jennings: BYE-10-10-3-9 (32) (8), Kyle Rudolph: BYE-11-9-4-2 (26) (6.5), Jerome Simpson: BYE-7-9-3-5 (24) (6), Cordarrelle Patterson: BYE-2-6-3-4 (15) (3.8), Adrian Peterson: BYE-4-4-3-3 (14) (3.5), John Carlson: BYE-2-2-2-6 (12) (3), Jarius Wright: BYE-2-5-0-5 (12) (3), Toby Gerhart: BYE-2-3-2-1 (8) (2), Joe Webb: BYE-4-1-0-0 (5) (1.2), Jerome Felton: BYE-0-2-0-1 (3) (0.8)
This team has an engine and its name is Adrian Peterson. After that there’s maybe a license plate, a bucket seat and a floorboard with holes in it, a rusted body, a primer colored door, and an awful smell coming from the trunk, but man does that engine purr.
Peterson ran the ball 25 times for 140 yards and a touchdown while also catching three passes for 37 yards. Peterson wouldn’t be stopped on his touchdown run and looks to be 100% healthy. Kyle Rudolph did make a great touchdown catch and run, but was injured on the play. The few offensive weapons they have are now one less for the next four to six games.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Adrian Peterson: 3-5-7-3-BYE-1-1-2-7 (29), Greg Jennings: 0-0-3-1-BYE-1-1-0-2 (8), Kyle Rudolph: 0-3-1-0-BYE-1-0-0-0 (5), Jerome Simpson: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-2-1-1 (4), Toby Gerhart: 0-0-1-0-BYE-0-0-1-0 (2), John Carlson: 0-1-1-0-BYE-0--- (2), Cordarrelle Patterson: 1-0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-0 (1), Jarius Wright: 0-1-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-0 (1)
They just aren’t getting into the red zone enough for any receiver to have a good shot at consistent touchdowns, especially when it would be criminally insane to not give Peterson at least a few chances.
New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Graham: 11-6-BYE-3-12 (32) (8), Pierre Thomas: 9-1-BYE-3-10 (23) (5.8), Darren Sproles: 3-12-BYE-4-1 (20) (5), Lance Moore: dnp-dnp-BYE-4-10 (14) (7), Kenny Stills: 2-3-BYE-4-5 (14) (3.5), Marques Colston: 2-3-BYE-6-dnp (11) (3.7), Robert Meachem: 1-1-BYE-3-5 (10) (2.5), Ben Watson: 1-4-BYE-3-1 (9) (2.2), Nick Toon: 1-4-BYE-0-4 (9) (2.2), Jed Collins: 5-1-BYE-1-1 (8) (2), Josh Hill: 0-0-BYE-2-1 (3) (0.8), Mark Ingram: dnp-dnp-BYE-dnp-1 (1) (1), Travaris Cadet: 0-1-BYE-dnp-0 (1) (0.3)
The Jimmy Graham show returned on a limited basis last week, but was in full effect this week as he led all the non-QB skill positions with 60 snaps and caught nine of 12 targets for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Those were the only two touchdowns the Saints scored. Ten of Brees’ 21 touchdown passes have gone to Graham. Graham now has four games with two touchdown receptions. He is on pace for 20! It’s really pretty remarkable.
Darren Sproles left the game early with a concussion and Pierre Thomas took on the receiving back role and had 10 targets. He caught seven for 66 yards.
Nick Toon led all wide receivers in snaps with Marques Colston out, but had no receptions on four targets.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Pierre Thomas: 1-3-4-1-2-2-BYE-1-0 (14), Darren Sproles: 2-0-0-3-1-5-BYE-0-0 (11), Jimmy Graham: 2-0-5-0-0-0-BYE-3-1 (11), Jed Collins: 0-0-0-1-2-1-BYE-0-1 (5), Mark Ingram: 2-2-0-0-0-0-BYE-0-1 (5), Marques Colston: 0-1-1-0-0-2-BYE-0-0 (4), Lance Moore: 1-0-0-0-0-0-BYE-1-1 (3), Khiry Robinson: 0-0-0-1-0-1-BYE-0-0 (2), Nick Toon: 0-0-0-1-0-1-BYE-0-0 (2), Travaris Cadet: 0-0-0-0-0-1-BYE-0-0 (1), Kenny Stills: 0-0-1-0-0-0-BYE-0-0 (1), Ben Watson: 0-0-0-1-0-0-BYE-0-0 (1)
No player had more than one red zone look against the Jets. Graham had gone three games in a row without a red zone look, but has had four over the last two weeks. There is no doubt he is the top offensive player on the team, even with a torn up foot.
New York Giants
Hakeem Nicks: 12-8-10-12-BYE (42) (10.5), Victor Cruz: 12-5-7-10-BYE (34) (8.5), Rueben Randle: 13-5-3-1-BYE (22) (5.5), Brandon Myers: 5-1-3-4-BYE (13) (3.2), Peyton Hillis: dnp-dnp-6-5-BYE (11) (5.5), Jerrel Jernigan: 3-0-0-4-BYE (7) (1.8), John Conner: 0-0-5-1-BYE (6) (1.5), Brandon Jacobs: 3-2-dnp-dnp-BYE (5) (2.5), Bear Pascoe: 0-2-2-0-BYE (4) (1), Michael Cox: 0-0-2-1-BYE (3) (0.8)
The Giants offense has hit the skids, but they’ve somehow been able to win their last two while Manning has averaged 223 yards passing and half a touchdown, but he hasn’t thrown an interception when he had thrown fifteen in the first six games. He has to be gun shy, which is probably hurting his and his receivers’ fantasy numbers.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Brandon Jacobs: 0-3-0-0-2-3-0-0-BYE (8), Victor Cruz: 2-2-0-0-1-0-2-0-BYE (7), Hakeem Nicks: 2-0-0-0-1-0-2-2-BYE (7), DaRel Scott: 2-2-0-0-0-1-0-0-BYE (5), Peyton Hillis: 0-0-0-0-0-0-4-1-BYE (5), David Wilson: 2-2-0-0-1-0-0-0-BYE (5), Brandon Myers: 3-1-0-0-0-0-0-1-BYE (5), Rueben Randle: 0-1-0-0-1-0-0-1-BYE (3), Jerrel Jernigan: 0-0-0-0-1-0-0-1-BYE (2), Michael Cox: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-BYE (1), John Conner: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-BYE (1)
Hakeem Nicks has had four red zone targets over the last two weeks and even though he was having trouble hanging onto the ball he’s had 42 targets over the last four games. He’s still very much part of the game plan.
Philadelphia Eagles
DeSean Jackson: 12-6-8-11-6 (43) (8.6), Jason Avant: 7-6-12-4-1 (30) (6), LeSean McCoy: 8-2-7-5-4 (26) (5.2), Riley Cooper: 1-6-7-5-6 (25) (5), Zach Ertz: 3-6-5-4-6 (24) (4.8), Brent Celek: 3-1-4-3-4 (15) (3), Bryce Brown: 2-2-1-1-1 (7) (1.4), Jeff Maehl: 0-1-4-0-1 (6) (1.2), James Casey: 0-dnp-0-1-1 (2) (0.5), Damaris Johnson: 0-1-0-1-0 (2) (0.4)
Nick Foles threw seven touchdowns on 28 targets. He had fewer incompletions than touchdowns. I could go on with the crazy stats, but suffice it to say, he dominated the Raiders.
Riley Cooper was the biggest benefactor with five receptions on six targets for 139 yards and three touchdowns while DeSean Jackson was a close second with five receptions on six targets for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: LeSean McCoy: 3-1-2-0-5-4-5-1-2 (23), DeSean Jackson: 0-1-1-2-2-2-0-0-1 (9), Jason Avant: 0-1-1-0-3-0-2-1-0 (8), Bryce Brown: 2-2-0-1-1-1-0-0-0 (7), Brent Celek: 0-1-1-2-0-0-1-0-2 (7), Riley Cooper: 1-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-2 (5), Zach Ertz: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-2 (3), Chris Polk: 0-0-0-1-1-0-0-0-0 (2), Jeff Maehl: 0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0 (1), Damaris Johnson: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0 (1), James Casey: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 (1)
Brent Celek and Zac Ertz both had two red zone targets in this one and also played a similar number of snaps. Even though both scored touchdowns, Ertz’s first career TD, they unfortunately won’t be a part of too many seven-touchdown games.
San Francisco 49ers
Vernon Davis: 6-11-8-4-BYE (29) (7.2), Anquan Boldin: 6-8-6-6-BYE (26) (6.5), Bruce Miller: 1-2-1-3-BYE (7) (1.8), Kyle Williams: 0-2-1-3-BYE (6) (1.5), Jon Baldwin: 2-2-0-dnp-BYE (4) (1.3), Frank Gore: 0-0-3-1-BYE (4) (1), Vance McDonald: 0-1-2-0-BYE (3) (0.8), Kendall Hunter: 0-1-0-0-BYE (1) (0.2), Marlon Moore: 0-1-dnp-0-BYE (1) (0.3), Anthony Dixon: 0-1-0-0-BYE (1) (0.2)
Colin Kaepernick didn’t need to do much in London to squash the Jaguars, but it was good to see him running well. He only needed to complete 10 passes out of 16 attempts, but he did most of his damage on two touchdown runs.
Until Mario Manningham and/or Michael Crabtree come back, this is the Vernon Davis Anquan Boldin show.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Frank Gore: 5-3-0-3-7-8-4-5-BYE (35), Vernon Davis: 2-1-0-1-2-1-1-2-BYE (10), Anthony Dixon: 0-1-0-2-4-0-0-0-BYE (7), Anquan Boldin: 3-0-0-1-1-1-0-1-BYE (7), Bruce Miller: 0-2-0-0-0-2-0-1-BYE (5), Kendall Hunter: 0-0-2-0-0-1-0-1-BYE (4), Kyle Williams: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-BYE (1), Jon Baldwin: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-BYE (1), Vance McDonald: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-BYE (1)
Vernon Davis is the red zone target czar, but Frank Gore is the king of the rushing red zone. He had been losing some goal line work to Anthony Dixon, but that looks like it is officially over with Gore’s three goal line touchdowns over the last two weeks.
Seattle Seahawks
Golden Tate: 11-7-7-7-3 (35) (7), Doug Baldwin: 9-4-1-1-10 (25) (5), Marshawn Lynch: 2-5-3-1-5 (16) (3.2), Sidney Rice: 4-4-4-3-dnp (15) (3.8), Zach Miller: dnp-dnp-7-3-5 (15) (5), Jermaine Kearse: 1-3-3-2-2 (11) (2.2), Luke Willson: 4-3-2-0-0 (9) (1.8), Robert Turbin: 0-2-0-1-0 (3) (0.6), Derrick Coleman: 0-1-1-dnp-dnp (2) (0.7), Kellen Davis: 0-1-1-0-0 (2) (0.4), Ricardo Lockette: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-1 (1) (1)
The Seahawks got down fast in this one, but they were able to come back because the Buccaneers tried to sit on their lead. Marshawn Lynch did much of the damage in the comeback with 25 touches for 141 yards. Doug Baldwin took the lead in the target department with 10 after having six over his previous three games. He caught six of those 10 targets for 75 yards and a touchdown while the team’s leader in targets, Golden Tate, only had three.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Marshawn Lynch: 1-6-5-1-2-5-3-0-3 (26), Golden Tate: 0-0-0-1-1-0-2-1-0 (5), Sidney Rice: 0-2-1-0-1-0-0-1-0 (5), Zach Miller: 1-1-2-0-0-0-1-0-0 (5), Robert Turbin: 0-2-1-0-0-1-0-0-0 (4), Doug Baldwin: 0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-3 (4), Spencer Ware: 0-3-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 (3), Jermaine Kearse: 0-0-0-0-0-1-1-0-1 (3), Kellen Davis: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0 (1)
Lynch once again missed out on a touchdown. It’s been a whole three weeks since his last one, which is a drought for him. Baldwin led the team with three red zone targets, which is actually the high for any Seattle receiver this season.
St. Louis Rams
Chris Givens: 7-4-2-5-8 (26) (5.2), Jared Cook: 3-2-7-6-6 (24) (4.8), Lance Kendricks: 6-2-3-5-4 (20) (4), Austin Pettis: 5-1-4-4-4 (18) (3.6), Zac Stacy: 1-2-4-3-7 (17) (3.4), Tavon Austin: 6-1-5-3-2 (17) (3.4), Brian Quick: 2-2-6-3-2 (15) (3),
Cory Harkey: 2-1-2-1-0 (6) (1.2), Daryl Richardson: 1-1-1-1-dnp (4) (1), Stedman Bailey: 0-0-0-0-1 (1) (0.2), Isaiah Pead: 1-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (1) (1)
Zac Stacy who had 34 looks for 178 yards and two touchdowns dominated this game. He led the team in receptions with six for 51 yards on seven targets and almost led the team in receiving yards, but Chris Givens topped him by four whole yards. He also had 81 yards after contact and broke seven tackles.
Kellen Clemens didn’t have a horrible game, but had trouble with deep passes and had a costly fumble. His one touchdown was to Jared Cook who hadn’t crossed the goal line since Week one when he had two touchdowns.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Zac Stacy: 0-0-0-0-2-4-6-3-6 (21), Daryl Richardson: 3-0-0-0-2-1-0-3-0 (9), Jared Cook: 2-1-0-0-0-0-2-2-1 (8), Isaiah Pead: 0-2-4-0-1-0-0-0-0 (7), Austin Pettis: 1-2-1-0-1-0-1-1-0 (7), Brian Quick: 2-0-2-0-0-1-0-2-0 (7), Tavon Austin: 0-5-0-0-2-0-0-0-0 (7), Chris Givens: 1-1-1-1-1-0-0-1-0 (6), Lance Kendricks: 0-0-0-1-2-1-1-0-1 (6), Benny Cunningham: 0-0-0-0-3-0-0-0-1 (4), Stedman Bailey: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1 (1), Cory Harkey: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0 (1)
Zac Stacy dominated the touches, the yards and the touchdowns as well as the red zone looks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vincent Jackson: BYE-14-22-13-4 (53) (13.2), Tim Wright: BYE-9-3-8-4 (24) (6), Brian Leonard: BYE-1-2-7-4 (14) (3.5), Tiquan Underwood: BYE-4-1-4-3 (12) (3), Mike Williams: BYE-dnp-5-6-dnp (11) (5.5), Mike James: BYE-0-3-5-2 (10) (2.5), Doug Martin: BYE-4-3-dnp-dnp (7) (3.5), Chris Owusu: BYE-4-3-dnp-dnp (7) (3.5), Tom Crabtree: BYE-1-2-2-1 (6) (1.5), Erik Lorig: BYE-0-0-1-3 (4) (1), Eric Page: BYE-0-0-3-0 (3) (0.8), Jeff Demps: BYE-2-dnp-dnp-dnp (2) (2), Skye Dawson: BYE-dnp-dnp-1-0 (1) (0.5), Bobby Rainey: BYE-0-dnp-0-0 (1) (0.2)
Much like Zac Stacy, Mike James was the catalyst for his team. James rushed 28 times for 158 yards and added a touchdown pass to Tom Crabtree. Mike Glennon didn’t have a bad game, but they also didn’t ask him to do too much as he completed 17-of-23 passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
After averaging over 16 targets a game with Glennon at quarterback, Vincent Jackson saw a paltry four targets. Tight end Tim Wright also had four, but caught all four of his for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Jackson caught just two for 11 yards.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Vincent Jackson: 0-0-0-0-BYE-2-5-3-0 (10), Doug Martin: 3-0-1-2-BYE-1-2-0-0 (9), Mike James: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-5-0-3 (8), Mike Williams: 1-1-2-1-BYE-0-2-0-0 (7), Tim Wright: 0-0-1-0-BYE-1-0-1-1 (4), Brian Leonard: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-2-0-0 (2), Tiquan Underwood: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-2 (2), Kevin Ogletree: 0-1-1-0-BYE-0-0-0-0 (2), Eric Page: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-0-2-0 (2), Tom Crabtree: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-1 (1)
Much like the overall targets, Jackson had a precipitous drop in red zone targets as well. It’s of course better to spread the ball around than target one player 23 times, but he still is their best receiver and should see more targets going forward even if they are looking to hide Glennon and become more run oriented.
Washington Redskins
Pierre Garcon: BYE-15-8-11-11 (45) (11.2), Jordan Reed: BYE-6-9-14-5 (34) (8.5), Leonard Hankerson: BYE-6-5-3-6 (20) (5), Santana Moss: BYE-3-2-5-2 (12) (3), Roy Helu: BYE-6-2-1-1 (10) (2.5), Logan Paulsen: BYE-0-1-1-3 (5) (1.2), Aldrick Robinson: BYE-0-2-2-1 (5) (1.2), Josh Morgan: BYE-1-0-2-1 (4) (1), Niles Paul: BYE-0-0-0-2 (2) (0.5), Alfred Morris: BYE-1-0-0-0 (1) (0.2)
Pierre Garcon hadn’t topped 73 yards since Week 2, that is until last week when he hit 172 on nine receptions out of 11 targets. He accounted for most of the passing yards while Alfred Morris accounted for most of the rushing yards with his 121 yards on 25 carries.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Alfred Morris: 2-0-0-1-BYE-5-1-3-6 (18), Pierre Garcon: 0-2-3-3-BYE-1-2-1-0 (12), Roy Helu: 0-0-1-2-BYE-0-4-0-0 (7), Leonard Hankerson: 1-1-1-0-BYE-1-0-1-1 (6), Jordan Reed: 0-2-0-0-BYE-0-2-1-0 (5), Darrel Young: 0-0-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-4 (4), Santana Moss: 0-1-0-0-BYE-0-1-1-0 (3), Logan Paulsen: 0-1-0-0-BYE-0-1-0-1 (3), Niles Paul: 0-0-1-0-BYE-0-0-0-1 (2), Aldrick Robinson: 0-1-0-0-BYE-0-0-0-0 (1)
Morris was running extremely well all game, but for some reason coach Shanahan brought in Darrel Young for four goal line carries in which he scored three touchdowns. Those four carries are the only touches he’s had inside the red zone all season. At least with Roy Helu it felt like his three touchdowns against the Bears fit into his role as the hurry up back, but there really is no explanation for Young getting this goal line work. It’s something we’ll have to watch out for going forward.
Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus.
