Week 4 Target Watch: AFC
Welcome to the Week 4 AFC Target Watch. Below I have all the targets for each player for each week and then their total number in parentheses and then below that I have the red zone targets and touches for each player for the season to date. The NFC version will be live Wednesday night. I hope you enjoy and if you get a chance give a follow on Twitter.
Baltimore Ravens
Steve Smith: 15-10-7-10 (42), Dennis Pitta: 15-4-3-dnp (22), Torrey Smith: 7-3-8-3 (21), Justin Forsett: 6-4-5-4 (19), Owen Daniels: 5-5-1-6 (17), Jacoby Jones: 7-1-1-1 (10), Kyle Juszczyk: 1-0-4-2 (7), Marlon Brown: 1-0-1-3 (5), Kamar Aiken: 4-0-0-1 (5), Bernard Pierce: 0-2-dnp-dnp (2), Lorenzo Taliaferro: 1-0-0-0 (1)
The Steve Smith show has extended its run for a few more dates and the Ravens are quite happy. As many predicted, Smith played well against his old team as he caught seven of ten targets for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He has been the third most targeted player in the league with 10.5 targets per game and is the oldest receiver to ever go for 400+ yards in his first four games.
On the other hand we have what many believed would be break-out star Torrey Smith seeing only three targets all game, behind Justin Forsett and Owen Daniels and tied with Marlon Brown. He was able to catch two of those targets for 53 yards and his first touchdown of the season though. He’s not dead in the water, but he’s not going to be breaking out anytime soon as long as Senior is doing his thing.
Bernard Pierce didn’t see one snap in Week 4 while Justin Forsett was the lead back with 62% of the snaps and Lorenzo Taliaferro was his backup with 35%. Taliaferro saw a decent amount of work, but most of it came after the Ravens were in blowout mode.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Steve Smith: Run 0/ Tar 8, Dennis Pitta: Run 0/ Tar 4, Owen Daniels: Run 0/ Tar 4, Kyle Juszczyk: Run 0/ Tar 2, Justin Forsett: Run 8/ Tar 2, Torrey Smith: Run 0/ Tar 2, Jacoby Jones: Run 1/ Tar 1, Kamar Aiken: Run 0/ Tar 1, Bernard Pierce: Run 7/ Tar 0, Joe Flacco: Run 4/ Tar 0, Lorenzo Taliaferro: Run 9/ Tar 0
My man Kyle Juszczyk came inches from a red zone reception for a score, but Taliaferro cleaned it up with the touchdown. Juszczyk did see 51% of the snaps and a couple targets with Dennis Pitta out. He’ll probably have a few good games, but won’t be worth owning in fantasy.
Buffalo Bills
Sammy Watkins: 4-11-8-9 (32), Robert Woods: 6-3-8-12 (29), Fred Jackson: 3-4-10-7 (24), Mike Williams: 3-3-4-6 (16), Scott Chandler: 1-2-5-5 (13), C.J. Spiller: 3-1-3-3 (10), Marquise Goodwin: 1-0-1-dnp (2), Frank Summers: 1-0-0-1 (2), Chris Gragg: 0-2-dnp-0 (2)
Kyle Orton has just been named the starting quarterback for the Bills, so these target numbers of course aren’t exactly what we should expect going forward, but they will serve us for now.
Robert Woods was the big target this week with a solid 12 passes thrown his way, but he was only able to come up with three receptions for 17 yards. That is awful. Orton isn’t great by any stretch of the imagination, but he can’t be worse than this.
Sammy Watkins had a little better time of it. On nine targets he caught four for 30 yards including a touchdown. He stands to benefit the most from Orton’s style.
Fred Jackson continues to have the slight edge in snaps, but C.J. Spiller had more looks this week. Of course he continues to see many between the tackle runs, which don’t set him up as well for big gains as Jackson’s passing targets do. Spiller finished with 17 touches for 84 yards to Jackson’s 13 touches for 85 yards. Neither got into the end zone this week, but Jackson remains the most probable of the two to score due to his red zone touches.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Sammy Watkins: Run 0/ Tar 5, Mike Williams: Run 0/ Tar 5, Fred Jackson: Run 9/ Tar 4, Robert Woods: Run 0/ Tar 2, C.J. Spiller: Run 3/ Tar 2, Scott Chandler: Run 0/ Tar 1, Chris Gragg: Run 0/ Tar 1, EJ Manuel: Run 5/ Tar 0, Frank Summers: Run 2/ Tar 0, Anthony Dixon: Run 2/ Tar 0
Cincinnati Bengals
Giovani Bernard: 10-6-3-BYE (19), A.J. Green: 9-0-9-BYE (18), Mohamed Sanu: 5-4-8-BYE (17), Brandon Tate: 6-3-1-BYE (10), Jermaine Gresham: 5-3-1-BYE (9), Dane Sanzenbacher: 0-4-0-BYE (4), Tyler Eifert: 3-dnp-dnp-BYE (3), James Wright: dnp-1-1-BYE (2), Jeremy Hill: 0-2-0-BYE (2), Ryan Hewitt: dnp-dnp-1-BYE (1), Kevin Brock: dnp-dnp-1-BYE (1)
The Bengals took to the ground once again this week as they ran the ball 31 times to just 23 passing attempts. This was a blowout as the Bengals beat the Titans 33 to 7, so getting accurate usage is a little tough.
A.J. Green returned from his turf toe injury and led the team with nine targets, catching six for 102 yards. He seemed slightly bothered by the injury, but will get the bye week to rest it up.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Mohamed Sanu: Run 0/ Tar 4, Jermaine Gresham: Run 0/ Tar 2, Dane Sanzenbacher: Run 0/ Tar 2, Andy Dalton: Run 4/ Tar 1, A.J. Green: Run 0/ Tar 1, Giovani Bernard: Run 12/ Tar 1, Jeremy Hill: Run 6/ Tar 0
Giovani Bernard had three goal line carries in this game and scored twice while Jeremy Hill made the most of his goal line carry and also scored. The splits between these two for the day had Bernard at 65% of the snaps and Hill at 24% while Cedric Peerman got the truly garbage time work with 13% of the snaps.
Cleveland Browns
Andrew Hawkins: 10-12-10-BYE (32), Miles Austin: 3-10-7-BYE (20), Taylor Gabriel: 6-4-2-BYE (12), Travis Benjamin: 3-4-1-BYE (8), Jordan Cameron: 5-dnp-3-BYE (8), Gary Barnidge: 2-4-0-BYE (6), Terrance West: 0-2-2-BYE (4), Jim Dray: 2-2-0-BYE (4), Ray Agnew: 0-2-0-BYE (2), Isaiah Crowell: 0-1-0-BYE (1)
Andrew Hawkins continues to look like the best Browns receiver, but Miles Austin also continued to find the end zone. Hawkins is out targeting Austin 32 to 20 on the season and Hawkins has seen just as many targets in the red zone. I’d still be leaning toward Hawkins as the receiver to own in Cleveland.
Jordan Cameron returned from his shoulder injury and played on 85% of the snaps, but only saw three targets. He did draw an interference call in the end zone to set up a touchdown, so he was useful to the team, just not to your fake team. I’m sure we will see him get back on track as long as he has no more setbacks.
Isaiah Crowell outplayed Terrance West this week and saw his most snaps of the season as he played on 46% and West played on 51%. West ended up with 14 touches to Crowell’s 11, but Crowell outgained him. West did see two targets to Crowell’s zero. Ben Tate should be back soon, but Crowell looks like the upside player in that group.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Taylor Gabriel: Run 0/ Tar 2, Miles Austin: Run 0/ Tar 2, Andrew Hawkins: Run 0/ Tar 2, Terrance West: Run 10/ Tar 1, Ray Agnew: Run 1/ Tar 1, Jim Dray: Run 0/ Tar 1, Travis Benjamin: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jordan Cameron: Run 0/ Tar 1, Brian Hoyer: Run 2/ Tar 0, Isaiah Crowell: Run 4/ Tar 0
West got the goal line look between he and Crowell again this week and was able to convert.
Denver Broncos
Emmanuel Sanders: 9-9-15-BYE (33), Demaryius Thomas: 11-7-9-BYE (27), Julius Thomas: 8-5-4-BYE (17), Wes Welker: dnp-dnp-9-BYE (9), Montee Ball: 2-3-3-BYE (8), Andre Caldwell: 5-1-0-BYE (6), Jacob Tamme: 0-1-3-BYE (4), Ronnie Hillman: dnp-dnp-3-BYE (3), Virgil Green: 1-0-1-BYE (2), C.J. Anderson: 0-0-1-BYE (1)
Emmanuel Sanders was the target leader and this one, catching 11 of 14 for 149 yards. His speed is an added dimension to this Broncos offense and I just don’t see them not continuing to target him as one of the top receivers on the team.
Wes Welker returned and played 63% of the snaps and caught six of nine targets for 60 yards. Manning didn’t seem to want to test the Seahawks deep and that led to Welker’s high target total even though he wasn’t in the game as much as the other receivers.
Montee Ball continues to see plenty of playing time, but really needs high volume to put up good fantasy numbers at his current pace.
Ronnie Hillman returned after missing the first two games and played more snaps than C.J. Anderson. I think the Broncos feel that Anderson is too much like Ball and they want Hillman’s extra gear.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Demaryius Thomas: Run 0/ Tar 7, Julius Thomas: Run 0/ Tar 6, Emmanuel Sanders: Run 0/ Tar 4, Montee Ball: Run 10/ Tar 2, Jacob Tamme: Run 0/ Tar 1, Andre Caldwell: Run 0/ Tar 1
Montee Ball gets plenty of work in the red zone, but only has the one touchdown so far. He looks like he’ll be a great play against poor defenses, but isn’t exactly matchup proof.
Houston Texans
Andre Johnson: 9-7-11-7 (34), DeAndre Hopkins: 5-5-9-6 (25), Arian Foster: 2-3-dnp-10 (15), Garrett Graham: dnp-1-6-5 (12), Damaris Johnson: 3-2-2-2 (9), Alfred Blue: 0-0-1-3 (4), Jay Prosch: 0-0-1-2 (3), Keshawn Martin: 0-0-2-1 (3), C.J. Fiedorowicz: 1-dnp-0-1 (2), Ryan Griffin: 2-0-0-0 (2), Jonathan Grimes: 0-0-1-0 (1), Ronnie Brown: dnp-0-1-dnp (1)
The Texans beat Buffalo despite Ryan Fitzpatrick’s two interceptions and the running backs’ 15 rushing yards on 17 carries. It wasn’t pretty, but J.J. Watt’s 80-yard pick six, DeAndre Hopkins’ 35-yard touchdown reception and Randy Bullock’s two 50+ yard field goals in the fourth quarter got the job done.
Hopkins continues to find the end zone even though his targets aren’t as high as you’d hope. At 6.2 targets per game it will be a struggle, but he’s a pretty special player.
Andre Johnson is only averaging 8.5 targets per game, which is down from his average in the past and that number probably won’t rise all that much now that he’s not focused on quite as much as he once was. It’s still a decent number, especially with his ability and he will find the end zone sooner than later.
Arian Foster wasn’t 100% for this game and it showed, but he was targeted a team high 10 times by check down Fitzpatrick. It kept him from a horrible fantasy day and shows just how much they need him as he caught seven passes for 55 yards.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Andre Johnson: Run 0/ Tar 6, DeAndre Hopkins: Run 0/ Tar 2, Garrett Graham: Run 0/ Tar 1, Arian Foster: Run 7/ Tar 1, Ronnie Brown: Run 3/ Tar 0, Ryan Fitzpatrick: Run 2/ Tar 0, Jonathan Grimes: Run 1/ Tar 0, Alfred Blue: Run 2/ Tar 0
The Texans only ran one play in the red zone and that was a four-yard reception for Andre Johnson.
Indianapolis Colts
T.Y. Hilton: 11-11-6-10 (38), Reggie Wayne: 13-7-5-8 (33), Coby Fleener: 8-1-7-3 (19), Hakeem Nicks: 5-3-4-6 (18), Ahmad Bradshaw: 6-5-3-2 (16), Dwayne Allen: 5-1-6-3 (15), Trent Richardson: 4-1-4-5 (14), Donte Moncrief: 1-1-5-2 (9), Jack Doyle: 0-2-3-1 (6)
You know you’ve had a good passing day when two receivers top 100 yards and that is what happened for Andrew Luck, with Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton both hitting the century mark. Luck has now averaged 326 yards passing per game and that was with a 172-yard effort against Philadelphia. He’s completing 68.9% of his passes, up from 60% last season and 54% his rookie year. At 13 touchdown passes he only needs 10 more to tie his career high of 23. I kinda think he’ll do it.
Hakeem Nicks saw an uptick in snaps this week for some reason and ended up having his most targets of the year with six, but only caught two for 12 yards. It seems inevitable that we’ll see more of Donte Moncrief soon.
This was easily Trent Richardson’s’ best game of the season and probably his best as a Colt as he totaled 99 yards and one touchdown. But it wasn’t all roses and rainbows as he rushed 20 times for just 47 yards. Most of his yardage came on his four receptions for 52 yards. Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t see as much work as he has been with Richardson running out the clock, but he still managed his fourth receiving touchdown in the last three games
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Ahmad Bradshaw: Run 5/ Tar 7, Hakeem Nicks: Run 0/ Tar 5, Dwayne Allen: Run 0/ Tar 4, Coby Fleener: Run 0/ Tar 4, Reggie Wayne: Run 0/ Tar 3, T.Y. Hilton: Run 0/ Tar 3, Jack Doyle: Run 0/ Tar 2, Donte Moncrief: Run 0/ Tar 1, Trent Richardson: Run 12/ Tar 1, Andrew Luck: Run 5/ Tar 0
Richardson got in from the one-yard line and Bradshaw saw his seventh red zone target and fourth red zone receiving touchdown.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Allen Robinson: 3-6-10-7 (26), Allen Hurns: 9-6-3-6 (24), Marqise Lee: 10-4-dnp-dnp (14), Cecil Shorts: dnp-dnp-10-4 (14), Mike Brown: 5-4-1-3 (13), Marcedes Lewis: 9-3-dnp-dnp (12), Clay Harbor: dnp-dnp-dnp-8 (8), Toby Gerhart: 2-2-2-1 (7), Denard Robinson: 1-2-1-3 (7), Jordan Todman: 2-0-1-2 (5), Mickey Shuler: 1-1-1-dnp (3), Will Ta'ufo'ou: 0-0-1-1 (2), Marcel Jensen: dnp-dnp-1-dnp (1), Nic Jacobs: dnp-dnp-dnp-1 (1)
Blake Bortles first start was a loss, but that had a lot to do with just how good Philip Rivers is right now. Bortles was conservative for the most part and completed 29 of 37 passes for a 78% completion percentage, but only accumulated 253 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Clay Harbor was his safety blanket as he targeted him a team high eight times in which he caught all eight for 69 yards.
Cecil Shorts hurt his hamstring again so the two Allen’s, Robinson and Hurns, led the way in wide receiver targets. Both are still a work in progress and Robinson remains the high upside player of the two, but there will continue to be growing pains with the rookies.
Toby Gerhart lost a fumble on his first carry of the game and after that we saw a lot of Denard Robinson. Robinson was in on 55% of the snaps while Gerhart was in on 32%. Neither did much, but Gerhart did get a goal line touchdown. But with no single back accumulating the bulk of the work right now this makes for a sketchy fantasy situation.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Allen Robinson: Run 0/ Tar 2, Toby Gerhart: Run 5/ Tar 1, Marqise Lee: Run 0/ Tar 1, Cecil Shorts: Run 0/ Tar 1, Nic Jacobs: Run 0/ Tar 1, Chad Henne: Run 1/ Tar 0, Blake Bortles: Run 0/ Tar 0, Denard Robinson: Run 1/ Tar 0,
Gerhart remains the no doubt goal line back, but that’s the only thing we can be sure of at the moment.
Kansas City Chiefs
Donnie Avery: 13-6-3-2 (24), Travis Kelce: 5-6-4-9 (24), Dwayne Bowe: dnp-6-5-6 (17), Anthony Fasano: 6-4-2-1 (13), Knile Davis: 1-9-1-2 (13), Junior Hemingway: 2-4-2-1 (9), Jamaal Charles: 4-1-dnp-3 (8), Joe McKnight: 0-dnp-7-dnp (7), A.J. Jenkins: 0-3-0-1 (4), Frankie Hammond: 2-0-0-1 (3), Anthony Sherman: 0-0-1-0 (1), Demetrius Harris: 0-1-0-0 (1)
Monday night saw the return of Jamaal Charles to fantasy greatness as he totaled 108 yards and three touchdowns on 21 touches. Knile Davis gave him some rest and also got more work because of the blowout and totaled 119 yards on 17 touches as KC beat down the Patriots.
The big target news goes to Mr. Travis Kelce who the fantasy community has been crying to see more targets for and it happened this week as he had seven in the first half alone. He wasn’t needed all that much in the blowout, but finished with nine targets, eight receptions, 93 yards and a touchdown. This is the Kelce we were hoping for.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Travis Kelce: Run 0/ Tar 5, Donnie Avery: Run 0/ Tar 4, Knile Davis: Run 12/ Tar 3, Jamaal Charles: Run 4/ Tar 3, Dwayne Bowe: Run 0/ Tar 2, Joe McKnight: Run 0/ Tar 2, Anthony Sherman: Run 1/ Tar 1, Frankie Hammond: Run 0/ Tar 1, A.J. Jenkins: Run 0/ Tar 1, Anthony Fasano: Run 0/ Tar 1, Cyrus Gray: Run 4/ Tar 0, Alex Smith: Run 2/ Tar 0
Charles returned to red zone prominence as he saw three targets and three rushing attempts and scored three touchdowns. Kelce also saw two targets and scored on one of those. Those are the guys you want seeing the ball near the end zone.
Miami Dolphins
Mike Wallace: 11-8-12-4 (35), Brian Hartline: 4-8-7-7 (26), Charles Clay: 6-8-4-4 (22), Jarvis Landry: 1-6-7-4 (18), Lamar Miller: 5-5-5-2 (17), Brandon Gibson: 1-4-4-4 (13), Rishard Matthews: 0-5-1-2 (8), Dion Sims: 3-2-1-2 (8), Daniel Thomas: dnp-dnp-2-2 (4), Orleans Darkwa: dnp-3-0-0 (3), Gator Hoskins: 1-0-0-0 (1)
Ryan Tannehill had one of his best games ever this week as he picked apart the Raiders secondary. The box score doesn’t look like Peyton Manning’s, but he was extremely accurate as he connected on nine of 11 throws over 10 yards.
Lamar Miller got a lot of work near the goal line and scored twice and fumbled once right as he was crossing the plain. For the most part he has looked good as the main guy with Moreno injured.
Mike Wallace only had four targets, but did turn one of those into a touchdown as he barreled through the defense, which is not his signature move and one worth applauding. In this beat down I’m not going to put too much emphasis on Wallace’s minimal targets. He’s still the go to guy in the long run.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Mike Wallace: Run 1/ Tar 6, Brian Hartline: Run 0/ Tar 5, Charles Clay: Run 0/ Tar 4, Lamar Miller: Run 11/ Tar 4, Jarvis Landry: Run 0/ Tar 2, Rishard Matthews: Run 0/ Tar 2, Dion Sims: Run 0/ Tar 1, Brandon Gibson: Run 0/ Tar 1, Matt Moore: Run 2/ Tar 0, Ryan Tannehill: Run 1/ Tar 0, Orleans Darkwa: Run 2/ Tar 0, Knowshon Moreno: Run 6/ Tar 0, Damien Williams: Run 3/ Tar 0
New England Patriots
Julian Edelman: 8-7-13-8 (36), Rob Gronkowski: 11-6-6-3 (26), Brandon LaFell: 6-0-8-10 (24), Shane Vereen: 8-2-6-5 (21), Kenbrell Thompkins: 10-dnp-1-dnp (11), Danny Amendola: 5-1-1-0 (7), Timothy Wright: 3-1-1-0 (5), Stevan Ridley: 2-0-1-1 (4), Brandon Bolden: 3-0-0-0 (3), James White: dnp-dnp-dnp-3 (3), Aaron Dobson: dnp-2-dnp-dnp (2), James Develin: 0-2-0-0 (2), Michael Hoomanawanui: 0-1-0-0 (1)
The Patriots were down 27-0 late in the third quarter before they got on the board, so when the game was in question they were connecting on absolutely nothing.
Brandon LaFell led the way for the Patriots with 10 targets, which he caught six of for 119 yards. It’s tough to read much into this as the non Julian Edelman wide receivers have fluctuated in playing time immensely. He may become the #2 guy behind Edelman or he may be benched next week, like Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins were this week.
Rob Gronkowski had his highest snap percentage of the season with 62%, but only saw three targets. It really felt like this would be the week he’s at least be called on more, but no. He did find the end zone again, which is keeping his fantasy value relatively high.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Julian Edelman: Run 0/ Tar 6, Rob Gronkowski: Run 0/ Tar 5, Danny Amendola: Run 0/ Tar 1, Kenbrell Thompkins: Run 0/ Tar 1, James Develin: Run 0/ Tar 1, Timothy Wright: Run 0/ Tar 1, Brandon LaFell: Run 0/ Tar 1, Shane Vereen: Run 6/ Tar 1, Stevan Ridley: Run 10/ Tar 0, Brandon Bolden: Run 3/ Tar 0
The Patriots only had one play from inside the red zone and that was the touchdown pass to Gronk. In the past the Patriots have lived in the red zone, so seeing them there just one time is fairly shocking.
New York Jets
Eric Decker: 6-7-1-10 (24), Jace Amaro: 4-1-4-5 (14), Jeff Cumberland: 5-2-6-1 (14), Chris Johnson: 5-3-2-2 (12), Chris Ivory: 0-1-4-6 (11), Greg Salas: 2-2-3-4 (11), David Nelson: 1-1-7-1 (10), Bilal Powell: 0-2-3-0 (5), Zach Sudfeld: 0-1-1-1 (3), Tommy Bohanon: 0-2-0-0 (2)
The Detroit Lions defense currently leads the league in yards allowed, so this was a tough game for the undermanned Jets offense. The best news was probably seeing Eric Decker out there making plays when it looked like he would be hampered by his hamstring injury. He led the team with nine targets and caught dour of those for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Chris Ivory once again showed that he’s the better every down runner as he rushed 17 times for 84 yards against a stout Lions defensive line. Chris Johnson did break one for a 35-yard touchdown, but right now he feels more like a situational player and his year low 28% of the snaps shows the team believes that as well.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Jeremy Kerley: Run 0/ Tar 4, Jeff Cumberland: Run 0/ Tar 3, Bilal Powell: Run 1/ Tar 3, Eric Decker: Run 0/ Tar 3, David Nelson: Run 0/ Tar 2, Chris Johnson: Run 2/ Tar 1, Zach Sudfeld: Run 0/ Tar 1, Chris Ivory: Run 10/ Tar 1, Greg Salas: Run 0/ Tar 1, Michael Vick: Run 0/ Tar 0, Geno Smith: Run 4/ Tar 0
Ivory saw three carries in the red zone while Decker had two targets. Decker came up with a touchdown and remains their best scoring threat through the air.
Oakland Raiders
James Jones: 3-14-5-6 (28), Andre Holmes: 0-7-2-12 (21), Denarius Moore: 8-5-7-dnp (20), Mychal Rivera: 5-7-4-4 (20), Rod Streater: 7-3-3-dnp (13), Darren McFadden: 1-3-4-5 (13), Marcel Reece: 3-1-7-2 (13), Maurice Jones-Drew: 3-dnp-dnp-2 (5), Brice Butler: dnp-2-0-3 (5), Vincent Brown: dnp-dnp-0-4 (4), David Ausberry: 0-0-0-4 (4), Jamize Olawale: 0-0-1-0 (1)
This game got Dennis Allen fired, so you can guess at how well they must have played. But there were garbage points to be had and Andre Holmes and James Jones did their best to secure some of those.
Holmes led the team with 12 targets, catching five for 74 yards and a touchdown while Jones caught all six of his targets for 83 yards. He has now caught 21 of 28 targets. That’s not too shabby with a rookie quarterback at the helm.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: James Jones: Run 0/ Tar 4, Denarius Moore: Run 0/ Tar 2, Brice Butler: Run 0/ Tar 1, Marcel Reece: Run 0/ Tar 1, Andre Holmes: Run 0/ Tar 1, Rod Streater: Run 0/ Tar 1, Derek Carr: Run 0/ Tar 0, Darren McFadden: Run 4/ Tar 0, Maurice Jones-Drew: Run 2/ Tar 0
The Raiders only had two plays from inside the red zone and both of those were rushing attempts for Darren McFadden.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown: 6-12-10-11 (39), Heath Miller: 4-7-5-11 (27), Markus Wheaton: 7-8-5-6 (26), Le'Veon Bell: 7-5-4-7 (23), Justin Brown: 4-4-4-2 (14), Will Johnson: 1-0-1-1 (3), Dri Archer: 1-dnp-dnp-1 (2), LeGarrette Blount: 1-1-0-0 (2), Lance Moore: dnp-dnp-0-1 (1)
The Steelers lost in epic fashion in this game, but at least there were fantasy points to be had as Antonio Brown and Heath Miller each saw 11 targets and made the best out of them.
Brown now has the record for most games with five or more receptions in a row with 20. And now those receptions are turning into lots of touchdowns as he has four in his late two games. That gives him five on the season and just four below his career high of eight last year. It looks like he can top it.
Heath Miller caught 10 of his 11 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. His numbers have improved each week and it looks like he is firmly back into top 10 tight end consideration each week.
Le’Veon Bell didn’t get into the end zone for a third straight game, but continues to put up good enough catch and yardage numbers to be worthwhile, especially in PPR leagues. He totaled 109 yards this week and had six receptions.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Antonio Brown: Run 1/ Tar 7, Justin Brown: Run 0/ Tar 5, Heath Miller: Run 0/ Tar 5, Markus Wheaton: Run 0/ Tar 2, Le'Veon Bell: Run 9/ Tar 2, Dri Archer: Run 0/ Tar 1, LeGarrette Blount: Run 3/ Tar 1, Ben Roethlisberger: Run 1/ Tar 0
The Steelers threw the ball in the red zone for the most part with nine passing attempts to just one rushing. Heath Miller led the way with three targets.
San Diego Chargers
Eddie Royal: 6-10-6-7 (29), Keenan Allen: 9-6-2-11 (28), Antonio Gates: 10-7-1-5 (23), Donald Brown: 0-4-6-6 (16), Malcom Floyd: 6-1-4-4 (15), Ladarius Green: 2-0-6-dnp (8), Danny Woodhead: 1-5-0-dnp (6), Branden Oliver: dnp-dnp-0-4 (4), Ryan Mathews: 2-2-dnp-dnp (4)
Eddie Royal continues to hog the Chargers’ touchdowns as he caught two more this week after catching two the previous week. Philip Rivers now has nine passing touchdowns with four to Royal, three to Antonio Gates and two to Malcom Floyd. Expect Keenan Allen to get into that category soon as he broke out in Week 4 by catching 10 for 11 targets for 135 yards.
The breakout game for Donald Brown broke fantasy players' lineups instead. He rushed 10 times for a measly 19 yards and is looking like pre-2013 Donald Brown at the moment. Branden Oliver had much more juice even though his numbers weren’t all that much better. But look for those two to share carries until Ryan Mathews returns.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Donald Brown: Run 5/ Tar 4, Eddie Royal: Run 1/ Tar 3, Antonio Gates: Run 0/ Tar 3, Malcom Floyd: Run 0/ Tar 2, Keenan Allen: Run 0/ Tar 2, Danny Woodhead: Run 2/ Tar 2, Ladarius Green: Run 0/ Tar 2, Ryan Mathews: Run 3/ Tar 0, Philip Rivers: Run 4/ Tar 0
Rivers was masterful with the deep ball in this one, so all of their touchdowns came from outside the red zone.
Tennessee Titans
Delanie Walker: 4-14-7-7 (32), Kendall Wright: 7-5-10-8 (30), Justin Hunter: 8-6-7-5 (26), Nate Washington: 6-6-3-4 (19), Dexter McCluster: 2-1-2-1 (6), Taylor Thompson: 2-1-1-dnp (4), Bishop Sankey: 0-0-1-2 (3), Derek Hagan: 1-1-0-0 (2), Leon Washington: 2-0-0-0 (2), Craig Stevens: 0-0-2-0 (2)
Charlie Whitehurst wasn’t exactly as bad as the score suggests. He was under quite a bit of pressure most of the day and didn’t get much help from his defense or receivers. His legs did save him somewhat and showed that he can keep plays alive at least.
Delanie Walker continues to impress as he caught five of seven targets for 84 yards and a touchdown. His touchdowns catch was a thing of beauty as he went up between two defenders to secure the ball. He is now tied for second in standard scoring with Mr. Jimmy Graham, behind Martellus Bennett.
Bishop Sankey has been working on his dance moves and finally has his footwork about right, so maybe he’ll get some more playing time. He had his biggest snap percentage with 49% in Week 4, but it was another blowout, so it’s hard to know how much he’s risen in the depth chart, but he’s looked good enough and can work in the passing game whereas Shonn Greene cannot. At 1-3 the Titans should get him more playing time going forward.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Delanie Walker: Run 0/ Tar 6, Justin Hunter: Run 0/ Tar 3, Nate Washington: Run 0/ Tar 2, Kendall Wright: Run 0/ Tar 2, Dexter McCluster: Run 1/ Tar 1, Charlie Whitehurst: Run 0/ Tar 0, Shonn Greene: Run 7/ Tar 0, Jake Locker: Run 1/ Tar 0, Bishop Sankey: Run 1/ Tar 0
Sankey got a goal line carry and converted, which is good news while Walker had two red zone targets and caught one for a touchdown.