Sunday Aftermath: James Cook's big day, Keaton's injury and much more
Ken Dorsey was a long time ago. Dorsey’s final game was the Bills’ stunning Week 10 loss to the Broncos. It featured 109 yards rushing for James Cook, but also … a benching for James Cook. The immediate fantasy future for the should-be darling had never been more bleak. Seemingly hard capped at 15 carries, Cook was barely being featured in the passing attack.
All that has changed under Joe Brady, a coach who orchestrated one of the most famous offenses in all of American history, the 2019 LSU Tigers. (Perhaps he should have gotten a second NFL chance sooner!) Cook is averaging 17 carries under Brady after reaching that number one time with Dorsey. Although Cook’s route participation hasn’t really changed, the emphasis on targeting him has. Cook has 16 catches in four games under Brady compared to 24 in 10 with Dorsey.
Which brings us to Sunday. Before the Bills’ rout of the mighty Cowboys, not even Brady had fully committed to Cook. Buffalo seemed loath to place a game on his shoulders. Then it did and he ran all over Micah Parsons’ supposedly elite defense. Cook’s 25 carries for 179 yards and a touchdown was a Dalvin Cook-ian statline. Who knew that if you gave an efficient, explosive player a lot of work he would produce a lot of yards?
With the cat out of the bag, expect a greater Cook commitment for the stretch run, and a likely boatload of Week 16 touches against a humiliating Chargers team that finds itself two-touchdown ‘dogs to the road-tripping Bills.
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Five Week 15 Storylines
Falcons, Bijan Robinson hit rock bottom in loss. It doesn’t matter what the reasoning was. (It was raining! Good God man! Have you no sense! There is no way a top-eight running back can handle the ball in RAIN!) It doesn’t matter what the results were. (Bijan lost a fumble! And yet you, a man who has never played football, has the audacity to question Arthur Smith!) Well, scratch that. The results do matter. A lot. A run-based offense in the midst of the tightest divisional race in football lost a game to the worst team in the league without ever featuring its No. 1 running back. How many times are we going to go down this road? Apparently until Smith gets home the point that he must be fired. That will help fantasy managers in the long run but does little for the short. Although the Falcons will be back in domed, home environs for Week 16 against the Colts, we obviously need our heads examined if we consider Robinson a safe RB2 for the fantasy semifinals.
Keaton Mitchell’s fairytale campaign ends with serious knee injury. The Ravens tried to guard against this. They had strictly limited Mitchell’s touches to the 9-12 range. But none of the pitch counts in the world are going to protect a knee from doing that. Awful, but hardly unsurprising for a backfield with the worst injury luck in recent NFL history. The Ravens are now back to Gus Edwards square one, with Justice Hill ready to slide in as the change-of-pace. Hill’s pace is much slower than Mitchell’s, but it doesn’t materially change the Ravens’ championship odds. It does shore up Edwards’ touch floor for the fantasy semifinals. Hill is unlikely to see enough work to earn FLEX deployment.
Noah Brown rebounds from goose eggs to lead Texans’ receiver corps. You know what’s cooler than zero catches in two games? Eight catches in one game. Brown was AWOL for Weeks 13-14. He was everywhere when the Texans needed him most for Week 15. The hope is that C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins both return for Week 16, but if Collins remains sidelined with his calf issue, Brown is going to once again see heavy usage from Stroud, who should be back from his concussion. It will be versus a tough Browns defense, rendering Brown more of a WR4 than WR3 for a slate where all 32 teams will be active.
Zay Jones adds to Jaguars’ injury misery. Jones couldn’t even make it to the end of his route before he pulled up near the end of the Jags’ loss. Almost certainly looking at a multi-week, if not season-ending, absence, Jones’ loss places ever more pressure on Calvin Ridley as he struggles to break through his difficult route tree and swarming defensive attention. Jones’ loss does make Evan Engram that much more important over the middle of the field, while creating even more targets for rookie slot man Parker Washington. The only good news is that Tampa Bay is a far more forgiving Week 16 opponent than Baltimore and Cleveland were over the past two weeks.
Jayden Reed has huge game before departing with toe issue. Everyone’s favorite “mini Deebo” was having another fine game in Christian Watson’s absence, though his toe is only the latest body part he’s injured. There’s also the chest and ankle from the past month alone. Reed did not return after being labeled “questionable,” leaving him, well, questionable for Week 16 against the Panthers. Carolina is not a good matchup for over-the-top wideouts, which makes Reed’s station-to-station and underneath ability a better fit. He will be in the top 36 if he can get cleared for the fantasy semifinals. If not, Dontayvion Wicks will be a source of legitimate intrigue.
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Extra Week 15 Storyline
Aided by Chris Godwin’s outburst, Baker Mayfield has best start in years. Actually, it wasn’t Mayfield’s best start in years. It was the best start of his career. Maybe Packers DC Joe Barry deserves some of the credit. Mayfield doesn’t care. He was finding the open man and letting it rip, resulting in a Purdy-esque pristine statline. You don’t have to look too far in the past to find a 2023 Mayfield analogue: 2022 Geno Smith. By definition, one of the years of your career has to be the best. It’s rarely wise to bet on players like Smith and Mayfield to repeat such campaigns. But like Smith before him, Mayfield has earned the chance. The only question is where it will be. Actually, there’s one other question: How might Mayfield’s career have been different if he didn’t try to play through a torn (non-throwing) labrum in 2021?
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Questions
1. What if, no actually, no one has to win the NFC South?
2. Have the Ravens examined if their running backs room is constructed on a Chargers burial ground?
3. Has Arthur Smith ever once stopped to ask himself if this is truly necessary?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Jake Browning (@PIT), Joe Flacco (@HOU), Gardner Minshew (@ATL), Derek Carr (@LAR), Aidan O’Connell (@KC), Nick Mullens (vs. DET)
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon, Tyjae Spears, Tyler Allgeier, Zamir White, Chase Brown, Justice Hill, Roschon Johnson, Tyler Goodson
WR: Noah Brown, Josh Palmer, Dontayvion Wicks, Rashid Shaheed, Demario Douglas, Curtis Samuel, DeVante Parker, Quentin Johnston, Cedric Tillman
TE: Gerald Everett, Tucker Kraft, Logan Thomas, Hunter Henry, Cade Otton, Tyler Conklin
DEF: Broncos (vs. NE), Packers (@CAR), Patriots (@DEN), Bears (vs. AZ), Colts (@ATL), Commanders (@NYJ), Seahawks (@TEN), Lions (@MIN)
Stats of the Week
Via Adam Koffler: “Gabe Davis has zero catches in four of his last six games.”
Alex Shapiro on the Bears’ offense: “The Bears had 15 offensive drives against the Browns. Only one went over 50 yards, and that was the drive that ended in a Hail Mary INT at the end of the first half. They went three-and-out on 8/15 drives. Not great!”
John Daigle on the Commanders: “Terry McLaurin from Sam Howell on Sunday: 3-48-0 With Jacoby Brissett: 3-93-1."
And Daigle on Devin Singletary: “Devin Singletary's 92.8 percent share of backfield touches (26) against the Titans was his highest in any game with Dameon Pierce this year.”
0. Marquise Brown’s number of second half snaps. A shutdown could be looming.
Awards Section
Week 15 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Jared Goff, RB Christian McCaffrey, RB James Cook, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Terry McLaurin, WR Jordan Addison, TE Sam LaPorta
Tweet of the Week, from Kyle Rombkowski: Scotty Miller not getting a target is just embarrassing on Arthur Smith’s part.
The, Actually, It’s Not A Fair Question, David Lombardi Award: Is Brock Purdy the best QB in the NFL? It’s a fair question. Discuss.
Observation of the Week, from Derrik Klassen: Lamar Jackson is such an interesting runner because he’s only ever going at like 80 percent and instead prioritizes vision and safety in a way I’m not sure I’ve seen from anyone else. Unique player.
The, Hmm, Unconventional But You Probably Should Have Listened To Him Award: DeAndre Hopkins literally pointing at Treylon Burks trying to get Will Levis to throw it there before Levis targeted Hopkins and threw a pick.
The You’re Going To Miss Tucker Fisk When He’s Gone From The Falcons Award: Tucker Fisk.
