What We Saw: Week 3

Mike Williams is finally the guy we all wanted him to be, and the rest of What We Saw in Week 3

Ben Brown
What We Saw 3 Years Ago
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Introduction
Football Team @ Bills
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Football Team @ Bills

Final Score: Bills 43, Football Team 21

Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills blew away the challenge of Taylor Heinicke and the Washington Football Team with an outstanding offensive performance under the gaze of Brian Daboll to improve to 2-1 and firmly place themselves in the conversation for the Super Bowl in 2021. After jumping out to a 21-0 lead, things started to look ugly for Washington as Allen looked untouchable against this underperforming defense under Ron Rivera. Indeed, Allen became the first player in Bills history with four passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a rushing score in a single game. Antonio Gibson‘s huge 73-yard run and Heinicke’s determination brought Washington back into touching distance before Allen and the Bills took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored 22 unanswered points to cap off an impressive performance in front of the Bills Mafia at Highmark Stadium.

When the Bills play like this, they are a joy to watch. Exciting on offense, vicious on defense. They are so much fun!

 

 

Washington Football Team

 

Quarterback

 

Taylor Heinicke: 14/24, 212 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, sack | 8 carries, 21 yards, TD

 

This was a real struggle for Taylor Heinicke against a formidable Bills defense that brought the blitz against a porous Washington offensive line. Heinicke also failed to penetrate the Bills’ secondary, which marshaled Terry McLaurin very well. When you also consider that 34% of his total yardage came on a dump off to Antonio Gibson, who took the ball 73 yards to the house, Heinicke went a miserable 13/23 for 139 yards. Yikes. He saved his day with a garbage-time touchdown pass to Logan Thomas, who did his quarterback a favor going up and grabbing this one.

 

 

What you do get from the unlikely hero in Washington are grit and heart. This was evident on a scramble for a score that started on the Bills’ 4-yard line but took Heinicke back to the 20-yard line before he dived for the pylon to keep his team in touch after falling behind 21-0 early in the game.

 

 

It all went downhill quickly after that score, the Bills running away with the game. Washington turned the ball over three times, killing their ambition in this one. Heinicke was responsible for two poor throws that set up the Bills for two scoring drives. The first was a throw where he gave the Bills defense too much time to adjust and come back for a ball thrown into a 50/50 window.

 

 

And the second was a scrambled throw into traffic deep in his own territory to Adam Humphries that was easily intercepted by Micah Hyde.

 

 

He was also stuffed on a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs, also in the third quarter.

 

 

Heinicke has dragged this offense to par for the last few weeks and he doesn’t look like he can take them any further. He isn’t really someone who should be anywhere near your fantasy team, however, he did amass 20+ fantasy points on Yahoo! for the second straight week. A leaky Falcons defense awaits next week. After that, it looks uninspiring.

 

Running Back

 

Antonio Gibson: 12 carries, 31 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 73 yards, TD

J.D. McKissic: 3 carries, 23 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

 

The last few weeks have been discouraging for managers looking for Antonio Gibson to meet the heights of last season, so of course, takes a dump off and breaks for a beautiful 73-yard touchdown run this week, leaving a host of Bills defensive players trailing in his wake.

 

 

It was a stand-out run from the second-year sensation, who criminally did not see another target in the passing game all game. Inexcusable! He was essentially stifled on the ground, however, and the game script moved away from Gibson quickly. The best thing Washington can do is find ways to get Gibson more involved out of the backfield. Until then, he is an RB2 with upside only.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Terry McLaurin: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 62 yards

Logan Thomas: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards, TD, Fumble (Lost)

Cam Sims: 2 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards | 1 carry, 7 yards

Adam Humphries: 4 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards

Dyami Brown: 2 targets | 1 carry, -4 yards

 

This is the second time in three games that Terry McLaurin has been held to just four catches and 62 yards against a tough defense. It is a worrying trend for the talented Washington wideout, who is still the focal point of this passing game. Heinicke only attempted 24 passes so the volume is an issue. It was only on the final touchdown drive of the day, in garbage time, where McLaurin rescued his stat line with a classy catch and run, leaving elite cornerback Tre’davious White spinning and setting up the touchdown for Logan Thomas.

 

 

The big tight end Logan Thomas continues to be a valuable fantasy option at the tight end position. His ability to make plays in the end zone cannot be underestimated and he is the primary red zone target for this team. He had a costly fumble at a crucial time in today’s game – early in the contest, Thomas tried to do a little too much to pick up extra yardage after a commendable, tough run. White makes a good play at the end, but Thomas needs to finish off these runs by protecting the ball. The Bills immediately went up 14-0 and the game changes on the back of his mistake.

 

 

A quick update on promising rookie Dyami Brown, who was once again involved plenty but failed to make an impact. This drop was a killer on third down.

 

 

Buffalo Bills

 

Quarterback

 

Josh Allen: 32/43, 358 yards, 4 TD | 4 carries, 9 yards, TD

Mitch Trubisky: 1/1, 1 yard | 4 carries, 19 yards

 

The MVP conversation around Josh Allen is real. You feel the young Bills star is just warming up after a couple of unconvincing displays considering his now-sky high expectations after last year’s phenomenal performances. Allen had complete control of this offense from start to finish, marching up and down the field at will against a subdued Washington defensive line that rarely pressured him when in the pocket. The improvements in the pocket under Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll have provided the perfect structure for Allen’s elite vision and speedy, strong mechanics. This dart to Dawson Knox for his third passing touchdown was as good as it gets.

 

 

Then there is Allen out of the pocket. Yeah, good luck with that! This sensational throw on the run to veteran Emmanuel Sanders started the rout. Allen never seems to be rushed and he effortlessly executes the pass, trusting Sanders’ experience to go and make a great catch where the cornerback has no chance.

 

 

After failing to hit paydirt in the first two games of the season, Allen reminded us that he is also the Bills’ goal-line back in the red zone. All in all, it was a Sunday stroll for the Bills’ top-3 fantasy quarterback.

 

 

Running Back

 

Zack Moss: 13 carries, 60 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 31 yards, TD

Devin Singletary: 11 carries, 26 yards | 2 target, 1 reception, 0 yards

Reggie Gilliam: 1 target

 

After Zack Moss was surprisingly inactive for Week 1, the powerful back out of Utah has taken a firm grip on the RB1 position for this team after a second successive week of being dominant when carrying the rock. Moss was a key factor on the ground, his 4.6 yards/carry easily outperformed Devin Singletary‘s measly 2.3 yards/carry, and looked to be the preferred option in the passing game out of the backfield. He took his first target into the end zone to put the Bills 14-0 ahead. As it says on the tin, it was his third TD in the last two weeks.

 

 

Moss and Singletary shared a decent workload between them and many will point to a committee approach. The fantasy production tells us a different story. Through the first three weeks, Singletary is averaging 9.5 fantasy points per game compared to Moss’ 15.5 fantasy points. Moss should be the pickup in your league here, with Singletary providing value at the FLEX position.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Cole Beasley: 13 targets, 11 receptions, 98 yards

Emmanuel Sanders: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD

Stefon Diggs: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 62 yards

Dawson Knox: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 49 yards, TD

Gabriel Davis: 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards

Tommy Sweeney: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 2 yards

Isaiah McKenzie: 1 carry, 8 yards

 

Fantasy managers will be rightly worried about the production from Stefon Diggs, who was firmly entrenched in the first round of fantasy drafts before the season. Don’t be. The target share is healthy and he is still Allen’s first read on the majority of plays. His 23.3% target share was his lowest of the season, however, he was double-teamed on the majority of defensive schemes that Washington deployed today. He’s also just a hard-working, straight-up guy who loves football and everyone should root for.

 

 

The story of today’s game was Emmanuel Sanders. The veteran has unfairly bounced around a few teams since leaving Denver but he is the most underrated waiver-wire add right now. Sanders is just 26% rostered in Yahoo! leagues and after posting two single-figure scores in terms of fantasy points in the first two weeks. Sanders has had looks in the red zone in each of the first three games, however, and is a key weapon in this pass-heavy attack. Sanders’ ability to stay relevant in the end zone is invaluable and the reason why the Bills brought him in. His second touchdown of the day highlighted this perfectly.

 

https://twitter.com/KennyQBL/status/1442207834523856897

 

Cole Beasley was his usual productive self out of the slot. Beasley led the team in targets and acts as Allen’s safety blanket across the middle to move the chains. He had 13 targets against the Steelers in Week 1 and another 13 today. He only had four in the blowout win against the Dolphins as the Bills ran the hell out of the ball to wind the clock down.

Dawson Knox looks to be establishing himself as the go-to tight end in this offense and is a decent add this week. Knox deserves to see more targets after the catch for his touchdown. Let’s take another look at that beautiful grab from a sweet angle.

 

 

— Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Football Team @ Bills
Bears @ Browns
Ravens @ Lions
Colts @ Titans
Chargers @ Chiefs
Saints @ Patriots
Falcons @ Giants
Bengals @ Steelers
Cardinals @ Jaguars
Jets @ Broncos
Dolphins @ Raiders
Buccaneers @ Rams
Seahawks @ Vikings
Packers @ 49ers

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