What We Saw Roundup – Week 3

We watched every NFL Week 3 game so you don't have to – Here's What We Saw!

Ravens–Cowboys

Final Score: BAL 34-31 DAL

 

 

Baltimore Ravens

 

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson (BAL) vs. DAL: 15/20 Passing, 186 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT | 6 Carries, 50 Yards

Bom dia, Dallas! Nobody laid a hand on Lamar Jackson. Zero sacks in an entire football game, which almost never happens to him, and five incompletions in twenty throws. Derrick Henry did the labor, 26 carries of it, while Lamar picked his moments. The 49-yarder to Rashod Bateman was one. So was the little 4-yard flip to Chris Moore in the third. The one that should have won it was a 2-yarder to Matthew Hibner with a minute and a half left, 31-28. Dallas would respond with a game-tying drive on a 23-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal with seven seconds on the clock. I was told Lamar isn’t clutch. If that’s true, explain this.

Which meant Tyler Loop had to walk out and bury a 56-yarder at the horn. He did. Fifty rushing yards on six carries too. The designed-run stuff still isn’t back, and on a day where he averages 9.3 a throw and gives away nothing, I can live with that.

 

Running Back

Derrick Henry (BAL) vs. DAL: 26 Carries, 89 Yards, 2 TDs | 1 Target, 1 Reception

The King more than made up for the volume that he didn’t get last week with 26 carries, except the efficiciency wasn’t there against the Cowboys in Rio. After being scrutinized for not using Henry in short-yardage situations last week, Declan Doyle made sure to get Henry the ball in nearly every short-yardage situation in Week 3, to the point where it was easy to anticipate it was coming. Any running back who gets 26 carries is up for consideration for RB1 in any given week. King Henry is paying off for managers so far this season.

Justice Hill (BAL) vs. DAL: 5 Carries, 33 Yards

Used exclusively as a spell back in a change-of-pace situation here and there, Justice Hill excelled at gaining the edge and turning up field. His lack of involvement in the passing game through three weeks of the season is keeping him from any sort of fantasy relevance, even in the deepest leagues.

 

Wide Receiver

Zay Flowers (BAL) vs. DAL: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 84 Yards

Flowers was clearly on a snap count, but he was out there when the Ravens needed him most, pulling in a handful of extremely important receptions as the Ravens marched down the field. Most notably, he pulled in a 27-yard reception and intelligently went down with one second remaining, allowing the Ravens time to kick the game-winning field goal and earn the victory. Hopefully the soft tissue injury he was dealing with this week is a thing of the past because when he had the ball he looked twitchy and fast. Fantasy managers were likely salivating despite the limited snaps.

Devontez Walker (BAL) vs. DAL: 1 Target

Rashod Bateman (BAL) vs. DAL: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 37 Yards

Chris Moore (BAL) vs. DAL: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards, TD

Walker got behind the defense on the Ravens’ third drive, and drew a long DPI penalty, setting Baltimore up with a goal-to-go situation that they converted for a score. He is the one guy on the Ravens offense that is out there ONLY to take the top off the defense and clear things out underneath for Flowers, Andrews and the gang.

Mr. Right-Place-Right-Time, Chris Moore found an opening in the Dallas defense on a rollout play inside the five and secured the catch for a score, giving the Ravens a late lead. Once Flowers is 100% healthy, his role will likely be reduced even further, but for now he’s the Ravens’ de facto WR4. But speaking honestly, any Ravens wide receiver not named Flowers is basically a WR4 at this point.

 

Tight End

Mark Andrews (BAL) vs. DAL: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards
Matthew Hibner (BAL) vs. DAL: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards, TD
Josh Cuevas (BAL) vs. DAL: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards

It was a run-heavy performance for most of the night for the Ravens, but Mark Andrews still saw 5 targets even while missing some time during the game with a hand injury. Matthew Hiber being the recipient of a goal line touchdown does not bode well for Andrews’ fantasy value as the Ravens’ top scoring option in the red zone, but he still has borderline TE1/2 value, as he’s drawn at least five looks in every game.

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

Dak Prescott (DAL) vs. BAL: 25/40 Passing, 276 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INT | 4 Carries, 19 Yards

Dak Prescott didn’t turn the ball over once and lost on a 56-yard field goal at the horn. Twenty-five of 40 for 276. One sack. One touchdown, a 19-yarder to Jake Ferguson late in the third, and the two-pointer to CeeDee Lamb after it made it 24-21. He found Lamb again for 49 in the fourth. Then the last eight minutes happened. Turpin ran one in from 9 and Dallas led 28-24. Aubrey tied it from 23 with seven seconds left. Loop answered from 56. Javonte Williams ran for 98 and a score. Four touchdowns last week, one this week, clean both times.

 

Running Back

Javonte Williams (DAL) vs. BAL: 19 Carries, 98 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 5 Yards

Javonte Williams had another solid fantasy performance, finishing with 18.3 in PPR leagues. Williams was used early and often, totaling nine touches over the Cowboys’ first two drives and helping the offense put up 10 early points, including a touchdown of his own on the second drive. He ran well and consistently found open running lanes, but the Cowboys eventually moved away from the ground game as the matchup turned into more of a shootout. Williams still broke off a 22-yard run in the third quarter that set Dallas up for a long field-goal attempt, which was ultimately blocked.

Williams remains the clear lead back, with Tyler Goodson taking over as the primary backup in this game. The one concerning trend is Williams’ declining involvement in the passing game over the last two weeks, including minimal production in Week 3. As long as the rushing volume and scoring opportunities remain strong, though, Williams continues to have a reliable role in this backfield.

Emari Demercado (DAL) vs. BAL: Healthy Inactive

Tyler Goodson (DAL) vs. BAL: 6 Carries, 22 Yards

 

Wide Receiver

CeeDee Lamb (DAL) vs. BAL: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 112 Yards, 2-PT Conversion

Lamb didn’t log a touchdown in Rio, but had a solid day nonetheless with over 100 yards and a 2-PT conversion as a treat. Unlike previous games, he was targeted consistently throughout the game in this contest. Dallas walked away with another loss, but fantasy owners should still be pleased.

George Pickens (DAL) vs. BAL: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 82 Yards

Pickens led the team in targets and had his best showing of the season. He had a chance at an even better performance, but couldn’t come down with either of his two end zone targets at the tail end of the fourth quarter.

Ryan Flournoy (DAL) vs. BAL: 8 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

Flournoy puts up another relatively high-target performance for a WR3, though it didn’t yield any fantasy points.

Kavontae Turpin (DAL) vs. BAL: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards | 1 Carry, 9 Yards, TD

Turpin remains a fast gadget play brought in to change the pace. Today he was successful, going the whole nine yards to score on the end around.

 

Tight End

Jake Ferguson (DAL) vs. BAL: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 23 Yards, TD | Fumble (Lost)
Brevyn Spann-Ford (DAL) vs. BAL: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 19 Yards
Luke Schoonmaker (DAL) vs. BAL: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

While Pitcher List bestows the “Spider-Man” award for the best “Toby” pitcher of the year (an unsexy streaming option who delivers more often than not), we at QB List need to come up with an award for the best GLOB TE of the year. Jake Ferguson has the early lead in that category due to his continued, if only somewhat productive, red zone role for the Cowboys. As long as Dak Prescott trusts you in the red zone, you’ll have plenty of chances to score.

 

Brett Ford

Writer, Editor and Podcast host for QBList.com, Ravens fan, Cool Dad