What We Saw Roundup - Week 9

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Cardinals @ Seahawks

Final Score: Cardinals 3, Seahawks 17

Writer: Matt Bevins (MattBQBList on Reddit)

Three Up

Drew Lock – Lock ended his tenure in Seattle the first time with a whimper more than a bang, but he’s been one of the most intriguing parts of the Seahawks squad this season. When Sam Darnold is down, Lock remains one of the most consistent and trustworthy backups in the league
A.J Barner – Barner had moments last season, but he showed up today and ripped off a touchdown run. The big man is a full back who can multitask as a tight end. He likely will continue to see short-yardage rushes and goal-line plays when offensive lines are overloaded.
Jadarian Price – Price returned and immediately vaulted into a relevant role as a pass-catching back.

Three Down

Gardner Minshew – The football gods usually give us a few weeks of Minshew Mania delight before he turns into a lump of coal on Christmas Day. We didn’t even get a single week of it before he hit the right into a brick wall dubbed the Seattle Seahawks.
Tyler Allgeier – Everyone ran to their wires when Jeremiyah Love hit the injured list, and Bam Knight missed the game while remaining in concussion protocol. Unfortunately, Allgeier couldn’t live up to the moment.
Michael Wilson – Wilson has had a solid season and is clearly the second target of choice for any Cardinals’ signal caller. That said, this was a game of targets and nothing else. It likely won’t get much better from this point forward.

Arizona Cardinals

Quarterback

Gardner Minshew: 21/30, 166 Yards | 1 Carry, 4 Yards

The return of the McRib is always exciting. One of the best social media posts from last week reminded us of the best and worst of what Minshew can get you. This week, we saw exactly what Minshew gives you: a quarterback that’ll infuriate and activate all your senses when you watch him. Minshew and the Cardinals unfortunately weren’t able to do anything of note for their box score or your fantasy team. Minshew’s average depth of target was 5.5 yards, and he was unable to get the ball deep to Trey McBride for anything of note. He hit the ground three times and seemed smothered throughout most of the game, and while he didn’t end up getting picked off, there was no cross-field push that really caused the Seahawks to dig in their heels and make any mistakes. The Cardinals had a tough-luck week, as they traded away their starting quarterback for two months and then vaulted into a matchup against arguably the best defense in the league, but this game ended up even more worrisome than anyone could’ve expected. Minshew’s play and the Cardinals’ slide down the standings will likely lead us to Carson Beck starting to end the season.

Running Backs

Tyler Allgeier: 17 Carries, 46 Yards | 2 Receptions, 0 Yards

Allgeier was the lone runner of note in this game, but that didn’t lead to the fantasy line so many were hoping for. Allgeier is arguably the third-best back on this team, despite his box score from last week (147 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns). Bam Knight is looking at an additional week of rest after a concussion protocol kept him from playing in this game, but Allgeier did himself no favors and now likely will cede way to Knight having an opportunity to take the starter’s workload until Love returns. Allgeier started the game with a huge chunk rush of 17 yards, and it devolved quickly from there. He was unable to take another rush for over seven yards, adding an additional four offensive plays where he was a net negative in yardage. Allgeier was used in Atlanta as more of a battering ram to Bijan Robinson‘slightning slash, and unfortunately today’s game showed that when the team around him isn’t humming, Allgeier is more of an accessory to a dominant offense than he is the engine that helps run everything around him. Love will miss another three games, but with Knight looking close to returning, Allgeier could cede the starter’s workload in the Cardinals’ next game.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Michael Wilson: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 60 Yards

Trey McBride: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 54 Yards

Reggie Virgil: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 25 Yards

Elijah Higgins: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards

Devin Duvernay: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards

Teagan Quitoriano: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Simi Fehoko: 1 Target

So many names, so little fantasy output. The Minshew magic was missing in action this week, as the combination of Wilson and McBride combined for just 114 total yards. McBride reached seven receptions for the ninth straight week, but his receiving yards per reception were the lowest they’ve been in the past month. The Seahawks defense is a force to behold, and the Cardinals were ill-prepared and ill-equipped to do anything about it. The Wilson “number one receiver” experiment also came to a lurching stop in Seattle, as Wilson also came out of this game with his lowest yards-per-catch output as well in the last month. It’s clear the Cardinals were trying to find some way of getting their offense to work, while coming up short, as we saw targets given to a handful of players that haven’t seen the field much in the previous two months, but nothing came out of it. Wilson and McBride will continue to compete for the lion’s share of targets, as they did today. Minshew couldn’t take the ball downfield, and teams will likely continue to hone in on the combination of McBride and Wilson by sheer lack of value from anyone else on that side of the field.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Drew Lock: 19/28, 175 Yards | 5 Carries, 16 Yards

Lock currently sits as one of the most productive backup quarterbacks of the season, leading the Seahawks this week after multiple injuries sidelined Sam Darnold, and he could likely keep Lock behind center for additional games as well. Lock averaged 6.3 yards per completion, but was assisted by strong showings from all of his weapons on the field. Lock was able to continue feeding Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the returning Jadarian Price, calming any nerves about the production that would come from the loss of Darnold. Lock was able to keep the ball out of defenders’ hands, something that had been plaguing Darnold for weeks, and this game could be a sign of things to come if the weeks going forward continue to trend as this one did. We could see more of Lock until Darnold truly feels himself as the Seahawks look to secure a playoff spot to defend their title. While this was the first game in five that a Seahawks quarterback hasn’t passed to JSN for over 100 yards, it was clear the Seahawks were looking to play a different style of game than the usual Darnold game plan of forcing it deep to JSN or Cooper Kupp and hoping a defender doesn’t step in front of them. The Seahawks have not scored over 20 points since their October 11th matchup against the 49ers, and it’s clear they have preferred to play a defense-first style of play, forcing teams to throw into the Seahawks defensive juggernaut. As Lock gets more comfortable from this game forward, we could see a more energetic and varied offense with Jadarian Price returning.

Running Back

Jadarian Price: 9 Carries, 24 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 54 Yards

Zach Charbonnet: 16 Carries, 77 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

The combo of Price returning as a receiving back and Charbonnet carrying the bulk of rushing downs helped to push the Seahawks offense at a time when they desperately needed offensive parity. This was only the second week of the season where Price and Charbonnet played together, and Charbonnet consistently churned out yardage. Charbonnet will likely continue to see himself in this type of role, and Price looked comfortable as a pass catcher who stumbled in his rushing role but was able to catch four passes from Lock, averaging 13.5 yards per reception. While the duo was unable to find paydirt, it’s clear that Charbonnet will continue to serve as the short-yardage and early-down back, and Price is coming out as a more receiving-capable back. Hopefully, as Charbonnet sees more game time, he’ll be able to find short-yardage rushes closer to the goal line.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

A.J. Barner: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards, TD | 3 Carries, 3 Yards, TD

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 51 Yards

Cooper Kupp: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 32 Yards

Tory Horton: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

For the first time this season, Smith-Njigba was not the scoring benefactor of this Seahawks offense. Barner was the lone player in this game to score a touchdown, as he was able to take a one-yard rush to the house, showcasing his ability to be dual-purpose and likely thrusting himself back into the tight end streamer conversation. Barner also was able to find himself in the end zone again with a seven-yard touchdown pass, as Lock zipped a touchdown pass to the middle of the field as his first read, with just under 15 seconds remaining in the first half.

JSN still found his usual ten targets and was able to redeem PPR teams in sheer volume, but was disappointing for those who are expecting a usual return of 10+ receptions and 150 yards. The superhuman volume could return any week now, as we look for Lock to continue to build rapport with his offense. It’s clear the offense runs through the running game, and JSN, as Kupp and Horton were the only other players to see any receptions, and combined for under 60 yards. They remain under the flex line for the time being.