Falcons @ Cardinals
Final Score: Cardinals 25, Falcons 23
Writer: Christian Otteman (@COttemanPL on Twitter/X)
Despite being a largely unappealing matchup on paper, this Sunday afternoon matchup between two underwhelming avian teams had a few interesting storylines to follow, headlined by the return of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Murray had his work cut out for him, as he faced a stout Falcons defense allowing the sixth-fewest yards from scrimmage per game coming into Week 10. Thankfully, the well-timed return of RB James Conner would also serve to take some of the pressure from Murray and provide some help on the ground as he guided the Cards to just their second win on the season. Murray largely performed well in this game and has certainly earned himself as much time as he wants on the newest Call of Duty installment–at least for the next 48 hours or so.
On the other side of the field, the (mis)handling of offensive assets by Falcons head coach Arthur Smith has been a season-long storyline that has boiled over extensively in the past few weeks. When asked about the usage of his players, in particular the use of generational RB Bijan Robinson around the goal line, Smith pulled every explanation possible out of his hat aside from a reasonable one. Smith responded by giving Robinson the lion’s share of backfield work, including a five-yard score in the second quarter, allowing fantasy owners to breathe a collective sigh of relief. However, the Falcons would fall just short in this matchup, potentially opening up a window for Smith to believe he had been using his players correctly all along. It remains to be seen if the Falcons will retain Smith through a pursuit of a divisional crown in the NFC South, but owners of Falcons skill position players shouldn’t hold their breath. The Falcons remain just one game behind the Saints in the south, while the Cardinals have put themselves squarely in place for the 2nd pick in the 2024 draft.
Three Up
- Trey McBride – Holy smokes, how good has this guy been? Since Zach Ertz landed on IR, McBride has burst onto the scene and is in the midst of a second-year breakout. This was the best game of his young career, and he should continue to have plenty of opportunities with Kyler Murray under center and the Cardinals likely trailing in a large number of their games the rest of the way.
- Bijan Robinson – He tied his career high in touches with 23 and saw the most carries in a single game with 22. He also finally got some crucial red zone touches and found the end zone for the fourth time this season. It’s impossible to know if this trend will continue, but fantasy owners should be encouraged by the usage.
- Kyler Murray – It wasn’t anything extraordinary, but Kyler held his own in his first game back from a brutal ACL injury. Most importantly, Kyler looked mobile and scored a touchdown on the ground, showing he still has a ridiculous dual-threat ceiling. Things should only get better for Murray going forward.
Three Down
- Marquise Brown – This one was shocking to me, as Brown displayed good chemistry with Kyler before the latter was injured last season and I expected him to get a lot of looks this week. Instead, he caught one pass and was fourth on the Cardinals in targets. Yeesh.
- Falcons Pass Catchers – As if the stocks of folks like Drake London and Kyle Pitts couldn’t feel any more uncertain, Taylor Heinicke left this one with a leg injury, paving the way for Desmond Ridder‘s triumphant return to the field. Things have not been good for this group with Ridder under center. It’s unlikely they will be better only a few weeks later.
- RB2s and 3s – Bijan Robinson and James Conner are the only backs to own on these teams. Ok, fine, Tyler Allgeier saw 10 touches and is a decent insurance policy for Robinson–but you’ll feel gross if you’re ever forced to start him as a second-stringer. The floors are virtually underground for the non-RB1s.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Taylor Heinicke: 8/15, 55 yards, 1 TD | 4 carries, 34 yards
Taylor Heinicke left the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a leg injury. This means he had 55 passing yards in 3 quarters of work. The full extent of his injury is currently unclear, but the Falcons were content to #EstablishTheRun by handing the bulk of the work to the running backs. Whoever makes the next start under center for the Falcons going forward should be left on waivers.
Desmond Ridder: 4/6, 39 yards | 3 carries, 11 yards, 1 TD
It was Desmond Ridder to the rescue for the 4th quarter, and he delivered a textbook Ridder performance. If you gave me the two stat lines from these QBs and asked me to guess who was whom, it would be an impossible task.
Notes
- If I told you that Ridder has as many rushing TDs on the season as Bijan Robinson has total TDs, how would you react? Oh, sorry, here’s a trash can.
Running Back
Bijan Robinson: 22 carries, 95 yards, 1 TD | 1/2 receiving, 11 yards
Bijan was the lone bright spot on the Falcons offense this afternoon, breaking off several 10+ yard runs and looking every bit like his typical explosive self. His touchdown was a nice run where he bounced out to the right and accelerated to the corner of the end zone. Who would have thought that good things could happen when you put the ball in the hands of your best player? Strangely, his involvement in the passing game has all but vanished in the past month—he has just three receptions combined in his past four games. He needs that passing game work to reach his true ceiling, but it’s great to see him leading the backfield by a comfortable margin.
Tyler Allgeier: 9 carries, 31 yards | 1/1 receiving, 7 yards
Allgeier was left to pick up the scraps with Bijan leading the backfield split comfortably. He did get a few red zone carries, but it was Robinson and Ridder who found the end zone from 5 and 9 yards out. Of course, this is the Falcons, so Allgeier is likely to score twice in Week 11. He’s a hold in case anything ever happens to Bijan and a touchdown-dependent desperation play otherwise.
Cordarrelle Patterson: 3 carries, 13 yards | 2/2 receiving, 7 yards
The CPat career resurgence a couple of seasons ago was a great story, but that magic has run out long ago. Good real-life NFL asset, not a current fantasy asset.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Drake London: 3/4 receiving, 36 yards
The leading receiver for Atlanta today, Drake London had 36 yards. I still believe he’s a talented player, but the weekly floor is too difficult to trust him as a starter. If things change in the future for Atlanta’s coaching staff, he may get more involved, but he will still have Taymond Riddicke throwing him the ball (and regardless of which QB is under center, it won’t be pretty).
Kyle Pitts: 3/5 receiving, 30 yards
A very 2023 Kyle Pitts stat line. The same comments for London above apply here. If you have him, you’re likely starting him—but you aren’t thrilled about it.
Scott Miller: 1/1 receiving, 2 yards, 1 TD
Every so often I am reminded that Scott Miller is still on an NFL roster. Today is one of those days. He caught his 7th pass of the season today.
Jonnu Smith: 1/2 receiving, 1 yard
To the dismay of many, Jonnu Smith did not receive any goal line carries today. He is still worthy of a roster spot as a TE that spikes every so often, but these kinds of games are just as likely.
Van Jefferson: 0/1 receiving
The Van has ran out of gas. If there was ever any there to begin with.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 19/32, 249 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT | 6 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD
My mood has instantaneously improved as we pivot to a discussion of the victorious home team. Kyler Murray didn’t exactly light up the box score, especially through the air, but he displayed his trademark evasiveness and agility in the backfield and showed why he’s one of the most exciting QBs in the league to watch. No play was better than this 3rd down rushing conversion to keep the game-winning 4th quarter drive alive:
Kyler Murray, ladies and gentlemen 🤯 pic.twitter.com/yVmXaQVgn1
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 13, 2023
This was a good start to Kyler’s 2023 campaign, and he should have several more productive fantasy weeks down the stretch. Congratulations are in order if you picked him up and were patient. Next week Kyler faces rookie phenom CJ Stroud in what should be a pretty exciting battle.
Clayton Tune: 0/0, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | 1 carry, 1 yard, 1 TD
There is nothing truly notable here, but the stat line is too funny not to post. Tune converted a Tush Push at the goal line to score. It was a smart move by the Cardinals to protect both Murray and James Conner from a physical play during their return to action.
Running Back
James Conner: 16 carries, 73 yards
Conner returned to action and immediately saw his usual workhorse load, retaking the bulk of the carries from the likes of Keontay Ingram (Emari Demercado was inactive with a toe injury). The lack of passing game involvement is somewhat disappointing, but he will almost certainly be more involved in that realm in the future and will also reclaim his goal-line role. He has a tough fantasy playoffs schedule, but Conner always seems to find a way to make things work as an RB2.
Tony Jones Jr.: 1 carry, 13 yards
The good news: the journeyman RB produced the best YPC of any player in this game. The bad news: it was a sample size of 1.
Keontay Ingram: 2 carries, 2 yards
A handcuff’s handcuff at this point, Ingram was difficult to trust even in the absence of Conner.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Trey McBride: 8/9 receiving, 131 yards
McBride had himself a fantastic game and currently sits behind elite tight ends TJ Hockenson and George Kittle as the TE3 on the week. The second-year TE was constantly open and made several nice grabs during the game, gashing the Falcons secondary all afternoon. His best play, much like his quarterback’s, came on the last drive as he made a phenomenal adjustment to catch a deep ball from Murray to set up the game-winning field goal:
Trey McBride in the last 3 weeks:
21 Rec 248 yds 1 TD💫🏈🔥
Trey has shown extreme potential these last few weeks but none more impressive then this week. This is ELITE ball tracking and playmaking ability in the clutch. If he can become a top 5-7 TE the nfl is in trouble…. pic.twitter.com/OOyLzDzISp
— K1SinceDay1 (@KSzn2021) November 13, 2023
The sky is the limit for McBride with Kyler throwing him the ball. He’s easily a top-10 TE option for the rest of the season.
Rondale Moore: 5/8 receiving, 43 yards
Rondale Moore posted a season-high today in targets, receptions, and yards. Strangely, he did not receive any carries, which is where most of his highlights have come from this season. Those opportunities may be more limited with Kyler back, but the receiving upside is raised at least slightly.
Michael Wilson: 3/6 receiving, 34 yards
Wilson just missed scoring his third touchdown of the season on a nice catch-and-run where he made a couple of defenders miss that set up the Clayton Tune tush push. Wilson has quietly put together a solid rookie campaign and is closing in on 500 yards on the season. You could certainly do worse as far as deep flex plays go.
Marquise Brown: 1/4 receiving, 28 yards
Definitely not the stat line you were hoping to see as a Hollywood owner in Murray’s first game back. Better days are ahead, but expectations may need to be tempered.
Geoff Swaim: 2/2 receiving, 13 yards