What We Saw: Week 10

The Patriots are back, and so is Patrick Mahomes, but the AFC is still a mess

Ben Brown
What We Saw 3 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Ravens @ Dolphins
Bills @ Jets
Buccaneers @ Football Team
Falcons @ Cowboys
Saints @ Titans
Jaguars @ Colts
Lions @ Steelers
Browns @ Patriots
Vikings @ Chargers
Panthers @ Cardinals
Eagles @ Broncos
Seahawks @ Packers
Chiefs @ Raiders

Eagles @ Broncos

Final Score: Eagles 30, Broncos 13

Writer: Adam Sloate (@MrAdster99 on Twitter)

 

The Eagles once again made a competitive showing against an AFC West team this week, although this was the one AFC West team that they were finally able to defeat. The Broncos started off by leaning on their run game (arguably a very smart move, considering how leaky the Eagles’ run defense is), which was fairly successful, but they began putting the ball in Teddy Bridgewater‘s hands in the second quarter, which was a lot less successful than their run game. It was a curious decision on Denver’s part, considering the Broncos were averaging over 5 yards per carry in the first half and the Eagles are among the league’s best in terms of sacks. Denver smartly went back to the run in the second half to better success. Ultimately, the Eagles were able to score early and often against this Denver defense, leading to their second win in their last 3 contests.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Quarterback

 

Jalen Hurts: 16/23, 178 yards, 2 TD, INT, 1 sack | 14 carries, 53 yards

 

What a game from Jalen Hurts today. He looked fairly calm in the pocket and when faced with pressure (there sure was a lot of it), he was able to use his playmaking ability to still churn out gains on the ground and through the air. At the end of the first half, Hurts had completed 15/20 passes for 176 yards and 2 TDs, which is exactly what you want out of 30 minutes of football. That first-half stat line would have looked even better had Hurts been able to connect with Quez Watkins on the final play of the first half:

 

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1460017756473024515

 

Tack on 34 more yards and a TD pass if not for that Watkins drop.

I also spoke about Hurts’ ability to move around in the pocket and find open players. Here’s one example:

 

 

Here’s Hurts looking poised, even as he was about to take a hit from the Broncos’ blitz:

 

 

Outside of that, the Eagles made Hurts’ life a little bit easier, finding him some quick throws here and there to alleviate some of the pressure of the Denver pass rush. Even with that extra help, Hurts was fantastic in the first half and very good overall. It’s what you might call a “pretty darn good fantasy day.”

Don’t get me wrong, there were still a few head-scratchers for Jalen Hurts this week, like this throw:

 

 

And then, the defense finally caught up to Hurts about 2/3 of the way through the third quarter, as he threw a clean interception into the waiting arms of Justin Simmons (who also laid the hit on Dallas Goedert). A tough play to swallow for Hurts, however, fantasy investors can take a little bit of solace knowing that Hurts’ INT was his first since playing the Bucs in Week 6 and his fifth this season.

The Eagles dialed up a couple of designed runs for Hurts this week, but the Broncos were able to sniff those out fairly quickly. Hurts’ big rushing gain of the week (a 31-yard scamper) was on an improvisation play and not a designed run. The other Hurts runs added up to nine carries for 24 yards (sub-three yards per carry, even after accounting for the three kneel-downs at the end of the game), indicating the relative lack of success for Hurts’ designed runs. However, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, as Hurts is typically good for 40+ rushing yards each week whether or not the designed runs are working.

 

Running Back

 

Jordan Howard: 12 carries, 83 yards

Boston Scott: 11 carries, 81 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards

Kenneth Gainwell: 2 carries, 5 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards

 

Both Scott and Howard were able to do what they do best this week: for Howard, that was running with the intent to bruise everyone in his way.

 

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1460033963590828039

 

Howard was fantastic today, running through contact and slipping into the Broncos’ second level with regularity. He was a little limited today due to the volume of carries that went to Hurts and Scott, but that was really the only downside to his performance. Hopefully, Howard gets some more red zone opportunities next week.

For Scott, it was to slip through the tiny holes in the offensive line. Or, you know, holes like these:

 

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1459996734231298059

 

The Broncos rolled out the red carpet for Scott on this one.

When Scott and Howard were able to find nice gains, the Broncos couldn’t stop anything. Their success on the ground was key to helping Hurts remain accurate and unbothered by the Denver defense on most plays.

The Eagles dialed up a couple of designed runs for Hurts this week, but the Broncos were able to sniff those out fairly quickly.

For any of the Kenneth Gainwell lovers in the building, I regret to inform you that Nick Sirianni does not seem particularly willing to utilize his skill set. I really wish he would, though.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

DeVonta Smith: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 66 yards, 2 TD

Quez Watkins: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 33 yards

Dallas Goedert: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards

Jalen Reagor: 2 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards | 1 carry, -8 yards

Jack Stoll: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 6 yards

 

Well, this one was a bit of a snoozer for everyone not named DeVonta Smith, although again, if Watkins had come down with that throw at the end of the first half, it would be a different story. Smith, the birthday boy, made some absolutely incredible plays.

Consider the following:

 

 

Also, Smith was on the other half of the Hurts “Poised under impending hit” play:

 

 

Great celebration, Mr. Smith.

Outside of these two plays, Smith was regularly open for Hurts, who targeted him often. The Hurts-to-Smith connection is real, in case you somehow forgot.

It was a fairly quiet day for the other Eagles receivers, as you can probably guess from the stat line. Unfortunately, Dallas Goedert exited with what appeared to be a concussion suffered on the play you saw above. Hurts looked for rookie TE Jack Stoll in a few instances, but Stoll wasn’t able to reel the ball in quite as often as Goedert. It might be worth keeping an eye on Stoll in the event of a sustained injury to Goedert, but you shouldn’t do much more than that until we have more information on the situation.

 

Denver Broncos

 

Quarterback

 

Teddy Bridgewater: 22/36, 227 yards, 1 sack

 

Yet another ho-hum outing for Bridgewater this week, as the Broncos didn’t ask him to do a whole lot more than complete the easy passes. And, when they did ask him to do a little more, especially as the Broncos started to fall behind, Bridgewater overthrew his receivers. Even Bridgewater’s longest pass of the day, a 64-yard pass to Albert Okwuegbunam, wasn’t much of a bomb downfield:

 

 

I do have to give a shoutout to some very creative Eagles tackling right there. Nearly had him!

Speaking of creative tackling:

 

 

Bridgewater didn’t leave the pocket at all today, so fantasy managers that were hoping for more than a handful of points from Bridgewater were probably disappointed. I’m hesitant to say there are ‘better days ahead’ for Bridgewater because the Broncos don’t need him to be a slice-and-dice type of quarterback. Their offensive identity is predicated on running the football and taking the easy gains where they are available (and avoiding the head-scratching passes that Drew Lock regularly tosses). So, keep that in mind if you’re ever thinking about streaming Bridgewater for a week.

 

Running Back

 

Javonte Williams: 8 carries, 48 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 1 yard

Melvin Gordon III: 9 carries, 44 yards, 1 TD | 4 targets, 1 reception, -2 yards

 

Yet another week of having the best 1-2 RB punch in football. And, they both feasted against a very leaky Eagles front seven for the first few quarters.

 

 

Too easy.

Javonte Williams, who some might call the better RB on the Broncos (definitely me), also joined in on the fun:

 

 

Williams ran with this kind of conviction all game, which is par for the course. Unfortunately, Williams wasn’t able to get the red zone carries he so rightly deserves, as the lone goal-line carry went to Gordon (also par for the course).

Unfortunately, the Broncos didn’t have many more chances to hand the ball off to Gordon or Williams in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles put them in a two-TD hole, thanks to this fumble-six (fumble-TD?) by Gordon:

 

 

Afterward, the Broncos had to put the ball in Bridgewater’s hands, basically ending any fantasy opportunities for their two talented RBs. It’s tough to make a recommendation for one RB over the other as long as both are healthy. The Broncos just aren’t going to give one RB the true bell-cow workload.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Albert Okwuegbunam: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 77 yards

Noah Fant: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 59 yards

Courtland Sutton: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards

Jerry Jeudy: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 49 yards | 1 carry, 3 yards

Tim Patrick: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 14 yards

 

The box score could basically tell you everything you need to know about this game.

Albert O played quite well, Noah Fant and Jerry Jeudy picked up enough targets to be fantasy-serviceable, and everyone else was pretty meh. A decent chunk of the receiving corps’ value came in sweet, sweet garbage time. And, with no passing TDs to speak of, there wasn’t much for Denver fantasy investors to enjoy otherwise. It sure doesn’t help that Teddy Bridgewater overthrew his receivers with regularity.

This one just about sums it up:

 

 

It’s mind-boggling that this team could have such a loaded offense and then put up just 13 points on the Eagles’ defense. Such is life with Bridgewater under center, right?

 

— Adam Sloate (@MrAdster99 on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Ravens @ Dolphins
Bills @ Jets
Buccaneers @ Football Team
Falcons @ Cowboys
Saints @ Titans
Jaguars @ Colts
Lions @ Steelers
Browns @ Patriots
Vikings @ Chargers
Panthers @ Cardinals
Eagles @ Broncos
Seahawks @ Packers
Chiefs @ Raiders

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