What We Saw: Week 10

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Week 10

Ben Brown
What We Saw A Year Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Falcons @ Panthers
Seahawks @ Buccaneers
Vikings @ Bills
Lions @ Bears
Jaguars @ Chiefs
Browns @ Dolphins
Texans @ Giants
Saints @ Steelers
Broncos @ Titans
Colts @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Packers
Cardinals @ Rams
Chargers @ 49ers

Texans @ Giants

Final Score: Giants 24, Texans 16

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

 

Defense was the name of the game early in this one, as both defensive fronts played well in the first quarter and held both Saquon Barkley and Dameon Pierce in check. In the second quarter, both backs got their revenge as they each broke off long runs much to the delight of nervous fantasy managers. In the passing game, Davis Mills struggled mightily while Daniel Jones was efficient but lacked any explosive plays.

The second half was a bit of a different ballgame. Jones had a 54-yard TD which Darius Slayton did all the work on, but otherwise Jones did a great job of handing it off to Saquon and letting him do all the work. Mills ate up the field during garbage time but wasn’t able to put the Texans in a position to win. The Giants improve to 7-2 as the Texans fall to 1-7-1.

 

Houston Texans

 

Quarterback

 

Davis Mills: 22/37, 319 Yards, TD, INT, 1 Fumble (Recovered)

 

Uh, wow. I kind of tuned out of this game near the end to catch the rest of Bills-Vikings, and I’m just now seeing that Mills finished with over 300 yards as I write this. I can assure you that he did not play that well today, and most of his yardage came in garbage time when they traded field goals with the Giants at the end of the game. Dexter Lawrence was a force in this game, and he was in Mills’ face all day long.

Mills’ longest completion in the first half was six yards if you don’t count a screen that Rex Burkhead took for 13 yards, which I don’t. Mills simply looked lost in the first half. In the second half, the Texans committed to the pass which is where much of his yardage comes from. He threw a touchdown to Brandin Cooks that was called back by a penalty, and was intercepted in the end zone on the next play. It was Mills’ fifth 4th quarter INT this season, tied for most in the league. Mills was also strip-sacked on the following drive, which was recovered by the Giants, but the replay official ruled that Mills’ arm was going forward and the Texans retained the ball. He also had a near-interception that went through a defender’s hands and was somehow caught by Chris Moore.

 

 

It’s too bad that Mills played so poorly, because he does have a really good arm and the ability to put the ball in a spot where only his receiver can get it. Here’s his touchdown pass to Nico Collins.

 

 

Running Back

 

Dameon Pierce: 17 Carries, 94 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 28 Yards | 1 Fumble (Lost)

Rex Burkhead: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 28 Yards

Dare Ogunbowale: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 13 Yards

 

Dameon Pierce initially struggled against a tough Giants’ defensive front, but he eventually found some running room. He started the second quarter with a 12-yard run, then broke out a 44-yard run two plays later. He had a five-yard run sandwiched between those two, so 61 of his 94 yards came on the Texans’ first three plays of the second quarter. The Texans struggled to keep drives moving in the second half, and Pierce also had a critical fumble on 2nd and goal while down 11 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The Texans wouldn’t get the ball back until they were down eight with 4:40 left in the game, so Pierce’s day was essentially done at that point. It was disappointing that he wasn’t able to pound one into the end zone in this game to help salvage his fantasy day.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Brandin Cooks: 1 Carry, 5 Yards | 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 37 Yards

Jordan Akins: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 72 Yards

Chris Moore: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 70 Yards

Nico Collins: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 49 Yards, TD

Phillip Dorsett: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

O.J. Howard: 1 Target

 

Brandin Cooks returned to the field after missing the game against the Eagles after not being traded at the deadline, and he did so without the big C on his chest. Cooks was stripped of his captaincy before the game, and while he was still the 2nd most targeted WR on the team it definitely puts his standing on this team at question in the minds of fantasy managers. As mentioned in the Mills blurb, Cooks had a TD pass called back due to a holding penalty and he was otherwise nonexistent. He no longer feels like a premiere WR in this league.

Anyone around the Texans loves to rave about Nico Collins. Personally, I’d like to see him bring in more than half of his targets, but Mills did miss him a handful of times. He doesn’t scream future star to me, but Mills does love to throw it his way.

Jordan Akins took a screen pass 46 yards as he rumbled and stumbled down the middle of the field. He wasn’t really involved otherwise.

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterback

 

Daniel Jones: 13/17, 197 Yards, 2 TD | 5 Carries, 24 Yards

 

Daniel Jones led the Giants on an opening 10-play, 68-yard drive that was capped by a touchdown to Lawrence Cager. He converted two third downs on the drive. Later in the first half, he was sacked on a 3rd and 15 play that pushed them out of field goal range, but this was honestly his only negative play in the first half. He was 9/12 for over 100 yards passing in the half, and two of those incompletions were terrible drops by Kenny Golladay.

Jones wasn’t asked to do much in the second half once Saquon Barkley took over and was able to feast on the Texans’ defense. Jones’ 2nd touchdown was mostly the work of Darius Slayton, though Jones did a great job of avoiding pressure and getting the ball to Slayton just as the defense got to him.

 

 

I’ve been a Jones hater for a long time, but I was really impressed with him today.

 

Running Back

 

Saquon Barkley: 35 Carries, 152 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Matt Breida: 6 Carries, 20 Yards

 

Rushing yards were not easy to come by in the first quarter for Barkley, but he exploded in a big way afterward. Saquon was bottled up until the 2nd quarter when he broke out a 27-yard rush and seemed to figure it all out after that. Saquon continued his excellent 2022 season with yet another game over 100 yards, and he feasted on Houston’s defense while chewing the clock the entire time.

 

 

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Darius Slayton: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 95 Yards, TD

Wan’Dale Robinson: 1 Carry, -5 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Isaiah Hodgins: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 41 Yards

Tanner Hudson: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards

Lawrence Cager: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards, TD

Kenny Golladay: 2 Targets

Chris Myarick: 1 Target

 

With Saquon Barkley owning this game, there’s not much to talk about in this space. The good? Darius Slayton, whose 54-yard touchdown was shown above in the Daniel Jones blurb. He also had a 36 yard catch and run where he was wide open over the middle of the field with nobody within ten yards of him.

Lawrence Cager had a touchdown, much to the chagrin of anyone who rosters any of the other noteworthy Giants playmakers. He then did the salsa in an homage to former Giants WR (and fellow #83) Victor Cruz.

 

The bad: Kenny freaking Golladay. He had two terrible drops in the first half, including this one near the end of the 2nd quarter which he could have taken for a big gain.

 

 

Golladay is straight-up dogging it out there. It’s unfortunate, considering how well the Giants have been playing and how they really need someone to step up and be a #1 WR for them. Golladay ain’t it, and he wasn’t targeted in the 2nd half.

Wan’Dale Robinson also had a bad play, a handoff that he took from the backfield that he simply tried to do too much on. He wasn’t involved much at all after this play.

 

Series Navigation
Introduction
Falcons @ Panthers
Seahawks @ Buccaneers
Vikings @ Bills
Lions @ Bears
Jaguars @ Chiefs
Browns @ Dolphins
Texans @ Giants
Saints @ Steelers
Broncos @ Titans
Colts @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Packers
Cardinals @ Rams
Chargers @ 49ers

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