Raiders @ Falcons
This Raiders team laid a complete egg against a resurgent Atlanta Falcons team that has now won three of their last four games. The Raiders averaged less than five yards per play and turned the ball over five times en route to an ugly 43-6 loss. The Falcons offense didn’t play much better, averaging less than five yards per play themselves. The difference, of course, was the Falcons turning the ball over once compared to the Raiders five times. It’s scary that this game could have been even more lopsided because the Falcons kicked five field goals instead of converting any of those attempts into touchdowns. The Raiders will be on the road against the Jets next week and the Falcons will host the Saints after playing them just a week ago.
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback
Derek Carr: 22/34, 215 yards, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 3 fumbles lost
Derek Carr and the Raiders as a whole failed to take care of the ball on Sunday and they did not score a touchdown. Carr’s pick-six was a poorly thrown ball under pressure that was behind his receiver and Deion Jones took it to the house. Take a look at it in GIF form below. Carr struggled with his awareness and ball security today. He lost fumbles on all three of his sacks. Carr has played very well most of the year but this was a definite step back. He gets a nice matchup with the lowly Jets next week to get right. Carr should be seen as a streamable QB2 next week.
Derek Carr with a pick-6
Only 3 points on offense.
This team beat the #Chiefs this season. pic.twitter.com/YSeHMd0uRP
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 29, 2020
Running Backs
Josh Jacobs: 7 carries, 27 yards, 1 fumble lost | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 17 yards
Devontae Booker: 5 carries, 6 yards | 4 targets, 1 reception, -1 yard
Josh Jacobs was pretty involved early on. He had four touches (plus another, negated by penalty) on the team’s first three drives (one drive was a 1 play fumble). He was used sparingly after that, recording just six more touches. The game was close throughout the first half with it being a one-score game for the most part. The Falcons are known to have a better rush defense than pass defense so that could explain the change in philosophy, but the Raiders are at their best with Jacobs getting a lot of work and Carr working off the play-action. They need to get back to that style of offense. Obviously, in the second half, the game got away from the Raiders, and running the ball was no longer an option. Devontae Booker had four of his five carries deep into garbage time when the game was out of reach. Jacobs will be a solid RB1 against the Jets next week.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Darren Waller: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 23 yards
Nelson Agholor: 6 targets, 5 reception, 54 yards
Henry Ruggs III: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 56 yards
Hunter Renfrow: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 73 yards
Luckily for some of these pass-catchers, there was a lot of garbage time for the Raiders’ offense. Three receivers managed to go over 50 yards but Derek Carr was not pushing the ball downfield much. Rookie Henry Ruggs III made a spectacular catch on the sideline early in the game for 36 yards but failed to do much else and he was the only receiver to have a play over 20 yards on the day. Hunter Renfrow and Henry Ruggs can largely be ignored in redraft leagues right now. Nelson Agholor continues to trend upward for the Raiders. He has 50 or more yards in three of his last four games and that includes two touchdowns. He is turning into a solid WR3/flex option. Darren Waller remains one of the top tight ends in fantasy even after this disappointing performance.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Matt Ryan: 22/39, 185 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack | 1 carry, 5 yards
Matt Ryan was only sacked once on Sunday after being taken down eight times last week. Without stud wide receiver Julio Jones, it wasn’t always pretty for Ryan but he did throw two short touchdowns from inside the five-yard line. Ryan did enough with the offense to put up some points and held onto the ball for the most part. Matt Ryan has shown a trend to be pretty disappointing in fantasy this year without one of his two top receivers playing. Keep an eye on injury news this week to see if Julio will be playing or not. Ryan was under constant pressure when he faced the Saints a week ago and is not a recommended play this week.
Running Backs
Ito Smith: 12 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 10 yards
Brian Hill: 13 carries, 55 yards | 1 target
Starting running back Todd Gurley was out for this game and that left the backfield in the hands of Brian Hill and Ito Smith with no other running back active for the Falcons. Hill was the popular play around the industry but he truly split the backfield touches with Smith and was pretty inefficient with his touches as well. The Falcons haven’t been targeting their running backs a ton this year and that mostly held true today. These guys were not Matt Ryan’s first or second option and more of a safety valve that didn’t do much. Ito Smith got the 8-yard score to really boost his day. If Gurley misses next week, Smith and Hill are unexciting flex options against the Saints.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Calvin Ridley: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD
Hayden Hurst: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards
Russell Gage: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards
Calvin Ridley did what Calvin Ridley does. He has monster games and he scores touchdowns. Ridley now has 60 yards and/or a touchdown in eight of his nine games finished this year. He found an opening in the back of the end zone to score a late touchdown in the first half. The Falcons really dialed it back in the second half with Ridley not recording a catch in the fourth quarter. Check out Ridley’s score below in a GIF.
Calvin Ridley scores the game's first touchdown shortly before 2-minute warning.#FantasyFootball | #RiseUpATL pic.twitter.com/Wwt83QcWXd
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 29, 2020
With star receiver Julio Jones out today with a hamstring injury, tight end Hayden Hurst benefitted the most, grabbing several of those extra targets. He wasn’t efficient with his looks but the opportunity was there for him. Keep an eye on Julio’s health going into next week. If he is out again, Hurst would be a strong TE1 play. Russell Gage remains a low upside slot receiver in this offense that can be ignored in fantasy leagues. Backup receiver Brandon Powell caught the other Matt Ryan touchdown but he is more of a slot receiver and can be ignored for fantasy purposes.
— Kevin Taylor (@ktbeast918 on Twitter)