Browns @ Titans
The final score of this game made it seem a lot closer than it was. There were a couple of big plays early that set the tone for this one. The Browns kicked a field goal on their first drive, then Derrick Henry was stuffed on a fourth and one run. The Browns scored a touchdown on the next drive. Henry then lost a fumble on the first play of the following drive that led to another Cleveland touchdown. That made it 17-0 Cleveland and they scored on all six of their first-half drives to make it 38-7 at half time. The Titans scored two touchdowns in the last 1:30 of the game to make it a little interesting. The Browns held on 41-35. The Browns will travel to the Giants next week and the Titans will travel to Jacksonville.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield: 25/33, 334 yards, 4 TDs | 4 carries, 5 yards, 1 fumble lost | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Baker Mayfield played a near-flawless game today. The Browns were attacking through the air in the first half and Mayfield was dropping dimes all over the field. He got the Titans to jump offsides on a 3rd and goal play and on the next one he hits an extra offensive lineman with a touchdown on a beautiful play design with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb both in the backfield. Mayfield hit rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones on a well designed/executed double-move for a wide-open 70+ yard touchdown. Mayfield’s last touchdown was to Rashard Higgins in the red zone on a beautifully thrown ball over the defender that was right on time down the sideline.
Perfectly thrown to Rashard Higgins.
Baker with 4️⃣ first half TDs.#FantasyFootball | #Browns pic.twitter.com/jwjmKw6PVB
— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 6, 2020
The Browns, trying to ice the game, ran a QB sneak on 4th and 1 and Baker fumbled it with the Titans recovering it. That was the only mistake he made today. Mayfield hasn’t had many of these types of games this year so it is still hard to trust him weekly. He is a decent QB2 option next week.
Running Backs
Nick Chubb: 18 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 26 yards
Kareem Hunt: 14 carries, 33 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 24 yards
Nick Chubb had a couple of nice chunk gains on his lone reception and a couple of carries. He scored late in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run. We can’t count on his passing game usage from week-to-week but Chubb is an RB 1 on a team that wants to run the ball a ton. Kareem Hunt played a lot in the second half with the Browns trying to ice the game. He was very ineffective with his touches and was stuffed inside the five on multiple attempts. It could have been a bigger game if he scored a touchdown but his efficiency held him back otherwise. Hunt now has under 2.5 yards per carry in two of his last three contests. He is a solid RB2 option at the moment with a decent passing game role and 10-14 carries per week as well, including some red-zone work.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Jarvis Landry: 10 targets, 8 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD | 1/1, 6 passing yards
Austin Hooper: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards
Rashard Higgins: 9 targets, 6 reception, 95 yards, 1 TD
Donovan Peoples-Jones: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD
These receivers were doing whatever they wanted with the Titans’ defense in the first half. There were chunk plays made by multiple guys and touchdowns scored by four different players. Jarvis Landry scored the first touchdown on the drive following the Titans’ failure on a 4th and 1 run. Baker found him in the back of the endzone and threw a missile to get the TD. Landry was also tackled at the two yard-line on a reception that led to the Chubb touchdown so it could have been a bigger day. He is a WR2 right now and he finally looks healthy and is producing well sans Odell Beckham Jr.
Austin Hooper was very quiet today. He wasn’t looked at it the passing game much at all and is just a low-end TE1 that will likely need TD’s to really help you at the moment. Rashard Higgins was the 1B to Landry’s WR1A today. He had a beautiful sideline catch that was called out at the one. He was later hit on a beautiful throw down the sideline in the red zone for a score in the second quarter. Higgins is a solid flex option right now where the volume could be an issue in games the Browns run the ball a ton.
As noted above, Peoples-Jones made a defender look silly on his double move for a long 70+ yard touchdown (See it below in GIF form). He also dropped a wide open touchdown a couple plays before Landry’s score. He shouldn’t be owned in fantasy at the moment because of a lack of volume but it was a nice play. These guys could have had bigger games but the Browns really took the foot off the pedal in the second half.
Baker Mayfield is spot on to Donovan Peoples-Jones.#FantasyFootball | #Browns pic.twitter.com/dh0heudxpK
— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 6, 2020
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill: 29/45, 389 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int, 3 sacks, 2pt conversion
This wound up being a really nice game for Ryan Tannehill. He had a lot of garbage time/hurry-up offense in the second half and he produced. He had two second-half touchdowns but it should have been three. A.J. Brown fumbled while crossing the goal line and then tight end MyCole Pruitt picked it up and ran it in. That does not count as a passing touchdown for Tannehill. Pruitt also had a nice touchdown reception on the first drive of the second half. Tannehill had a couple of nice throws on his touchdowns and his receivers made big plays for him. There were a couple of big drops from his receivers as well that cost him some stats. Adam Humphries had a ball hit right off his hands that bounced off his facemask and was intercepted. A.J. Brown had a couple of drops including a deep ball in the fourth. Tannehill is a low-end QB1 right now, though some weeks his volume is lacking thanks to their running game.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry: 15 carries, 60 yards, 1 fumble lost | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Derrick Henry was pretty much game scripted out of this one. This wasn’t his best game early on with the chances he did have. He got stuffed on a 4th and one carry, he lost a fumble on the following drive, and failed on a 2pt conversion run later in the game. Henry is known for getting those tough yards so it was a let down that he got stuffed multiple times. The Titans really could not stick with him a lot in the second half because they were trailing by so many points. He is an RB1 going forward and if you have him you are obviously playing him. Jeremy McNichols had a garbage time goalline touchdown and some garbage time receptions but wasn’t involved for the most part and can be avoided in fantasy leagues.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
A.J. Brown: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 87 yards, 1 fumble lost
Corey Davis: 12 targets, 11 receptions, 182 yards, 1 TD
Anthony Firkser: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 51 yards
Corey Davis’ resurgent season continued on Sunday. He was consistently making tough contested catches or making chunk plays in the passing game. His touchdown was a beautiful adjustment in the endzone over the defender and he came down with the ball. Davis is a solid WR3 or flex play every week. He is going to have underwhelming games at times due to the Titans’ preferred run-heavy approach.
A.J. Brown injured his ankle on that Davis touchdown play and he wasn’t involved a ton after that even though he remained in the game. He did have a nice 40-yard reception but didn’t do a whole lot outside of that. He has had some drop issues this season and that continued on Sunday. On the drive, after Baker Mayfield fumbled on a QB sneak, Cameron Batson had a beautiful touchdown toe-tapping in the side of the endzone with less than a minute left in the game (check it out below in GIF form). Tannehill also hit his backup tight end for a short score. Anthony Firkser had a nice stat line in replacement of the injured Jonnu Smith. I believe all his receptions were on the Titans’ last two drives in catch-up mode. He would be a solid TE streamer if Jonnu misses more time.
Tannehill from 8-yards out to Batson.
:28 seconds left in the game.#FantasyFootball | #Titans pic.twitter.com/CCSKAczeNY
— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 6, 2020
— Kevin Taylor (@ktbeast918 on Twitter)