What We Saw: Week 13

Diontae Johnson saved the Steelers' season with his two 4th quarter TD receptions

Ben Brown
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49ers @ Seahawks  

Final Score: Seahawks 30, 49ers 23

Writer: Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

 

Boy did this game have a ton of highlights.  Whether it was fumbles, interceptions, or touchdowns, the 49ers and Seahawks put on a show for fantasy fans.  This game had some pretty big playoff implications for the 49ers, but they could not hold onto the early lead nor make the comeback on the final drive of the game.

This one had plenty of scoring and most of the fantasy-relevant players performed well enough, so let’s take a deeper look at how this one went.

 

Seattle Seahawks

 

Quarterback

 

Russell Wilson: 30/37, 231 yards, 2 TD, INT | 3 carries, 15 yards

 

Russell Wilson was absolutely hounded in the first half.  He was sacked twice and fumbled the ball once, although Seattle managed to jump back on it.  Wilson finally started putting good drives together with quick, short throws, making it difficult for the 49ers to get to him.

Wilson threw his first interception of the game on a fluke drop/deflection by Gerald Everett.  Everett should have easily had the touchdown grab but instead, it turned into an interception. Wilson finally started finding his star receivers, and from there he turned the game around.  He had another play that should have been a touchdown, where he shovel-passed the ball to Everett near the goal line and he fumbled it away.  Overall Everett kind of singlehandedly ruined Wilson’s day.

Wilson looked better than in previous games, although his offensive line makes it difficult for him to wait in the pocket or escape pressure.  That is making it so he has to get rid of the ball fast for short gains, as you can see by his 30/37 and only 231 yard stat line.  He is a viable fantasy starter again, but he probably won’t produce at levels we are used to.

 

Running Back

 

Travis Homer: 3 carries, 80 yards, TD | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 10 yards

Rashaad Penny: 10 carries, 35 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 27 yards

Adrian Peterson: 11 carries, 16 yards, TD

 

Alex Collins was ruled out on Sunday morning, which was maybe a bit of a surprise. That makes sense, however, since the Seahawks added Adrian Peterson this week and immediately activated him.

Travis Homer got the start thanks to the Collins injury, but it was a fake punt that rewarded anyone who took the risk to start him.

 

 

It was a gutsy move in their own zone, but it paid off beautifully.

Adrian Peterson came in on the next drive.  Peterson, along with the rest of the Seattle Running Backs were bottled up in this one, but he did manage to score on a short run.

 

 

It seems like Peterson and Rashaad Penny handled the running plays, while Homer was in mostly for passing plays. Peterson was ineffective and Penny was his usual meh self, although he did have a nice catch and run for 27 yards.

With how bad the offensive line is and how this is turning into a three-headed monster, I probably wouldn’t want to touch any of these backs in fantasy.  Let them be grenades for other teams.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

D.K. Metcalf: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 60 yards

Tyler Lockett: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 68 yards, TD

Gerald Everett: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 7 yards, 2 Fumbles

Freddie Swain: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards

Dee Eskridge: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards, TD

Will Dissly: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards

Penny Hart: 1 target, 1 reception, -1 yard

 

Gerald Everett started off on a sour note, fumbling his first catch of the day.

 

 

He was a bit too loose with the ball on the Tight End screen.  He later caused a bad interception by dropping an easy touchdown pass that he deflected into the defenders’ arms.

 

 

It was a bit of bad luck since he did kick it up in the air, but he should have made the catch in the first place.  Unfortunately, his day continued to worsen. He lost his second fumble of the game on a shovel pass that should have gone for a touchdown.  Now frankly the targets are there, and he should have had two touchdowns, so I wouldn’t write him off in fantasy quite yet.  Hopefully this game was just one to forget.

Tyler Lockett had a big chance on a trick play in the first half, but it was just out of reach in the endzone.  He got most of his work in the second half, including this beautiful catch in the corner of the endzone.

 

 

Lockett will hopefully continue to have solid fantasy output, but still has that risk of breaking your fantasy day.

D.K. Metcalf was relatively quiet in this one, besides a deep pass that he somehow managed to bring in near the endzone.

 

 

It was an amazing catch in traffic that led to a rushing touchdown by Peterson.  Metcalf will continue to be a deep threat, and if Wilson and company can figure out the offense again, he will be back to putting up huge numbers.

Dee Eskridge has seen his usage increase in recent weeks, including a short touchdown grab to bring Seattle within two points late in the first half.  Eskridge probably isn’t worth rostering, but he has been a bit more involved in the offense recently.

 

 

San Francisco 49ers

 

Quarterback

 

Jimmy Garoppolo: 20/30, 299 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | 2 carries, 0 yards

 

Jimmy Garoppolo started off with a nice touchdown throw after the Seattle fumble but followed that up with an interception.

 

 

Looks like Garoppolo just didn’t see the Linebacker drop back in coverage before it was too late.

Garoppolo didn’t spread the ball around too much in this one, targeting George Kittle on a majority of his throws.  He took a sack in the endzone for a safety in the third quarter that tied the game at 23.

His play didn’t get much better when he threw his second interception of the game.

 

 

He obviously was looking for Kittle but misread the coverage and overthrew him.  Garoppolo led the 49ers on a long drive and almost threw a touchdown pass to tie the game with seconds remaining.  There has been a lot of recent talk about Garoppolo being benched for rookie Trey Lance, but I think he did enough in this one to keep the job.  He did make some questionable decisions (two interceptions, taking a sack for a safety), however, and he wouldn’t be my top streaming option if there are other Quarterbacks out there.

 

Running Back

 

Elijah Mitchell: 22 carries, 66 yards, TD | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards

 

Elijah Mitchell was relatively held in check in the first half, but he managed to punch in a short touchdown.

 

 

Mitchell was held in check for most of the game besides the touchdown, but he is still a top fantasy option week-to-week.

Jeff Wilson Jr. saw only one carry in the first half.  It was a solid first-down run that was negated by a holding call.  He is pretty much only an option in fantasy if Mitchell misses time again.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

George Kittle: 12 targets, 9 receptions, 181 yards, 2 TD

Brandon Aiyuk:  6 targets, 3 receptions, 55 yards

Jauan Jennings: 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards

Kyle Juszczyk: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards

Trent Sherfield: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

 

 

George Kittle took advantage of the early fumble for his first catch and score of the game.

 

 

It was a great throw by Garoppolo and a great catch by the star Tight End.  Kittle continued seeing a bulk of the targets, which included another touchdown later in the second quarter.

 

 

Kittle did this himself, taking the short pass along the sidelines (somehow staying in) for the long touchdown.  Kittle overall looked like his previous dominant fantasy star, and hopefully, he continues that run to finish out the year.

Brandon Aiyuk had a quiet game until the second half.  He caught two of his three passes in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.  It was a relatively disappointing game in Samuel’s absence, however, this one was just too much of a Kittle game.

Trent Sherfield had five targets in this game, including the final one on fourth-and-goal that would have probably been a touchdown if the Seattle defensive tackle hadn’t gotten his hand on it.  Sherfield did not see any carries as was hinted this week (Deebo Samuel role in practice) and probably doesn’t do much for fantasy.

 

— Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Cowboys @ Saints
Giants @ Dolphins
Colts @ Texans
Vikings @ Lions
Eagles @ Jets
Cardinals @ Bears
Chargers @ Bengals
Buccaneers @ Falcons
Football Team @ Raiders
49ers @ Seahawks
Jaguars @ Rams
Ravens @ Steelers
Broncos @ Chiefs

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