What We Saw: Week 14

The QB List staff catches you up on everything you missed during Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season.

Ben Brown
What We Saw 3 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Patriots @ Rams
Titans @ Jaguars
Vikings @ Buccaneers
Chiefs @ Dolphins
Broncos @ Panthers
Texans @ Bears
Cardinals @ Giants
Cowboys @ Bengals
Jets @ Seahawks
Colts @ Raiders
Washington @ 49ers
Packers @ Lions
Falcons @ Chargers
Saints @ Eagles
Steelers @ Bills

Broncos @ Panthers

 

The Broncos went into Carolina and Drew Lock had arguably his best game of the season, tossing 4 touchdowns. Teddy Bridgewater tried to claw the Panthers back into it by completing 13 straight passes, but ultimately the Broncos prevailed 32-27. Let’s dive in and see what we can take away from this game.

 

Denver Broncos

 

Quarterback

 

Drew Lock: 21/27, 280 yards, 4 TDs, 1 sack, 2 fumbles, 1 fumble lost | 6 carries, 4 yards

 

Drew Lock had one of his most efficient games of the year. The Broncos went 5-and-out on their first drive and the following happened on the Panthers’ punt after a 3-and-out.

 

 

The 1st quarter was tough sledding for the Broncos other than the punt return. In the 2nd quarter, Lock got the engine started. On 3rd and 6, Tim Patrick drew a defensive holding penalty to keep the drive alive. In total, the drive went 11 plays, 47 yards into Panthers’ territory before Jeremy Chinn blew everything up.

 

 

Drew Lock took back over with the Broncos down 7-6 and that engine was still humming. Lock completed a 3rd and 3 pass to Troy Fumagalli and then took a roughing the passer penalty to complete another 3rd down on the drive. On 1st and Goal from the 2-yard line, Lock fooled everyone and found Nick Vannett for a wide-open touchdown.

 

 

The Panthers received the ball first in the 2nd Half, but 4 plays later they punted the ball back to the Broncos. Lock and the Broncos took over at their own 37-yard line. Three plays later, Lock hit K.J. Hamler who burnt Rasul Douglas for the first time today.

 

 

Lock took back over following a Carolina field goal, making the score 19-10. On the second play of the drive, Panthers’ corner Donte Jackson showed off his hops as he tipped Lock’s pass, forcing a 3rd down.

 

 

On 3rd and 8, Lock connected with Fumagalli for 14 yards and a new set of downs. One play later, Lock hit Tim Patrick deep for a 32 yard gain. He then hooked up again with Fumagalli for 31 yards and what was originally called a touchdown, but he was ruled down at the 2-yard line. Lock was determined to get that 3rd touchdown pass as the very next play he hooked up with Patrick for the score.

 

 

Two possessions later, Lock took over with the Broncos up by 5. Following a scramble and screen pass to Melvin Gordon that went for 20 yards, Lock hooked up with K.J. Hamler for the second deep touchdown of the day. The rest of the game was spent burning clock. Overall there were some real positives for Lock, who had looked shaky leading up to this game.

 

Running Backs

 

Melvin Gordon: 13 carries, 68 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards

Phillip Lindsay: 11 carries, 24 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards

 

Out of 61 offensive snaps, Melvin Gordon (30) and Phillip Lindsay (29) split the snaps, with Royce Freeman seeing the field on 4 snaps.

I watched the Broncos’ game last week against the Chiefs and noted that while Melvin Gordon was very efficient, Phillip Lindsay was the opposite. I understand that Gordon needs to be spelled occasionally, but I cannot understand why the Broncos keep giving Lindsay an equal workload. Gordon handled 4 carries in the red zone as well as 4 carries of 7 yards or more. And that’s in addition to a 20-yard reception.

Lindsay on the other hand had one carry that went for 7 yards or more and had zero touches in the red zone. This should be Gordon’s backfield, but at least he’s getting the money touches.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

K.J. Hamler: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 86 yards, 2 TDs

Troy Fumagalli: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 53 yards

Jerry Jeudy: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 42 yards

Tim Patrick: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, TD

Nick Vannett: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 20 yards, TD

DaeSean Hamilton: 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards

 

K.J. Hamler played on 36 of the team’s 61 snaps and had to call an ambulance for Rasul Douglas after he was burnt not once, but twice on deep touchdowns. All three of Hamler’s targets were deep balls. Here’s Hamler’s second touchdown.

 

 

Noah Fant came down with an illness this morning and tried to play through, but had to leave the game early on. That led to Troy Fumagalli playing 39 snaps en route to a career day. Here’s Fumagalli’s 29-yard gain that was originally called a TD.

 

 

Jerry Jeudy played on 45 snaps and it’s been widely speculated that he’s playing hurt. If that’s the case, Jeudy is going to be a very, very special wideout when he’s 100% healthy. It seems like every time I see a play by Jeudy, it features an incredible route run.

 

 

Tim Patrick led all Broncos’ receivers in snaps played with 48. Patrick saw two deep targets if you include the defensive holding penalty that he drew. He caught his other deep target and caught his only red zone target for a touchdown.

 

Carolina Panthers

 

Quarterback

 

Teddy Bridgewater: 30/40, 283 yards, 4 sacks | 3 carries, 31 yards, TD

 

Teddy Bridgewater’s 1st Half was a tale of one step forward, two steps back. The first three possessions for the Panthers’ ended in punts. On their second possession, Bridgewater led the team into Broncos territory, but a sack made it 3rd and 20. If not for a Panthers fumble recovery that gave them the ball on the 3-yard line, the first half would’ve been a shut out.  On the last possession of the half, the Panthers again crossed into Denver territory, but a 16-yard sack pushed them back again.

The 2nd Half didn’t start any better as it was a quick 4-and-out for the Panthers. Following a Denver touchdown that made it 19-7, Bridgewater finally got the ball rolling. He converted consecutive 3rd down passes to Robby Anderson that drove the team into Denver territory. Ultimately, the drive stalled, but they added a field goal to make it a 9-point game.

The next time Bridgewater took the field, he found himself down 15. On the drive, he completed 6 straight passes, including two 15+ yard completions to Curtis Samuel. Two plays later, Teddy called his own name on the QB draw.

 

 

Following a Denver punt, Bridgewater kept the streak going, completing 7 more passes in a row to make it 13 straight. However, once they got into the red zone a false start and offensive holding penalty caused the drive to stall, which led to a field goal.

The next time the Panthers took over, they were once again down by 12. Bridgewater made quick work, connecting with Mike Davis for 20 yards and deep to Pharoh Cooper for 32 yards. In between those two plays there was a pass interference penalty. That set up Davis’s second touchdown of the day.

Bridgewater had one more shot at it, but four plays later, the ball was turned over.

 

Running Backs

 

Mike Davis: 11 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDs | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 42 yards

Rodney Smith: 2 carries, 10 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Trenton Cannon: 1 carry, -3 yards

 

Out of 67 offensive snaps, Mike Davis played on 49, while Rodney Smith saw the field on 16. Trenton Cannon brought up the rear with 2 snaps.

For those that needed to roll out Mike Davis in the fantasy playoffs, he did not disappoint. And that’s despite the Panthers’ offense being asleep for the majority of the 1st Half. Here’s Davis’s first touchdown.

 

 

In total, Davis handled 4 carries in the red zone. He also had 6 touches that went for 6 yards or more. Once again, Davis looked good running the ball. He shows off good vision and “wiggle” when running the ball. Here’s his second touchdown.

 

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Robby Anderson: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 84 yards | 2 carries, 13 yards

Curtis Samuel: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 68 yards | 2 carries, 22 yards

Pharoh Cooper: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 52 yards

Ian Thomas: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards

Brandon Zylstra: 2 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards

Alex Armah: 1 target

 

With D.J. Moore on the COVID list, Robby Anderson saw an uptick in targets. Anderson played 57 of Carolina’s 67 snaps. He saw 1 deep target and 3 red zone targets if you include one that was called back for offensive holding. Once Anderson got the ball in his hands, he was just such a spark for this offense.

 

 

Curtis Samuel played 53 snaps. He saw three deep targets and had three targets and one carry come in the red zone. Like Anderson, the Panthers schemed to get the ball into Samuel’s hands.

Brandon Zylstra saw most of his 27 snaps in the first half before giving way to Pharoh Cooper. The latter caught a deep ball from Bridgewater. Both take a back seat when Moore returns to the field.

 

— Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83 on Twitter)

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

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