Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns
Final Score: Titans 31, Browns 29
Writer: Raymi Chavez
In frigid, snowy conditions, pick No. 1 faced off against pick No. 144 for a classic toilet bowl matchup. The Titans scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time all season and immediately followed that up with an interception, and then followed a Browns field goal with a 65-yard rushing touchdown by Tony Pollard, a career long. Shedeur Sanders settled into the game in the second quarter, dropping a great touch pass to David Njoku in the corner of the end zone, before rifling a pass up the middle to Jerry Jeudy, who turned upfield and found paydirt, taking the lead into halftime. The second half got off to an ugly start with punts on six consecutive drives before Sanders threw a pick, taking a shot downfield on a broken play. The Titans capitalized as Pollard found the end zone on another long run. The momentum was already slanted in the Titans’ direction when Dylan Sampson fumbled giving the Titans the ball in a goal-to-go spot. Three plays later, they were in the end zone. A field goal on their next drive felt like it put the game away, and that is when Shedeur woke up. A fantastic drive, with him avoiding sacks and the Titans committing multiple unsportsmanlike penalties, resulted in a Sanders scramble touchdown. After a quick three-and-out, the Browns marched down the field once more, and Sanders found Harold Fannin Jr. in the corner of the end zone. Unfortunately, a couple of botched 2-point conversions ensured that the Titans would pick up their second win of the season. Let’s take a look at how this game impacted the fantasy football world.
Three Up
- Tony Pollard — A career day for Pollard, career high in rushing yards and a career-long run highlighted his day.
- Shedeur Sanders — Shedeur outplayed his draft position and outplayed the No. 1 pick in the draft.
- Harrold Fannin Jr. — Fannin had career highs in receptions and receiving yards, and caught the potential game-tying touchdown.
One Down
- Quinshon Judkins — Judkins could not get anything going on the ground against a poor Titans defense, a career-low yards per carry day.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Cam Ward: 14/28, 117 Yards, 2 TDs, INT | 2 Carries, 4 Yards
Cam Ward continues to struggle. Oddly enough, it was his first career multi-touchdown game. He had splashes of excellence. He’s got a good handle on quarterback execution, getting everyone lined up, and he has no problems sticking around in the pocket to find the open receiver. Unfortunately, once he finds them, he misses them way more often than not, usually by overthrowing them. If he can rein in his deep balls and start throwing some intermediate balls, he could be a successful quarterback, but for now, he is still not to be trusted as a fantasy quarterback.
Running Back
Tony Pollard: 25 Carries, 161 Yards, 2 TDs
Tony Pollard looked fantastic. You have to imagine that this was the vision for the Titans all season: Pound the rock with Pollard, stay in front of the sticks and have him wear down the defense so he can break these long runs and keep the pressure off their rookie quarterback. Doing this against a stout Cleveland defense makes it all the more impressive. If he can keep this form heading into the rest of the season, he could be a viable option during fantasy championship week against a weak New Orleans Saints defense.
Tyjae Spears: 8 Carries, 19 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 28 Yards
A 24-yard screen on the opening drive was the highlight of the game for Tyjae Spears. It looked like he was going to be featured in the pass game at that point, but Pollard’s momentum had him on the back burner. The breakout so many owners are hoping for doesn’t seem to be coming this season. He did lead the team in receiving yards, however!
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Chimere Dike: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 24 Yards, TD
Chimere Dike has been the lone bright spot in the Titans’ pass game this season, and he, along with all the other Titans receivers, was taken out of the game. He salvaged his day with a fourth-quarter touchdown that wound up being the decisive score. Dike is an exciting option next season, but shouldn’t see much run outside of deep leagues this season.
Van Jefferson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards
Van Jefferson‘s highlight was a great downfield block on Pollard’s 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Elic Ayomanor: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 14 Yards, TD
Elic Ayomanor‘s early-season spurts have yet to transpire into anything, as he has struggled to get any consistency. After his opening touchdown, he was invisible.
Chig Okonkwo: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
An exciting tight end option before the season started, Chig Okonkwo has really disappointed, and today was no different.
Gunnar Helm: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
David Martin-Robinson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Shedeur Sanders: 23/42, 364 Yards, 3 TDs, INT | 3 Carries, 29 Yards, TD
Any fantasy owners who started Shedeur Sanders on Sunday should have their hands high up in the air. This was the best he’s looked to date. His first two drives were unassuming and quite familiar to what we had been seeing, but on his third drive, he settled in. He made better decisions, dancing to make time, but throwing the ball away if there wasn’t a target downfield. He actually moved up in the pocket rather than backpedaling out of it, and he was accurate downfield. He loves giving receivers a shot in man-to-man, and if this is the quarterback we’re going to see, he could have lots of success with a true man-beater receiver. He called his own number when he needed to, leading the team in rushing yards, and hit his checkdowns when he had to. His completion percentage doesn’t do him justice, as a lot of those incompletions were throwaways that were the right decision. His interception was worrying as he took a shot after avoiding a sack and dancing around, and the ball sailed straight into the defensive back’s hands. This was an up-and-coming game that needs to be confirmed against a proper defense before I personally fully jump on board.
Running Back
Quinshon Judkins: 14 Carries, 26 Yards | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 58 Yards
This was a low point in Quinshon Judkins‘ career on the field thus far. If not for a 58-yard screen pass, he would have had an abysmal game. He really struggled to get any momentum going in the run game, leading to a horrid 1.8 yards per carry, buoyed by a 14-yard run. He has shown more than enough promise to trust him long-term, but he may be closer to an RB3-flex right now than a real RB2.
Dylan Sampson: 2 Carries, 4 Yards | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 64 Yards, Fumble (Lost)
Dylan Sampson did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, when the team was in a pass-first offense, and he continuously made plays after the catch to move the offense down the field. His fumble in the fourth quarter was very costly, leading to the go-ahead touchdown for the Titans, but his prowess in the pass game shone through again on Sunday.
Jerome Ford: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Harrold Fannin Jr.: 11 Targets, 8 Receptions, 114 Yards, TD
Harold Fannin Jr. looked amazing out there. Sanders definitely trusts him, giving him contested targets and entrusting him to beat his man in the end zone. Fannin is the future of this team’s tight end position and has fully taken the mantle away from David Njoku. While this game was a career high in both receiving yards and receptions, you can’t help but think that this game has sparked a chemistry between him and Shedeur moving forward. I have been starting Fannin for a while now, and I will continue to do so.
Jerry Jeudy: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 76 Yards, TD
Shedeur connected with Jerry Jeudy deep down the middle of the field, and he turned on the accelerators and found the end zone. This 60-yard touchdown was the majority of his production for the game, but it was encouraging, especially after some of the sideline arguments we have seen between Shedeur and Jerry. Still don’t fully trust him outside of a flex spot moving forward.
Cedric Tillman: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 23 Yards
Cedric Tillman didn’t offer much, and in the fourth quarter he was smoked over the middle of the field and landed in the fencing position. Almost certainly concussed and will most likely be making an appearance on the injury report this week.
David Njoku: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard, TD
David Njoku caught a perfectly placed Shedeur throw in the corner of the end zone to open the scoring for the Browns, but was hurt on the play and never returned. His spot on top of the tight end depth chart has already been snatched by Fannin, however.
Gage Larvadain: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards
Didn’t factor much into the game until Tillman went down with an injury. He is an intriguing waiver option in deeper leagues if Tillman cannot go.