What We Saw: Week 15

New England lost themselves the #1 overall seed with their debacle in Indy

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

Texans @ Jaguars

Final Score: Texans 30, Jaguars 16

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

 

Did anyone actually choose to watch this game over any other matchups on the slate? I feel bad for announcers Andrew Catalon and James Lofton, who were stuck calling this game and likely can’t be feeling great about where they stand on the CBS announcer totem pole. In all honesty, though, this game did have some intrigue heading into it after the Urban Meyer debacle finally came to an end with Darrell Bevell taking over. There were also 11 Texans who tested positive for COVID over the course of the week, seven of them being defensive starters. An already weak defense started this game even weaker, and Houston’s two starting tackles were also missing due to COVID. This one was shaping up to be a debacle for the Texans and a bounce back for the Jaguars…

… Except it was the exact opposite. Houston pretty much dominated this game from the get go, or at least they dominated it as much as the Houston Texans can dominate anything. Davis Mills looked like a competent starting QB for much of the first three quarters, Brandin Cooks had one of his best games of the season, and Houston’s front seven on defense kept Trevor Lawrence off balance for much of the game, forcing him to throw under pressure more often than not. Houston also returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the first time since Jacoby Jones did it in 2009. Yes, that’s right. 2009 was their last kick return TD.

 

 

Both teams fought through some wacky weather that went from sunshine to raining cats and dogs every 30 minutes it seemed. This wasn’t the low-scoring, mistake-prone game I was expecting and it was actually pretty entertaining for most of the game. Read on for takeaways on all of the fantasy-relevant players in this one.

 

Houston Texans

 

Quarterback

 

Davis Mills: 19/30, 209 yards, 2 TD, INT, sack | 1 carry, 2 yards

 

This offense looked like it was going to be a disaster after going three and out on their first drive, but a defensive penalty on the ensuing punt gave them a new life and Davis Mills took advantage of it. Mills and to a lesser extent David Johnson, drove Houston down the field for a touchdown scoring drive where Mills hit Brandin Cooks for two crucial third-down completions, including the touchdown. As you’ll see below, Mills rolled out to his right and threw back across his body to a wide-open Cooks, who was able to run it in for the score.

 

 

Mills was 13/15 for 104 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and he was 7/7 on third down as well. He had a nice drive near the end of the first half to get them in field goal range as well. I haven’t watched much of Mills this season, but I’d be willing to bet it was the best half of football he’s played all year. He outplayed Trevor Lawrence for most of this game.

On his first throw of the second half, Mills had Cooks open downfield with a linebacker covering him but Mills underthrew him. He’d convert a third and long on a beautiful throw to Phillip Dorsett a play later, but he was certainly worse in the 2nd half than he was in the first. He had Nico Collins open in the back of the end zone but overthrew him for his first third-down incompletion of the game as Collins couldn’t get both feet down in bounds.

Mills’ lone mistake came early in the fourth quarter on an out-route that was thrown right into a defender’s hands. It gave Jacksonville a bit of life that ultimately would only result in a field goal, but it was still an unnecessary mistake.

 

 

On their next series, Mills completed a pass that actually went right through a defender’s wet hands and into his receiver’s hands just a few yards behind the defender. This could have and should have been Mills’ second pick of the game but he was spared.

Overall, Mills was impressive. It certainly helped that one of Jacksonville’s starting safeties left the game with what appeared to be a season-ending injury, so their already poor secondary was down a man for much of the game, but Mills was still good enough to win the game. Mills will look to carry his positive momentum over to their matchup with the Jets next week.

 

Running Back

 

Rex Burkhead: 16 carries, 41 yards | 3 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards

Royce Freeman: 3 carries, 8 yards

David Johnson: 6 carries, 24 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards

 

This team’s rushing attack is so poor this season that their leading rusher is Mark Ingram – who was traded in Week 8. And if Trevor Lawrence were on the Texans, he would also be their leading rusher. So as you can imagine, the ground game wasn’t much of a factor all day for Houston. David Johnson got most of the carries early in the game but wasn’t able to do much with them. It seems like he runs hard into the line, gets turned around, then gets tackled backward with his body facing their own end zone every time he touches the ball. He’s got no push, and since they’re not really using him in the passing game he just doesn’t fit into this offense.

Rex Burkhead ended up with nearly triple the amount of carries that Johnson had, and despite not breaking off any long runs he still looked more competent than Johnson did. He was the guy that Houston relied upon to carry the rock late in the game and help seal the deal on the win. We saw Burkhead have some fantasy success in his time with New England a couple of years ago, so he’s got it in him, but in this offense, he’s got no shot to be fantasy relevant, unfortunately.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Brandin Cooks: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD

Phillip Dorsett II: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 43 yards

Chris Conley: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards

Nico Collins: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards

Jordan Akins: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards

Pharoah Brown: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards

 

It was nice to see Phillip Dorsett get involved with his new team, but the only story of the day was Brandin Cooks. He was Davis Mills’ safety valve all day long, hauling in multiple third-down conversions including the touchdown seen above. He scored on the play of the day, a short screen late in the game where Houston was only trying to gain a first down and seal the victory. Well, Cooks got some good blocking in front of him and turned on the jets, taking it all the way to the house for the score.

 

 

It’s easy to feel bad for Cooks for being stuck in this laughing stock of an offense, but he’s been making the most of it and he might even be enjoying it. The broadcast mentioned that Cooks and Mills go out of their way to watch film and study together, which has to be immensely helpful for the young QB. Cooks, who has previously played with no-name QBs such as Drew Brees (who?) and Tom Brady (is that a real name?) in his career, has to be an excellent resource for the young signal-caller to have, and maybe, just maybe, the Mills to Cooks connection will shoot off even more fireworks before the end of the season.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterback

 

Trevor Lawrence: 22/38, 210 yards, 3 sacks | 5 carries, 21 yards

 

After Urban Meyer was canned earlier in the week, many of us thought that the training wheels would be taken off for Trevor Lawrence and we’d finally get a glimpse of his future as a stud in this league. That was not the case, and it’s clear that he won’t become that kind of player until Jacksonville gets him some help up front. Houston’s front seven was all over Lawrence from the get-go in this game, constantly putting pressure on him and forcing poor throws all over the field. Lawrence never looked comfortable, and multiple drives ended with either sacks or hurried throws that sailed incomplete. At one point, Lawrence had Laquon Treadwell wide open for a long gain but Lawrence sailed the throw and Treadwell couldn’t come down with it.

 

 

Lawrence made a great throw midway through the third quarter, a deep shot into the end zone, that was right on the money. His receiver had a step on the defender and went up to make the grab, but the corner made a fantastic play to jump up and tip it away at the last moment. It was really the only time Lawrence threatened to throw a touchdown all day.

Jacksonville had five drops on the day, so Lawrence truly had no help on his side, but he still wasn’t that good regardless. Better times are ahead for the young signal-caller but this year ain’t it.

 

 

Running Backs

 

James Robinson: 18 carries, 75 yards, TD | 6 targets, 3 receptions, 13 yards

Dare Ogunbawale: 1 carry, 1 yard | 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards

 

James Robinson got the handoff on the first play of the game, something I think most people expected after all the shenanigans that went down involving him while Meyer was still around. Robinson saw a couple of huge holes in the first half where he was able to hit and gain double-digit yards each time. Robinson scored a touchdown early in the second quarter as a fan ran onto the field in one of the more comical moments of the day.

 

 

 

Robinson went down late in the 2nd quarter with what appeared to be a right knee injury, but he did return for the first play of the second half and didn’t seem to be bothered by it in the second half. By this point, the run game was pretty much phased out as Jacksonville looked to get back into the game through the air. He stayed involved in the passing game, however, and his six targets tied his season-high.

He had one critical drop, however, late in the third quarter that easily good have gone for a long gain if not a touchdown. There wasn’t a single defender around him. He seemingly just took his eyes off the ball and couldn’t hang onto it. Robinson had a solid day fantasy-wise but had that pass been caught he would have had a monster day.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Marvin Jones Jr.: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Laviska Shenault: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards | 1 carry, 10 yards

Laquon Treadwell: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 57 yards

James O’Shaughnessy: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 60 yards

Tavon Austin: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards

Chris Manhertz: 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards

 

I was really impressed by Laviska Shenault in this game. He made the most of his four receptions, turning multiple short screens into double-digit gains after spinning, breaking tackles, bulldozing defenders, and also making defenders miss. He had another nice catch taken away after committing a pass interference penalty, but overall he was Jacksonville’s toughest player on offense.

Otherwise there really wasn’t much to be impressed with. Laquon Treadwell has been solid the last few weeks, and his 11.7 fantasy points made for a decent flex play, but he could have had more with a more competent QB. Seriously, Trevor Lawrence is holding this receiving corps back, not the other way around. Who thought that would be the case this season?

James O’Shaughnessy caught a nice ball down the sideline for a long gain but was quiet otherwise. Marvin Jones Jr. was a nonfactor, though he had a scoring opportunity early on after gaining a step on his defender. Wouldn’t you know it, Lawrence made a bad throw and didn’t give Jones a shot to haul it in.

Tavon Austin caught his first pass down the sidelines with 30 seconds left, toe tapped for the first down, immediately gave a 1st down signal, then strutted his stuff back to the huddle like he just caught a game-clinching 1st down. On the very next play, he dropped a perfect pass from Lawrence that hit him right in the chest. That sequence of plays pretty much sums up the entirety of Austin’s career.

 

— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Chiefs @ Chargers
Patriots @ Colts
Cowboys @ Giants
Texans @ Jaguars
Titans @ Steelers
Jets @ Dolphins
Cardinals @ Lions
Panthers @ Bills
Bengals @ Broncos
Falcons @ 49ers
Packers @ Ravens
Saints @ Buccaneers

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