Jets @ Jaguars
Final Score: Jets 32 – Jaguars 25
Writer: Matt LaMarca (@MattLaMarca on Twitter)
Heading into this week, this game would’ve been the definition of a “we watch the game so you don’t have to” contest. Two three-win teams playing for absolutely nothing, one of which was without their starting quarterback. However, it ended up being a pretty entertaining game! These teams traded late scores — combining for 24 points in the fourth quarter — before the Jets ultimately punched in the game-winning touchdown. The Jags had the chance to tie things up late but ultimately turned it over after crossing midfield.
Three Up
- Davante Adams – Two touchdowns and nearly 200 receiving yards? Yeah, I think that’s worthy of a stock up. He’s now had back-to-back WR1 performances for fantasy performances, and his chemistry with Aaron Rodgers is unparalleled.
- Brian Thomas Jr. – The Jaguars are currently without Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, and Evan Engram, leaving Thomas as the last man standing. He delivered a big performance vs. a talented Jets secondary, so the sky is the limit for the talented rookie to close out the year.
- Brenton Strange – For as long as Engram is sidelined, Strange is a potential target at tight end. He delivered significant value vs. the Jets, and he was second only to Thomas on the team in targets.
Three Down
- Breece Hall – Hall returned to the lineup this week, but it appears he’s going to be stuck in a three-man committee to finish up the year. It is not ideal for a running back who was selected as a top-three option for the position.
- Allen Lazard – He had some relevance to start the year, but those days are long in the past. He failed to catch a single pass this week following a one-catch performance in his return to the lineup in Week 14.
- The Jets Draft Position – Nothing says Jets football like winning a meaningless game in December and giving yourself a worse spot in the draft. That’s particularly true, with the team reportedly looking for a new quarterback before the start of next season.
New York Jets
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 16/30, 289 yards, 3 TDs | 45 rushing yards
Aaron Rodgers finished the first half with just three completions, which was one of the lowest outputs of his Hall-of-Fame career. However, the Jets barely had any of the ball, tallying just nine minutes of possession. He bounced back with a clinical performance in the second half, finishing with his best fantasy performance of the year. He even rushed for 45 yards, so perhaps he’s still got some gas left in the tank.
It is worth noting that this performance came against the Jaguars. They have the worst pass defense in the league by a comical margin per EPA per play, and the guys were running wide-open for most of this contest. He gets another strong matchup next week vs. the Rams, so perhaps Rodgers can lead your fantasy team to the Super Bowl, even if he couldn’t for the Jets.
Running Back
Breece Hall: 9 Carries, 30 Yards, 1 TD | 2 Catches, 21 Yards
Hall returned to the lineup vs. the Jaguars after missing last week’s game vs. the Dolphins, but he is not going to step back into a featured role. He still led the team with nine carries, but this is going to be a committee moving forward. The Jets have a pair of rookie running backs in Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, and both of those guys are going to get burned down the stretch. These games mean nothing to the Jets, so it makes no sense to overwork Hall.
He did manage to salvage his day with a touchdown, though it came with less than two minutes to go. It was arguable not in the Jets’ best interest to score — they could’ve knelt out the clock and attempted a game-winning field goal — but the Jets have less trust in their kicker than I do in a flimsy lawn chair. The Jaguars ultimately let him score, which is the only reason his day wasn’t a total disaster.
At this point, it’s very hard to lock Hall into your starting lineups. You may have survived with him in Week 15, but that might not be the case every week.
Braelon Allen: 2 Carries, 5 Yards
Allen went down with a back injury and ultimately didn’t return. However, he was playing ahead of Isaiah Davis to start the game. That said, if Hall doesn’t have enough value to be a comfortable start in this backfield, Allen definitely doesn’t.
Isaiah Davis: 5 Carries, 24 Yards | 1 Catch, 2 Yards
Davis hasn’t gotten a ton of opportunities as a rookie, but he’s impressed when he’s had the chance. He had 40 yards and a touchdown in place of Hall last week, and he averaged nearly five yards per attempt vs. the Jaguars. Unfortunately, he’s not going to have any value unless the team shuts down Hall.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Davante Adams: 12 Targets, 9 Catches, 198 Yards, 2 TDs
Adams has eclipsed 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games, and he’s scored a touchdown in three straight. He’s operating as the 1A to Garrett Wilson’s 1B, with the two players combining for the vast majority of Rodgers’ attempts.
Adams has had a slight edge over Wilson in target share since arriving in New York, and the gap will widen after this week. He had 40% of Rodgers’ targets on Sunday.
He benefitted from the same elite matchup as Rodgers and the Jaguars secondary lost track of him on multiple occasions. I wouldn’t expect any more near-200-yard performances, but he’s back in the WR1 conversation for fantasy purposes.
Garrett Wilson: 6 Targets, 3 Catches, 56 yards, 1 TD
Wilson managed to catch Rodgers’ first touchdown of the day, and he also drew at least one pass interference. His final stat line ultimately isn’t that impressive, but it was his second straight game with at least 100 yards or a score. He’s fallen a bit behind Adams in the pecking order — the Green Bay connection is ultimately too strong — but he’s still a very viable starter vs. the Rams.
Allen Lazard: 4 Targets, Zero Catches
Lazard had a bad drop on one of his four targets, and drops have long been an issue for him. He’s now played in two games since returning from injury, and he’s had one total catch. He’s a non-factor.
Jeremy Ruckert: 3 Targets, 1 Catch, 12 Yards
Ruckert was a Hail Mary DFS punt play with Tyler Conklin out with an injury, but he was ultimately ineffective. Even if Conklin is out again, he’s impossible to trust in a passing attack that is highly condensed around two players.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Mac Jones: 31/46, 294 Yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs | 29 Rushing Yards
McCorkle Jones was moving a bit on Sunday. He picked up 29 yards on the ground, and he was able to avoid a couple of sacks as well. Honestly, I didn’t know he had that in him.
That’s about where the praise ends, though. He did throw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, and he could’ve had a third. The ball glanced off of Brian Thomas Jr.’s fingertips in the end zone, and it’s a pass he ultimately could’ve caught. Still, he also threw two picks, including an awful one to Sauce Gardner to end the game.
His final counting stats — and fantasy total — are definitely passable, but he’s not going to throw the ball 46 times every week. The list of players with more than 45 attempts and less than 300 yards in a game this season is small, and it’s full of names you don’t want to be compared to.
Running Back
Travis Etienne: 14 Carries, 65 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Catches, 20 Yards
Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby have split the touches for most of the year, and that was the case again on Sunday. However, Etienne came out of the positive side of that split. He had more carries and was far more active in the passing game, notching five targets compared to Bigsby’s one. Etienne was also the more productive runner, averaging just shy of five yards per carry vs. the Jets.
Neither of these players feels like a particularly strong fantasy starter at the moment, especially for one of the worst teams in the league. However, Etienne seems like the better option of the two.
Tank Bigsby: 11 Carries, 42 Yards | 1 Target, Zero Catches
It’s not the best game I’ve ever seen from Bigsby. He wasn’t that efficient against an exploitable Jets run defense, and that was just the start of it. He dropped his only target on a pass that hit him right in the chest, and he had a fumble that was negated by a defensive penalty.
However, Bigsby was on the positive side of this timeshare in Week 14, garnering 69% of the team’s carries. Ultimately, this situation is a bit of a nightmare.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Brian Thomas Jr.: 14 Targets, 10 Catches, 105 Yards, 2 TDs
The Jaguars are the walking wounded at receiver and tight end, so Thomas was expected to carry a large workload in this contest. He didn’t disappoint, racking up 10 catches for 105 yards and two scores. As mentioned previously, he also could’ve had a third touchdown if he managed to come down with a slightly overthrown ball in the corner of the end zone.
There’s no reason to expect anything different from Thomas moving forward. While the Jets aren’t quite as dominant defensively as they were last year, they still have a talented secondary. His matchup next week vs. the Raiders is significantly friendlier, and he’s an elite option in that contest.
Parker Washington: 6 Targets, 3 Catches, 54 Yards
Washington was on the field for most of the game, and he had a nifty move to set up a solid run after one of his three receptions. Six targets is also a respectable figure, but when your quarterback throws in 46 times, it’s merely a 13% target share. That’s not quite good enough to put him on the fantasy radar.
Brenton Strange: 12 Targets, 11 Catches, 73 Yards
We know that Jones loves to lean on his tight end, and Strange stepped into that role in place of the injured Evan Engram on Sunday. He thrived with the added opportunities, posting a 26.1% target share. That’s an elite figure for a tight end, and it makes him a solid option at the position moving forward. Thomas is going to be the team’s clear No. 1 option, but Strange is their clear No. 2.
Devin Duvernay: 4 Targets, 3 Catches, 42 Yards
Duvernay was on the field quite a bit as the team’s No. 3 receiver, and he also contributed on special teams. Still, there’s nothing really worth discussing.