What We Saw: Week 15

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Packers @ Seahawks

Final Score: Packers 30, Seahawks 13

Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)

Sunday Night Football in Seattle proved to be a firefight as the Green Bay Packers took on the host Seattle Seahawks. The Packers entered the game with hopes of catching up to the NFC North leading Detroit Lions, while the Seahawks hoped to maintain their lead in the NFC West. The Packers’ defense dictated the pace of the game, constantly hurrying the Seattle quarterbacks and forcing bad decisions and negative plays. Love and company capitalized, taking advantage with six scoring drives to earn the big road victory. Let’s dig in.

Three Up

Josh Jacobs – Elite level volume, and cashed in another touchdown.
Romeo Doubs – Two touchdown catches despite limited usage.
Packers Defense – This unit looked really solid, a force to be reckoned with if they stay healthy.

Three Down

Geno Smith – Smith was roughed up most of the night until he was knocked out of the game.
DK Metcalf – Mostly a decoy, Metcalf drew a lot of attention from the Packers’ defense and didn’t produce.
Seahawks Offensive Line – Leaked like a sieve, allowing a ton of sacks and constant pressure.

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback

Jordan Love: 20/27, 229 Yards, 2 TDs | 1 Carry, 4 Yards

Love came out firing, starting the game 12-for-13 with 142 yards and a touchdown. He nearly had a second throwing score in the first half, if not for a smart DPI penalty in the closing seconds of the half that prevented another touchdown throw. The Packers scored on all four first half drives, taking a 20-3 lead into the break. Love wasn’t as successful in the second half, but made his best throw of the game on the Packers’ final touchdown drive. On third down, Love tossed one to the back of the end zone where only his receiver could reach it, connecting with Doubs for a score just under the goal post, his second touchdown of the game.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs: 26 Carries, 94 Yards, TD | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 42 Yards

Jacobs looked good running the ball as the Packers’ interior offensive line dominated the trenches and created huge gaps for Jacobs to attack and reach the second level. Jacobs cleared 73 yards in the first half alone, rushing in from one yard out to open the scoring. Jacobs was mostly bottled up in the second half as the Seahawks committed numbers to stop the run as the Packers tried to wind the clock. Though he finished shy of 100 yards rushing, the sheer volume that Jacobs has garnered is one of the elite roles in the league.

Emanuel Wilson: 3 Carries, 9 Yards

Chris Brooks: 1 Carry, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Christian Watson: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 56 Yards

Though Watson caught just three balls, he set up the Packers to score on multiple drives, drawing a long DPI penalty on a touchdown drive and pulling in a 36-yard reception on another. He nearly caught another long chunk play but couldn’t pull in a ball that hit his hands just after the two-minute warning in the second half.

Dontayvion Wicks: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards

With all of his drop issues and the insane depth of the Packers’ receiving corps, Wicks was mostly an afterthought with just two targets.

Tucker Kraft: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards

Kraft made a pair of important first half catches, including a high-point jump ball on a free play where Love just chucked it into the ether. He was shut out in the second half as the Packers turned to the run.

Romeo Doubs: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 40 Yards, 2 TDs

Doubs was in the right place at the right time for the Packers. He made an incredible play after the catch in the first half, dragging two defenders into the paint with him for a score. On the final drive, Doubs ran a deep in-cutting route, beating his defender and making a tremendous catch in the back of the end zone for his second score of the day.

Jayden Reed: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 34 Yards | 3 Carries, 27 Yards

Well, it wasn’t a zero. Reed caught five passes in short-yardage areas and ran effectively with a 9.0 yard per carry average. It’s not the elite-level production that fantasy managers saw early in the year, but at least Reed outscored Cooper Kupp.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Geno Smith – 15/19, 149 Yards, INT | 1 Carry, 5 Yards

Smith was stuck behind the eight ball for most of the night, trailing from the moment he stepped on the field. He completed all but two of his first-half pass attempts, but a costly mistake in the red zone marred his performance. With the Seahawks driving, Smith tried to extend a play and force a pass into triple coverage in the end zone instead of throwing the ball away, resulting in an easy interception. In the third quarter, Smith took a low hit that affected his knee and left the game, giving way to Howell.

Sam Howell – 5/14, 24 Yards, INT

Howell struggled as the Packers’ pressure was in his face early and often. He hardly had time to let routes develop and, even then, was inaccurate on the few clean looks he got. He made a very poor decision late in the game, trying to find Fant over the middle, and instead found a Packers linebacker, sealing the outcome.

Running Back

Zack Charbonnet- 8 carries, 54 yards, TD | 4 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards

Kenny McIntosh- 3 carries, 9 yards

Charbonnet carried just eight times but looked spry on his few totes. His touchdown came on a right sweep, following his pulling guard nearly 20 yards downfield to get to the end zone untouched. He was nowhere near as involved in the passing game this week as last week but remains a bell cow back until KWIII returns, with McIntosh merely spelling Charbonnet on plays when he needs a breather.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Jaxon Smith-Njigba- 12 targets, 10 receptions, 83 yards

JSN was heavily targeted once again, his fifth game of the season with double-digit targets and third contest of the year with double-digit receptions. Smith-Njigba was used primarily in short and intermediate routes but pulled in a 25-yard pitch and catch as well. He and the entire Seahawks offense struggled without Smith under center and would take a serious hit if Howell is forced to start moving forward.

DK Metcalf – 3 targets, 3 receptions, 28 yards

Used mostly as a decoy, Metcalf drew a bracket coverage on nearly every play as the safeties shaded to his side of the field frequently. He finished with just three catches and didn’t factor into the game.

Noah Fant- 7 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards

Fant was a favorite target of Howell as the backup quarterback panicked under significant pressure so frequently and looked to his tight end in short, middle locations. However, Fant converted seven targets to just three receptions and very little yardage. He’s not really fantasy-relevant, even in PPR formats.

Tyler Lockett – 1 target, 1 reception, 22 yards

With the Seahawks’ quarterbacks under duress consistently, it didn’t give Lockett the time to get open downfield on his intermediate and deep routes. He made one catch but didn’t factor in outside of that.

Series Navigation

Introduction

Chiefs @ Browns

Bengals @ Titans

Commanders @ Saints

Ravens @ Giants

Cowboys @ Panthers

Jets @ Jaguars

Dolphins @ Texans

Colts @ Broncos

Bills @ Lions

Steelers @ Eagles