Jacksonville Jaguars vs Atlanta Falcons
The Jaguars appear to have checked out for the season and look very much like a team that has nothing to play for. Their offensive and defensive lines were routinely outmatched by their Atlanta counterparts, and the Jacksonville linebackers looked to be out of their depths against the passing attack of the Falcons. After the Falcons marched down the field for an opening-drive touchdown the Jaguars fumbled the kickoff, and before the Jacksonville offense could take the field Atlanta had built a 14-0 lead. The Falcons did their best to let the Jaguars hang around, as a missed field goal and two puzzling interceptions from Matt Ryan kept the game more competitive than it should have been. Jacksonville showed some life late, scoring a long touchdown and then forcing a punt, but failed to convert on four plays from the Atlanta five-yard line and then allowed the Falcons to pick up enough first downs to kill the last few minutes of the game. The Falcons won 24-12 and won the time of possession battle 33:07 to 26:53.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
- Gardner Minshew: 13/31, 181 yards, 1 TD | 7 carries, 36 yards
Gardner Minshew did not get a lot of help from his teammates today, and as a result of that, he struggled against what has been a weak Falcons defense. The first time Minshew took the field the Jaguars were already down 14-0 and their offense is not built to come from behind, especially when it looked at times as if the Jaguars offensive line was ready for the offseason. Minshew’s best throw of the day was a beautiful deep ball down the right sideline that hit Chris Conley in stride for a touchdown, and Minshew continues to do a good job of extending plays by being just athletic enough to evade pass rushers, but aside from those bright spots, this was a really tough day for the offense as a whole. Minshew’s fantasy value for next season will be largely dependent on what organizational changes Jacksonville makes as well as what the team decides to do with Nick Foles. Assuming Minshew is the starter going into next season he showed enough talent this season that I would be interested if the Jaguars bring in a coaching staff with a reputation for a well-designed offense.
Running Backs
- Leonard Fournette: 15 carries, 71 yards | 6 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards
- Ryquell Armstead: 1 carry, 2 yards
Leonard Fournette continued to dominate the backfield touches today, but unfortunately, those touches were not particularly valuable given the offense’s struggles. Fournette looked at his best in space today and he finished tied for second on the team in targets, which bodes well for his fantasy value heading into next season. Ryquell Armstead does not appear to be close to moving in on Fournette’s job, so we should get at least one more season of Fournette as a true workhorse running back. His upside will be tied to the offense’s improvement as a whole, but except Fournette to be ranked easily within the top-ten running backs heading into fantasy draft season.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Chris Conley: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD
- D.J. Chark: 7 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
- Dede Westbrook: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards
- Keelan Cole: 2 targets, 1 reception, 23 yards | 1 carry, 6 yards
- Seth DeValve: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 45 yards
D.J. Chark looked to be at less than full strength today, managing only two receptions despite leading the team with seven targets. There were a couple of passes that hit him in the hands that he was unable to come down with, and while they were in traffic those are catches he was making consistently earlier in the season. Chris Conley only had two receptions as well, but they were two of the most important of the game for the Jaguars as he converted a long fourth down with one and score a long touchdown with the other. Dede Westbrook was a non-factor and does not seem to have the same rapport with Gardner Minshew as Conley or Chark. Heading into Week 17 Conley is the preferred option if you have to start one, unless we get the news that Chark’s ankle is no longer bothering him during the week, with Chark being the highest-ranked of the three heading into next season.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
- Matt Ryan: 32/45, 384 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 4 carries, 6 yards
Matt Ryan was able to pick apart the Jaguars using short and intermediate routes that exposed the Jacksonville linebackers. Austin Hooper and Devonta Freeman were open frequently, and Ryan hit both early and often for consistent gains. He did throw two interceptions, both of which on targets to Julio Jones with one of them being an awful throw into double coverage that Jones had almost no chance at. Aside from those mistakes Ryan had another solid fantasy outing despite only throwing for one touchdown and heads into a Week 17 matchup against Tampa Bay as one of the top options at the quarterback position.
Running Backs
- Devonta Freeman: 13 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD | 11 targets, 9 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
- Brian Hill: 7 carries, 66 yards
- Qadree Ollison: 1 carry, 3 yards, 1 TD
Devonta Freeman had two touchdowns within the first six minutes of the game and was a major part of the Falcons offense all day. He scored a rushing touchdown on a simple toss play where he outran the defense and went untouched for a 17-yard touchdown and added a receiving touchdown on a short curl route out of the backfield where he was able to fall into the end zone. Freeman’s success seemed to have more to do with the struggles of the Jacksonville defense and less to do with his own brilliance, but he did a solid job of taking the available rushing lanes and made several nice catches. His best catch came against man coverage down the left sideline when Freeman was able to jump up and adjust mid-air to find the ball and catch it over the defender. Brian Hill looked to be the more explosive runner on about half as many carries, but Freeman dominated all of the receiving work. Qadree Ollison came in to punch in a short touchdown but was otherwise completely uninvolved in the offense.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Julio Jones: 15 targets, 10 receptions, 166 yards
- Russell Gage: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 49 yards | 2 carries, 7 yards
- Austin Hooper: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 82 yards
- Kevin Smith: 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards
Julio Jones had another great game, consistently getting open against A.J. Bouye and the rest of the Jacksonville secondary. The Jaguars appeared determined to not let Jones beat them over the top, which led to them conceding a lot of free releases to him and allowing Jones to get open on shorter routes practically whenever he wanted. Russell Gage has taken over slot duties for the Falcons and had a solid if unremarkable game. He doesn’t have the upside to be worth rostering in most season-long leagues, but he is seeing consistent usage since Calvin Ridley’s injury. Austin Hooper was a clear mismatch against the Jacksonville linebackers and continued to build on his breakout season. All of the Falcons pass catchers should be useable next week in a matchup with Tampa Bay that projects to be high-scoring, and both Jones and Hooper can be started with confidence in DFS formats or Week-17 championship games.
–Dan Adams
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