Tennessee Titans vs. New Orleans Saints
Tennessee Titans
Quarterbacks
- Ryan Tannehill: 17/27, 272 yards, 3 TD
Titans’ QB Ryan Tannehill has been one of fantasy football’s rising stars over the second half of this season – and without much fanfare, depending on who you ask. Tannehill’s strong second half brought about plenty of waiver wire chatter over the second half of the season, yet he’s still only rostered in about ⅔ of ESPN leagues. It’s safe to say that Tannehill should be mentioned in ‘league-winning’ type discussions. He came out of nowhere to put up a ton of fantasy points at a somewhat vulnerable position this year. With the weight of fantasy playoff implications on his shoulders, Tannehill certainly came out hot against the Saints’ defense and put up yet another solid performance. After exchanging punts in the first quarter, Tannehill zapped together a 5-play, 73-yard TD drive with 3 quick bullets – capped off by a 41-yard TD strike to TE Jonnu Smith. After losing a 14-0 lead and withstanding a barrage of points from New Orleans, Tannehill tried to bring the Titans back into the game – connecting with WR Tajae Sharpe for 2 second-half TDs. While Tannehill’s comeback efforts weren’t enough to get a win against the Saints, they were likely enough to deliver a strong playoff performance.
Running Backs
- Dion Lewis: 15 carries, 68 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 19 yards
- Dalyn Dawkins: 9 carries, 24 yards
With Titans’ RB Derrick Henry being ruled out with a hamstring injury, we all knew it would come down to RB Dion Lewis to deliver Henry’s fantasy owners to the promised land – and he couldn’t find the end zone. Lewis finished with a respectable 87 scrimmage yards on the afternoon, but never really found his footing against the Saints’ tough rush defense. Once the Titans got behind, Lewis’ role became a casualty of a game script that called for more pass attempts. Henry owners who enjoyed the ride of his breakout season were surely left in despair without him in their fantasy playoff matchups today, but those who played Lewis in his absence may have just fared even worse.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Tajae Sharpe: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD
- AJ Brown: 2 targets, 1 reception, 34 yards | 1 carry, 49 yards, TD
- Corey Davis: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 40 yards
- Jonnu Smith: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 63 yards, TD
It was Titans’ WR Tajae Sharpe who had the most impact on the stat sheet leaving his fellow, more fantasy-relevant pass-catchers with some catching up to do. In whatever bizarre scenarios out there where someone in their fantasy championship match had to rely on Tajae Sharpe in a pinch, more power to you (I hope you’re reading). Other than those guys, it was a mixed bag of a day for Tennesee’s receiving corps. WR AJ Brown has been absolutely electric down the stretch, and his 49-yard TD carry may have just saved you the day. It was a fairly bizarre situation that led to Brown’s 2 targets and 1 reception, but even with the minimal volume, Brown was still able to turn it into 83 scrimmage yards and a TD. TE Jonnu Smith continued to flash down the stretch – grabbing a 41-yard catch and rumble TD on a lovely play-fake by Tannehill. Smith found himself open in the middle of the field and was able to stretch it outside and up the sideline for the TD. Smith has definitely done enough down the stretch this year to imagine his ADP setting in quite a bit higher next season.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterbacks
- Drew Brees: 27/38, 279 yards, 3 TD
- Taysom Hill: ½, 20 yards | 2 carries, 11 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
After a slow start by Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense, they were able to get things back on track on their way to a huge offensive output. Brees was sacked 3 times on the day and had trouble getting into a rhythm early. After managing only a field goal through nearly the first half of play, Brees connected with one of his new favorite targets TE Jared Cook for a fantastic 61-yard TD on first down. Brees went through his progressions, saw Cook wide-open in the middle of the field, hit him, and let Cook do the rest. Cook made one tackler miss and then caught a great block from RB Alvin Kamara (more on him later) before darting the rest of the way down the sideline for a quick score. Brees would later connect with Cook on another TD, but the story of the day might just have to wait until we get to WR Michael Thomas’ special day. Brees and the Saints offense are back, and if you relied on Brees to carry you to a championship, he may have just done it today.
Running Backs
- Alvin Kamara: 11 carries, 80 yards, 2 TD | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 30 yards
- Latavius Murray: 7 carries, 14 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
To all of the owners who somehow made it to their fantasy championships and just needed RB Alvin Kamara to get them over the hump, they were blessed in abundance on this afternoon. Kamara found the end zone twice, ending his 9-week long TD draught behind him. While it’s just as likely that Kamara’s said 9-week long TD draught kept you from participating in your league’s championship festivities, if you did need him, he sure came through in the clutch. Kamara’s owners likely had flashbacks watching his dazzling 40-yard TD scamper in the 3rd quarter. It looked like the Kamara of old was right back on our doorstep – the one who scored 18 total TDs last season. It was better late than never for some Kamara owners, and yet even those Kamara owners left out of the playoff hunt had a glorious sight to behold today. RB Latavius Murray was used in purely a secondary-type role on the day, so hopefully, nobody was relying on Murray for any valuable production.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Michael Thomas: 17 targets, 12 receptions, 136 yards, TD
- Jared Cook: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TD
- Tre’Quan Smith: 2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards
The story of the day truly was Saints’ WR Michael Thomas breaking the NFL all-time receptions record against Tennessee today. Thomas was absolutely unstoppable, going over 10 catches, 100 + yards, and a TD for the 6th time this season, for the 3rd week in a row, and for four weeks out of the last 5. Thomas’ production has been absolutely off-the-charts ridiculous this year, and I imagine many Thomas-owning teams are celebrating with a championship after this weekend. TE Jared Cook also got in on the action as you read above – finishing with 2 TDs of his own. It turned out to be a down year for Saints’ receivers other than Michael Thomas, but the connection that Brees and Cook developed towards the end of the season certainly looks promising going into next year (should Brees still be around in New Orleans, that is).
–Corey Saucier
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