What We Saw: Week 16

Cincinnati Bengals vs Miami Dolphins

 

Miami broke out to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter on the arm of Ryan Fitzpatrick. He threw three touchdowns in the first half and threw his fourth midway through the third quarter, putting the Dolphins up 28-6 and it seemed like the game was over. The Bengals then slowly fought back and scored 23 points in the 4th quarter, including 16 points in the last 33 seconds with a successful onside kick recovery in there as well. Tyler Boyd and Tyler Eifert both hauled in touchdowns down the stretch and helped the Bengals claw back into the game. This was a crazy football game between two awful teams that ended up being pretty entertaining for the few of us who actually watched it.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

 

Quarterback

 

• Andy Dalton: 33/56, 396 yards, 4 TD, 4 sacks, Fumble

 

Andy Dalton had his best day in a long time, throwing for four touchdowns in a game that looked like just another dud for the Red Rocket until the fourth quarter. Dalton’s volume in this game was key, as his 58.9% completion percentage on the day was not good but he was able to avoid throwing the bad picks which plagued him last week. Dalton drove his team down the field to score with 33 seconds left, and then after a successful two-point conversion and onside kick he was able to find a surprisingly open Tyler Eifert for a touchdown as time expired. 

In OT the Bengals offense was unable to get anything going either on the ground or through the air. I wouldn’t attribute Dalton’s success to anything more than being down 21-3 early and having to throw the ball often against a terrible pass defense. Next week’s matchup against the Browns, who are ranked 19th against the pass, isn’t as good as this week’s was and I would have a hard time trusting Andy Dalton in a championship Week 17 matchup.

 

Running Backs

 

• Joe Mixon: 21 carries, 50 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
• Giovani Bernard: 2 carries, 3 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards

 

About 30 minutes prior to kickoff it was revealed that Joe Mixon was fighting a flu bug and his effectiveness would be limited. Hopefully you were able to see this news and make some lineup adjustments because Mixon had been pegged as a guy ready to take advantage of the great matchup and was likely in many starting lineups. The illness clearly hindered him Sunday as he didn’t look like the same guy from the last two weeks. Despite his 21 carries, he couldn’t break one for longer than 9 yards, and he generally looked slower and less explosive than he had in the last two weeks. Hopefully for Mixon owners, he’ll be feeling better by next week’s matchup at home against Cleveland who gave up 243 yards on the ground to the Ravens this weekend.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Tyler Boyd: 15 targets, 9 receptions, 128 yards, 2 TD
• John Ross: 13 targets, 6 receptions, 84 yards
• Tyler Eifert: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 57 yards, TD
• Alex Erickson: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 55 yards
• C.J. Uzomah: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 37 yards, TD

 

Say what you will about the Bengals overall level of effort but Tyler Boyd showed up to play today. He had a really nice fingertip grab on a 34-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter on a fourth-down ball Andy Dalton nearly overthrew. There were also a few short throws Boyd caught where he ran left to right fighting for more yards in a meaningless game. Boyd has shown all season that despite lackluster QB play and he can deliver as a #1 receiver which should bode well for his draft stock next season.

It is worth mentioning that Andy Dalton looked deep for John Ross on multiple occasions but either overthrew him or threw it out of bounds each time. There was one deep pass that hit Ross in the hands but he couldn’t bring it in and likely would have been tackled before getting in the end zone anyway. This is a promising development for anyone playing a Week 17 matchup since it only takes one of these to connect for Ross to have a big day. Ross was able to haul in enough of his 13 targets to be useful to those who played in but hopefully, he can haul in one of his signature big plays next week.

Tyler Eifert salvaged his day with a 25-yard touchdown pass with no time remaining to send the game to OT (after an Andy Dalton run for a 2pt conversion). Most notably for Eifert, this was his 15th game played this year, tied for the most in his career since his rookie year. A healthy offseason for Eifert would go a long way for his 2020 draft stock.

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterback

 

• Ryan Fitzpatrick: 31/52, 419 yards, 4 TD, INT, 2 sacks | 5 carries, 9 yards, 

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick was slinging it today and his performance likely won more than a few fantasy championships with his performance. He had three touchdowns by halftime and reached 300 yards through the air midway through the third quarter against a Bengals defense that didn’t show up to play a football game today. He also connected with DeVante Parker for multiple long plays over 20 yards. He quickly fizzled out in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins offense stalled and couldn’t put the game away. 

Fitzmagic was widely mentioned as a sleeper pick this week and he certainly delivered. Next week’s matchup in New England will be much more difficult, so those of you playing for championships in Week 17 can send Fitzpatrick back to waivers.

 

Running Backs

 

• Myles Gaskin: 16 carries, 55 yards, TD | 3 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards
• Patrick Laird: 8 carries, 17 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 1 yard
• Delance Turner: 4 carries, 6 yards

 

Miami ditched its ground game today for the most part as they put all their victory hopes into the arm of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Miles Gaskin had the majority of the carries this week and was able to get into the end zone, but was helped off the field later in the game with what looked like a season-ending injury. The Dolphins have had terrible luck with their running backs this season and it continues with an injury to a guy in Gaskin who showed some flashes today. 

Patrick Laird was ineffective in his few carries today but will likely be the lead back again next week in New England, but he isn’t worth slotting into a championship week lineup against the top defense in the league.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• DeVante Parker: 15 targets, 5 receptions, 111 yards, TD
• Albert Wilson: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 79 yards | 1 carry, 9 yards
• Mike Gesicki: 12 targets, 6 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD
• Isaiah Ford: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 68 yards
• Clive Walford: 2 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards
• Allen Hurns: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 41 yards
• Durham Smythe: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
• Christian Wilkins: 1 target, 1 reception, 1 yard

 

DeVante Parker had a huge game despite only hauling in ⅓ of his 15 targets. We knew he’d be a factor in this game and he delivered, with Ryan Fitzpatrick looking his way early and often. At this point, Parker is a must-start in all leagues heading into week 17.

Mike Gesicki had the best game of his career as he feasted on the weak Bengals defense. He’s become one of Fitzpatrick’s most trusted receivers recently, receiving 5 or more targets each of the last 8 weeks. This type of volume at the tight end position is highly coveted, and Gesicki would be a great play against anyone other than New England next week. Start him if you must, but he is a TE2 in a matchup against the league’s best defense.

The most interesting development on this Dolphins offense is the play of Albert Wilson. He’s caught 80% of his targets in the last two weeks for 138 yards, mostly out of the slot over the middle of the field. Next week’s matchup in New England is a bad one on paper, but their slot corner Jonathan Jones missed Week 16 and the Patriots were burned by Cole Beasley for over 100 yards without Jones. If Jones ends up missing Week 17 then Wilson could end up being a sneaky flex play.

 

–Ben Brown (@FelixTheDog23 Twitter, iamatechnician Reddit)