San Francisco 49ers @ New York Jets
The 49ers got a “W”, but at what cost? On what the fantasy community is calling “bloody Sunday”, San Francisco lost Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Nick Bosa, and DT Solomon Thomas to injuries. Those injuries come in addition to George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Richard Sherman already being out. On the Jets side of the ball, they lost Breshad Perriman for the second half with an ankle injury after already being without starting WR Jamison Crowder. Let’s dive in and see what we saw from this game – other than the carnage.
New York Jets
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 21/32, 179 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack | 2 carries, 7 yards
We knew Sam Darnold had a tough matchup coming into this game and that’s exactly what played out, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet in the form of sacks and turnovers. The Jets had 6 or less offensive plays in 7 of 10 drives. With 5:24 left to go in the game Darnold’s line was 14/25 for 103 yards, so he has garbage time to thank for his slightly padded stat line. Next week, Darnold gets a matchup against the Colts who just shut the Vikings down. I’m not sure things are going to get better, especially when if they keep losing offensive weapons.
Running Backs
Frank Gore: 21 carries, 63 yards | 2 targets
La’Mical Perine: 3 carries, 17 yards
I love Frank Gore. He’s a modern-day legend, but what are the Jets doing? While being down 21-3 to begin the 3rd quarter, the Jets ran Gore up the middle twice. Yes, he gained 7 yards on those plays but in terms of getting back into the game and moving forward for the future, what are you learning here? Giving Gore 21 carries to run into a brick wall is pretty absurd. For fantasy purposes, if Gore is going get this type of workload he’s going to be at least Flex worthy until Le’Veon Bell returns.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Chris Hogan: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 75 yards
Breshad Perriman: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards
Chris Herndon: 4 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
Braxton Berrios: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD
Josh Malone: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 16 yards
The pass-catchers in this offense went as the QB went. Chris Hogan was Darnold’s safety blanket. Anytime the Jets made a big play it seemed to come through Hogan (other than in garbage time). Speaking of garbage time, just 3 of Braxton Berrios’s targets came prior to the fourth quarter and the majority of his productivity came on the 30-yard TD at the end of the game.
The big let down of this game was Chris Herndon. I really expected Herndon to see a bigger target share with Jamison Crowder out. Moving forward, Herndon slides down in that glob of TE2’s that you’re hoping finds the end zone.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo: 14/16, 131 yards, 2 TD, 1 sack
Nick Mullins: 8/11, 71 yards, 1 INT, 2 sacks | 2 carries, -2 yards
Garoppolo actually injured his ankle in the first quarter. He had the ankle taped up and gutted it out until halftime. While Garoppolo was in the game, the offense was pretty efficient. The 49ers did have a 3 and out on their second possession thanks to a Jets sack. However, on the following two drives, Garoppolo led the team to consecutive touchdowns on 13 and 14 play drives.
Once Mullins was in the game, you saw just how big of a dropoff there was in productivity. Yes, he was leading a 49ers team without George Kittle and Raheem Mostert, but there was a very clear dropoff to Mullins. If Garoppolo was to miss extended time, we’ll have to downgrade the 49ers weapons some.
Running Backs
Raheem Mostert: 8 carries, 92 yards, 1 TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
Tevin Coleman: 14 carries, 12 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards
Jerick McKinnon: 3 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD | 1 target
This is going to sound weird, but the Jets defense did a pretty decent job against the run in this game outside of 3 runs. If we pull out Raheem Mostert‘s opening 80-yard TD, as well as McKinnon’s 55-yard run and 16-yard TD, then the Jets allowed 30 rushing yards on 22 carries. Mostert actually had a 67-yard touchdown called back due to a hold. That came on an almost identical sweep to the right.
If Mostert and Tevin Coleman were to miss extended time, Jerick McKinnon should slide in as a mid to high-end RB2 as he looked electric when he touched the ball. We will likely see someone (JaMycal Hasty?) called up from the practice squad, as both Coleman and McKinnon suffered injuries. Jeff Wilson could also be involved, as he has filled a goalline role as recently as last year.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Kendrick Bourne: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 67 yards
Jordan Reed: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 50 yards, 2 TD
Brandon Aiyuk: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
Trent Taylor: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards
Thanks to a positive game-script, the 49ers didn’t have to throw the ball very much. One of the things I noted from this game though was how we as a fantasy community were robbed of Jordan Reed. He was Garoppolo’s clear favorite target and was such a physical miss-match for the defense. If George Kittle misses more time, Reed would be a back-end TE1.
It should be noted that Garoppolo targeted his wide receivers just 5 times while he was in the game. Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne saw two targets apiece, while Trent Taylor saw one target.
-Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83)