Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
In what was expected to be a Derrick Henry smash spot, this game became a shootout between Ryan Tannehill and Gardner Minshew (kinda). Thankfully for Titans and Jaguars fans, this game was spared from the injury rampage that we saw on Sunday. Let’s dive in and see what else we saw in this game.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill: 18/24, 239 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 1 sack | 4 carries, 12 yards
The majority of Tannehill’s production came off the play-action pass. Considering the Jaguars were selling out to stop Henry, that’s exactly how Tannehill should make his money. The play-action fun started on the first play offensive play for the Titans as Tannehill found a wide-open Jonnu Smith for a 62-yard gain.
The @Titans open with a 62-yard catch and run from Jonnu Smith! #Titans
📺: #JAXvsTEN on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/gdttfTQjuY pic.twitter.com/neHTDwcefw— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2020
I was a little surprised that the Titans didn’t take advantage of play-action more often, but they seemed to be content with grinding out the clock in the second half. Considering they led most of the second half, I understand this strategy, but it almost cost them the game since the Titans defense was unable to contain Gardner Minshew. Tannehill worked his typical magic in the red zone, including a gutsy touchdown to Adam Humphries. Lack of volume will hold back Tannehill most weeks in fantasy football, but he is still a productive player for this offense.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry: 25 carries, 84 yards | 2 targets
I’ll be interested to find out what percentage of eight-man fronts Henry actually faced because the Jaguars definitely sold out to stop Henry. They decided to make Ryan Tannehill beat them and the Titans squeaked by with a victory. Henry grinded his way to 84 yards but failed to contribute in teh passing game. They tried to set up a couple of screens for Henry, but his lack of hands was definitely prevalent.
This is two weeks now where Henry has failed to find the end zone, which is not what fantasy owners were banking on when they took him as an early first-round pick. However, next week the Titans get the Vikings, who have struggled to stop the run game in their games against the Colts and the Packers. While Henry’s lack of passing game work certainly will come back to bite him at times, he should be due for some touchdowns in the near future.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
Corey Davis: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, 1 TD
Jonnu Smith: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TD
Adam Humphries: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD
Anthony Firkser: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 45 yards
Cameron Batson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 26 yards
Jonnu Smith had a monster first half, catching all three of his targets for 80 yards and 2 scores. And then he disappeared in the second half. He created a clear miss-match for the defense, so I was surprised to not see him more involved in the second half. However, upon further review, Tannehill only threw 10 pass attempts (not including plays that ended with penalties) in the second half. Smith saw two of those targets, so I guess we can’t complain about his target share that much.
With no A.J. Brown today, we saw Adam Humphries and Corey Davis handle the majority of the wide receiver work. Humphries was used out of the slot and saw a 25% target share. I could see him being rolled out as a flex in PPR–leagues as long as Brown is out. Davis found the end zone but didn’t exactly set the fantasy world on fire as we all expected.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Gardner Minshew: 30/45, 339 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks, 1 fumble | 4 carries, 19 yards
Gardner Minshew‘s stat line has “gunslinger” written all over it and that’s exactly what we saw. There were some costly mistakes, including the second interception on a batted ball, but the Jaguars were in this game because of the defense stopping Derrick Henry and Minshew’s sheer will. For fantasy purposes, Minshew is going to be fun and should be a QB1 next week as the Jags take on the Dolphins. He’s shown the ability to spread the ball around to all of his pass-catchers and is mobile enough to avoid the rush when needed.
Running Backs
James Robinson: 16 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards
Chris Thompson: 2 carries, 7 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards, 1 TD
While it is encouraging that James Robinson got the majority of the work – and looked good – the snap share split should be noted. Robinson saw 38 snaps versus Chris Thompson’s 31, so this is definitely still a shared backfield no matter how good Robinson looked on his touchdown run.
James Robinson caps off a 14-play, 89-yard drive with a 17-yard TD! #DUUUVAL
📺: #JAXvsTEN on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/gdttfTQjuY pic.twitter.com/xsctr3GSQh— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2020
The Jaguars face the Dolphins next, making Robinson a back-end RB1 next week. While Chris Thompson did catch a touchdown pass in this one, he doesn’t seem to have the consistent passing game role needed to earn a spot in fantasy lineups.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
D.J. Chark, Jr.: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 84 yards
Keelan Cole, Sr.: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 58 yards, 1 TD
Laviska Shenault, Jr.: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards | 5 carries, 37 yards
Chris Conley: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards
James O’Shaughnessy: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 40 yards
Tyler Eifert: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, 1 TD
In a week where Minshew threw the ball 45 times, it was frustrating to see D.J. Chark get just 4 targets. He was efficient, catching all 4 – including a deep ball in between coverage- but this is now two straight weeks of Chark seeing a low target share.
It’s clear from the five carries that the Jaguars are trying to get the ball into Laviska Shenault’s hands any way they can. He’ll be a fun rookie to watch all year. For the second consecutive week, Keelan Cole has led the Jaguars in targets and he found the end zone in both games. He’s rising up my list and is flex worthy.
The tight end work was split today, but Tyler Eifert saw two end zone targets, catching one of them. If you’re desperate at TE, you could ride Eifert while he’s healthy. He seemed to have Minshew’s attention when they reached scoring position.
-Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83)