Packers @ Titans
Final Score: Packers 30 – Titans 14
Writer: Matt Prendergast (@amazingmattyp on Twitter)
And it wasn’t even that close. Spiritually, this one was pretty much over after J’aire Alexander scored his six off a first-quarter front-door delivery from Will Levis that UPS would be proud of. If you went into your matchups today leaning heavily on any current Titans (save for one), you took a bath; from the Green Bay standpoint, you more or less got what you thought you would with a gameplan that let the substitute teacher cover a few more topics than last week, but didn’t get crazy with it. The two end-of-preseason Titans castoffs (don’t forget Brayden!) both came in and put in solid performances on a day when their old employer gave them all the opportunities. This was a dominant win for Green Bay, who will likely be back to their regularly scheduled programming next week.
Three Up
- Green Bay Defense – Eight sacks, three turnovers (one pick-six), and at no point did they start sweating. Three weeks is still a short list to aggregate from, but this unit looks vastly improved from last year’s edition and is worthy of weekly fantasy consideration.
- Emanuel Wilson – with Marshawn Lloyd on the IR, Wilson may warrant some consideration as a flex play moving ahead with continued usage and success. It’s a wee bit soon to get crazy – I did say ‘may’ – the smart play is to see how the gameplans shake out once Jordan Love returns, and how that affects the division of labor for the many mouths here, but Wilson did drop a combined 85 APR and his first NFL regular season tuddy on Tennessee this week. Oh, and he looked good the whole way.
- DeAndre Hopkins – Just when you think he’s out, he pulls you back in again. The only consistently targeted and productive member of the Titans receiving corps today, Nuk had one of those games that reminded you how lethal he once was (and occasionally still can be). Hopefully, you had him jammed into a flex spot that you were gritting your teeth about up until kickoff.
Four Down
- Will Levis – Well, it wasn’t ALL his fault, but those picks absolutely both were. For all the talk of rebuilding and improving for the whole franchise, with Levis as a focal point, Tennessee has to hope some positives start piling up without so many negatives breaking in there to ruin even the smallest momentum. More like “Won’t Levis”.
- A Truly Offensive Line – Bill Callahan has a reputation of some fine repute for building strong offensive lines. However, this ain’t it. Our boy above certainly has a lot more room to grow on his own, but Caleb Williams thinks Levis had it bad today.
- Calvin Ridley – This isn’t so much on Calvin necessarily, but for where he was drafted, three targets isn’t what his fantasy managers plugged him to achieve.
- That Font – Since I’ve got the space, I need to note that the Titans jersey numbers are the absolute bottom of the barrel in the league, and it’s been that way for a long while. ‘Make it like the old Pittsburgh Pirates logo, except terrible’. A losing franchise starts with a loser font choice; take a look in the mirror.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Malik Willis: 13/19, 202 Yards, TD, 3 Sacks, O INT | 6 Carries, 73 Yards, TD
Malik looked much more comfortable this week than in last week’s win, and Matt LeFleur cut him loose a lot more to boot. Willis would, and probably should, be featured in the Three Up above, but let’s be truthful, you didn’t play him this week, and he won’t show up again in any meaningful stat line once Jordan Love gets healthy, which looks imminent. He’s a terrific story, but not a real fantasy factor moving forward.
Notes
- Great juke on the first series touchdown and exceptional balance showing through all day long.
- Throws are on a zipline when they let him uncork.
Missed Opportunities
- Overthrow to Wicks on the rollout – first series
Running Back
Josh Jacobs: 14 Carries, 43 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
It was going to be tougher going today for Green Bay’s running game – of the few things the Titans are doing well, stopping runs up the middle is the leader. He continued to be used to wear them down deep into the fourth quarter – just nothing statistically great fantasy-wise. Green Bay ran more of a true split this week with Jacobs taking more of the grinding role.
Emanuel Wilson: 12 Carries, 50 Yards | 2 Targets, 35 Yards, TD
Wilson looks better the more he’s out there, and with Marshawn Lloyd landing on the IR this past week, I have to imagine Green Bay isn’t in a hurry to rush him back. Wilson had a lot of success on the outside today, while Jacobs took more of the ‘pound it out and keep them honest’ up-the-middle plays this week. A lot will shake out when Love returns, but the Packers look to have a legitimate one-two punching combo at RB this season. I’d have him on my bench if he’s available.
Notes
- Great acceleration and eyes on his catch and run for the score.
Chris Brooks: 3 Carries, 3 Yards
Promoted from the practice squad this week, Brooks served as a blocker on a couple early runs but didn’t get any looks until the last series.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jayden Reed: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 50 Yards | 2 Carries, 19 Yards
Reed is the only receiver on the Packers I’d consider to be a regular fantasy play at this point – even with Love out, and a still-limited array of options for Willis, Jayden gets his chances, and is always a threat to break big, be it by land or air.
Notes
- That crossing route is going to be dangerous for a long long time
Missed Opportunities
- Huge whiff on the 3rd-and-goal rolling left. If it hits the hands, and it did, that’s got to come in.
Romeo Doubs: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards
I love Romeo Doubs ‘the guy’, and I suspect he gets a couple of good fantasy games notched later in the season – probably sitting on your bench – but his role last year, and so far this one, is as the security blanket. When you absolutely need a catch, Doubs is often the go-to, especially with Love. But as with the following two receivers, there’s a lot of mouths here, and it’s a gamble as to which one aside from Reed is going to be the weekly favored son at this stage in the team’s evolution.
Christian Watson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 67 Yards
Watson made the most of his two opportunities – he won the jump ball on first down, and grabbed another big chunk of land on the second. See above, though. We’ll all be coin-flipping
Notes
- Good leap making the critical opening drive grab
Dontayvion Wicks: 2 Targets, 0 receptions
I believe I mentioned this in Week One, but after a ton of preseason hype, Wicks just isn’t a legitimate fantasy factor. On the year he’s got a total of nine targets, of which he has caught three (all last week), for 26 yards and a score. At this stage, I don’t see his value on a roster that isn’t dynasty/development, and until something develops that trends toward ‘he has regained consistent use of his hands in a capable manner’, I wouldn’t bother.
Missed Opportunities
- Zero awareness of a long Willis ball – he didn’t seem to know the play was coming to him, but it looked to be a clear timing play designed just for him.
Tucker Kraft: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 24 Yards
This is by no means a ‘he’s the next Travis Kelce’ note, if I’m investing in a Packer tight end – and I am in at least two leagues – Kraft is the one I want. Even in these ‘replacement guy’ weeks, there is a game plan focused on involving him, and his general bang-bang style of play has given him a clear lead between the two second-year guys, which I believe will increase drastically if all remain healthy. Even if GB starts incorporating more 2 TE looks when Love gets back, Kraft just looks like the bigger impact player.
That said, this week was a dud.
Missed Opportunities
- Tragic drop on a locked-in first-down pass. His one miss. Come on, buddy.
Luke Musgrave: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
Four targets and two receptions on the year for an astounding nine yards. Drop him and sleep well about it.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Will Levis: 26/34, 260 Yards, 2 TD, 8 Sacks, 2 INT | 3 Carries, 12 Yards
This was a rough one to watch in the early stages of Levis’ career – Tennessee is going to need to work through a myriad of offensive line issues as soon as possible to get him a little relief because it failed him repeatedly today. That said, his decision-making is dismal on its own frequently enough, so it can feel like six-of-one/half-a-dozen of the other in the finger-pointing game.
Notes
- ‘League-leading seven giveaways’ is brutal. Not a great sign when the announcing team is talking about your mental health in the first quarter of the third game.
- I haven’t watched much of Levis to date, but it felt like his eyes and body angle telegraphed every single throw with little exception.
Missed Opportunities
- A couple of misfires in the first series – both designed for Tyler Boyd, one placed nowhere, the other behind him.
- That pick-six was projected on a drive-in movie theater screen. Levis’ eyes are consistently tracked to exactly where he’s going.
- ‘He has such a strong arm’ – so much so that he rocket balled one a good seven yards past Treylon Burks late in the game – not that it matters by this point
Running Back
Tony Pollard: 6 Carries, 14 Yards
Yeesh. Does it mean anything that it felt like he had more carries/success watching this? No?
Notes
- Confident, good shoulder move to gain a positive yard instead of taking a loss first series.
Tyjae Spears: 2 Carries, 7 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 54 Yards
In limited appearances (per usual) Spears showed spark and was one of the two Titans that came out of this one without a blackout cloud of sadness and despair hanging over them. Considering the uncertainty of his availability coming into the day, the receiving performance alone was a nice surprise, and will warrant a continuation of your weekly ‘Do I flex Spears or not?’ debate as the season develops. I think he’s a future fantasy superstar, but Pollard is going to delay that breakout for a while longer.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Calvin Ridley: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards.
There’s a great chance you ran Ridley in your WR2, or even WR1 slot this week, based on last week’s performance, and where you drafted him, and his overall projections for this matchup. To that, I say: I started Rhamondre Stevenson in two leagues this week, so I feel no sorrow for you. Tennessee has to figure out how to get multiple weapons involved weekly if they want to start turning a corner.
Missed Opportunities
- Might have gotten a little more involved on this second INT to break it up, but it was a questionable throw placement and the game is essentially over anyhow.
DeAndre Hopkins: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 73 Yards, TD
Hey, look who stole Calvin’s whole game! It’s our old buddy DeAndre! Glad they remembered you! So while you may have been tempted by the vile demons of logic and reason to sit – or even drop – DeAndre Hopkins after his total of three targets in the first two games, here’s hoping you didn’t!
Notes
- Some vintage-model Nuk on winning the battle for the ball, and then bullying it in for the touchdown.
Tyler Boyd: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 33 Yards
Boyd is a heck of a slot option, but it’s hard to recommend using him at this stage – this is his third straight game of four-plus targets, but the 33 yards is his maximum output.
Missed Opportunities
- Nearly punched a late-delivered Levis’ throw right into a pick.
Treylon Burks: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Just Treylon Burks being Treylon Burks. You shouldn’t even have him as an emergency dynasty reserve.
Missed Opportunities
- Dropped a critical, catchable ball on third-quarter drive. So on par with his career to date.
Chig Okonkwo: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
For the first three-plus quarters, the only notable contribution I noticed from Chig was a side comment by the announcer team that he was ‘Questionable to Return with a Groin’. Aren’t we all?
Josh Whyle: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 43 Yards
Whyle had the second most targets on the team today and looked like Levis’ choice for emergency relief – an opportunity created by Okonkwo’s temporary absence for parts of this game. You didn’t have him rostered, and you won’t going forward either.
Notes
- Wearing one of those inflatable-looking no-concussion helmets all day, and it made me miss Big Head Mode in Madden.
Nick Vannett: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards, TD
Former Seahawks draft pick-turned-professional-half-to-one-year-deal-collector, Vannett scored his first touchdown since 2021 and three previous teams ago. There’s a strong chance this will be the last time we’ll talk about him this year if history teaches us anything.