What We Saw: Week 3

Tennessee Titans @ Minnesota Vikings

It was a battle of the Titans (pun intended) as we saw Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook rush for a combined 300 yards. However, it was field general Ryan Tannehill that marched his team down for a 55-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal to take victory away from the jaws of defeat. Let’s dive in and see what else we saw in this game.

Tennessee Titans

Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill: 23/37, 321 yards, 1 INT, 1 sack | 4 carries, 9 yards

I said this last week and I’ll say it again, the majority of Tannehill’s production came off the play-action pass. Tannehill does a great job in those scenarios too. It’s just the times when he’s not throwing after faking the ball to Derrick Henry that gets him into trouble. For fantasy purposes, this is pretty much what you should expect from Tannehill – middling productivity. Here’s one of Tannehill’s excellent throws out of the play-action today.

Ryan Tannehill is playing as good as any QB so far this season.pic.twitter.com/VglmDrPCA7

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 27, 2020

Running Backs

Derrick Henry: 26 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards

There’s the grind-it-out Derrick Henry that we know and love. Henry had just 3 runs of 10 or more yards and the yards definitely started piling up when the defense was worn out in the second half. At the half, Henry had 50 yards on 12 carries. He then piled up 69 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Henry remains a workhorse back, but we have to be a little worried about how many carries the Titans will give him if they end up in a negative game script.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Corey Davis: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards

Jonnu Smith: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 61 yards

Adam Humphries: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards

Kalif Raymond: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 118 yards

Other than Kalif Raymond‘s big plays (see above for one), this is kind of what you should expect to see out of the pass catchers in a week where the Titans kick 6 field goals. Jonnu Smith led the way with 8 targets, one of which was deep and also saw a target on a two-point conversion attempt. This workload is awesome for a tight end, but we have to assume it gets reduced when A.J. Brown finally gets healthy.

Adam Humphries ran out of the slot and saw 6 short targets and one deep target. He also flashed his catch and run ability on a 23-yard reception. I actually view Humphries’ workload as relatively safe, even when Brown returns, so if you’re desperate for a flex in a deep PPR league, Humphries may be your man.

Corey Davis had a decent day, but with Tannehill under center (and Henry being the offense’s focus) his upside is capped. When Brown returns, I view Davis as being the biggest “loser” from the star WR’s return to the field.

Minnesota Vikings

Quarterback

Kirk Cousins: 16/27, 251 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 1 fumble | 2 carries, 14 yards

Cousins made some incredible throws (see below) but overall struggled to get things going. Like Tannehill, Cousins worked best off the play-action fake. It’s clear that the Vikings want to be a run-first team, but it remains to be seen if their defense will allow that to come to fruition. Here is one of the impressive plays from Cousins:

Kirk Cousins with an absolute DIME to Adam Thielen for the TD 💰

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/2sgyBlWq2F

— Overtime (@overtime) September 27, 2020

Running Backs

Dalvin Cook: 22 carries, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble lost | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards

Alexander Mattison: 8 carries, 27 yards

This was the Dalvin Cook show as he ripped off 7 runs of 10+ yards including two over 30 yards. Cook is a stud, but keep an eye on the news. Following a 12-yard run with 4 minutes to play, Cook was seen favoring his foot some. He left the game for the rest of that series, but returned for the team’s final “drive”. Oh, and just for good measure, here’s Cook’s 39-yard touchdown scamper.

39 yards and a TD for Dalvin Cook. #FantasyFootball | #Vikings pic.twitter.com/ArmX5un1v0

— QB List (@TheQBlist) September 27, 2020

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Justin Jefferson: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 175 yards, 1 TD

Adam Thielen: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 4 yards

Kyle Rudolph: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards, 1 TD

Boy oh boy. Was there an offense in the NFL that needed a shot in the arm as much as the Vikings did? That shot came in the form of rookie Justin Jefferson. After seeing three targets in each of the first two games, Jefferson saw a team-high 9 targets against the Titans. The fun part is that they came all over the field. He saw three deep targets, hauling in two, and flashed his catch and run ability on a 33-yard reception. Check out these highlights:

https://twitter.com/FBallAnalysis/status/1310278084097200129

Justin Jefferson through 2.5 qtrs today.

• 7 catches
• 175 yards
• 1 TD #FantasyFootball | #Vikings pic.twitter.com/2d8CM7xaMM

— QB List (@TheQBlist) September 27, 2020

Adam Thielen took a back seat to the show that Jefferson put up, but Thielen still saw two total end zone targets if you include the 2-point attempt. While there appears to be another mouth to feed in this offense, everything runs through Cook, Thielen, and Jefferson.

Kyle Rudolph remains in the TE glob where you’re praying for a TD, but this needs to be featured:

What a ridiculous catch by Kyle Rudolph 👀 pic.twitter.com/K6JMuyFVxH

— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) September 27, 2020

-Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83)