New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
This game saw the Colts top-ranked defense taking on the league’s last-ranked offense. Indianapolis came in as 11 point home favorites and they more than covered with a 36-7 decisive victory. The Jets offense was able to move the ball in the first half for 188 yards. They were successful in finding soft spots in the Colts defense in the middle of the field and to the boundaries. The Indianapolis defense clamped down in the second half only letting up 72 yards and no points. The Jets turned the ball over and allowed the Colts defense to score 14 points on defense with two pick-6’s and safety. The Colts offense put together another efficient showing gaining 353 yards and scoring 4 of their 9 drives (their 10th was to kill the clock to end the game). Indianapolis never dominated on the ground but had no trouble moving the ball with quarterback Philip Rivers connecting with 8 different receivers. It was quite evident that by the end of Week 3, these were two teams heading in two different directions this season.
New York Jets
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 17/29, 168 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT 5 attempts, 20 yards
Sam Darnold did not do much right on Sunday. He set the tone for the day on the third play of the game by throwing a pick-six to Colts corner Xavier Rhodes.
XAVIER RHODES PICK SIX!!
📺 @CBS | #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/luHlRQHT6f
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
Darnold made some good throws to receivers that settled into soft spots into the zone, but the receivers had to be wide open however because the cupboard is bare in New York. Darnold showed some chemistry with receiver Braxton Berrios, but that shouldn’t be your number one receiving option in an offense. Another problem is the amount of pressure Darnold was under all day.
Someone forgot to block #Colts DT #99 DeForest Buckner. pic.twitter.com/ghVlfKLK1p
— Lawrence Owen (@Colts_Law) September 27, 2020
🚧 RHODES ARE STILL CLOSED 🚧
📺 CBS | #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/bLR53pzKs3
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
Down goes Darnold. ⚡️
📺 CBS | #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/pwndrsrgqe
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
Justin Houston gets another safety!#NYJvsIND#ForTheShoe#Colts#TakeFlight#Jets#ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/4T1O6CsPAo
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) September 27, 2020
Yes, it was ugly. Coming into Week 3, Darnold had the third-worst protection rate in all of football according to FantasyData. On top of that, their promising rookie left tackle left this game with an injury. Darnold has the 8th worst completion percentage when pressured and the Jets offensive line just got worse, and now a bad year may have just gotten worse as well.
Running Backs
Kalen Ballage: 2 attempts, 8 yards 5 targets, 5 receptions, 44 yards
Frank Gore: 15 attempts, 57 yards 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
La’Mical Perine: 7 attempts, 24 yards 2 targets, 2 receptions, -1 yard
There is not much to mention when it comes to the Jets’ backfield. Frank Gore looks like he still has the most juice, but he needs to be spelled throughout the game and does not offer much through the air. Speaking of air…
Access Denied. ❌
📺 CBS | #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/Fx8rhcjMXO
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
Kalen Ballage was clearly the receiving back getting five targets that tied for the lead on the team. He was pretty effective in the screen game. His snap share should continue to grow if he continues to produce with his touches. The Jets should continue to see negative game scripts this year so he may be worth a speculative add for depth and a flex option with the right matchup.
Wide Receivers
Braxton Berrios: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 64 yards, 1 touchdown
Lawrence Cager: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 35 yards
Chris Hogan: 3 targets
Like I mentioned above, the cupboard is bare in New York. Berrios has some speed but will be the third or fourth option if the Jets can get healthy with Breshad Periman and Jamison Crowder. He was able to catch a touchdown this week and may be streamable until the rest of the receiving corps is healthy. He would be a Flex option at best in deep leagues.
Sam Darnold avoids the pressure and feeds Braxton Berrios for the touchdown.#FantasyFootball | #Jets pic.twitter.com/dQHz93vWC4
— QB List (@TheQBlist) September 27, 2020
Tight Ends
Chris Herndon: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards
Ryan Griffin: 2 targets
Chris Herndon tied Ballage for the most targets. He did not do much with his opportunities. He is the most consistent option in this offense until Jamison Crowder returns, but with the depth at the tight end position, he still isn’t fantasy-relevant just yet.
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers: 17/21, 217 yards, 1 touchdown
Jacoby Brissett: 2/4, 17 yards, 2 attempts 0 yards
Philip Rivers did what he had to in order to win. He was efficient and made some big throws on third downs to help drives continue which has been a problem this year in Indianapolis. Rivers’ ability to stay in the pocket and quickly move through his progressions allowed him to spread the ball around to eight different receivers. It helped that there wasn’t much pressure all day.
Fountain with the grab#NYJvsIND#ForTheShoe#Colts#TakeFlight#Jets#ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/E43c7hhrkK
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) September 27, 2020
Rivers didn’t have to push the ball deep downfield this week, as he threw two passes over 20 yards and while completing one. Coming into Week 3, Rivers ranked tied for 15th in deep-ball attempts with six. This will be something to continue to monitor as the season progresses, as Rivers has still been accurate deep completing 50% of the throws over 20 yards but hasn’t had to throw deep often.
It’s also worth noting that this was a milestone game for Rivers as he threw for his 400th touchdown and passed 60,000 passing yards in his career.
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor: 13 attempts, 59 yards, 1 touchdown 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
Nyheim Hines: 7 attempts, 21 yards 5 targets, 4 receptions, 40 yards
Jordan Wilkins: 9 attempts, 39 yards 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Coming into the game, this looked like the perfect set up for a huge Jonathan Taylor performance. Taylor and the Colts instead, turned in an average performance. He had three runs of 10 or more yards including a very nice 16-yard run up the middle on the opening drive of the second half.
Is Jonathan Taylor's vision alright now?#NYJvsIND#ForTheShoe#Colts#TakeFlight#Jets#ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/hzncD4E2D4
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) September 27, 2020
Taylor had 3 high-value touches with a target out of the backfield that he corraled and two rushing attempts within the 5-yard line which he converted into a touchdown and a salvageable fantasy day.
Jonathan Taylor up the middle 🙌 @JayT23 | @Colts | #ForTheShoe
📺: #NYJvsIND on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/9RobDGGsOD pic.twitter.com/qPh3fFgPIm— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2020
Nyheim Hines had a good day with five targets on 20 snaps. Hines looks explosive with the ball in his hands and should continue to have a receiving floor. Although he is a smaller back, the Colts like to run him in short-yardage and even in close to the endzone. He had one carry this week within the 5-yard line and those snaps are extremely valuable to a back.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
T.Y. Hilton: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 52 yards
Michael Pittman Jr.: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards
Zach Pascal: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 34 yards
Daurice Fountain: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
Ashton Dulin: 1 target, 0 receptions
Mo Alie-Cox: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 50 yards, 1 touchdown
Noah Togiai: 1 target, 0 receptions
Parris Campbell looked like the Colts number one receiver when he was healthy this season. Currently, the Colts receiving corps is more quantity than quality. A lot of guys contributing, but no one having huge days that you want on your fantasy roster. That was on display on Sunday. There wasn’t a need to pass aggressively, as the game was well in hand early so the stat lines are tame. It is interesting to see that Rivers feels comfortable enough with last year’s Colts target leader Zach Pascal. He tends to be targeted more downfield and may be a player to monitor on the waiver wire going into next week. None of the receivers were able to separate from the pack in the game where the passing game took a backseat.
The continued emergence of Mo Alie-Cox has been a joy to watch. Rivers and Alie-Cox have started to build a rapport, and Alie-Cox had three targets Sunday even with veteran Jack Doyle back in the lineup. Doyle did not earn a single target, so Alie-Cox may be taking over in Indy. The majority of Alie-Cox’s yards came on one play where he was wide open over the middle of the field. Rivers also hit the big target for the Colts’ second score on a play-action fake at the goal line.
Philip Rivers with No. 400 #ForTheShoe !! pic.twitter.com/9QtrmTIady
— Horseshoe Heroes (@HorseshoeHeroes) September 27, 2020
Alie-Cox should continue to see targets in this offense. Veteran Trey Burton is eligible to come off IR next week, but Alie-Cox has carved out a role for himself.
-Kenny Hyttenhove (@KennyQBL)
Typo on Derrick Henry’s summary:
“He then piled up 69 carries and two touchdowns” this should be yards instead of carries.
Fixed, thanks!
Pollard had -5 yards.
Nick Mullens*
Thanks for what you do!
I had J. Wilson as one of my starters along with R. Jones going into Sunday. Not ideal, right? After losing Barkley and then Mostert, I was in a bind. Saw late Saturday night that J. White was out again. I dropped Wilson and snagged Burkhead cuz he was available in my 14-team, PPR league. Wow, did it pay off. Even better, I got revenge on my opponent who’d beaten me in last year’s final. Thanks Rex! I love you man!
Wow, nice work! I had to play Jeff Wilson in a couple deep leagues and was very happy, picked up Burkhead in one but didn’t pull the trigger on starting him. Congrats on the revenge!
How did TY Hilton do? I’m surprised he wasn’t mentioned at all
They just didn’t need to use him much, but he did well on his chances. With injuries now to Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman Jr., they are starting to run out of receivers and Rivers may have to stop spreading the ball around so much, so Hilton’s stock could be on the rise. This is still a run-first team though.