What We Saw: Week 3 – Monday Night

Brett Ford
What We Saw 3 Months Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Bills
Commanders @ Bengals

Commanders @ Bengals

Final Score: Commanders 38, Bengals 33

Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)

 

It was a wild one in Cincinnati as the two offenses flashed some excellent potential, and the defenses were also reported to have been on the field. There were no turnovers and there were no punts. The only drive that ended without a score was a Bengals’ missed field goal in the first half. Each of the other 12 drives (excluding kneel downs) ended in points. From a fantasy standpoint, several players stood out, and surely, several fantasy managers mounted massive comebacks to earn victories. Daniels and the Commanders spread out the usage quite a bit, with really only Terry McLaurin popping off the page while the Bengals funneled production through Ja’Marr Chase and let Joe Burrow cook. Let’s dig in.

 

Three Up

  • Jayden Daniels – The kid can ball. He put on a clinic against a poor Bengals defense, making guys miss on the ground and showing massive improvements through the air.
  • Ja’Marr Chase – The Bengals clearly wanted to get him the ball early and often. The pass-heavy game script helped his cause, but he looked every part of an alpha wide receiver.
  • Joe Burrow – Burrow posted by far his best game of the season, playing a mistake-free game, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Two Down

  • The Commanders defense – This unit – especially the secondary – is going to continue to get torched all season long.
  • The Bengals defense – We knew the Commanders defense was bad, but the Bengals did their best to compete for worst defensive unit of the night for much of the contest.

 

Washington Commanders

 

Quarterback

 

Jayden Daniels: 21/23, 254 Yards, 2 TDs | 12 Carries, 39 Yards, TD

First and most importantly, Daniels learned how to slide! He did it once, but also took a couple of big hits. Progress is progress.

Anyway… there were multiple occasions where Daniels looked scared to release the football early in this game as if he didn’t trust his eyes or the receivers or the line or something. His eyes just weren’t in the right places at the right times, but that seemed to resolve quickly. Daniels looked like a seasoned veteran after the first few plays, running the offense to scores on ALL SIX offensive drives (excluding the QB kneels to end each half).

The read option worked extremely well, especially near the goal line, where Daniels rushed for a score in the second quarter. He routinely made defenders miss, particularly in the backfield, where he broke several pass-rushers’ ankles.

Daniels’ first touchdown throw came on a play-action fake where the Bengals bit on the fake and sold out for the quarterback run, leaving backup offensive lineman Trent Scott open in the end zone. Spoiler alert: Scott won’t be fantasy-relevant moving forward. The second one was a prayer throw under pressure that looked more like a punt to the back pylon of the end zone. McLaurin beat the corner in man coverage and got under it to make a sensational grab.

If Daniels can continue to gain confidence in the team around him and just tap into his pure talent, the Commanders offense could be way more dangerous than we thought after a lackluster showing the first couple of weeks.

 

 

Running Back

 

Brian Robinson Jr.: 16 Carries, 33 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards

Robinson was held down in the first half, rushing for just 16 yards on his first eight rushes, but he did find the end zone from the one-yard line to open Washington’s scoring. Robinson was stuffed at the goal line on multiple rushes and lost one potential score to an offensive lineman. Rough night for the Commanders’ top running back in spite of the rushing score.

 

Austin Ekeler: 3 Carries, 35 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

Ekeler looked spry in his limited touches, and found a seam on the left side for a 24-yard rushing score in the first half. He almost housed the opening kickoff of the second half, running it back deep into Cincinnati territory. Ekeler was shaken up early in the second half and gave way to Jeremy McNichols as the spell back later in the game. It’s disappointing that Ekeler missed time because he looked like one of the more exciting pieces of the Commanders’ offense.

 

Jeremy McNichols: 1 Carry, 1 Yard

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Terry McLaurin: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 100 Yards, TD

McLaurin was missed badly on a wide open deep route as Daniels saw pressure in his face. McLaurin was very, VERY open but Daniels didn’t see him until late and then threw it to a general area where I guess we can say he targeted McLaurin.

Daniels and McLaurin FINALLY connected on a deep ball in the second quarter as McLaurin more than doubled his season receiving total on one play. It happened a few times over the course of the game, including one of the best touchdown catches we’ll see this year as Daniels chucked a prayer – this thing had the launch angle of an infield pop-up – to the end zone and McLaurin beat his man and got to it just in bounds. For fantasy managers, it’s still concerning that McLaurin is being used more as a Rashid Shaheed type instead of the mix of short and intermediate routes that we’re accustomed to seeing. But this was certainly a BOOM game for the Commanders’ top pass-catcher.

 

 

Noah Brown: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 29 Yards

Brown has emerged as the WR2 in Washington, on the field only a handful fewer snaps than McLaurin, he is exactly the type of veteran wide receiver that Daniels will have to rely on opposite Scary Terry in the formation. Brown consistently found holes in the Bengals’ zone defenses and stayed with his quarterback on broken plays, tracking back toward the ball to make a catch at the goal line in the third quarter.

 

Zach Ertz: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 38 Yards 

Mostly unaccounted for in the first half, he caught his first target in the second half, but got going with five catches – including a massive first down reception on fourth down – in the latter part of the game. He appears to be the safety valve for Daniels and should be considered as a low-end PPR TE1 in what is now a wasteland across the position so far this season.

 

Luke McCaffrey: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 44 Yards

McCaffrey made a couple of nice catches, but is the WR3 for a team that utilizes 12-personnel and 13-personnel at an elevated rate. He got most of his yards on a 30-yard catch and run where he did a good job of continuing his route across the field to find space. Daniels spreads the ball around well and McCaffrey just doesn’t see the volume needed to be fantasy relevant, though he did show a little bit of a connection with fellow rookie Daniels in this one.

 

Dyami Brown:  2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards

Brown caught a pair of wide screen passes in the fourth quarter and made a few guys miss, but was mostly missing this week.

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals

 

Quarterback

 

Joe Burrow: 29/38, 324 Yards, 3 TD | 1 Carry, 4 Yards

It’s Week 3 now, which means it’s time for Joe Burrow to snap out of the funk and start playing like the all-league talent that he is. Burrow has been historically miserable in Weeks 1 and 2 combined, and has yet to lose a Week 3 game in his career – until Monday night. Burrow looked most efficient on the Bengals’ first drive of the fourth quarter, hitting on four-consecutive passes for 75 yards, including a dime to Chase on the sideline for their second scoring connection of the game. Against a not-good Commanders defense, Burrow did basically whatever he wanted, was rarely pressured and played a mistake-free game. Too bad it wasn’t enough to get the win.

 

 

Running Back

 

Zack Moss: 12 Carries, 58 Yards, TD | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 39 Yards

Moss was productive as a runner, but the game script eliminated some of his opportunity especially in the second half. If the Bengals’ defense is going to continue to play as poorly as it did on Monday night, it’s going to be tough for Moss – a ground and pound running back – to get as many touches as fantasy managers want to see. Though he was targeted six times in the passing game, pulling in five of those targets. He was featured in the passing game mostly during the four-minute drill at the end of the game as the Bengals scrambled to come back. Moss salvaged his night with a rushing score from the one-yard line on the final drive of the night.

 

Chase Brown: 7 Carries, 62 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards

Wearing the same number as Ekeler across the field, Brown resembled the diminutive but explosive back in the way he darted through the defense, especially on the outside. Brown out-gained Moss on the ground despite earning just seven carries and three targets. There will definitely be Chase Brown weeks this season, especially against teams that struggle with outside zone runs and speed at the running back position.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Ja’Marr Chase: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 118 Yards, 2 TDs

Targeted early and often, Chase was primed and ready to take full advantage of this mismatch. On his first single-coverage look of the game, he smoked the corner for a long touchdown catch, making it extremely easy for Burrow to drop the ball into him over the top. Chase was motioned all over the field prior to the snap, creating mismatch situations for the alpha wide receiver. He caught a second touchdown in the fourth quarter, pretty much doing exactly the same thing he did on the Bengals’ first scoring drive.

 

 

Tee Higgins: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 39 Yards

Higgins was very open in the end zone but Burrow left the throw high, missing his wide receiver in the third quarter. Burrow went to Iosivas on the next play for a score. He made another outstanding catch on a pass that forced him out of bounds, snatching it with one hand, but couldn’t get his feet down inside the lines. Higgins will likely be best against defenses that have the ability to take away the Bengals’ primary weapon (Chase). The Commanders were not that. He had opportunities, but he and Burrow seemed just a half-step out of sync, which makes sense considering Higgins missed that past two weeks.

 

Andrei Iosivas:  7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 52 Yards, TD

Iosivas was targeted in the end zone again, pulling in a pass on a stacked route behind Higgins. Higgins ran a slant from the slot, clearing space for Iosivas to run a pivot route to the outside and create just enough room for a catch and score. He also drew a DPI in the end zone, resulting in a Moss rushing score late in the game. He continues to be a valuable asset in a potentially potent offense, and should be a waiver priority in leagues where he is still sitting on the free agency market.

 

 

Mike Gesicki: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 47 Yards

Though he pulled in four receptions, it felt like a quiet night for Gesicki, who was not on the field nearly as much as he was last week. It’s still not a bad performance in PPR for a tight end, but it felt so much lamer than usual – probably because of how prolific he was a week ago.

 

Erick All, Jr.: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 22 Yards

All was on the field less often than Gesicki or Sample and though he was mostly used in run blocking schemes, running just 10 routes on 21 snaps. He ended up handling the four targets he received and turned them into important gains, earning a couple of first downs. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the rookie continue to cut into Gesicki’s pass-catching tight end role as the season goes on.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Bills
Commanders @ Bengals

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