What We Saw: Week 3

Tennessee Titans vs Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Tennessee Titans

Quarterbacks

 

• Marcus Mariota: 22/39, 282 yards | 6 carries, 34 yards

 

Marcus Mariota and his offense got off to a slow start in Jacksonville. The Titans didn’t convert a first down until there were about 5 minutes left in the first half. Plenty of silly offensive fouls (mostly holding) didn’t help either. It’s possible the weather had something to do with the slow start. It was pretty windy and rainy for most of the first half which gave Mariota the chance to show he’s still got some respectable running skills at times. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t get it done through the air. Credit where credit is due, the Jaguars defense looked great tonight. Mariota had very little time to make a play while his line folded like a cheap suit, allowing nine sacks. He made some pretty impressive throws on the few occasions his line would give him enough time to throw. I can only really remember about three times this happened and Mariota made the big play. Overall, the Tennessee offense was struggling tonight.

 

Running Backs

 

• Derrick Henry: 17 carries, 44 yards, 1 TD | 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards
• Dion Lewis: 3 carries, 13 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards

 

Derrick Henry struggled for the same reason his quarterback struggled; his line couldn’t give him enough time or space to make a play. The Titans wanted to establish a strong running game against the Jaguars, but it simply wasn’t working. Henry accrued 31 yards on 10 carries in the first half alone. The second half was a lot more of the same for Henry. He had plenty of carries but they were mostly slow and plodding. Fantasy players should thank their lucky stars for Henry’s late touchdown because he would have been a big fantasy bust this week without it. Heck, even with the touchdown, his performance was pretty lackluster. Dion Lewis was the same as ever. He barely had a handful of carries. He’s not going to be relevant this year unless Henry goes down.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Tajae Sharpe: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 70 yards
• Adam Humphries: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 93 yards
• Corey Davis: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 44 yards
• A.J. Brown: 5 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards
• Jonnu Smith: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
• Delanie Walker: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 64 yards

 

There isn’t going to be much to talk about in this section. Titans receivers barely had enough time to get open and make plays. Adam Humphries was playing pretty well for a guy that’s owned in roughly 22 percent of fantasy leagues. It should be noted that he nearly doubled his fantasy point total in garbage time. I wouldn’t get too excited. A.J. Brown went through a baptism by fire. He had plenty of targets but the Jags secondary was all over him. It’s unlikely he becomes fantasy relevant at any point this year when he is barely catching two or three passes a game. Tajae Sharpe had a great 47-yard catch with Jalen Ramsey covering him. He did have an ugly play in the third quarter where he wasn’t on the same page with Mariota. If he was, it would have been an easy touchdown.

Delanie Walker could be worth keeping an eye on. He looks good but the Titans are continuing to use him sparingly. That being said, his usage seems to be steadily increasing with each week which is encouraging. Walker also benefited from some garbage time production. He had a big catch in the fourth quarter. It also doesn’t help that Jonnu Smith is taking away some tight end work. Do I honestly have to talk about Corey Davis? He didn’t have a catch until the fourth quarter. He did, admittedly, have a great one-handed catch but he also fumbled after he came down with it. I dropped him last week and I’m not looking back, even after he inevitably has his yearly singular great game in a few weeks.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterbacks

 

• Gardner Minshew II: 20/30, 204, 2 TD | 4 carries, 18 yards

 

Gardner Minshew II got a little help on his first drive with the Titans botching a punt and setting up the Jags in the red zone. He needed no help on his second drive though. Minshew had two gutsy throws that were perfectly placed, one of which was a beautiful touchdown to Chark. He slowed down a bit when the rain rolled in during the first quarter and continued off-and-on throughout the first half. That’s not to say Minshew played poorly. He showed good accuracy even though he put plenty of balls into tight coverage. I think Minshew looked like a good leader out there. He showed great composure in the pocket, ran well, and kept his offense in the game with his enthusiasm. After an 18-point fantasy week, it’s tough to discredit the guy.

 

Running Backs

 

• Leonard Fournette: 15 carries, 66 yards | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 26 yards

 

Leonard Fournette’s performance was all over the place tonight. He was getting stuffed up behind his line early and often. I thought having Cam Robinson back at left tackle was supposed to help Fournette this week but I suppose that was wishful thinking. He had negative nine yards on his first six carries. It’s a bit concerning that Fournette was given fewer carries than usual in this one but it’s understandable when he was still running backward well into the fourth quarter. He had negative eight yards after his first 11 carries. His fantasy night was completely redeemed when he somehow spun out of a stacked box to run for 69 yards. They gave him the ball three more times in the red zone after the big play but he couldn’t get the touchdown. To be fair, Fournette was pretty darn good through the air tonight and that also really padded his stats on a frustrating night. With a roughly 15-point showing, Fournette performed, but it certainly wasn’t pretty for the most part.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Dede Westbrook: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 46 yards
• DJ Chark Jr.: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
• James O’Shaughnessy: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD
• Chris Conley: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards

 

Besides Dede Westbrook and DJ Chark, the Jacksonville receivers didn’t do much tonight. Chark’s touchdown was great, but in reality, the ball was thrown so well there wasn’t much he had to do. I will say that he’s looking like a reliable target. Minshew was almost always looking his way when he needed a big play. Chark had a great catch with a defender all over him in the second half. Westbrook was good but he could have been better. He had a couple of ugly drops; one that was right in his hands from only 10 yards out and another in the end zone. Westbrook has no excuse for the latter. His defender didn’t even touch him and the ball was perfectly placed by Minshew. He had one more ball he couldn’t grab in the end zone but the coverage was good on that play. It’s at least a bit encouraging he was targeted so often in the end zone.

James O’Shaughnessy was good tonight, but the only reason I’m mentioning him is because he had a touchdown reception. Chris Conley had a pair of impressive catches but that’s not even close to his fantastic 21-point performance in Week 1. Is he looking to be “boom or bust” or just becoming irrelevant? I’d guess it’s the latter, but hey, I’ve been wrong before.

 

 — Ryan Kruse