What We Saw: Week 3

New York Giants vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterbacks

 

• Daniel Jones: 23/36, 336 yards, 2 TD | 4 carries, 28 yards, 2 TD

 

Daniel Jones looked great in his first career NFL start. He came out with accurate throws and an impressive presence in the pocket. He did a great job keeping his cool even when his pocket was collapsing, and even showed some athleticism on a few runs. Two of those runs were for touchdowns, one being the game-winner. I wonder if Jones’ athleticism could limit Barkley in the red zone, but there’s no need to panic yet. 

You have got to feel good about Jones if you’re a Giants fan. He looked even better in the second half, with a touchdown on his very first throw. He had another deep throw on the very next drive where he effortlessly rolled away from the pressure and got tons of power behind the ball as he rolled to his left. Also, Jones’ touchdown throw to Sterling Shepard was on a dime. Jones should be worth a look if he’s on the waiver wire and you need quarterback talent.

 

Running Backs

 

• Saquon Barkley: 8 carries, 10 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards
• Wayne Gallman: 5 carries, 13 yards 

 

Saquon Barkley was stuffed early on and had a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit take him out in the second quarter. Luckily, he came back on the field quickly; but he still couldn’t break off a good run. Most of his production was through the air, even though he dropped a wide-open catch that would have been a touchdown had he come down with it. Then everything went from bad to worse. Barkley suffered another bad hit where the defender awkwardly landed on his ankle/ foot. When he left the game he had to be helped off the field with the support of two trainers. Saquon was ruled out for the second half and it didn’t look good when he returned. He came back in a walking boot and using crutches after the Giants took x-rays. This is devastating news for a ton of fantasy players. Keep a close eye on him, hopefully, he isn’t out for an extended time. 

Wayne Gallman took over in Barkley’s absence but he’s no Saquon. He isn’t a very impressive option but I will say this, if the Giants’ offense starts heating up with Jones under center, Gallman could be a worthwhile fantasy fill-in if Jones can get the Giants into the red zone enough. 

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight Ends

 

• Sterling Shepard: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD
• Darius Slayton: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 82 yards
• Russell Shepard: 5 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards
• Bennie Fowler: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
• Evan Engram: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD

 

Sterling Shepard came out looking pretty damn good after missing last week due to concussion. Shepard is looking like he could once again be a reliable fantasy WR2. His touchdown reception was a beautiful hustle to the sideline where he placed himself perfectly in front of two defenders. His 36-yard catch-and-run just before the two-minute warning was an instrumental part of the game-winning drive. Get excited if he’s on your roster. Evan Engram was a great fantasy tight end with Eli, but with Daniel Jones, he is looking downright scary. Engram was targeted early and often and Jones should continue to give him plenty of targets. Those targets eventually led to Engram’s great touchdown catch on the very first play of the second half. It’s easy to see why fantasy players love Engram. He plays just like a wideout and he certainly looked like one on that 75-yard catch and run.

Darius Slayton had himself a respectable day and you’ve got to wonder how big his role will be in this offense. Will Daniel Jones continue to give him a healthy target share? Russell Shepard had plenty of targets but had trouble coming down with anything against the Bucs. I don’t have much faith in him. Bennie Fowler is looking even more irrelevant with Jones running the offense.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Quarterbacks

 

• Jameis Winston: 23/37, 380 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT | 4 carries, 3 yards

 

It seems like Jameis Winston is getting better and better with each week. That or the Giants’ defense is that bad. Either way, he had a pretty solid first drive that ended with a good touchdown throw to Evans. The throw was pretty good considering the amount of pressure on Winston and the shot he took immediately after the throw. Winston did a much better job of putting the ball up and letting Evans get to it. There are times he could have run but instead took the sack, but it’s tough to fault him for that. The Buccaneers were firing on all cylinders. Their offense put at least three points on the board on every single drive in the first half. I wanted to see Winston spread the ball around a bit better though. While the offense was playing well in the first half, it was mainly running through Mike Evans. The offense slowed down a bit in the second half and Jameis was back to some of his old antics. His interception was an ugly pass way behind Evans. The Buccaneers did a poor job stringing together drives and it ended up costing them the game.

 

Running Backs

 

• Peyton Barber: 13 carries, 48 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
• Ronald Jones: 14 carries, 80 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 41 yards
• Dare Ogunbowale: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards

 

The Buccaneers trusted Peyton Barber to begin the game. They showed that trust quickly when they had him convert a fourth-and-short on the very first drive and continued to give him the ball during important short-yardage situations. I was surprised to see Jones in for the second drive but he quickly had an impressive 40-yard catch-and-run. It seems like Jones is breaking off bigger and better runs than Barber but it is still going to be hard to pin down this backfield, especially with the two backs splitting carries. Sometimes you think Jones is gaining more trust when Leftwich gives him six carries in a row but then you second guess everything when Barber is immediately thrown in after the Bucs reach the red zone. Many fantasy players (including myself) were hoping to get a better idea about who might lead this backfield but likely came away more confused than before. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones is given more carries as the hot hand next week but it also wouldn’t surprise me to see both backs continue to split carries. I think this backfield is going to be a fantasy headache for a while. Dare Ogunbowale is still only used sparingly in passing situations and he still isn’t worth your time.

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight Ends 

 

• Mike Evans: 15 targets, 8 receptions, 190 yards, 3 TDs
• Breshad Perriman: 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards
• O.J. Howard: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 66 yards
• Cameron Brate: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
• Chris Godwin: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 40 yards

 

O.J. Howard was looking much better than prior weeks. The targets were finally there and it seemed like Winston was looking his way often. One of those targets came in the end zone which is encouraging even if he didn’t come down with it. Howard didn’t have a ton of work today but he put up a good stat line with what he was given. Most of his catches were right up the middle for big gains. Ladies and gentlemen: Mike Evans is back to WR1 production. Evans took off running with a great touchdown catch on the opening drive. He had six targets and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. His third touchdown catch was perfect. Evans cut inside with just enough momentum for the corner to have no possible play against him. It may not have looked like much but it was some beautiful route running.

Admittedly, I’m a little worried about Chris Godwin. Well, maybe not so much worried about Godwin as I am worried that Winston can’t support two WR1’s per game. I want to see both Godwin and Evans with solid performances. It took a while for the former to get involved in this one. Not a great day, but he should bounce back. Breshad Perriman was awful last week but he started with a great, full-stretch grab against the Giants. He isn’t going to be fantasy relevant with two to four catches a game though. Cameron Brate didn’t have a catch until well into the third quarter. I’m pretty sure all his targets were pretty short throws so I wouldn’t expect much from him this year.

 

–Ryan Kruse