What We Saw: Week 4

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Chargers @ Buccaneers

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers were down 24-7 late in the first half. Joshua Kelley fumbled the ball deep in his own territory after a botched handoff with quarterback Justin Herbert, allowing the Bucs to recover the fumble and score quickly to cut the lead to 10 going into halftime. They then scored two consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter and tacked on 10 more points in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Brady had five touchdown throws on the day to five different receivers.

Los Angeles Chargers

Quarterback

Justin Herbert: 20/25, 290 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Int, 2 Sacks | 5 carries, 14 yards

Justin Herbert looked very solid in this game. He hit two 50+ yard touchdowns on the game and he was constantly looking to push the ball downfield. He did have a back-breaking interception that wasn’t very close to his receiver in the fourth quarter as the Chargers were trying to mount a comeback. Despite stud running back Austin Ekeler leaving very early in this game with an injury and receiver Mike Williams missing the game as well, Herbert was efficient on his throws today. Herbert and the Chargers get the banged-up Saints defense next week. For now, Herbert can be looked at as a streamer and solid QB2.

Herbert goes 72 yards to Jalen Guyton.#FantasyFootball | #Chargers pic.twitter.com/x3HMC39SUB

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

Running Backs

Austin Ekeler: 2 carries, 12 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards

Joshua Kelley: 9 carries, 7 yards, 1 fumble lost| 3 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards

Justin Jackson: 6 carries, 9 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards

As noted above, Ekeler went down early with a leg injury and did not return to the game. After that, it was a split backfield with Joshua Kelley and Justin Jackson splitting the running back work and neither of them producing well. Kelley’s late first-half fumble led to an easy Buccaneers score and really changed the whole dynamic of this game. If Ekeler were to miss any time, this would likely be a split backfield either 50/50 or 60/40 in favor of Kelley. This offensive line is very banged up and it was hard for either running back to find any open lines to run through. Kelley and Jackson would be flex considerations if Ekeler misses any time going forward.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Keenan Allen: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 62 yards

Hunter Henry: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 39 yards

Jalen Guyton: 1 target, 1 reception, 72 yards, 1 TD

Herbert hit a couple of reserve pass catchers for touchdowns early in this game but hit Mike Williams backup, Jalen Guyton, for a deep 72-yard touchdown bomb in the third quarter. Keenan Allen once again soaked up most of the targets in the passing game. He had 12, and no other pass-catcher had more than three on Sunday. Allen likely won’t go for a ton of yards on a week-to-week basis as he catches a lot of short passes and accumulates receptions. However, he is a WR1 with the incredible usage he is getting right now. Hunter Henry was quiet today. He didn’t have any receptions until the second half and only had three targets on the day. Henry will be a TE1 every week and fell victim to Herbert spreading the ball around a lot today.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Quarterback

Tom Brady: 30/46, 369 yards, 5 TDs, 1 Int | 3 carries, -3 yards

Tom Brady started the game off well hitting backup tight end Cameron Brate with a short touchdown on their first drive. Brady and the Bucs’ offense didn’t do anything else in the first half until a late Chargers turnover and he hit Mike Evans with a short touchdown before half time. He had a poorly thrown pick-six in the first half where he stared down his receiver and was easily picked off on the left sideline. Brady looked great in the second half. He mixed in deep shots to Scotty Miller and short passes to various receivers on his way to a beastly five-touchdown day. Brady gets the Bears’ defense next week and he should be a low-end QB1/QB2 in that matchup.

Chargers D returns one against Tom Brady. #FantasyFootball | #Chargers pic.twitter.com/o1J0wOVLGz

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

Running Backs

Ronald Jones: 20 carries, 111 yards | 9 targets, 6 receptions, 17 yards

LeSean McCoy: 1 carry, 3 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards

Ke’Shawn Vaughn: 3 carries, 4 yards | 3 targets, 2 reception, 22 yards, 1 TD

With Leonard Fournette out today, it was expected to be the Ronald Jones show with some LeSean McCoy mixed in. McCoy left the game in the first half and didn’t return and Jones wound up having a solid day with a very nice 29 opportunities. Jones struggled in the passing game with a couple of brutal drops while not doing anything with the ones he did catch. That will likely limit his passing game work going forward. Jones did look good running the ball though. He was consistently picking up good yardage on his 20 carries. Jones is a solid RB2 as long as Founette remains out.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Mike Evans: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 122 yards, 1 TD

Scotty Miller: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 83 yards, 1 TD

Rob Gronkowski: 3 targets, 1 reception, 29 yards

OJ Howard: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD

Justin Watson: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 40 yards

Mike Evans got injured early in this one but he toughed it out and had a big day including a nice red-zone touchdown. Evans might be the receiver with the best chance of scoring on a weekly basis. Miller was the big beneficiary of stud receiver Chris Godwin missing today’s game with an injury. Miller caught a deep touchdown from Brady and was a consistent chain-mover for this offense. He is a solid WR3/Flex option as long as Godwin is out. O.J. Howard caught a beautiful pass from Brady down the seam for a 28-yard score in the third quarter. He should be looked at as a TE streamer but he left the game with an injury, so keep an eye on that. Rob Gronkowski can largely be ignored in fantasy leagues as he just isn’t very involved in this passing game.