What We Saw: Week 4

Giants @ Rams

Daniel Jones and the Giants struggled in the first half against an LA defense that kept bringing the pressure. Meanwhile, Jared Goff and the Rams came out looking good with an early touchdown, but soon slowed down, keeping the game within four points at the half. With no points scored in the third quarter, the game script was more of the same throughout most of the second half. The Rams eventually pulled ahead on a big play from Cooper Kupp and held onto the lead with their stout defensive line.

New York Giants

Quarterback

Daniel Jones: 23/36, 190 yards, 5 Sacks | 6 carries, 45 yards

Daniel Jones had a tough start to the game with a quick and unsuccessful first possession. He fumbled and recovered during the second and equally unsuccessful drive, but had a good run. Even when his defense blessed him with good field position on Jones’ third drive, he still couldn’t quite get it done. The Rams smelled blood in the water and started bringing more pressure in the second quarter. Less than three fantasy points heading into the half certainly wasn’t encouraging. Although he didn’t have too much success through the air, Jones was still looking impressive in the run game. Plenty of blown plays turned into short gains thanks to Jones’ footwork.

Still, there were plenty of times Daniel left plenty to be desired. He overthrew his receivers numerous times, including one to Darius Slayton early in the fourth that would have given his team the lead. Jones fought hard at the end of the second quarter, with a big pass to Slayton and a large gain that could have easily been a sack. That said, Jones finished his day with a bad turnover with less than a minute left in the game. He opened up his shoulders and zeroed in on his target a little too much, giving the Rams’ corner plenty of opportunity to make the play. Barely 10 points isn’t going to cut it for fantasy purposes.

Running Backs

Devonta Freeman: 11 carries, 33 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 35 yards

Wayne Gallman: 6 carries, 45 yards

Dion Lewis: 1 carry, 10 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards

Devonta Freeman wasn’t accomplishing anything noteworthy to start the game, but it was encouraging to see him getting all the RB work to begin the game. He ended the first half with five carries to Wayne Gallman’s four. Freeman had a few more carries to start the second half but still couldn’t break off any impressive gains until there were about two minutes left in the third quarter. Freeman looked like his old self on just a 10-yard gain where he used his momentum to tuck the ball and bounce around to shake a few defenders. Not long after that play, the Giants got the ball to Freeman on a quick play through the air for another impressive play. Even though Gallman was more efficient, Freeman was trusted in short-yardage situations. Devonta also had a nice catch-and-run for a first down with about four minutes left in the game.

Wayne Gallman did not get his first carry until there were about four minutes left in the first half. He racked up some impressive runs, but the Giants were struggling in the first half and didn’t have many opportunities for Gallman. That said, Gallman had the first explosive run for the Giants on a 26-yard run with about 12 minutes left in the game. After that rush, he had 15 more rushing yards than Freeman on three fewer carries.

Dion Lewis had a few targets and one ten-yard run in the first half. He was clearly in the mix here and there but wasn’t getting enough work to do much fantasy-wise.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Evan Engram: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 35 yards

Golden Tate: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 20 yards

Darius Slayton: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 48 yards

Damion Ratley: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards

Evan Engram was the most reliable Giants receiver throughout the game, leading the team on targets and receptions in the first half. He finished the first half with an impressive fingertip catch as well. Engram received the most targets of his 2020 season and finished with his second-best fantasy performance of 2020. Keep an eye on Engram, he could be useful if his targets keep trending up.

Golden Tate didn’t get a reception/target until just before the first-half two-minute warning. Tate had another catch with a minute left in the first half and only had a few more in the second. Tate ended his day with a dropped target that was catch-able and a lackluster 6 points.

Darius Slayton didn’t have a target until there was one minute left in the first half, where he dropped the pass but was covered well. He had a deep look about halfway through the third quarter but was overthrown. Darius had yet another overthrown target at the beginning of the fourth quarter in the end zone. He jumped and extended as high as he could, but couldn’t get up to the ball.

Damion Ratley didn’t have a huge day but looked good when the ball came his way. He had one catch in the first half for about ten yards and another early in the third where he prevented an interception with his catch on the sideline.

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterback

Jared Goff: 25/32, 200 yards, 1 TD, 2 sacks | 3 carries, -3 yards

Jared Goff began the game with impressive efficiency and led the Rams on a methodical drive downfield that ended on a rushing touchdown. Goff spread it out to many different receivers early in the game, but the Giants’ defense quickly picked up the pace and had some unexpected stops in the first half. The Giants continued to look good against the Rams to start the second half, and Goff continued to struggle. That said, all it took was one blown coverage by the Giants for Goff and Cooper Kupp to capitalize midway through the fourth quarter.

Goff, for the most part, remained in his pocket. He didn’t keep the ball until the Rams were in victory formation. That, to me, signifies that he will need to have plenty of throwing touchdowns to be fantasy-relevant in the future.

Running Backs

Darrell Henderson Jr.: 8 carries, 22 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 16 yards

Malcolm Brown: 9 carries, 37 yards | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 19 yards

Darrell Henderson Jr. received all the rushing work to begin the game and had respectable efficiency to start the game and did well to pick up the blitz in the second quarter. Henderson and Brown continued to get carries, limiting both. Henderson didn’t look great on his first carries of the second half, getting laid out at the line multiple times. The two Rams’ backs splitting ground work was very encouraging from a fantasy standpoint this week.

Malcolm Brown was in the mix, but only had some receiving targets to start the game and no rushing attempts in the first quarter. He had his first rush attempt when there were about 11 minutes left in the first half, but the Rams continued to trust him on late-first-half drives. When given his chance towards the end of the first half, Brown impressed with a catch and a few solid gains, but the Rams had to settle for a field goal. The two Rams’ backs pretty much split work in this one, limiting the fantasy production either could achieve. Still, Brown had an impressive target share and stayed involved.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Gerald Everett: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 TD

Robert Woods: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 35 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards

Cooper Kupp: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, -2 yards

Tyler Higbee: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards

Josh Reynolds: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards

Gerald Everett began the game with his first rushing attempt of the season and first rushing touchdown of his career. Unfortunately, Everett fumbled on the next drive from a well-placed helmet by the New York defense. After that, Gerald did literally nothing for the rest of the game.

Robert Woods began his day with a two-yard catch and didn’t do anything else until later in the first half. He had an encouraging target share in the first half, but few receptions and low yardage didn’t do much for his first-half fantasy performance. He had two more receptions in the third quarter, but only amassed 25 total yards with the Rams struggling on offense.

With Goff spreading the ball around, Tyler Higbee didn’t get too many targets in the first half. He only had two catches for 13 yards through the first two quarters. He had one more in the second half for a disappointing fantasy performance.

Cooper Kupp turns on the jets. #FantasyFootball | #Rams pic.twitter.com/b08R6bR3xq

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

There wasn’t much to report on Cooper Kupp in the first half. He only had two targets and one catch. He quickly doubled that target total through the third quarter, but still barely had any yards (seven). Cooper finally showed up in the fourth quarter when the Rams needed it most with a clinching catch-and-run for a 55-yard touchdown. Kupp lost a yard or two the next time he got the ball on a Jet sweep, but still finished his day with a respectable 17.7 points.

-Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse on Twitter)