What We Saw: Week 4

Jaguars @ Bengals

Just call this the “Joe” game. Joe Burrow got his first NFL victory. Joe Mixon found the end zone for the first time all year. Then found it two more times. On the Jacksonville side of the ball, well, they’re a fun team to watch. Let’s dive in and see if there were any takeaways from the game.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterback

Gardner Minshew: 27/40, 351 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 3 sacks | 2 carries, 9 yards

Honestly, this was a pretty typical Gardner Minshew game. He’s a cowboy out there, not afraid to take risks. His interception came on a ricochet off his receiver. I love seeing that he’s targeting D.J. Chark at a high rate, especially in the red zone. If you’re a Jaguars fan, they have a nice little collection of fun players – Chark, James Robinson, and Minshew have kept this team competitive against the odds. Minshew remains a streamable QB in decent matchups.

Running Backs

James Robinson: 17 carries, 75 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 32 yards

Robinson saw 100% of the running back touches and topped 100 yards from scrimmage. He had a 40-yard run called back on an offensive holding call in the secondary. From a fantasy perspective, what more can we ask for? Robinson should be treated as a backend RB1 based on the workload alone. Here’s a nice run from today.

James Robinson A gap running =/= bowling with bumpers pic.twitter.com/grvewVPeit

— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) October 4, 2020

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

D.J. Chark, Jr.: 9 targets, 8 receptions, 95 yards, 2 TDs

Laviska Shenault, Jr.: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 86 yards | 1 carry, 5 yards

Keelan Cole, Sr.: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards

Chris Conley: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 44 yards

Tyler Eifert: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards

D.J. Chark looked like his old self. Here’s his excellent route on his first touchdown.

Welcome back D.J. Chark.#FantasyFootball | #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/dYEKYcGnPh

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

Not only did he see 9 targets, but he hauled in eight balls. Two of those targets were end zone throws and two were deep balls. This is a really encouraging workload considering he had struggled to open the year.

Laviska Shenault SZN continues as the Jags continue to find ways to get the ball into the rookie’s hands. Keep an eye on the injury report though, because Shenault left the game halfway through the 4th quarter with a hamstring injury. If Shenault were to miss time, Keelan Cole would likely see an increased role in the offense.

Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback

Joe Burrow: 25/36, 300 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack | 4 carries, 11 yards

The Bengals are getting exactly what they expected when they took Joe Burrow number one overall. With the young weapons in Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon, the future should be starting to brighten up in Cinci. Sorry about the French Tweet, but that’s the first Tweet I could find showing Burrow’s interception.

📽 Interception incroyable de Myles Jack sur cette passe du rookie Joe Burrow ! #DUUUVAL

📺 @beinsports_FR
📱 #NFLGamePass pic.twitter.com/kb22gZcoiP

— NFL France (@NFLFrance) October 4, 2020

Not a terrible throw at all, although it is a questionable play call on 3rd and 1 from the goal line.

Running Backs

Joe Mixon: 25 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs | 6 targets, 6 receptions, 30 yards, 1 TD

🗣Joe Mixon owners, feast your eyes on the first Joe Mixon TD of the year. #FantasyFootball | #Bengals pic.twitter.com/60GVcD2FLJ

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

If you drafted Mixon this year, you needed this game. The Bengals finally had a positive game script and Mixon took care of business. Mixon piled up the yardage in the 2nd half. He totaled 121 rushing yards in the 2nd half after running for just 30 yards in the 1st half. Next week might go back to tough days for Mixon as the Bengals face the Ravens, but you have to be encouraged by this workload and production.

1̶ ̶T̶D̶,̶ ̶2̶ ̶T̶D̶s̶

3️⃣ TDs for Joe Mixon. #FantasyFootball | #Bengals pic.twitter.com/Sue5uXpU0X

— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 4, 2020

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Tyler Boyd: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 90 yards | 1 carry, 4 yards

Tee Higgins: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 77 yards | 1 carry, 13 yards

Drew Sample: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 47 yards

A.J. Green: 5 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards

Let’s take this one step at a time. Boyd is going to be a consistent target week to week. There were a couple of times Boyd took hits over the middle that scared me some, but each time he popped right up and kept chugging. Tee Higgins is the real deal. I think we’re seeing the changing of the guard as he’s out-produced A.J. Green the last two weeks. He did have one dropped pass that he should’ve caught, but made up for it with this catch.

This throw from Burrow. SHEESH 🔥 @JoeyB @teehiggins5 @Bengals pic.twitter.com/RNt2OXVKwK

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 4, 2020

Green, on the other hand, was held to just one catch. Granted, his other four targets were deep balls, but his workload has dwindled week over week. If you’re desperate at tight end, Drew Sample now has games of 9 targets and 5 targets in two of his last three games. Included in his targets today were a deep target and an end-zone target.

-Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83)