What We Saw: Week 4

Another wild weekend of football culminated in one of the more memorable games in league history, and we watched all of it.

Ben Brown
What We Saw 3 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Bengals
Football Team @ Falcons
Texans @ Bills
Lions @ Bears
Panthers @ Cowboys
Colts @ Dolphins
Browns @ Vikings
Giants @ Saints
Titans @ Jets
Chiefs @ Eagles
Cardinals @ Rams
Seahawks @ 49ers
Ravens @ Broncos
Steelers @ Packers
Buccaneers @ Patriots

Steelers @ Packers 

Final Score: Packers 27, Steelers 17

Writer: Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

 

In a matchup of the super veteran quarterbacks, the Steelers traveled to Green Bay to take on the Packers at Lambeau Field.  Only one of these veterans really looked good, however, and it was the home team that came away with the victory.  There weren’t many huge performances fantasy-wise in this one unless you picked up and played Randall Cobb.

The Packers have seemed to have turned it around after a bad start in Week 1, whereas the Steelers fall to 1-3 and are beginning to panic.  The Steelers’ offense looked iffy all game long, whereas the Packers moved methodically down the field time and time again.

Let’s take a closer look at the fantasy-relevant players in this game.

 

Green Bay Packers

 

Quarterback

 

Aaron Rodgers: 20/36, 248 yards, 2 TDs | 3 carries, 2 yards, TD

 

Aaron Rodgers started with his own short pass in this one, connecting with Allen Lazard for a five-yard gain.  He found star receiver Davante Adams for a nice gain along the sideline later in the drive.  The next play went back to Adams for a short gain.  The drive was killed with a big third-down sack that forced the Packers to punt.

Rodgers kept moving the ball down the field on the second drive, hitting AJ Dillon for a nice gain and continuing to throw short passes to Adams to move the ball.  He did have a few bad passes, including one that was overthrown to Marcedes Lewis who was wide-open downfield.  Unfortunately, it was due to Rodgers having to run for his life again.  He found Randall Cobb twice on third-and-medium to again extend the drive.

Rodgers finished off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

 

 

Not something Rodgers does often, but it was a great heads-up play by the veteran quarterback.

Rodgers had a short field on the third drive thanks to the fumble.  He didn’t do much on this one, except for when he threw a 23-yard touchdown to Cobb.

Rodgers let Aaron Jones do most of the work on the next drive.  He threw a fade to Jones in the endzone that Jones couldn’t hang onto.  The Packers had to settle for a field goal, which was blocked at first but an offsides call gave the Packers another chance at the field goal.  The Packers went into the half with a 17-10 lead.

The Packers started the first drive of the second half by moving methodically down the field using Aaron Jones and third-down conversion superstar Randall Cobb.  He continued to be pressured by the defense, forcing some bad throws.  He hit Jones with a short pass that went for a big gain, and a roughing the passer call put the ball on the five-yard line.  The Packers could not punch it into the endzone, however, and they had to kick a field goal to take a 20-10 lead.

A 20-yard punt from the Steelers set up the Packers on the Steelers’ 40-yard line.  The first play was a quick pass to Adams that went for a first down.  A big run by AJ Dillon set the Packers up on the one-yard line and Rodgers hit Cobb again for the touchdown.

 

 

Rodgers waited for Cobb to get some separation on this one, and Cobb made the catch to give the Packers a 27-10 lead.

After the turnover-on-downs, Rodgers came out and hit Lazard across the middle for a big gain.

The rest of the game Rodgers really didn’t do much.  The Packers ran the ball a ton to waste the clock and most of Rodgers’ passes went incomplete.

The Packers ran the ball on the first few plays of the drive after the Steeler touchdown (27-17), but then Rodgers hit Adams for a first down to extend the drive.  The Packers did end up punting the ball back to the Steelers at the two-minute warning.

 

Running Back

 

Aaron Jones: 15 carries, 48 yards, FUM | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 51 yards

AJ Dillon: 15 carries, 81 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

 

Aaron Jones has been hot as of late and started this one with a few short runs that helped extend the drive.

AJ Dillon came in on the second drive and took his first run for seven yards.  He managed to get a first down on a third-and-three.  He made a nice 16-yard catch for another first down a few plays later.  Dillon continued to get carries on the drive, probably freaking out Aaron Jones’ fantasy owners.  Jones did however come back in when the second quarter started.

Both Jones and Dillon were on the field to start the third drive, which started on the Steelers’ side of the field thanks to the Roethlisberger fumble.  Jones did get a catch on the first play but an illegal block in the back moved the ball backward.

Dillon started the next drive after the Steelers’ field goal.  He carried the ball for a nice first-down run.  Jones came back in after a Packers’ timeout and took a toss six yards.  He gained a first-down on the next play. Jones continued to get work, making a nice catch that went for another first-down.

The Packers got the ball to start the second half and started with a short run by Jones.  He continued to get a few carries on the drive for short gains.  Jones also had a big 26-yard catch and run that put the Packers to the five-yard line.

Dillon was in for the next drive and got a huge hole in which he scampered for 25-yards to the two-yard line.

In the next drive, Jones fumbled the ball away to end a drive that probably would have put the game firmly out of reach.

 

 

Dillon came back in after the Jones’ fumble and ensuing Steeler punt, but couldn’t find running room and the Packers punted.

Dillon continued getting carries midway through the fourth quarter.  It was a bit surprising that Dillon saw just as many carries as Jones, and maybe gaining some usage as the year goes on.  He did look good in this one and continuously made five-plus yard gains.  He did have a good pass that would have extended the drive on a fourth-and-five but Cobb tried to catch an intended pass to Adams and it fell incomplete.

After the Steeler touchdown, Dillon was once again on the field to start the drive.  After a short gain, Jones came back in but was stopped behind the line.  Dillon came back in for the first-and-ten play and gained three yards. He continued to get the carries to try and run the clock out since the Steelers were out of timeouts.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

 

Davante Adams: 11 targets, 6 receptions, 64 yards

Randall Cobb: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TDs

Allen Lazard: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 33 yards

Robert Tonyan: 7 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards

Marcedes Lewis: 2 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards

Equanimeous St. Brown: 1 target

 

Marques Valdez-Scantling was placed on the IR this week, so it came as no surprise that Allen Lazard saw the first target in this one. Davante Adams has also come on strong recently and caught two passes back-to-back.

Randall Cobb saw one of his first targets from Rodgers but it was a bit high.  Equanimeous St. Brown seems to be the main beneficiary of the MVS injury, as he got brought up from the practice squad this week and saw a target on the second drive.

Tight End Robert Tonyan saw his first target and catch on the third drive but it only went for 6 yards.

Cobb finally found paydirt by catching a first-down pass that he took the rest of the way for a touchdown.

 

 

There was a reason Rodgers requested that Cobb be obtained by the Packers, and he finally showed it on the field.  It was a great route run by Cobb.  Cobb converted three third-downs in the half.

Adams got his first catch of the second quarter with only a minute left, but it was a nice 10-yard gain.  The next pass went to him again but the defender made a nice play to knock it away.  Tonyan was targeted in the endzone but the pass was just out of reach.

Amari Rodgers made his first appearance of the game in the second half, although he wasn’t targeted in this game.

Cobb continued to blow up the Steeler defense on third downs, catching another pass to extend the drive.

 

 

Cobb ran great routes all game and was constantly open for Rodgers.  It will be interesting to see if this sticks now that MVS is gone for some time.

Lazard was targeted in the endzone but the throw was a bit too far.

Adams had a lot of short targets/passes in this one, but you probably weren’t too happy with the fantasy points.  Cobb, on the other hand, was Rodgers’ go-to guy and caught his second touchdown pass of the game in the third quarter.

Lazard caught his second pass of the game for 28-yards late in the third quarter.

Tonyan saw a deep target in the fourth quarter that was knocked down at the last second that would have probably been a long touchdown.  Tonyan saw the second-most targets for the Packers but just wasn’t able to haul many in for a meaningful game.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

 

Quarterback

 

Ben Roethlisberger: 26/40, 232 yards, TD, INT, FUM | 6 carries, 37 yards

 

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers started the game with a quick out pass to Diontae Johnson for three yards.  After a few short passes, Roethlisberger tossed a deep ball that was caught for a 45-yard touchdown by Johnson.

 

 

It was his 400th career touchdown pass, and although Johnson may have gotten away with a tiny push, it was not enough to draw a flag.

Roethlisberger threw his first incompletion on the second drive and followed it up with another misfire on third-and-five, forcing the Steelers to go three-and-0ut.

Roethlisberger continued to struggle on the third drive, missing JuJu Smith-Schuster on a short crossing route.  On the next play, Roethlisberger was hit and fumbled it away.

 

 

The Steelers have struggled to protect Big Ben on third downs, as was evident in this play.

Roethlisberger rebounded with a nice short first-down throw to Johnson on the fourth drive.  He continued to make short, impactful passes to move the ball.  He did overthrow JuJu that would have easily gone for a touchdown.  The drive stalled and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal.

Big Ben continued to struggle a bit to start the second half, missing JuJu on a deeper pass that once again could have gone for a touchdown.  The next throw went to Benny Snell but he dropped the pass and the Steelers had to punt.

Ben continued to have some miscommunications with his receivers, missing them high.  The Steelers went for it on fourth-and-four but the short pass to Najee Harris was stuffed by the Packers’ defense.

After the Packer fumble, Roethlisberger came out and threw it behind Harris for an incomplete pass.  He did make up for it with a few first-down passes but once again the drive stalled out.

The next drive was more of the same.  Roethlisberger saw tons of pressure, looked uncomfortable, and the Steelers turned the ball over on downs again near the 50-yard line.

After the Steelers’ got the ball back from the Packers’ turnover-on-downs, Roethlisberger started to get into a rhythm.  He hit Johnson and Harris for short gains while moving the ball down the field.  He then hit James Washington for a big gain that put them near the ten-yard line.  On third-and-goal, the Packers were called for defensive pass interference and the Steelers got a new set of downs.

The Packers punted around the two-minute warning, but Roethlisberger was intercepted on the second play and the game was over.

 

 

It was a bad decision by Ben to throw into double coverage, but obviously, they were trying to force it to try and score quickly.  Overall Ben looked bad in this one, although he saw a ton of pressure and had to get rid of the ball quickly.

 

Running Back

 

Najee Harris: 15 carries, 62 yards, TD | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 29 yards

Benny Snell.: 1 carry, 0 yards | 1 target

 

Najee Harris has struggled to find running room behind the bad Steeler O-Line, but he started this one with a nice first-down run.  He was rewarded by immediately being pulled for Benny Snell, who was stuffed at the line for no gain.  Harris was put back in and managed to get a first down on a third-and-one.

Harris started the second drive with a nice five-yard run but did not get another carry on the drive.

Once again Harris got the first touch on the third drive, gaining four yards.

No surprise that Harris got the first touch on the fourth drive, gaining eight yards.

In the first drive of the second half, Harris caught a short pass for three yards.  The very next play was another short pass to Harris that he fought through multiple defenders to get the first down.

Harris found more room on the next drive, gaining 11-yards for a first down.

Harris looked strong all game and is by far the bell cow back.  Unfortunately for him, he plays behind a bad offensive line, so his stats might not be as impressive as how he actually looks.  The sheer amount of usage is very promising.

Harris continued to get targets as the fourth quarter dwindled down.  He scored his first NFL rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter after a DPI was called.

 

 

Harris was finally rewarded for his hard running.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Diontae Johnson:  13 targets, 9 receptions, 92 yards, TD

JuJu Smith-Schuster: 8 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards

Eric Ebron: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards

James Washington: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 69 yards

Pat Freiermuth: 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards

Ray-Ray McCloud: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards

Zach Gentry: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards

 

Diontae Johnson got the first target of the game.  This is great news after being banged up the last few weeks.  JuJu Smith-Schuster got the next out route pass.  As mentioned above, Johnson beat shut-down corner, Jaire Alexander, for a deep touchdown.

Chase Claypool was inactive, opening up work for the other Steelers’ wide receivers. Johnson and Smith-Schuster continued to get short targets in the first half but didn’t do too much.

The tight ends started to finally get targets early in the second quarter, with Eric Ebron and Zach Gentry getting short passes.  James Washington also saw some action, making a nice move after the catch to gain 17 yards.

JuJu got the first target of the second half but the throw was too far from his grasp.  JuJu had some huge targets that would have been great for fantasy but unfortunately Ben overthrew him.

Johnson was by far the most targeted Steeler in this one, and he had a few more catches on the second drive of the second half.  He also had a few deep targets that were just out of reach.

Rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth got his first catch of the game late in the third quarter but wasn’t targeted again.  Johnson made a big mistake on this drive by catching a ball near the first-down but then dodging defenders backward to make it fourth-and-four again.  He then flinched on the next play and was called for a false start.  It forced the Steelers to punt the ball.

Near the end of the fourth quarter, James Washington caught a 30-yard pass to get the Steelers into first-and-goal.

 

— Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Bengals
Football Team @ Falcons
Texans @ Bills
Lions @ Bears
Panthers @ Cowboys
Colts @ Dolphins
Browns @ Vikings
Giants @ Saints
Titans @ Jets
Chiefs @ Eagles
Cardinals @ Rams
Seahawks @ 49ers
Ravens @ Broncos
Steelers @ Packers
Buccaneers @ Patriots

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.