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

Panthers @ Cowboys

Final Score: Cowboys 36, Panthers 28

Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

Explosive performances from star Dallas Cowboys duo Dak Prescott and Ekeziel Elliot inspired Mike McCarthy‘s team to their third straight win and condemned the Carolina Panthers to their first defeat of the season. Separated by just a point at halftime, two brilliant interceptions from hot cornerback Trevon Diggs gave the Cowboys’ offense fantastic field position on both occasions to capitalize on mistakes from Sam Darnold and score 23 unanswered points to establish an unassailable lead.

Ezekiel Elliot impressed once again on the ground, adding another short-yardage score after a two-touchdown performance last week. Elliot swept aside any questions about Tony Pollard taking over the lead role in this offense but averaging 7.2 yards/carry and consistently moving the sticks when asked to. The Cowboys had 12 rushing first downs and were able to control the clock and take the game away from Carolina in the second half.

These recaps are aimed at providing clear and concise insights into offensive production for fantasy football purposes, however, it would be criminal not to mention the star of today’s game – Cowboys second-year cornerback, Trevon Diggs. He picked off Darnold twice tonight and now has a remarkable five takeaways in just four games. Game-winning plays from the second-round pick out of Alabama.

 

 

Carolina Panthers

 

Quarterback

 

Sam Darnold: 26/39, 301 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 5 sacks | 6 carries, 35 yards, 2 TD

 

Sam Darnold continued his ascent into “fantasy darling” status in Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady’s brisk and fluid quarterback-friendly scheme with his best fantasy day of the season thanks to two touchdowns through the air and another two on the ground. The former Jets quarterback now has a league-leading five rushing scores on the season. Without Chrisitan McCaffrey in this offense, Darnold is the goalline back and he is reveling in the responsibility.

 

 

There is clearly a specific run package for Darnold to go to when he identifies opportunities depending on the defensive coverage. It is a surprising but welcome development for the young quarterback who just looked lost while “seeing ghosts” in New York. It also makes him an automatic start right now in all leagues.

 

 

Remarkably, Darnold and D.J. Moore have now connected on 30-of-43 targets for 398 yards and three scores in their four games together. Darnold is more than happy to feed the talented receiver all over the field and excelled today when targeting him between the numbers. It helps when he is completely untracked out of the slot, of course.

 

 

The game got away from the Panthers quickly in the third quarter due to Darnold turning the ball over twice. The second of these was when the game was slipping away from Carolina on third down trailing by 12. He comes under heavy pressure from all around as the pocket crumbles and tries to force the ball in between the linebackers and cornerbacks. Trevon Diggs has been phenomenal in reading these passes recently and was only too happy to step in front of Robby Anderson and defuse the Panthers’ threat.

 

 

Darnold will look to improve on those turnovers, he seems to be completely locked into this organization and it will certainly be interesting to see how he operates under pressure going forward. Two garbage time scores in the fourth quarter made a good fantasy day for Darnold simply great!

 

Running Back

 

Chuba Hubbard: 13 carries, 57 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Royce Freeman: 3 carries, 12 yards

Rodney Smith: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards

 

The loss of Christian McCaffrey hurt this team today. When they needed their superstar to move the sticks, they instead had to look through the air, resulting in just four conversions out of 13 on third down. Rookie fourth-round pick Chuba Hubbard ran well early but saw only two targets out of the backfield as the Panthers had to force the issue through the air. He also ceded work to Rodney Smith on passing downs, which is far from ideal. He was effective on early downs for the second week in a row.

 

 

There is little fantasy upside for Hubbard if Darnold is the threat near the goal line and Smith is preferred when they line up to pass. Disappointing.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

D.J. Moore: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD | 1 carry, 6 yards

Brandon Zylstra: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 63 yards

Robby Anderson: 11 targets, 5 receptions, 46 yards

Ian Thomas: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards

Terrace Marshall Jr.: 3 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards

Tommy Tremble: 1 target

 

What a terrific start to the season for standout receiver D.J. Moore. Clearly the go-to option in this passing game, Moore has lined up all over the system and has an impressive 70% catch completion on 43 targets. That puts him in the top 5 for targets in the league. Fantasy managers once again enjoyed a mammoth day from Moore, who hauled in two fourth-quarter scores to put the icing on the cake of a huge WR1 finish.

 

 

This wonderful bit of determination and agility is exactly why Moore is the focal point of this passing game. It is worth noting that Moore was also stopped at the one-yard line during Carolina’s second possession, setting up the first of Darnold’s two rushing TDs.

 

 

Beyond Moore, this Panthers offense is one to avoid. There is not much going for Robby Anderson at the minute, who could only haul in five of his 11 targets. Still, it is encouraging that Anderson saw that many targets after registering only 11 through the first three games. The Eagles defense is up next and that might be the exact game for Anderson to finally impact the stat sheet.

The other guy to look out for is Brandon Zylstra, who has flashed some nice routes on limited targets this year. He broke out a nice catch and run in the fourth quarter – admittedly when Trevon Diggs and the majority of the Cowboys’ starters were given the rest of the night off.

 

 

Rookies Terrace Marshal Jr. and Tommy Tremble failed to register any meaningful stats this week after promising openings to the season. It just goes to show that when things get tough, there will be a tendency to try and target the more experienced options in this offense.

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

 

Dak Prescott: 14/22, 188 yards, 4 TD | 4 carries, 35 yards

 

In one of the more confusing stat lines on the week, Dak Prescott was clinical if not prolific against an undefeated Panthers defense, benefitting from two Trevon Diggs interceptions and a missed field goal in the third quarter to turn a one-point deficit at halftime into a 22 point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

It was all a bit messy for this offense in the first half, including a botched snap that Dak ended up rushing for 20 yards on to keep a stuttering scoring drive alive. Dak also somehow escaped what looked like a nailed-on sack from Jermaine Carter Jr. to toss the ball out to Ezekiel Elliot and keep the chains moving. It is these little things that Dak can do that other quarterbacks can’t that set him apart.

 

 

Once the Cowboys opened up a lead in the second half, it became all too easy for Dak to pick apart this young Carolina defense, especially between the hash marks. His third touchdown pass to emerging tight end Dalton Schultz was a nicely executed first read on first down in the red zone.

 

 

Indeed, one drive later Dak was back with just 157 yards total through the air before hitting Cedric Wilson in stride from out of the slot to skip in for his fourth touchdown pass of the day. All too easy. This one broke the back of the Panthers after Trevon Diggs had picked off Sam Darnold for the first time.

 

 

Dak will put up more yards next week without a doubt, however, he did the basics today and leaned on the run game, which will happen at times this season. If you can still throw four touchdown passes in a run-heavy game script, then that is golden in terms of fantasy. He is an elite option at the position.

 

Running Back

 

Ezekiel Elliot: 20 carries, 143 yards, TD | 1 target

Tony Pollard: 10 carries, 67 yards

 

After a middling start to the 2021 season, Ekeziel Elliot put up top 5 running back numbers for the second week in a row after a dominant display against a Panthers defense that went into the contest ranked the best in the NFL in terms of DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) according to Football Outsiders. In fact, the most yards they had allowed to a running back in any game this season was 25. Last week he drove in a touchdown from the 1-yard line, and he did so again today to get the scoring started.

 

 

The Panthers looked gassed midway through the third quarter after their offense couldn’t muster up an extended drive. It was the perfect time for Elliot to break out for a massive 47 yard gain, something he used to do regularly but has been sorely missed in the past year or so. The run was the third-longest of his NFL career and set up Dalton Schultz‘s six-yard score to put the game beyond doubt.

 

 

The ceiling for Zeke is huge with Dak once again firing at the quarterback position. The worry has been the increased role for Tony Pollard, who has looked more explosive at times over the past season or so. Pollard still saw 10 carries today so there is enough to go around for him to be a solid FLEX play. The Cowboys have one of the most complementary running back combos in the league.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Amari Cooper: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 69 yards, TD

Dalton Schultz: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 58 yards, TD

Cedric Wilson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards, TD

Blake Jarwin: 3 targets, 1 reception, 18 yards, TD

CeeDee Lamb: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards

 

Earlier in the week, Amari Cooper was asked about his lack of targets on the season. He replied that he wasn’t worried about it. We shouldn’t be either. When it counts, Cooper will always make plays for his quarterback. After the Panthers had missed a field goal on their first drive of the second half, and with the game equally balanced, Cooper hauled in a fantastic grab for a score on a perfectly weighted pass from Dak down the sideline. He is the go-to receiver on this offense when the game is on the line.

 

 

There is clearly a breakout season emerging from young Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz. Leading the team in targets today, Schultz is effective as both a blocker and a smart route runner. He is a product of the tight-end factory at Stanford and earned rave reviews from Christian McCaffrey in college. He is now finding a place in this prolific offense, with Dak looking to him three times today in the red zone.

 

 

Let’s not forget about the other tight end in Dallas – Blake Jarwin popped up on the scoresheet for the first time in 2021. Jarwin is equally useful at the position from a football perspective and they often have both on the field for rushing downs, however, in terms of fantasy Jarwin has failed to see more than four targets in any game this year. Still, this was a nice grab out of the slot.

 

 

The dud of the week amongst the league’s wide receivers could be CeeDee Lamb. The game plan quickly went away from the brilliant second-year receiver out of Oklahoma, who had just two catches for 13 yards and was well marshaled by cornerback Donte Jackson. After catching 15 passes on 24 targets over the first two games, Lamb only has five catches on eight targets in the past two games. It may be that unless the Cowboys need to chase the game, Lamb may be relegated to WR2 potential only.

 

— Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 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.