Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Los Angeles Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterbacks
- Jameis Winston: 28/41, 385 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT | 1 carry, -1 yard
Jameis Winston began the game looking poised and prepared. He started the game with a nice 60-yard drive and even had some good reads on his first few series where he picked up a few blitzes before the snap and adjusted accordingly to make a good play. Winston also made a pretty good play for his second touchdown. He kept his composure with a quickly shrinking pocket to send up the jump ball because he noticed the bad coverage. It may have looked ugly but it showed pretty good decision-making ability.
Although he mainly targeted Godwin, Winston was playing an incredibly efficient game. Heck, just a normally efficient game is impressive for Jameis. He was four-for-for in the end zone in the first half and continued to lead consistent drives throughout the rest of the game. Perhaps we are witnessing the next chapter of Bruce Arians’ “Quarterback Whisperer” saga. It seemed to me like Winston wasn’t throwing the “hero ball” all the time like usually does. He didn’t force the ball into tight windows nearly as much.
Running Backs
- Peyton Barber: 9 carries, 19 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 0 receptions
- Ronald Jones: 19 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 12 yards
- Dare Ogunbowale: 1 carry, 0 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 16 yards
Peyton Barber was trusted with most of the work on the first drive. We also saw a lot of Ogunbowale on that first drive but the Bucs trusted Barber to punch in the touchdown at the end of that first drive. Ronald Jones was in for the next drive, leading me to believe that this offense is still trying to give each back plenty of opportunity to prove they deserve the lion’s share. Jones also had a touchdown on one of his series but it wasn’t any more impressive than Barber’s. I still think Jones could be the big-play guy on this offense but it just hasn’t worked out for him yet. He had two big runs that were both called back due to offensive fouls. Jones was getting more snaps and carries in the second half but he didn’t have any big gains until there were about four minutes left in the game, though it could be telling he had so much work in the second half. All those carries should raise a few eyebrows.
Dare Ogunbowale was given way more opportunity than he’s had all season, but that still didn’t amount to much. He is still used mainly on passing plays where the Buccaneers are specifically looking his way. That may sound promising, but I doubt he’s even worth a bench spot.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Chris Godwin: 14 targets, 12 receptions, 172 yards, 2 TDs
- Mike Evans: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD
- O.J. Howard: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 33 yards
- Cameron Brate: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, 1 TD
- Breshad Perriman: 1 target, 0 receptions
The Buccaneers relied on Chris Godwin early and often. More than 20 fantasy points in the first half is great for fantasy owners but doesn’t bode well for my Winston concerns. It was like Winston could only see Godwin most of the time. I get that the Buccaneers may want to exploit a bad match-up, but nine catches for Godwin and two for Mike Evans is a little ridiculous in the first half. Godwin has, what, three good-to-great performances out of four weeks this year? So far, it’s looking like he’s the receiver to own on this team.
On the other hand, Evans had a frustrating game. Most of his targets were not catchable and it’s not like Winston looked his way much either. He left the game for a bit after he jammed his hand on a defender trying to catch the ball on a deep route late in the third quarter. Evans came back and redeemed his day with an easy deep ball for a 67-yard touchdown. I say easy because the coverage was completely blown. He legitimately strolled into the end zone. I’ve been saying it for weeks, but Winston needs to show everyone he can support two wide receivers in one game. Does his one deep ball to Evans prove it? I’m not so sure yet.
Besides the Bucs’ big two, there isn’t much to say about their other receivers. Breshad Perriman got hurt early and ended up leaving the game; which isn’t much of a loss considering he hasn’t done much this year anyway. O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate pretty much split work for the majority of this game. Brate only had the better stat line from his touchdown. It’s looking like these tight ends will be competing for production and touchdown upside this year, which obviously isn’t good for fantasy production.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterbacks
- Jared Goff: 45/68, 517 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT, 1 FMBL
Jared Goff began with a slow start. He had two early interceptions, one that was completely his fault and another that wasn’t. Plenty of offensive fouls didn’t help things either. The offense started picking things up when the Rams switched to a more up-tempo style in the second quarter. That quick play led to a great drive that ended with a beautiful throw through a tight window to Everett. Not all of his throws were perfect though; Goff overthrew both Everett and Cooks on plays in the third quarter that would have been wide-open touchdowns.
Goff’s third interception was pretty ugly. He didn’t need to make the throw and likely should have seen the defender waiting snatch it around the flat. It’s weird, Goff can be so hot-and-cold. He looked pretty bad in the third quarter but picked up his game again in the fourth. He orchestrated some good drives to keep his team in the game, but in the end, his costly mistakes (including his game-ending fumble) blew the game for the Rams. Despite the up-and-down performance, fantasy players will have a tough time complaining about more than 20 points.
Running Backs
- Todd Gurley: 5 carries, 16 yards, 2 TD | 11 targets, 7 receptions, 54 yards
- Malcolm Brown: 5 carries, 14 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
The Rams avoided keeping the ball on the ground against the Buccaneers mainly because they were playing from behind, but it wasn’t very encouraging to see Todd Gurley with as many carries as Malcolm Brown. Either way, Gurley was still trusted with the red zone work. He had a nice little 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter where he did well to stay on his feet while he took plenty of contact about five yards from the end zone. The encouraging part of Gurley’s usage was his huge target share. The Rams finally started passing the ball his way and Gurley capitalized on the opportunity. You should feel great about this game if you’re a Gurley owner, just keep your fingers crossed that he stays healthy this year and Goff keeps sending him check-down targets.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Robert Woods: 15 targets, 13 receptions, 164 yards
- Brandin Cooks: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 71 yards
- Cooper Kupp: 15 targets, 9 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD
- Gerald Everett: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD
- Tyler Higbee: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards
Cooper Kupp got off to a slow start in this one but had a ton of targets in the second half and used that opportunity to make some great plays after the catch, including his touchdown. Kupp ended his day with another huge game and you’ve got to feel confident with him in your starting lineup at this point. Robert Woods seemed to be the most reliable receiver against the Buccaneers. He didn’t have a whole bunch of flashy plays, but he was always there when Goff needed a quick 10 yards. You’ve got to love the production, but don’t expect it every Sunday. Just like last year, it’s going to be hard to pin down these receivers from week to week.
Brandin Cooks is starting to look like the third receiving option on this team and I’m wondering how much of his stats came about because the game was a shootout. Nevertheless, he’s still showing that he has a pretty darn good floor when he isn’t putting up many points. Fantasy players should still be pretty frustrated with the Rams’ tight end situation. Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee are still mainly splitting work and will always cap the other’s upside when both are healthy. Everett looked great at first with more than 15 fantasy points in the first half. He was especially important when the Rams went up-tempo. He had a great 15-point day, but it wouldn’t have been very impressive without the touchdown.
–Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse)