What We Saw: Week 5

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Jacksonville Jaguars @ Buffalo Bills

Final Score: Jaguars 25, Bills 20

Writer: Brian Hartman (@TooMuch_Brian on Twitter)

Welcome back to London! Unless you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which case you never left. After watching the first half of this game, it’s fair to wonder how much the Jaguars staying in London played into the game. So, grab your crumpets and tea as I regale you with the tale of the Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. Right off the bat, the Bills seemed flat; the Jaguars did a decent job getting after Josh Allen, but it wasn’t an elite performance by the defense. The Jaguars controlled much of this game’s time but could not shut the door on the Bills because of turnovers near the red zone. The game saw a handful of stars sustain injuries, but most came back to the game. The countless deep plays these big-armed AFC quarterbacks made offered enough offense to feed most fantasy players.

Three Up

Travis Etienne – Despite the team’s struggles, this guy continues to get it done. His consistent carry count and involvement in the passing game continue and make him a more valuable fantasy football asset with every passing week.
Stefon Diggs – Great players consistently show why they’re great. Diggs is a perfect example.
Gabe Davis – Davis continues his touchdown streak and is sliding in as a consistent number two in this passing game, still leaving room for a big ceiling.
Calvin Ridley – It was his best outing since Week 1; hopefully, he continues to move in that direction.

Three Down

James Cook – Despite Cook being a dual-threat back, it’s disappointing to see him game-scripted out.
Dalton Kincaid – Rookie tight ends are usually feared in fantasy, but it’s rarely because of age or experience as much as opportunity. Kincaid has shown flashes, but his inability to make the most of a limited snap count will limit what he can do this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence: 25/37 comp, 315 yards, 1 TD | 7 carries, 31 yards

It was another struggle of a day for Trevor Lawrence. Although the Jags started with a lead and held control of the game nearly the entire time, between the ref’s flags flying and the defense being all over Lawrence, he had little shot to make magic happen. Lawrence was stripped twice when they were in scoring territory and lost both. The two fumbles and the five sacks appear in the box score, but three tipped passes do not, along with the 19-yard loss from an overhead snap that had to be knocked out of bounds. Lawrence found Calvin Ridley in the endzone, but the receiver couldn’t get both feet in bounds. Despite subpar offensive line play, the skill positions offer Lawrence so much potential. But until the touchdowns come, he will struggle to return value as a weekly fixture in lineups. Lawrence hasn’t hit 18 standard fantasy points in a game this year; he did it in five of his final eight games last year.

Notes

The lack of time in the pocket to let the play develop is concerning.
Trevor’s passes looked clean even when he was rushed.

Missed Opportunities

Multiple fumbles outside the red zone derailed drives.

Running Back

Travis Etienne: 26 carries, 136 yards, 2 TDs, 1 2-pt conversion | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards

The Bills may have struggled running the ball, but that was no problem for Travis Etienne today. The Jags offensive line did not help with much today, but Etienne showed off his speed on multiple big plays, including the first touchdown when he bounced outside and could walk in. A key part of the 2-minute offense was dumping off to Etienne once the middle cleared out. He has now seen double-digit target shares in four of five games this year; he only did that in seven of seventeen last year. Etienne punched through the first layer of the defense to put the game away late in the fourth quarter.

Tank Bigsby: 3 carries, 8 yards

The Jaguars rookie running back seems to be firmly holding down the role of allowing Etienne a chance to get some water.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Calvin Ridley: 2 carries, 14 yards | 8 targets, 7 receptions, 122 yards

It has been a pedestrian last three games, but Calvin Ridley finally came to life in their second week in London. The Jags started off with the first two driving, giving Ridley a couple of carries to get him involved. His role only grew from there. He finished the day with eight targets and was a trusted option for Lawrence on many third-down plays. Late in the game, Ridley was called upon by Lawrence when he sealed up a first down that later led to the big touchdown run by Etienne.

Notes

Since Week 1, Ridley has seen 25 targets to Christian Kirk‘s 40 targets.
Ridley left the game for a bit in the third quarter to be checked for a head injury but later returned.

Missed Opportunities

Midway through the second quarter, Ridley couldn’t get his feet in bounds when catching a pass.

Christian Kirk: 1 carry, 6 yards | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 78 yards

Another receiver that saw similar usage was Christian Kirk. He gained six yards on an end around, then followed it up with six receptions. Kirk was a big part of the game plan on first down, as well. Lawrence is showing that he has no problem moving the ball by leaning on the two receivers above.

Zay Jones: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards, 1 TD

Zay Jones didn’t see a lot of action today but his touchdown grab in the back of the endzone was impressive and allowed him to get a bit of revenge, if you will, on his first team.

Evan Engram: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards

Evan Engram seemed to mirror Etienne with close catches near the line of scrimmage resulting in a low average depth of target. When Lawrence was in trouble early, he often tried to dump off to Engram.

Missed Opportunities

Engram had a deep touchdown that was knocked out of his hands in the endzone. If he brings in that pass, he ends with an entirely different fantasy day.

Jamal Agnew: 1 carry, 1 yard

Luke Farrell: 1 target, 1 reception 16 yards

Buffalo Bills

Quarterback

Josh Allen: 27/40 comp, 359 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int | 4 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD

Pretty sure it wasn’t halftime tea with the King that did the trick, but Josh Allen came out swinging in the second half of this game. After a modest first half, he finally connected with Diggs for a deep touchdown pass on the final drive. Allen made several deep passes today, connecting with Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Deonte Hardy for huge gains. Allen had another game in which he proved he doesn’t need his legs to score fantasy points, but a rushing touchdown certainly helped his fantasy managers.

Running Back

James Cook: 5 carries, – 4 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards

James Cook could not get anything going today. The backfield was split between the three, and most of what we saw from them was pass-blocking. Cook had a key drop on third down in the first half, and he didn’t see another target after that. With such a small sample from today, there isn’t much to take away here.

Notes

He saw an 80% running back share in Week 1; his single-game high since then is 60%.

Latavius Murray: 2 carries, 6 yards | 1 target, 1 carry, 1 yard

Damien Harris: 3 carries, 13 yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Stefon Diggs: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD

Stefon Diggs was busy stacking yards as high as Big Ben today. He had a great move early on to snag his lone touchdown today. It seemed like when things turned dark for the Bills, Diggs was coming out of nowhere to pull in a deep pass. Diggs had 50-yard receptions stolen out of his hands as he dove to try and catch the ball. Darious Williams pulled the ball from Diggs’s hands, leaving the Bills stunned.

Missed Opportunities

That 50-yard catch would’ve taken his day over the top, but it’s hard to be upset with the day Diggs had.

Gabe Davis: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD

Gabe Davis had himself a day in London. Multiple deep catches allowed Davis to showcase his speed. One of what felt like dozens of flags fell on a Gabe Davis touchdown, but Allen decided to go right to the big-bodied receiver, so Davis extended his touchdown streak to four games.

Dawson Knox: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 17 yards

Missed Opportunities