What We Saw: Week 5

The QB List staff catches you up on everything you missed during Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season.

Ben Brown
What We Saw 4 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Buccaneers @ Bears
Bengals @ Ravens
Raiders @ Chiefs
Panthers @ Falcons
Jaguars @ Texans
Eagles @ Steelers
Rams @ Washington
Cardinals @ Jets
Dolphins @ 49ers
Colts @ Browns
Giants @ Cowboys
Vikings @ Seahawks
Chargers @ Saints

Jaguars @ Texans

 

Following the firing of HC Bill O’Brien, 73-year old Romeo Crennel got a 30-14 victory over the Jaguars in his head-coaching debut for the Texans. The Texans pressured Gardner Minshew early and often. The Jaguars turned the ball over twice in Houston territory (once on downs) and missed two field goals in what can only be described as a missed opportunity to keep the Texans winless. Let’s dive in and see if there were any takeaways from the game.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterback

 

Gardner Minshew II: 31/49, 301 yards, 2 TDs, 3 sacks, 1 fumble lost | 4 carries, 18 yards

 

I feel like seeing 301 passing yards on 49 pass attempts tells you most of what you need to know about this performance. Gardner Minshew was under pressure all game and checked down or was forced out of the pocket seemingly every time he dropped back. This has been the norm all year as the Jaguars line has been poor. From a fantasy perspective, this has to be a small positive to pass catchers that are getting all the short targets, but it’s clear that the receivers who have a bigger aDOT are in trouble. Despite the struggles, Minshew is still a fun QB to watch.

 

 

Running Backs

 

James Robinson: 13 carries, 48 yards, 1 fumble lost | 7 targets, 5 receptions, 22 yards

Chris Thompson: 2 carries, 7 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards

 

As a fan of James Robinson, this is frustrating. He had 33 yards after the first two drives, but this is all about the play calling. Maybe HC Doug Marone is so used to playing from behind that he doesn’t know how to call plays during a neutral game script? With the Jags not trailing by more than 3 in the first quarter, Marone called 16 pass plays against just 7 rushing plays. One of those rushing plays was an end-around to Keelan Cole. Coming into the game, the Texans had allowed the most rushing yards per game. Robinson’s fumble came on another head-scratching play call, as it looked like he was supposed to throw a pass out of the Wildcat.

 

 

Then, there’s the snap count to talk about.

 

 

This was a 6 point game into the 4th quarter and James Robinson is a good pass catcher, so we can’t even blame an ultra negative game script.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Laviska Shenault Jr: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 79 yards

Chris Conley: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 58 yards

Collin Johnson: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 30 yards, 1 TD

Keelan Cole Sr: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 2 yards

James O’Shaughnessy: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards

Tyler Eifert: 7 targets, 3 receptions 16 yards

DJ Chark Jr: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 16 yards

 

The one thins the Jags are doing right is Laviska Shenault. Dude has stepped into the league and continues to impress every week. However, when Minshew throws the ball 45 times, I’d expect Shenault to get more than 8 looks. Get the ball in your playmaker’s hands.

Chris Conley had a big 51-yard catch on a deep ball that Minshew underthrew. Honestly, Conley had the secondary burnt and would’ve walked into the end zone had Minshew not missed him. Keelan Cole had an impressive touchdown catch and will continue seeing a decent target share as long as Minshew is under pressure.

 

 

And then there’s DJ Chark. Back when I talked about Minshew being under pressure and players with a higher aDOT being in trouble, Chark is who I was thinking of. To be fair, he had a beautiful double-move broken up when he burnt Bradley Roby and the Texans cornerback just reached out and grabbed him, drawing a penalty. But I don’t expect this situation to improve anytime soon. If you’re not keeping the defense honest by running the ball in neutral game scripts, you’re not going to have time to get the ball to your receivers downfield.

 

Houston Texans

 

Quarterback

 

Deshaun Watson: 25/35, 359 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 sack | 2 carries, 25 yards

 

Despite the two interceptions, this is a really nice week for Watson. He connected with his new favorite target, Brandin Cooks, early and often, and the Texans got their first victory. One of Watson’s interceptions came on a tipped pass, while the other came on a deep ball to Will Fuller. The latter got batted up in the air and picked by Jarrod Wilson, who returned it 48 yards.

 

 

 

While the full line is decent, it took a lot of time for the Texans’ QB to get there as Watson had just one touchdown and two picks heading into the 4th quarter. He managed to get the job done, thanks in part to his new best friend, Brandin Cooks.

 

 

Running Backs

 

David Johnson: 17 carries, 96 yards | 4 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards

Duke Johnson: 3 carries, 8 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards

 

From a fantasy perspective, managers with David Johnson on their team should be happy. He out-snapped Duke Johnson 47 to 16, and handled 84% of the running back opportunities in Duke’s return to the field. However, 42 of Johnson’s 96 rushing yards came on the Texans’ last possession of the game. The only reason they even ran the ball with a little over a minute and a half to play was because the Jaguars still had all of their timeouts. Once Jaguars HC Doug Marone threw in the towel and didn’t use either of the team’s final two timeouts, the game ended. If you can get someone to buy in on the performance, I’m not against moving Johnson.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Brandin Cooks: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 161 yards, 1 TD

Will Fuller V: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 58 yards, 1 TD

Darren Fells: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD

Randall Cobb: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 47 yards

Kenny Stills: 1 target, 1 reception, 14 yards

 

I guess Bill O’Brien wasn’t in on the Brandin Cooks trade. Cooks saw a season-high 12 targets in Crennel’s debut. In fact, the Texans’ first offensive play from scrimmage was a deep completion to Cooks. He looked electric and had some standout plays for the Texans today. He took a hard hit from safety Josh Jones that got Jones disqualified for targeting, but Cooks popped right up and kept the good times rolling.

 

 

While Will Fuller took a little bit of a back seat to the Brandin Cooks show, he had a decent game himself. Half of Fuller’s targets were deep balls, although two of them were intercepted. He did have this nifty touchdown.

 

 

With Jordan Akins out, it was Darren Fells‘ time to shine (kinda). Fells only ended up seeing two targets but he did haul in a touchdown. As long as Akins remains out, Fells could be a decent bye week replacement.

 

 

-Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83 on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Buccaneers @ Bears
Bengals @ Ravens
Raiders @ Chiefs
Panthers @ Falcons
Jaguars @ Texans
Eagles @ Steelers
Rams @ Washington
Cardinals @ Jets
Dolphins @ 49ers
Colts @ Browns
Giants @ Cowboys
Vikings @ Seahawks
Chargers @ Saints

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