What We Saw: Week 5

Alvin Kamara looked like the Alvin Kamara we all know and love

Ben Brown
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Packers @ Bengals

Final Score: Packers 25, Bengals 22

Writer: Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

 

This game was definitely one of the more exciting games this week, even though it was relatively low-scoring.  There were some big plays and a ton of missed field goals in a row, but in the end, it was the veteran Quarterback who led his team to the victory.

It was quite a fun game to watch near the end, but we didn’t see too much fantasy value spread out among the players.

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

 

Green Bay Packers

 

Quarterback

 

Aaron Rodgers: 27/39, 344 yards, 2 TD, INT

 

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers got the ball first and went with a lot of running plays on the first drive.  He once again was being chased around in the pocket and a few incompletions ended the drive with a punt.

The second drive started with a first-down throw to Randall Cobb.  The very next play was an interception.

 

 

Once again Rodgers was being chased and just threw a bad pass that Davante Adams couldn’t make the adjustment for.

Rodgers continued getting pressure on the third drive and the Packers had to punt again.

The fourth possession started with a 17-yard completion to Davante Adams.  After a short throw to Aaron Jones that went nowhere, Rodgers started the second quarter with a 34-yard completion to Adams.  Adams was wide open due to a communication issue with the Bengals’ defense.  He then connected with Marcedes Lewis for another first down.  He found AJ Dillon out of the backfield to score the first Packer touchdown of the game.

The next drive seemed to have Rodgers more in rhythm, finding Adams once again for a big gain. Rodgers couldn’t finish out the drive and the Packers were forced to kick a field goal.

The Packers got the ball after another punt and Rodgers found Adams to extend another drive.  Rodgers moved the ball downfield using his running backs and Adams on this drive.  He finished it with a nice throw to the side of the endzone that Adams caught.

After the Bengals’ interception, Rodgers found Allen Lazard and Adams again to move the ball for a first down.  He then extended the drive again on a third-and-four by finding Robert Tonyan for a first.  Eventually, the drive stalled again and the Packers kicked a field goal.

On the next drive, the Packers got a first down thanks to a tripping call, and Rodgers made them pay by hitting Adams deep for a 59-yard completion.

 

 

Adams burned the Bengals’ defense and Rodgers hit him in stride.  After a few carries, Rodgers tried to find Cobb in the corner of the endzone but the Bengals knocked it away and the Packers kicked another field goal.

The Packers had great field position after the 57-yard run by Jones, but couldn’t do anything with the ball and were forced to kick a field goal, which Mason Crosby missed.

After the Bengals also missed their field goal, Rodgers had decent field position and hit Adams across the middle to put the Packers in field goal range once again.  They clocked the ball, but Crosby once again missed, forcing the game into overtime.

After the Bengals’ interception, the Packers had a prime starting position on the 17-yard line.  They were unable to get the ball moving once again and had yet another field goal attempt…that you guessed it…was missed.

With everyone and their mother missing field goals, Rodgers had yet another chance to win late in the overtime quarter.  He found Tight End Marcedes Lewis for a big gain to the Bengal 42-yard line.  After taking a sack, Rodgers somehow connected with Cobb on third-and-sixteen to get a first down.  I don’t know how Cobb held onto the ball, or how Rodgers even got the ball off, but it got the ball close enough for the Packers to attempt another game-winning field goal.  This one wasn’t missed, thankfully.

 

Running Back

 

Aaron Jones: 14 carries, 103 yards, Fumble | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 6 yards

AJ Dillon: 8 carries, 30 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 49 yards, TD

Kylin Hill: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards

 

Aaron Jones started with a bang, taking the first play of the game for a first down on a toss play.  Kylin Hill, a promising rookie, got onto the field for the second snap and got a shovel pass that he took five yards.  It was his only touch of the game.  Jones then took the next carry for another first-down.

Jones got his next carry on the third drive (after the interception) but was stopped at the line for no gain.

AJ Dillon was featured on the fourth drive, getting a few carries before taking a short pass for 12-yards and a touchdown.

 

 

It was Dillon’s first career touchdown.

Dillon continued his hot play on the next drive with another catch for a first down.

Dillon got a few carries and another target in the drive late in the second quarter.  Jones also had a reception on this drive and carried the ball down to the six-yard line.

This mix continued into the second half, with both Jones and Dillon seeing carries.  Dillon had a big carry on this drive where he burst through the line and through multiple defenders to get the ball down to the Bengals’ 29-yard line.

Jones got the last carry of the third quarter and took it for a decent gain.  Dillon got the work after the Adams catch but took two carries for no yards.

Jones got the first carry of the next drive (22-22 at this point) and took it 57-yards, setting the Packers up for a game-winning field goal attempt.

 

 

Dillon came in on the next play but wasn’t able to move the ball.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Davante Adams: 16 targets, 11 receptions, 206 yards, TD

Randall Cobb: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards

Allen Lazard: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 6 yards

Robert Tonyan: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards

Marcedes Lewis: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 34 yards

 

No wide receivers were really targeted on the first drive.

Randall Cobb was the first receiver to see a target, catching a nice pass across the middle.

Robert Tonyan got a deep target on the third drive that could have gone for a long gain but Rodgers just slightly overthrew him.

Davante Adams finally started his 2021 breakout campaign late in the first quarter, catching a 17-yard pass across the middle.  He followed that up with a big 34-yard reception to move the Packers deep into Bengals territory.

 

 

Adams continued to torch the Bengals’ defense, already totaling 75 yards midway through the second quarter.  Allen Lazard got his first catch on the drive, but it went for zero yards.

Adams caught his touchdown pass late in the second quarter.  It was a great grab while being smothered by Bengals’ defenders.

Adams, Lazard, and Tonyan all got catches on their first drive of the second half.

Adams was then hit again for a 59-yard completion that got the Packers within the ten-yard line.  Cobb was targeted in the endzone but couldn’t come up with the catch.

This game was all Adams, and you really can’t trust many other Packer receivers at this time.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

 

Quarterback

 

Joe Burrow: 26/38, 281 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | 3 carries, 11 yards

 

Joe Burrow came out throwing in this one, connecting with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase for short gains.  Unfortunately, he did not get the first down on a Quarterback sneak and the Bengals punted it right back.

The second drive started with a blocked throw and a sack.  Burrow then hit Tight End C.J. Uzomah for a short gain that once again forced a punt.

The third drive looked dead in the water on a fourth-and-three, but Burrow found Semaje Perine for a first down.  He continued to dink and dunk short passes downfield until finally punching it in with another short throw to Perine.

 

 

The fourth drive once again started with a short pass to Higgins.  But once again a sack ended the drive and the Bengals were forced to punt.

The Bengals got nice field position after the Packers’ field goal by returning the kick to the 40-yard line.  Burrow was sacked on the first play.  Burrow later scrambled for nine yards but was leveled by a Packer defender.  He stayed on the ground for a short time and the Bengals punted.  He did return on the next drive.

With only one minute left in the second quarter, the Burrow found Higgins for a short gain and then followed it up with a long bomb pass to Chase that he took for six.

Burrow found Chase again to start the third quarter but made his first big mistake of the game by throwing a bad pass that was picked off.

 

 

It was a good adjustment by the defender, but Burrow probably should have just thrown that pass away.  It was a bit too underthrown.

Burrow came out firing on the next drive, finding all of his receivers and moving the chains a few times.  He targeted Chase once again deep but it was broken up.  He had Higgins on third-and-two but Higgins, unfortunately, dropped it.  The Bengals went for it on fourth down and Burrow scrambled for a first down.  A holding call erased the first down and the Bengals punted.

On the next drive Burrow found Higgins along the sideline for a short gain that extended the drive.  Later in the drive Burrow converted a fourth-and-two by Quarterback sneaking.  Burrow found Chase for another solid gain to get it in the redzone.  Mixon ended up rushing it in, but Burrow found Higgins for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 22.

After the missed field goal, Burrow moved the ball downfield with short passes that got the ball into Packers’ territory.  The drive was stopped, leading to a long field goal attempt that was also missed.

The first drive of overtime saw another Burrow interception.

 

 

This one I have no idea who he was throwing to.  There must have been some miscommunication because he threw it right into the arms of a waiting Packer defender.

Thankfully for Burrow, Mason Crosby missed the field goal and they had another try at winning the game.  On third-and-two, Burrow hit Chase for a big gain along the sidelines.  The Bengals eventually were stopped and tried their own game-winning field goal…which was missed lol.

 

Running Back

 

Semaje Perine: 11 carries, 59 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 24 yards, TD

Joe Mixon: 10 carries, 33 yards, TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards

Chris Evans: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

 

Semaje Perine got the first carry of the game for the Bengals, although it came on the third drive.  Joe Mixon was on the field earlier even though he was questionable to play due to an injury, so that could be why he didn’t see the field as much as usual.

Perine and Mixon both played some snaps on the third drive.  Mixon took his first carry for a first down.  He later caught a short pass for only two yards.  The next play was a first down throw to Perine. Perine then caught another short pass from Burrow that he took for a touchdown.

Perine was once again in the backfield to start the third quarter.  He continued to get small gains here and there.  Mixon came back into the game around the three-minute mark and took a carry five yards.  The Bengals went right back to Perine who got a first down on the next play.

Perine rushed for a nice gain and a first down after the Packers went up 22-14.  Rookie Chris Evans saw his first action on this drive, catching a pass for two yards.  Mixon entered the game after the fourth-down conversion and carried it once for a short gain.  Perine entered around the 20-yard line and rushed for nine yards.  In the next play Mixon was put back in and found the endzone to make it 22-20.

 

 

It was a quiet day for Mixon especially after the injury news, but this touchdown sure helped anyone who dared to start him in fantasy.

Perine continued to get targets and carries as the Bengals tried to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

Mixon and Perine both saw carries in the overtime, but did nothing of note.  Perine looked decent in relief of Mixon, but will probably see his touches diminish as Mixon heals up.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Ja’Marr Chase:  10 targets, 6 receptions, 159 yards, TD

Tee Higgins: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 32 yards

Tyler Boyd: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 24 yards

C.J. Uzomah: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

Drew Sample: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards

Auden Tate: 1 target

 

Tee Higgins returned after a two-week absence and got the first catch of the game.  It was a short pass for two yards.

C.J. Uzomah had a catch on the second drive but didn’t do much with it.

Ja’Marr Chase got another target on the third drive that he dropped.  He was then targeted deep on the next play but the cornerback made a nice play to knock the ball away.  Uzomah and Drew Sample both made catches on this drive and then didn’t see another target.

Higgins got another target on the fourth drive.

Chase finally beat the Packer defense late in the second quarter.

 

 

It was a great catch with the defender diving in front of him.  Chase has now caught a deep pass in a majority of his games.

Chase went for another big gain to start the third quarter, making a defender miss a tackle and running for an additional 15 yards.

Chase made a great catch later in the third quarter that he then took to the house, however they ruled him down.  By this point, he had four catches for 119 yards.  Tyler Boyd saw his first target of the game on this drive, but was pretty irrelevant mostly thanks to Higgins coming back from injury.

Higgins did have some bad drops in this one, including late in the fourth quarter.  Boyd did see a few more catches that kept drives alive.

Chase had yet another great catch in overtime, getting both feet inbounds along the sideline.

 

 

Chase was by far Burrow’s favorite target in this one, although Higgins saw plenty of action as well.  Both should be viable options going forward.

 

— Joe Orlofski (@joeorlofski on Twitter)

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

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