What We Saw: Week 5

Denver Broncos vs Los Angeles Chargers

 

Denver Broncos

 

Quarterback

 

• Joe Flacco: 14/20, 182 yards, 1 TD 1 INT | 3 carries, 7 yards

 

Joe Flacco did what he needed to do to lead the Broncos to their first win of the season, but he was pretty underwhelming fantasy pointwise. Most of his production came on a 70-yard touchdown to Courtland Sutton after Sutton broke a tackle and picked up most of those yards after the catch. With Denver leading for much of the game there just was not a need for Flacco to be aggressive. All that was required of him was that he plays mostly mistake-free football and make enough throws to move the chains when called upon. His interception came on a tipped pass, and aside from that miscue, Flacco looked fine. He is an uninspiring fantasy asset himself, but he’s good enough to support the other fantasy options on this offense.

 

Running Backs

 

• Phillip Lindsay: 15 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 33 yards
• Royce Freeman: 13 carries, 61 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 6 yards

 

Today continued the trend for the Broncos of splitting their backfield touches pretty evenly, with Phillip Lindsay seeing 19 touches compared to 15 for Royce Freeman. Both runners were effective, with Lindsay having a few more explosive plays and more passing work this week while Freeman displayed his power on a couple of tough runs up the middle. Both players were on the field at different times in the red zone, and both are viable fantasy options. Lindsay ended up with the touchdown today, punching it in from four yards out. He’s the preferred option of the two, but Freeman is getting enough touches to both be fantasy relevant and drag down Lindsay’s ceiling.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Courtland Sutton: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD
• Emmanuel Sanders: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
• Jeff Heuerman: 3 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards
• Noah Fant: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

 

Courtland Sutton had one of the highlight plays of the game, catching the ball on an intermediate before breaking a tackled and running away for a 70-yard touchdown.  Sutton looks to be having a breakout sophomore campaign, and it was encouraging to see him produce in a game where the rest of the passing attack was quiet. Emmanuel Sanders appeared to be a focal point for the Chargers defense, and they were successful in limiting him to just one target. Aside from those two, there is not much value in this passing attack.

 

 

Los Angeles Chargers

 

Quarterback

 

• Philip Rivers: 32/48, 211 yards, 2 INTs

 

Today was a rough day for Philip Rivers, as the Broncos did a good job of forcing Rivers into short throws and then preventing yards after the catch. That forced Rivers into a few uncharacteristic misses, including two interceptions. His first interception came on a tipped pass, but his second one was a terrible throw into coverage on the goal line. The offensive line was not doing him any favors, but this is a game Rivers would love to have back. He only had 150 yards heading into the final drive where the Broncos played mostly a prevent defense that allowed Rivers to connect with Austin Ekeler for several easy short completions. Rivers will probably be fine going forward, but the offensive line struggles that make it hard for him to push the ball down the field may only get worse with starting center Mike Pouncey missing most of the second half with a neck injury.

 

Running Backs

 

• Melvin Gordon: 12 carries, 31 yards | 6 targets, 4 receptions, 7 yards
• Austin Ekeler: 3 carries, 7 yards | 16 targets, 15 receptions, 86 yards

 

Melvin Gordon made his on-field debut after dressing last week but not playing, but he was the victim of the Chargers falling behind early and getting away from their running game.  Austin Ekeler’s reception number is inflated by the final drive, but he was heavily involved in the game plan from the start. There were several plays where both players were on the field with Ekeler split out wide, and that should continue given the lack of depth among the Chargers receiver group. There was also a play the Chargers ran on a critical fourth and goal in the first half where they faked a handoff to Gordon before handing it off to Ekeler which almost resulted in a touchdown before Ekeler fumbled the ball. It’s unclear if Ekeler was more involved in the passing game because the Chargers think he’s better at that than Gordon, or if they were just working in Gordon slowly since he has missed some time. Either way, both players are worth starting going forward.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Keenan Allen: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 18 yards
• Mike Williams: 13 targets, 6 receptions, 74 yards
• Travis Benjamin:  2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards
• Virgil Green: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards

 

Another down week for Keenan Allen, as the Broncos focused on making the other Chargers receivers beat them. If you own Allen do not panic, he is still an elite fantasy option at receiver and the Chargers will find ways to get him the ball more often than not. Mike Williams returned from injury and had a couple of nice catches over the middle of the field on intermediate routes. He did appear to be shaken up a few times, but stayed in the game and did not seem to be any less effective. He won’t see 13 targets most weeks, but he is one of their go-to options in the red zone and is always a threat for a deep catch down the field if defenses leave him in single coverage. Williams is someone that can be considered for a WR3 or flex spot, especially in favorable matchups. 

 

 — Dan Adams