What We Saw: Week 5

Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts

 

Kansas City Chiefs

 

Quarterback

 

• Patrick Mahomes: 22/39, 321 yards passing, 1 TD | 2 carries, 3 yards

 

What can’t Patrick Mahomes do? In almost every league, I bit the bullet and took him in the third round–not like the upside of the runners available. Now, after showcasing himself in a truly masterful sophomore season, Mahomes is continuing right where he left off. He throws passes off his back foot, scrambles all over the field. and effortlessly launches passes to a litany of no-name options since Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill aren’t available. On Pringle, on Robinson, on Comet, and Cupid! The only thing that has hindered Mahomes throughout this game was watching him limp off to get his ankle bandaged.  His line has attempted (without much success) to protect him, but he hasn’t been able to plant and truly show the brilliance he’s capable of on the field.

 

Running Backs

 

• Damien Williams: 8 carries, 24 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
• LeSean McCoy:  2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
• Anthony Sherman: 1 carry, 2 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions

 

Damien Williams returned from injury this week, and immediately muddied the waters of Arrowhead. While LeSean McCoy had looked as if he had possibly drank from the fountain of youth somewhere upon his offseason travels, Williams came back in week 5 and snaked right back to the top of the rushing depth chart. I came into the season hoping I had a chance to take Damien Williams somewhere between the third and fifth round in my drafts, but after the first few weeks of the season, McCoy had made me a believer again. In three of the first four games, he had averaged over 5 yards per carry, and also had compiled two touchdowns on top of that. 

Williams, on the other hand, had come into the season showing glimpses of what we always thought he could be if given the chance to start. Aggressive rushing, bowling ball mentality, and some solid hands for receiving out of the backfield all had been exciting talking points to touch upon with Williams, but now we are left to wonder if on a weekly basis this offense will focus on passing game magic, lightning in a bottle out of McCoy, or if they even give Darwin Thompson some opportunities. We’re only a calendar month and a week in, but Williams currently has 22 carries through five weeks at a minuscule 1.5 yards per carry average. Trending numbers tell me this backfield will be muddier than the banks of Wishkah. I moved Williams in a deal last week and would think it’s not the worst idea to see if someone else in your leagues were as enamored as those of us who drafted him, and see if you can still get some value. To me, McCoy had started to show the opportunity is there to garner some major yardage out of this backfield, so the chance is still there that whoever gains control on this backfield has top 20 back upside.

 

Wide Receivers

 

• Bryon Pringle: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 103 yards, 1 touchdown
• Mecole Hardman: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 79 yards | 1 carry, -6 yards
• Travis Kelce: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 70 yards
• Demarcus Robinson: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 31 yards

 

There must be some sort of factory that only Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have keys to where they can go into the night before games and build the perfect wide receiver from gameplan and scheming ideas. Just two weeks ago, we were googly moogly over Demarcus Robinson after a Week 2 outburst against the Raiders where he gashed them for 6 receptions and 172 yards. Next big thing in high octane offense KC? We all ran to the waiver wire, and Mecole Hardman was the guy to have in week 3. Then almost neither showed up last week. I reference this because we don’t talk enough about the variety in some of these high powered offenses. And in walked BYRON PRINGLE. Tonight. Starting as the first player with a catch, Pringle was the clear target for Mahomes tonight as the undrafted rookie even saw a touchdown after what seemed like a five-minute scramble from Mahomes to break free from a blitz attempt.

 

Indianapolis Colts

 

Quarterback

 

• Jacoby Brissett: 18/29, 151 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception  | 4 carries, 11 yards, 1 touchdown

 

While Mahomes dazzles and performs jaw-dropping “slam dunk” style plays, Jacoby Brissett almost lulls you into a belief that you have him backed into a corner, as he quietly dismantles and peppers his targets around the field. When Andrew Luck shockingly retired, I thought there was a case to be made that he may be a top 6 to 8 quarterback in the AFC, as he is an almost mistake-free quarterback, with weapons at his disposal. A 23 to 9 touchdown to interception ratio in his career, Brissett also currently holds a 10 touchdown to 2 interception ratio for this season. The coaching staff has shown they were not worried and upped his contract pretty much immediately after the retirement announcement. With what we continue to see as the Colts continue to impress with a season to basically “play with house money” if you have a bench spot to play with, Brissett may be worth a pull on to your team. Bye weeks are tough, injured quarterbacks are piling up this season, AND you have a few older quarterbacks facing bumps in production or also falling to the injury bug.

 

Running Backs

 

• Marlon Mack: 29 carries, 132 yards
• Jordan Wilkins: 3 carries, 20 yards
• Nyheim Hines: 1 carry,-4 yards. | 4 receptions, 46 yards

 

We came almost the first slate of games, unsure if Marlon Mack would be able to suit up for this game, and while it’s helpful to see he took the field, the fans have to be more than amazed to see him take the carry majority for the week and eclipse one hundred yards. A fourth-round pick out of the University of Southern Florida, Mack has been attempting to secure the starter’s role for Indy since 2017, and may finally be seeing the lion’s share of the work going forward. Averaging 4.5 yards per carry in his career, and 6.5 yards per reception, Mack could break out into a top ten runner, if the Colts would just unlock his full capability. 

 

Wide Receivers

 

• T.Y. Hilton: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 37 yards
• Jack Doyle: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
• Eric Ebron: 4 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
• Zach Pascal: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards | 1 rush, 12 yards
• Mo Alie-Cox: 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards
• Deon Cain: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards
• Chester Rogers: 1 target, 0 receptions, 0 yards

 

Dink. Dunk. Dink. Dunk. Frank Reich had a gameplan, and it mostly involved Indy making Mahomes incapable of breathing and moving in or out of the pocket, and pushing their offensive game in Mack rushing, and short check-down passes.  The targets were spread across nine players, and two backs combined for eight targets. There isn’t much trend-worthy to pull out of the passing game besides the fact that there is no number two wide receiver for the Colts. They have T.Y. Hilton and then a whole bunch of other baby birds in need of feeding. If I had anyone to speculate on anyone here, I’d keep an eye on Jack Doyle, but their best options will continue to be for Hilton in the air, and Mack on the ground.

 

-Matt Bevins @MattQBList