What We Saw: Week 5

Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks

 

Los Angeles Rams

 

Quarterback

 

• Jared Goff: 29/49, 395 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 1 carry, 1 yard

 

There isn’t much to say about Jared Goff in the first half. The Seattle defense did a great job stopping the Rams’ attack. Goff did not have a completion to a wide receiver until there were about seven minutes left in the first half. Poor efficiency slowed down the Rams’ attack. Goff did not convert one third down in the first half and he failed to capitalize on some opportunities. It wasn’t all bad though. Goff capitalized on a big roughing-the-passer penalty, taking the opportunity to find Kupp twice for the eventual touchdown. It was a bit concerning that the Rams couldn’t get a touchdown until it was handed to them, but they did look pretty good when they were using their hurry-up offense to get downfield.

Goff looked much better to start the second half. He led a nice drive that resulted in a touchdown but had a tough go of it on his second series when the Rams were backed up against their end zone. Goff passed the ball much better in the second half but the Rams still struggled to convert first downs. He did not convert a third until the fourth quarter. Be that as it may, Goff heated up in the fourth quarter. Plenty of short completions during this time helped pad his overall fantasy performance. His interception wasn’t his fault either: the ball was right in Everett’s hands.

 

Running Backs

 

• Todd Gurley II: 15 carries, 51 yards, 2 TD | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 6 yards
• Malcolm Brown: 1 carry, 3 yards

 

Todd Gurley got off to a good start with a nine-yard gain on the Rams’ first offensive play of the game. That first drive was cut short, but Gurley went right back to it once the Rams got the ball back. He had more carries in the first two drives than he had in the entire game against Tampa Bay last week. Just as his usage was looking good, Gurley had an uncharacteristic fumble towards the end of the first half. His two touchdowns were great for his fantasy performance but pretty unimpressive overall. The first touchdown was an eight-yard run where a good block from his tight end meant Gurley ran into the end zone with minimal contact. The second touchdown run wasn’t anything to write home about either. Gurley punched it in from only a yard away and pretty much walked it in. Without the short touchdowns, Gurley would have scored about six-and-a-half fantasy points but it’s at least encouraging the Rams still trust Gurley in those goal-to-go situations. He caught some passes but didn’t get many yards out of them.

Malcolm Brown came in the game pretty early and had his lone carry in the first half. The only time he was on the field was likely to give Gurley a bit of a rest. He’s nothing but a bench stash for Gurley owners at this point.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Robert Woods: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards
• Cooper Kupp: 17 targets, 9 receptions, 1 TD
• Brandin Cooks: 3 targets, 1 reception, 29 yards | 1 carry, 27 yards
• Gerald Everett: 11 targets, 7 receptions, 136 yards
• Tyler Higbee: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 47 yards

 

Both Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp got off to slow starts tonight. Neither had a reception until well into the second quarter. Woods ended the first half with a couple good catches for about 10 yards apiece while Kupp ended the half with seven targets, a touchdown, and a respectable fantasy stat line. Kupp looks as great as ever and seems to be the receiver to own on this team. Whenever Goff finds himself in a pickle, it seems like he always looks for Kupp. His touchdown throw to Kupp was no different. There was also a play in the fourth quarter where Kupp and Everett ran the same route but Kupp was deeper and better covered. Goff still chose to pass it to his guy Kupp. As usual, Kupp did a great job getting big yards after his sure-handed catches. You’ve got to love his monster performance and insane target share. Woods didn’t do much more in the second half. He had a target in the end zone that was challenged by the Rams but the incomplete call stood. A few more short catches saved his fantasy dud but owners won’t be happy with less than 10 points for the third time this year.

It’s possible Gerald Everett officially had his breakout game. Everett started his day with a great 30-yard catch where he somehow spun away from multiple defenders trying to tackle him at once. He had another similar catch in the second half for 32 yards where he broke tackles again. One dark spot to Everett’s otherwise sparkling performance was the interception he allowed in the fourth quarter. The ball was right in his hands and he should have been able to make the catch. Luckily, Everett redeemed himself to put the Rams in field goal position at the end of the game and ended up with a career-high in receiving yards. Tyler Higbee had a pretty good night too with some big gains on just a few targets but Everett is looking like the real deal.

Brandin Cooks was pretty invisible in the first half. He had zero catches on only one target. A big chunk of his production came from a 27-yard run with about five minutes left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Cooks was injured on his first catch of the night, a great 29-yard grab with a defender all over him. His night ended early but at least he walked off the field on his own. Hopefully, it’s a concussion at worst.

 

Seattle Seahawks

 

Quarterback

 

• Russell Wilson: 17/23, 268 yards, 4 TD | 8 carries, 32 yards

 

Russell Wilson started the game looking pretty good, but silly mistakes from the offense got him off to a bit of a slow start. He picked things up quicker than usual though with an amazing touchdown throw towards the end of the first quarter. Wilson threw into tight coverage and fit it into a crazy small window in the back corner of the end zone while rolling to his left. The Rams tried to bring plenty of pressure on Wilson but he did a fantastic job scrambling and preventing sacks. I have no clue how Wilson escaped the relentless pressure on some of his runs. He was smart to air it out for a beautiful 40-yard touchdown when he knew Aaron Donald and Dante Fowler were not on the field. The Seahawks did a good job wearing down the Rams’ defensive front with plenty of possession, but they could have been more efficient on third downs. Either way, Wilson was playing lights-out tonight and fantasy owners should be excited over his nearly 30-point performance. It was a lot of fun watching him run but he took a few big hits tonight.

 

Running Backs

 

• Chris Carson: 27 carries, 118 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards, 1 TD
• Rashaad Penny: 6 carries, 18 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 31 yards

 

Chris Carson started the game with a healthy amount of carries but his efficiency was a mixed bag in the first half. Some runs were looking good while others were stuffed behind his line with Aaron Donald staring him down. He had some impressive runs whenever he had the space to cut back and his usage was encouraging with all those carries. Carson has had some fumble issues so far this year but he did well to protect the ball against the Rams. He had an impressive 13-yard run where he ran closer to a mile. Carson took contact behind his line, reversed direction, and somehow turned it into a solid gain towards the outside. He was essentially the entire Seahawks offense on their fourth-quarter drive for the lead. It seemed like every play was a run through Carson. He ended the drive with a catch in the end zone that initially bounced off his hands but he came down with it easily enough.

Rashaad Penny was getting a bit of work here and there and was mostly unimpressive until the end of the third quarter when he had a nice 30-yard catch. He didn’t do much besides that.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Tyler Lockett: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, -8 yards
• D.K. Metcalf: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD
• Jaron Brown: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 36 yards
• Will Dissly: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 81 yards
• David Moore: 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards, 1 TD

 

Jaron Brown fumbled after his first catch. His second catch came on a free play for 21 yards. He isn’t going to be relevant this year. D.K. Metcalf started his day with some great efficiency, scoring 12 fantasy points on his two receptions. He showed some impressive speed when he had to slow down to catch a deep ball touchdown from Wilson. Unfortunately, he didn’t do anything besides that. It’s a shame because Metcalf is so talented and only averaging 3.5 targets the past two weeks.

Will Dissly is continuing to look good. His week wasn’t crazy, but if this turns out to be his floor, I’d be a happy camper with him on my team. He had a couple of big catches including a beautiful over-the-shoulder. The defender hit the ball well immediately after Dissly made contact with the ball but the tight end still came down with it. Dissly was all over the place, even getting the ball pitched back to him from Wilson on the run. I think Wilson has a lot of confidence in the young tight end.

Tyler Lockett’s first catch of the night was a thing of beauty. He scrambled to the back corner of the end zone and caught the ball with two feet just barely in-bounds. His second catch was another wild scramble as Wilson ran around desperately looking for an open receiver. Lockett didn’t have his third target until well into the third quarter. Lockett is averaging four targets the past two weeks which is a bit concerning considering he was averaging 13 targets the two weeks prior. Still, a 14-point performance is respectable and he would have had 15 were it not for that silly pitch-back from Wilson at the end of the game. David Moore had a nice little 10-yard touchdown on his first catch of the night. He caught it in the flat and ran around a good block to reach the end zone for his highest fantasy performance of the season. He shouldn’t be very relevant this year.

 

–Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse)