What We Saw: Week 5

Chicago Bears vs Oakland Raiders

 

Chicago Bears  

 

Quarterback

 

• Chase Daniel: 22/30, 231 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 4 sacks | 1 carry, 2 yards

 

Chase Daniel is what he is: a backup quarterback who can keep a team afloat while the starter is out. He is a great option if you are milking leads, but not someone you want leading game-winning drives. He made some great throws today, including a pair of touchdown strikes to Allen Robinson. There were times where he looked better than Trubisky and I wondered if I wanted Mitch back at all. However, then came the mistakes. Daniel made some absolutely awful throws, including both of his interceptions and a third one called back due to everyone’s favorite penalty: roughing the passer. For the record, I don’t think it should have been called…Daniel was hit cleanly. Either way, Daniel eventually fell short in trying to win this one for the Bears. Daniel should keep the Bears’ weapons afloat–and he has thus far–but he’s not on the fantasy-starter radar save for 2-QB leagues.

 

Running Backs

 

• David Montgomery: 11 carries, 25 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards
• Tarik Cohen: 4 carries, 10 yards | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 39 yards

 

Remember when David Montgomery was being drafted in the first four rounds before the season started? Yeah, sometimes we aren’t as smart as we think we are. Montgomery has flashed on some runs, showing his toughness and ability to keep his feet. However, he never seems to have much room to run and he doesn’t have much in the way of explosiveness. Montgomery is only averaging 45 rushing yards per game through five games. Still, he is the Bears back I most want to own right now. Montgomery’s best play was his lone catch. He was lined up out wide, covered tightly, but still made a great catch despite an arm draped on him. I would love to see more usage like this so that the Bears could become a little faster on offense. Sometimes I think the constant switching of personnel makes it too easy for the defense to keep personnel fresh. Montgomery still has RB2 upside thanks to his touchdown potential, but I’m still not comfortable relying on him as a productive member of my lineup.

Tarik Cohen is an interesting player right now. It’s hard to truly call him a running back when he averages more targets than carries, and he looks so inefficient running out of the backfield. Cohen is dependent on catching the ball right now, and I’m becoming more and more confident that he is viable again. Sure, a bit of his stats came in “garbage time”. He had a 12-yard catch on a third and 20. He had another long catch on another third and a mile. Chicago wants to use him, though, and he looked fast when he had room to work. His best play was a 71-yard punt return that set up a touchdown two plays later. As bye weeks approach, you could do worse than having Tarik Cohen as your flex.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Allen Robinson II: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TDs
• Anthony Miller: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 52 yards
• Trey Burton: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 16 yards

 

Allen Robinson II was an interesting preseason player. He put up 754 yards and 4 touchdowns last year, but he wasn’t fully healthy. Would full health propel him to another level? The answer, so far, appears to be yes. Robinson is averaging better than 8 targets a game and is on pace for 1,200 yards and 7 TDs this season. He made several excellent catches and I’ll recap two of them. First, Robinson ran a fade route into the endzone on his second touchdown. He elevated over his defender, grabbed the pass, and tapped his toes in before going out. Later in the second half, he made a ridiculous catch while being crushed by a defender. He was hit as he caught the ball (again on the sideline) but held on and still managed to land inbounds. Robinson should be thought of as a safe WR2 with upside for more, but I’d like to see more days like today…days with touchdowns.

Anthony Miller, like Tarik Cohen, seems to be waking up and finding his place in the Bears offense. In his first four games, he had eight targets and four receptions. Today he nearly matched that. Despite a quiet first half, Miller came alive in the second and flashed the athleticism that made him a preseason breakout candidate. His best catch came when he ran out of the slot, elevated over his defender, and fought through a lot of contact to make the grab. I was impressed, and I hope it’s a sign of things to come. Just don’t rely on it yet…wait until Miller shows us more. Still, he is easily an intriguing roster hold for now.

 

Oakland Raiders

 

Quarterback

 

• Derek Carr: 25/32, 229 yards | 3 carries, 8 yards, 1 fumble

 

Derek Carr didn’t honestly do too much that stuck out today, but he didn’t have to. When the opposing defense readily gives you room to run, you run the ball. Don’t overthink it. What I can say about Carr was that he played smart. He got the ball away before pressure hit him. He didn’t let the Bears record a sack or an interception. He did what he had to, and he didn’t try to play hero ball. Probably the best play I saw from Carr came in the second half. He called up play-action and the Bears bit hard. Foster Moreau ran back across the formation, caught a pass over the middle, and ran free for a huge gain. I love seeing a quarterback take what’s given and ride it to a win. Carr is on the streaming radar for me, but he’s not a weekly starter.

 

Running Backs

 

• Josh Jacobs: 26 carries, 123 yards, 2 TDs | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
• DeAndre Washington: 6 carries, 17 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
• Jalen Richard: 2 carries, 14 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards

 

We know that these London games can play out weirdly, right? Sometimes we are just thrown a curveball. Well, the success of the Raiders running game today was a major curveball. A week after Chicago’s run defense held Dalvin Cook to 35 yards on the ground, they give up 169 yards to the Raiders. Josh Jacobs, who had yet to hit 100 rushing yards in a game, put up 123 yards and 2 TDs against what is supposed to be the league’s toughest defense. The credit here really goes to the Oakland offensive line. They were incredibly impressive in manhandling the Bears’ defense today. I remember a play where the Raiders faced third and short, and their O-line pushed the entire defense past the line to gain. I had to rewind to watch it a few more times. Later, Jacobs ran 12 yards for a touchdown…basically untouched. Jacobs flashed on several plays, but he owes his big guys up front a nice night out on the town for their hard work. Jacobs is on the border of RB1 and RB2 thanks to his weekly volume. 

It’s worth mentioning that Jacobs left the game a couple times with what appeared to be minor injuries. If he is dealing with anything lingering, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard could have value. Both saw some action in place of Jacobs, and both proved capable enough if the Raiders can continue blocking this well. Their usage in the passing game is a bonus. Still, I’m not interested in either back unless Jacobs misses time.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Foster Moreau: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards
• Trevor Davis: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards
• Darren Waller: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards
• Hunter Renfrow: 5 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
• Keelan Doss: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
• Tyrell Williams: OUT (injury)

 

As I said earlier, these London games can be weird. Tyrell Williams–who had a TD catch in every game so far–sat with a foot injury. This left Trevor Davis and Keelan Doss to headline the receiving corps. Before today, Doss had never caught a pass and Davis never started a game. Doss made only a minimal impact, but Davis caught all four of his targets. He made some good plays, the biggest of which was a long kickoff return set up an almost-touchdown drive. He also made a really bad play…fumbling the ball away when the Raiders were on the 1-yard line at the end of said drive. I don’t want to rely on any of the receivers here, save for Tyrell Williams once he returns.

Darren Waller was mostly bottled up today, but I again connect this to the ease with which the Raiders ran the ball. Waller made his best catch in the second half. He caught the ball short and then blasted through Haha Clinton-Dix for a 13-yard gain. I’m not worried about his value, and I’ll gladly roll with him after the BYE as a TE1.

 

 — Mike Miklius