What We Saw: Week 5

New York Jets vs Philadelphia Eagles

 

New York Jets  

 

Quarterback

 

• Luke Falk: 15/26, 120 yards, 2 INT, 2 FUM

 

To his credit, Luke Falk’s offensive line gave him extremely very few opportunities to get comfortable and make plays. He was sacked nine times in the contest and was pressured often. However, when he was given some time in the pocket, he often held onto the ball for entirely too long and made errant throws. On one pass, Falk targeted Demaryius Thomas who apparently was not on the same page, and the ball landed on the turf five yards away from anyone. He was also turnover prone, slinging two interceptions and losing two fumbles (one of which was an Orlando Scandrick strip that was taken to the house). With just over five minutes left in the first quarter, Falk’s first pick went to Nathan Gerry for a 52 touchdown. It looked like Falk completely neglected to notice Gerry, who jumped the route and took it back for six. His second pick was a bit more forgiving as it came off of a tipped ball, though the pass was still entirely too high. The Jets continue to be limited as a result of poor QB play and a struggling offensive line, which ultimately hinders the fantasy potential for all of their playmakers, at least until Sam Darnold comes back.

 

Running Backs

 

• Le’Veon Bell: 15 carries, 43 yards | 9 targets, 7 receptions, 49 yards
• Bilal Powell: 1 carry, 4 yards
• Ty Montgomery: 2 carries, 1 yard

 

Le’Veon Bell, despite the limitations of his surrounding cast, continues to stand as one the few remaining bell-cow running backs in the NFL. Demaryius Thomas’ catch at the beginning of the second quarter was the first touch for a Jets player not named Le’Veon Bell, and Bilal Powell wasn’t called upon to relieve Bell until well into the fourth quarter. Bell still has the same skill-set and ability he had in Pittsburgh, and his limited production is largely due to an anemic offense with a struggling offensive line. He’s getting all the volume one could ask for. If the Jets offense can make a turnaround and move the chains instead of falling victim to constant three-and-outs and turnovers, Le’Veon Bell could deliver some league-winning weeks and be a driving force on fantasy playoff teams, though that’s a big if.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

• Demaryius Thomas: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 47 yards
• Robby Anderson: 3 targets. 1 reception, 45 yards
• Jamison Crowder: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards 
• Ryan Griffin: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
• Vyncint Smith: 1 carry, 19 yards, 1 TD

 

When your QB racks up a whopping 15 completions and seven of them are to your star running back, your receivers are bound to suffer. Quite frankly, this unit continues to struggle for the same reasons that we addressed back in Week 3: inconsistent quarterback play, a struggling offensive line, and distribution of a limited number of passes. 

Demaryius Thomas and Luke Falk showed on multiple occasions that they simply aren’t on the same page (a pass that fell to the turf and a tipped interception come to mind) and Jamison Crowder likely yearns for the return of Sam Darnold. Vyncint Smith crossed the plane for the Jets’ lone TD of the contest, though it came off of a trick reverse play following a botched punt return that put the Jets in great field position. There are some solid “stash-and-see” players in this group, and you can likely acquire them for cheap, but they lack dependable fantasy relevance until there’s more consistency in the QB play.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Quarterback

 

• Carson Wentz: 17/29, 189 yards, 1 TD | 2 carries, 5 yards

 

I’ll go ahead and parrot a sentiment I saw all across Twitter on Sunday: The Eagles wouldn’t have won this game if they hadn’t played such a struggling team. The Eagles let the Jets beat themselves with sloppy play and poor offensive performance and relied on their stifling defense and clock control to win the game. Carson Wentz put up a middling performance and, fortunately for Philadelphia fans, that was all he had to do for the Eagles to take the win. 

The Eagles were able to gain the lead early for the first time this season and that lead was heavily reflected in the way Wentz and the offense as a whole played. Short passes and the run game were the focal points of the offense. Wentz did launch one long pass deep to Nelson Agholor, but Agholor was ultimately overthrown. Wentz’ fantasy production was less than spectacular, though that is unlikely to be the new norm considering that this is a team that has consistently played from behind throughout this season, and Wentz should be forced to throw the ball more (and deeper) in future contests if the Eagles expect to turn this win into a streak.

 

Running Backs

 

• Jordan Howard: 13 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD 
• Miles Sanders: 9 carries, 15 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 49 yards
• Darren Sproles: 3 carries, 4 yards | 1 target

 

Oh, what a group. Three competent playmakers in one backfield make it such a struggle to rely on one for consistent fantasy production. Jordan Howard continues to be the guy that the coaching staff leans on for rushing production, leading the backfield in back-to-back weeks in touchdowns, carries, and rushing yardage. He yet again showcased his north-south running ability and consistently hit the hole hard. However, his playstyle and lack of consistent receiving usage limits upside. 

Unsurprisingly, Miles Sanders continued his trend of splitting reps back and forth with Jordan Howard. His consistent usage despite his lackluster efficiency stats speaks to the coaching staff’s belief in him as a potential playmaker, but he lacks the north-south bruising style of Howard or the shifty open-space ability of speedster Darren Sproles. He saw a significant dip in yards per carry in comparison to last week’s 11-carry, 72-yard performance. Last week we noted that Sanders’ efficiency numbers were padded by a nice 30-yard run and if he fails to make those big plays we end up with stat lines like Sunday’s game. The Eagles seem to want to put him in a position to make plays in open space rather than bang him up the gut, which is surprising considering the strength of their offensive line. Sanders did haul in a pass off of a wheel route up the right sideline for a 36 yard gain late in the first quarter, but his lone boom play in the contest far from makes up for the lack of touchdowns or significant red-zone usage.

Darren Sproles clocked in for yet another quiet performance and left the contest in the third quarter with an apparent quad injury. He’s still a talented player but certainly has a low floor considering the crowded status of the Eagles’ backfield.

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

 

•  Zach Ertz: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD
• Alshon Jeffrey: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 52 yards
• Nelson Agholor: 3 targets, 1 reception, 20 yards
• Dallas Goedert: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards

 

Zach Ertz remains a focal point of the Philadelphia offense and a favorite target of Carson Wentz. Two Tight End sets with fellow TE Dallas Goedert were used often. Ertz’ lone TD came toward the end of the first half. Wentz’s reliance on Ertz to maintain possession and move the chains cannot be understated, and he should certainly remain one of the position’s top fantasy options moving forward.

Alshon Jeffrey continues to be a favorite receiving option as well. He saw a few targets on screens but was unable to do much with them. He has reliable hands and is a consistent producer who kept the ball in the hands of the Eagles’ offense. 

Nelson Agholor returned from Ghost Town after a fantasy goose egg in Week 4, though he failed to do much in Sunday’s contest. He could have had a 60+ yard touchdown off of huge deep pass, but, as previously mentioned, he was overthrown. Of course, there’s no guarantee that he would have caught it if it had hit his hands.

 

-Marshal Hickman