What We Saw: Week 6 2018

Rams vs. Broncos

Rams

What will stop the Rams?

It seems that injuries and a leaky defense are all that stand in the way of a perfect season for the better LA team. WR Cooper Kupp will likely miss some time with a minor MCL injury. QB Jared Goff didn’t have a good game by multiple measures, but, considering the conditions and Denver’s inability to stop anything that is running, he didn’t need to do too much on this day. Hopefully, you didn’t start Goff in those snowy/windy conditions. Continue to roll him out, otherwise.

Gurley to repeat as POY?

At this pace, why not? He has 10 touchdowns and 623 rushing yards, so far and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He either piles on with scores or goes ballistic in yardage. In both fantasy and reality, he’s basically unstoppable right now. Keep rolling him out there, until the Rams start to rest people in preparation for the postseason.

Is the Rams’ defense bad?

The Rams are starting to be a pretty bad bet, literally. It’s mostly because the defense can’t seem to stifle anybody, despite having one of the most talented rosters on that side of the ball. Some of it is probably because they know the game is already out of reach, but even in other games, they are giving up good averages on the ground and CB Marcus Peters is consistently burnt at least once per game. With no real edge rushers, it is putting a lot of pressure on the likes of DTs Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh to disrupt the pocket, while being double-teamed. They should win next week when they travel to San Francisco, but writing off the Niners would be a grave mistake.

-Joe Hanretty

Broncos

Mistakes and 3rd Downs Hold Back Offense

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In a game where the Broncos played tough against the undefeated Rams, costly mistakes were the difference in Denver’s 23-20 loss in week 6. The above play looked like a sure touchdown, only for the play to be reviewed and called down at the 1. This made Emmanuel Sanders‘s 15-yard taunting penalty even more costly, pushing the Broncos back and ultimately causing them to settle for a field goal.

The Broncos also struggled when it mattered most, converting only 3 of 11 third and fourth downs and struggling to stay on the field. Coupled with the defense allowing Todd Gurley to run for over 200 yards, the Broncos allowed the Rams to control the clock and keep the Broncos on the sidelines, with a 35 minute to 25 minute time of possession advantage.

Running Back Committee Hurts Lindsay

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Denver’s backfield has settled into a three-headed committee, and in games where they don’t control the clock and play with a lead, Denver’s run game volume looks too low to support any one player. Phillip Lindsay continues to look the most talented of the group, but the coaches aren’t giving him the touches to be a consistent RB1. He finished week 6 with 6 catches on 7 targets for 48 yards and had a touchdown called back. Lindsay saw an encouraging increase in targets this week, a good sign, but still lost passing game snaps to Devontae Booker (2 carries, 2 catches, 29 total yards). Lindsay only saw 4 carries for 18 yards all game and will continue to have poor weeks if the volume doesn’t increase.

Royce Freeman was the least efficient Denver running back on the ground, with 9 carries for 22 yards. He was not targeted in the running game, and can not be trusted in season-long or daily fantasy leagues.

Passing Game Rewards Top Options

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Emmanuel Sanders made up for his taunting penalty by coming up with a team-leading 7 catches on 10 targets for 115 yards and 1 touchdown. He easily could have had 2 touchdowns, and is the most consistent and explosive fantasy option on this Broncos offense. He looks locked into a heavy workload going forward.

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Demaryius Thomas has maintained fantasy relevance for the last two weeks by scoring late touchdowns, but his role in the offense seems to be falling back to the pack, giving him a shaky fantasy outlook going forward. Thomas ended the day tied with two other players for 4th in targets on the Broncos, and his 3 catches on 4 targets for 57 yards would look a lot worse without the late touchdown.

Courtland Sutton equaled Thomas in week 6 with 3 catches on 4 targets for 58 yards. The rookie looks ready to take on a bigger role, but will probably need an injury to Thomas to be startable. Sutton’s presence is enough to severely harm Thomas’s fantasy value for the foreseeable future.

Case Keenum finished as a low-end QB1 in most leagues, and while he struggled on 3rd downs and threw a costly pick, he does have some weapons to have fantasy relevance in the right matchups. It wasn’t a pretty 322 yards and 2 touchdowns, but fantasy owners that started him will surely be happy with the results.

Jeff Heuerman received 6 targets, good for 3rd most on the Broncos, but only turned his chances into 3 catches for 23 yards.

Broncos Defense and Special Teams

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The Broncos D was gashed in the running game yet again this week, a troubling trend that needs to be fixed immediately. The pass rush was impressive, however, racking up 5 sacks and constantly short-circuiting Rams drives in scoring position and holding them to field goals. Rookie pass rusher Bradley Chubb broke out with 3 sacks and Von Miller contributed 1.5 sacks, a sign of hope in a frustrating start to the season.

Brandon McManus remained perfect on the year, with 2 short field goals and 2 extra points in the cold Denver weather.

-Erik Smith