What We Saw: Week 6 2018

Seahawks vs. Raiders

Seahawks

The Seahawks absolutely took it to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in London, moving to 3-3 on the season with a resounding 27-3 victory. Here are a few fantasy relevant notes from the game.

The run game is now split into thirds

“If everyone is fantasy relevant, than no one is.” I’m very loosely paraphrasing syndrome from The Incredibles here, but the point stands. If Seattle is going to get Rashaad Penny more involved in the running game, along with the two-headed monster of Chris Carson and Mike Davis, then it could negatively impact everyone’s fantasy value. Carson is still the RB to own here, but he is a low-end RB2 at best. Davis and Penny aren’t backs that I would be starting in most fantasy formats for now.

Russell Wilson loves the run game

When Seattle’s run game is doing well, Wilson benefits. The star quarterback looked very sharp on Sunday, completing 17 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. He did have an interception on a bad decision to force a ball in the end zone, but otherwise he was very solid. He isn’t quite the top-three stud many expected, but Wilson is still a rock solid QB1 and will continue to be one after Seattle’s bye this week.

Doug Baldwin is back

After having just one catch for one yard in Week 5, Doug Baldwin returned with a vengeance against the Raiders this last week – hauling in six catches for 91 yards. He was targeted twice in the end zone, but was overthrown once and had another one deflected away. Don’t be surprised to see Baldwin continue to be a big part of Seattle’s offense, even if they stick with a run-heavy approach. This could impact Tyler Lockett, although he now has a touchdown in five of Seattle’s six games, making him a rock solid WR2 in nearly all formats.

David Moore has been a revelation for the Seahawks, although his target share is too inconsistent for me to trust him as anything more than a desperation FLEX play in deeper leagues. Lastly, Jaron Brown may have had a touchdown on Sunday, but he should not be owned in any fantasy leagues. Same goes for Brandon Marshall, who has been phased out of the offense.

No Legion of Boom, no problem

This defense may have lost basically everyone, but don’t let that fool you – they are still a top-ten defense in the NFL. The Raiders are certainly not a good offense, but Seattle’s six sacks were without rookie Rasheem Green and Dion Jordan, both who play big time snaps on the defensive end. With K.J. Wright expected to return by Week 8, this is a defense that should be started each and every week.

-Andy Patton

Raiders

Guys, I think the Raiders might be bad. Oakland fell to 1-5 with a 27-3 loss to the Seahawks in London. The Raiders’ offensive line faltered and failed to protect Derek Carr in the loss. Carr and company totaled just 185 total yards on 56 plays. Let’s dive into what was an appalling performance by the Raiders’ offense.

Derek Carr

At first glance, Derek Carr had a fairly proficient day. The Raiders’ quarterback completed 23 of his 31 attempts for a mediocre 142 yards. Carr’s completion percentage was above 70 percent for the fourth time in six games, but it was one of the most ineffective games this season by a quarterback. Of his 23 completions, Carr completed only two passes deeper than five yards. Carr completed 14 passes at the line of scrimmage or behind it against the Seahawks. One of the primary reasons Carr could not look downfield was his inexperienced offensive line. The Seahawks sacked Carr six times before he was knocked out of the game with an arm injury. It was a rough day in the pocket for the Raiders’ quarterback.

Wide receivers

The one good thing about Carr’s inability to look downfield was that his running backs and wide receivers got plenty of catches. Running back Jalen Richard caught seven passes for 48 yards. Richard is second on the team with 31 receptions on 37 targets. Seth Roberts caught five passes for 31 yards before leaving the game with a concussion in the second half. But with Carr struggling to get the ball downfield, his deep targets were basically inactive. Jordy Nelson caught two passes for six yards. Amari Cooper left the game in the first half with a concussion and did not catch a pass. Before exiting, Cooper caught a 28-yard pass that was called back thanks to a holding penalty.

Running backs

I predicted earlier this week that Marshawn Lynch would have a solid performance against his former team. I was wrong. Lynch carried the ball 13 times for 45 yards and no touchdowns. The 11th-year veteran had three carries for more than five yards. Lynch was forced to bounce each play outside and struggled to get north to south against the Seahawks. Carr was the Raiders’ second-leading rusher with 31 yards on four carries. Richard carried the ball twice for three yards.

Oakland will have a bye this week before hosting the Colts on the 28th.

-Trey Huntsman