Jets @ Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins forced the first shutout of the 2020 season by stifling the pathetic New York Jets offense to run out 24-0 winners. This leaves the Jets and their under-fire head coach Adam Gase as the only winless team in the NFL this season. Ouch! As we wait for news out of MetLife Stadium about the future of Gase, we can also wax lyrical about Brian Flores and the excellent job he is doing in Miami. The Dolphins are now 3-3 on the season, sitting second in the AFC East behind the Buffalo Bills.
New York Jets
Quarterback
Joe Flacco: 21/44, 186 yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble, 3 sacks
This is where quarterback play goes to die. Sam Darnold is the future of this franchise as long as they replace Gase as the head coach and start to develop him quickly. He was out injured today, so we had to endure another terrible Joe Flacco performance (6.44 fantasy points). The former Baltimore Ravens signal-caller is completely washed up and this offense does not help him one bit. Flacco had a 47.7% completion rate today and he is now 2-11 in his last 13 starts. The Jets were 1/16 on 3rd down conversions. I could fire more of these horrific statistics at you but it won’t make a blind bit of difference. Flacco, Darnold, and any other quarterback the Jets roll out under Adam Gase this season can be disregarded completely in terms of fantasy output.
Joe Flacco drops back to pass and is sacked 28 YARDS BEHIND THE LINE.#FantasyFootball | #Jets pic.twitter.com/mGs7LwNZoT
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
Running Backs
Frank Gore: 11 carries, 46 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 24 yards
Ty Johnson: 3 carries, 42 yards | 1 target
La’Michael Perine: 7 carries, 27 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
After the surprising release of Le’Veon Bell this week, the Jets entrusted 37-year old veteran Frank Gore (11.0 fantasy points) to spearhead the attack. Gore ran hard with the professionalism we have come to admire from him behind a poor offensive line but failed to make any major inroads into a promising young Dolphins defensive line.
Gase promised an extra workload for La’Michael Perine (5.6 fantasy points) going forward and his 7 carries and 3 targets were the most he has seen this season by some margin. Unfortunately, he made little impact and it was hard to get a feel for how he will perform going forward. He is one to watch in the next few weeks, however.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Breshad Perriman: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 62 yards
Jamison Crowder: 13 targets, 7 receptions, 48 yards
Braxton Berrios: 3 targets, 1 reception, 18 yards
Ryan Griffin: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 17 yards
Jeff Smith: 4 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
Many Jets fans would have hoped to at least seen an improvement in the passing game with the return of free agent Breshad Perriman (10.20 fantasy points) this week. The former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens was brought in as a replacement for Robby Anderson, who has been fantastic for the Carolina Panthers so far this season. Perriman looked slow out of the blocks and only caught 4 of the 8 passes thrown his way. He will get plenty of looks in the coming weeks as long as he remains healthy. He is a sneaky waiver-wire add for the bye weeks and could be a useful flex option purely based on volume.
Jamison Crowder (11.80 fantasy points) still remains the No.1 receiver in this offense out of the slot position. Crowder is a versatile, hard-working receiver with safe hands and an electric burst. He is a prime candidate to be traded in the coming month, too. Watch his situation closely as a change of scenery could drastically affect his production. If he remains in New York, however, he is a solid week-to-week WR2.
Poor Jeff Smith ran a couple of outstanding routes today only to be let down by two awful throws from Flacco. One was low and in the dirt in the red zone, the other was way over his head at the back of the end zone. Smith is a talented guy and forced separation nicely on his routes today. He could be one to watch once Darnold returns.
Miami Dolphins
Quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick: 18/27, 191 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks | 1 carry, 4 yards
Tua Tagovailoa: 2/2, 9 yards
Ryan Fitzpatrick (18.04 fantasy points on Yahoo!) is currently the No.6 scoring quarterback in fantasy this season after throwing another 3 touchdowns in this rout of the hapless Jets. “Fitzmagic” connected with Adam Shaheen for the second week running to send the Dolphins on their way.
Adam Shaheen with the TD in Miami. #FantasyFootball | #Dolphins pic.twitter.com/U5t8cfGLW5
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
Fitzpatrick did throw a couple of interceptions today, although you could argue it is his prerogative. We did get to see the Dolphins’ future at the position, and Fitzpatrick as much as anyone enjoyed the moment. First-round pick Tua Tagovailoa took the field for the final drive.
Fitzpatrick hypes up the crowd while Tua makes his NFL debut 🙏
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/7K6K2aUIcT
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 18, 2020
This is Fitzpatrick’s job for now but it is only a matter of time before Brian Flores decides to hand over this offense to his young franchise quarterback.
Running Backs
Myles Gaskin: 18 carries, 91 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 35 yards
Matt Breida: 6 carries, 15 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
Myles Gaskin (16.60 fantasy points) has established himself as the lead back in this offense and there is very little to suggest that is going to change any time soon. Nobody in the fantasy community predicted this scenario so if you have managed to add Gaskin in recent weeks as a prime waiver wire target then you are likely to be rewarded for the rest of the season. Gaskin is the 16th ranked running back in fantasy scoring this week and is the perfect RB2 option – a tough downhill runner who is also productive with yards after the catch.
Myles Gaskin is a PROBLEM 🗣️ @MylesGAS @MiamiDolphins
📺 #NYJvsMIA on CBS pic.twitter.com/44IavpMtY0
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 18, 2020
Matt Breida (4.20 fantasy points) again saw the scraps off the table thrown his way. Breida is not a fantasy option at the moment.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Adam Shaheen: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD
Jakeem Grant: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards
Devante Parker: 8 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards
Preston Williams: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD
Durham Smythe: 2 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards, 1 TD
Patrick Laird: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Mike Gesicki: 2 targets, 0 receptions
Remember when Adam Shaheen (14.10 fantasy points) was a breakout tight end option in Chicago? Yes, that was another world. The big guy has now found paydirt in his past two games however and led the Dolphins in receiving yards today. That is bad news for Mike Gesicki owners, who saw their guy put up a doughnut this week. Even Durham Smythe, who is predominantly a blocking tight end, notched a touchdown pass today. That is a fantasy situation to monitor in Miami.
Devante Parker (6.50 fantasy points) has been terrific this season possessing all the qualities of a No.1 wide receiver. Today’s output was very disappointing, however, and his 35 receiving yards are a new season-low despite Fitzpatrick throwing his way 8 times. Still, Parker has 40 targets over the first 6 games and remains a high-end WR2, low-end WR1 option every week in fantasy.
Preston Williams (9.80 fantasy points) is a risky option for most weeks as his production is tied to his opportunity to score touchdowns. Well, that seems a moot point at the minute as the talent receiver out of Colorado State has now found paydirt 3 times in his last 4 games.
The #Dolphins up 14-0 & Preston Williams has 3 touchdowns in the last four games.#FantasyFootball | #NFL pic.twitter.com/OUr1Rw9hOv
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
— Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)