Packers @ Buccaneers
If you were expecting to see this game turn into a high-scoring shootout, you were left scratching your head as Tampa Bay’s defense completely shut down QB Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense. Green Bay dominated possession in the first quarter and got out to a 10-0 lead, but after an uncharacteristic pick-6 from Rodgers early in the 2nd quarter, the tide shifted for good and the Bucs turned it into a rout. In fact, the Buccaneers went on to score 38 unanswered points to win 38-10. We knew Tampa Bay’s defense has been a tough matchup for most teams this season, but it is officially time to be worried about facing them in your fantasy lineups. Let’s dive into what we saw:
Green Bay Packers
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers: 16/35, 160 yards, 2 INT | 2 carries, 14 yards
Touching a bit more on being worried about players in your fantasy roster matching up with Tampa Bay’s defense, the Buccaneers made Packers QB Aaron Rodgers look like a below-average quarterback on Sunday. Rodgers threw a pick-six for just the third time in his entire career, and he threw multiple interceptions without a TD pass for just the second time in his entire career – the last time this occurred was in 2014 against Buffalo.
Jamel Dean brings one back on Rodgers.#FantasyFootball | #Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/OwQzkBGMSR
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
After Rodgers’ pick-six, he threw another interception on Green Bay’s very next possession, and the game’s momentum flipped entirely. Left tackle David Bakhtiari left early in the second half with an injury, and though the coaching staff is optimistic about his health, a prolonged absence would be concerning. It was a rare fantasy dud for Rodgers and the Packers’ offensive skill players all suffered as a result. Rodgers will look to bounce back next week against a much less troubling Houston secondary.
Running Backs
Aaron Jones: 10 carries, 15 yards, 1 TD | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards
Jamaal Williams: 4 carries, 34 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
A.J. Dillon: 5 carries, 31 yards
As goes Aaron Rodgers, so go the rest of the Packers’ offensive players – and today wasn’t pretty. We worried about Packers’ RB Aaron Jones going up against one of the best rushing defenses in the league, and it turns out we were right to be concerned. Jones’ 1.5 YPC was the lowest of his career in games where he had at least 10 carries. While Jones’ short TD plunge in the 1st quarter and his 3 receptions salvaged him from being a complete bust, he didn’t play nearly up to his RB1 ceiling we’ve seen so far this year.
Here’s the 30th Aaron Jones TD (including postseason) since the start of the 2019 season.#FantasyFootball | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/iehCoGN2ET
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
After a huge receiving performance against Atlanta in Week 4 (8 receptions, 95 yards), RB Jamaal Williams was held in check against Tampa Bay as well. If you started either of these backs today, you were surely left disappointed. Rookie RB A.J. Dillon had the best fantasy performance of his young career while working in mop-up duty after the game was out of hand. Green Bay’s backs should be in line for a better day against Houston in Week 7.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Davante Adams: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 61 yards
Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 32 yards
Darrius Shepherd: 1 target, 1 reception, 16 yards
Robert Tonyan: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards
It was safe to assume that Green Bay’s pass-catchers would fare better against Tampa Bay’s defense than the running backs would – seeing as how Tampa Bay has only been average against the pass this season while being dominant against the run. That did not come to fruition on Sunday, however. If you have Packers’ WR Davante Adams rostered, you hoped he would provide a strong outing with a fully rested hamstring following Green Bay’s bye week. While Adams was clearly the focal point of the offense and it was good to see him looking healthy, this was not an elite WR1 performance.
If you have TE Robert Tonyan rostered, you hoped that Rodgers would still look his way plenty even with Adams’ return. While Tonyan was the Packers’ fourth most targeted pass-catcher, his three catches for 25 yards were clearly a step back. Tonyan appeared to turn his ankle during the game and hobbled off, only to return later, so keep an eye on the injury report this week.
Tampa Bay’s defense kept Green Bay’s pass-catchers in check – even as the game script skewed pass-heavy with Green Bay playing from behind for the entire second half. Adams, Tonyan, and the rest of the Packers offense will likely bounce back next week against a much more porous Texans defense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady: 17/27, 166 yards, 2 TD
Buccaneers’ QB Tom Brady had a second straight lackluster fantasy outing against Green Bay on Sunday, even though he led Tampa Bay to a win. Brady did throw 2 TDs, but with the running game working as well as it did, it made more sense for Brady and the Bucs to employ a heavy rushing attack. At this point, it’s getting tough to trust Brady as a starter in one-QB leagues. He did have a huge game against the Chargers in Week 4, but otherwise, his outings have been hit-or-miss from a fantasy perspective. Brady will have a pretty juicy matchup next week in Las Vegas against the Raiders, and if he underperforms again, it may be time to consider searching for a starting QB option elsewhere. With the defense playing this well and his receivers recovering from injuries, there just hasn’t been a need for Brady to air it out most weeks.
Brady with a bullet to Tyler Johnson.#FantasyFootball | #Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/zOPOK84V3y
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
Running Backs
Ronald Jones: 23 carries, 113 yards, 2 TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards
Ke’Shawn Vaughn: 5 carries, 42 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
LeSean McCoy: 4 carries, 1 yard | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
With Buccaneers’ RB Leonard Fournette inactive with an ankle injury, second-year RB Ronald Jones had another solid outing against the Packers on Sunday. Jones was firmly in RB2 territory coming into this week’s matchup with Green Bay, but after his strong showing today, looking forward it’s possible that Jones starts to enter the RB1 discussion. Either way, he is practically a must-start at this point until he shows us otherwise. Even with Fournette’s monster performance in Week 2, Fournette hasn’t shown to be much of a threat to Jones’ workload as a whole. That being said, Fournette’s absence certainly gives Jones’ value a slight boost and Jones made the most of it today with 100+ rushing yards and 2 TDs. Rookie RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn looked sharp in relief of Jones in the second half but didn’t see any significant work until the game was out of hand. Whether or not Fournette returns, Jones should definitely be in your starting lineup next week against the Raiders.
Hot Take from @FelixTheDog23:
“Ronald Jones looks a lot like LeGarrette Blount.” pic.twitter.com/jQeNfRP2B4
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Mike Evans: 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards
Chris Godwin: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards
Tyler Johnson: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards, 1 TD
Scott Miller: 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards
Rob Gronkowski: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 78 yards, 1 TD
Managers with Buccaneers’ WR Chris Godwin were relieved to see him return this week after missing 3 out of Tampa Bay’s first 5 games this season – including the last two weeks. Those managers with WR Mike Evans or WR Scott Miller rostered probably winced at the idea of Godwin’s return, and it turns out they were right to. Although none of Tampa Bay’s WRs provided a great fantasy performance, we did see the best outing of the year thus far for TE Rob Gronkowski. Gronk caught his first TD of the season against the Packers on Sunday – invoking a ‘Gronk Spike’ that was a long time in the making.
What’s that? Was there a spike?
Of course there was a spike. pic.twitter.com/FDh1RtYMUY
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 18, 2020
You can see that Gronk spiked the ball with his left hand, and when he was asked about it after the game he mentioned that his right arm was sore – so that will be something to keep an eye on. Gronk hasn’t done much this season, but this game could be an indicator of what’s in store in the future. Gronk has seen at least 6 targets in 3 of Tampa Bay’s last 4 games, and he will match up against Las Vegas next weekend – who has been below average against TEs so far this season.
–Corey Saucier
@Deputy_Commish on Twitter
LightsKamaraAction on Reddit