Titans vs. Chargers
Titans
After last week’s disappointing showing, I was waiting to see something–anything–from this Titans squad. Well, I can say that their fight returned in week 7. Despite putting up a loss, the Titans played hard and looked like a much better team. The running game returned with 164 yards. The passing game returned with Marcus Mariota throwing for 200+ and the Titans having a 100 yard receiver. The game came down to the last play, and I hopefully watched as the Titans went for 2 and the win vs playing for overtime. Though it didn’t turn out as I hoped, the game still gave me renewed faith in the Tennessee offense.
Passing Game
Marcus Mariota bounced back in week 7 with a 75% completion percentage, 237 yards, and a touchdown as well as rushing for 38 more yards. The stat line could have looked even better if not for some key drops by the Titans receivers. Taywan Taylor saw what could have been a big gain slip away, and I would say the Titans receivers let Mariota down. Nevertheless, Tajae Sharpe and Dion Lewis were targeted early and often and both were fantasy useful. For Tajae Sharpe, this was the first real sniff of fantasy relevance this year. He could be headed for a breakout, but beware that the Titans are on BYE next week. Still, he could be worth the preemptive pickup. Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor were quiet this week, and I am holding steady on the value of both for now.
Rushing Game
In the rushing game, we saw more of what we’ve been seeing this year: Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry received roughly the same number of targets this week, but Dion Lewis did much more with his. Lewis continues to be fantasy useful with his rushing volume and passing game use. He certainly has a higher ceiling in PPR, but I would use him in either format right now. Just beware that the bubble will shrink some weeks like we saw last week. Derrick Henry, on the other hand, continued to show us nothing. I have no confidence in him as a viable asset, and I would trade him for anything I could get. I think his only real value is if Lewis misses time. If Henry was looking at 20+ carries a game, then I would be back on board. However, that seems unlikely based on what we know.
-Matt Cava
Chargers
This thrilling game gave our neighbors across the pond a reason to start following football. It always baffles me that coaches don’t go for the win in this situation more often! Is tying the game with a kick and giving the ball back to the other team (or going to overtime) really safe at all? As someone that was rooting for the Chargers, I dreaded to see that offense stay out on the field. It is never encouraging when two shorts yards are all that separate you from a heartbreaking loss.
So where am I going with this? Anytime you see one of these “gutsy” play calls that often have people second-guessing the coach, imagine you are on the sideline of that other team. It is terrifying when a team is brave enough to go for short yardage fourth downs, or when they go for the win instead of going for the tie. In any event, I firmly defend Mike Vrabel’s decision to go for two, even though it “lost” him the game. As a Chargers fan, I am more than pleased with the play call because that was the real problem. Even with the poor play call it still required an impressive play from safety Adrian Phillips who deserves the game ball today. While this was definitely the most important play of the game, below I will highlight the rest of the fantasy-relevant performances from this game.
Tyrell Williams: The Deep Threat
I have to admit when I am wrong. Basically the entire year I have been praising Mike Williams and calling for Tyrell Williams to fade out of the offense. My thought was (and still is) that Mike Williams is a more talented receiver that can be more dynamic for this offense. But I will acknowledge that Tyrell can fill a different role than Williams as a pure speed, deep threat receiver. The past two weeks Tyrell has proven his skill in this position and from now on it seems a long touchdown is always a possibility. However, I will give some words of caution. Deep threat receivers can be extremely inconsistent, especially when they are not the number one option. The touchdown this week was on broken coverage where Tyrell was running free in the secondary. While I am not trying to downplay his success the past few weeks, it is important to realize how random these types of plays are. And the Chargers had two of them this week! Mike Williams also had a long touchdown on what appeared to be a miscommunication by the defense. These plays effectively made up all of Williams’s production this week, which is slightly concerning moving forward. Although these huge plays are unlikely to happen on a regular basis, both of them remain high upside secondary options in this explosive offense.
Philip Rivers: Solid Again
While this was not a spectacular game for Philip Rivers or the offense overall, they still managed to produce and earn a victory. As I mentioned earlier, most of the Chargers passing came on two busts in coverage that did not require any spectacular effort from Rivers or his receivers. At the end of the day, you take what the defense gives you and Rivers has done that all year. The Titans proved to be a tough defense that did bottle up the Chargers for most of the game but Rivers did enough to push this team to victory.
Keenan Allen: Julio Jones Lite
There has been a lot of attention paid to Julio Jones and his otherworldly dominance in every part of the game except in the end zone. I would argue that Keenan Allen should also be thrown into that conversation. Although he is not posting the gaudy totals that Jones is, he has been solid all year for the Chargers and is a big reason why they are able to move the ball so effectively. For fantasy, it is super frustrating, but you must keep playing Allen knowing he is the number one, go-to guy in this offense. I have to believe that Allen will start finding his way into the end zone and that the big week is coming. With another scoreless week going into the bye, Allen owners may be frustrated enough to trade him away cheap. Take advantage. If you are an Allen owner, stay strong and keep playing your stud.
Ekeler’s Bell Cow Debut
A late Melvin Gordon injury thrust Austin Ekeler into the spotlight and meant that he was finally going to have a game to prove his skill. Like most backup running backs that take over for the starter, his numbers took a significant dip. No longer was Ekeler running against favorable sets or getting plenty of time to rest in between attempts. And it showed. The Titans shut Ekeler down the entire game, even in the passing game where his five catches only resulted in 26 yards. We will have to monitor Gordon’s injury throughout the bye week but it does not seem serious enough to cause concern for week 9. I was really rooting for Ekeler in this game but his subpar performance has further cemented Gordon’s status as the Chargers bell cow
Finally, the Defense
Casey Hayward Jr. is getting back into form. He absolutely shut down Corey Davis on Sunday, just as he did to Amari Cooper a few weeks before. When a corner can take away an offenses number one option it makes the rest of the defense better. Desmond King continued his excellent 2018 campaign and has become a weapon covering the slot. Despite the overall success they had on Sunday, tackling was an issue. The reason Dion Lewis had such a solid game is directly related to those missed tackles. Regardless, this defense has taken a step forward and hopefully, we all cross our fingers and Joey Bosa makes it back after the bye. With the bye week coming up, the Charges Defense will be available in most leagues which makes them a good pick up for the rest of the season.
-Stephen Dudas