What We Saw: Week 7

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Sunday's action

Ben Brown
What We Saw 2 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Saints @ Cardinals
Browns @ Ravens
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Falcons @ Bengals
Lions @ Cowboys
Giants @ Jaguars
Colts @ Titans
Packers @ Commanders
Jets @ Broncos
Texans @ Raiders
Seahawks @ Chargers
Chiefs @ 49ers
Steelers @ Dolphins

Giants @ Jaguars

Final Score: Giants 23, Jaguars 17

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

The New York Giants and their enigmatic Head Coach Brian Daboll rolled into Duval County boasting their best start to a season since 2009. Meanwhile, Doug Pederson‘s Jacksonville Jaguars have been slowly building a brand of tough football and have a new characteristic of being hard to beat. With both fanbases experiencing hope and pride for the first time in a long while, this game was one of the most awaited of the weekend. And, it went right down to the wire as both teams played hard and made this an enjoyable watch.

Daniel Jones proved to be the deciding factor, adding over 100 yards and a touchdown on the ground to an efficient day through the air. He started the contest with an impressive 9-play, 75-yard drive that was polished off with this beautifully flighted 32-yard pass to Darius Slayton for the six.

 

 

…and he finished the game in style โ€“ this quarterback sneak finishing off a 10-play, 79-yard drive late in the fourth quarter to seal his team’s phenomenal rise to 6-1 this season. Jones added 35 yards on four carries during this crucial drive at a key stage of the game.

 

 

Credit to Trevor Lawrence, however, he never stopped battling and gave his team an improbable chance to win the game with a determined 10-play drive starting at the Jaguars’ own 25-yard line and finishing at the Giants’ 1-yard line with time expiring at the end of the game. Riveting stuff!

 

 

The Brian Daboll Fan Club is alive and well at 6-1. New York, New York!

 

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterback

 

Daniel Jones: 19/30, 202 Yards, TD, Sack | 11 Carries, 107 Yards, TD

 

Producing his best fantasy performance of the season thanks to over 100 yards rushing and touchdowns on the ground and through the air, Daniel Jones amassed 30.78 fantasy points (in Yahoo! leagues) and continues his career renaissance under Daboll. After hitting Darius Slayton early for a long touchdown pass, Jones was given time by his remade offensive line and consistently peppered his receivers with accurate throws to move the chains on short-to-intermediate routes. Apart from the Slayton score, his next longest pass was just 19 yards.

 

https://gfycat.com/impassionedhappyiberianchiffchaff

 

Otherwise, most of his damage came on the ground as he ran 11 times for 107 yards and sneaked in for a score. Jones was pivotal in deciding the game by recognizing when to take off himself to move the ball. Jones has always had this ability in his arsenal but Daboll is finding the perfect balance for his quarterback to maximize his strengths.

 

 

Running Back

 

Saquon Barkley: 24 Carries, 110 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 25 Yards

Matt Breida: 4 Carries, 19 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards

 

Another masterclass of rushing from the rejuvenated Saquon Barkley, who averaged 4.6 yards per carry and made things happen out of the backfield even when there seemed to be no way to go.

 

 

Barkley had struggled to just 20 yards on his first 10 carries but as the Jacksonville defense tired in the second half, Barkley took advantage and stretched the field on numerous occasions. This beautiful cut and run shows just how much Barkley has improved now he is healthy, trusting his body, and executing running routes with aplomb.

 

 

Barkley now has 726 yards across seven contests on the ground and has emerged as a fantasy starlet at the position to rival Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb, and Austin Ekeler. Elite stuff from the former Penn State rusher.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Darius Slayton: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 58 Yards, TD

Wan’Dale Robinson: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 50 Yards

Chris Myarick: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards

David Sills V: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 19 Yards

Daniel Bellinger: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 13 Yards

Richie James: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

Marcus Johnson: 3 Targets

Tanner Hudson: 1 Target

 

It wasn’t a field day for this receiving corps, however, they made plays when they needed to and caused problems for the Jaguars’ defense all day with some slick route running and smart contested catches. Rookie Wan’Dale Robinson continued his encouraging start to life as a Giant, lining up across the formation and being utilized in a number of offensive situations. This impressive jet sweep play saw Robinson at his best, running at defenders, making moves, and picking up extra yards. He could become a nice flex option for fantasy purposes.

 

https://gfycat.com/practicalelectrickouprey

 

Darius Slayton has been plucked from the fantasy wilderness to become the lead receiver in this offense. Slayton hauled in his second score of the season and stepped up for his team for the second time in the last month as his work ethic and playmaking skills continue to catch the eye of Daboll and earn the trust of his quarterback. He was sparingly used outside of the long touchdown grab, however, he is a fantasy asset to keep an eye on.

The only other thing to note here is that promising rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger was ruled out for the majority of this game after being gruesomely poked in the eye on a tackle. Bellinger was clearly in pain and the medical staff was very worried about his eye. A freak, unlucky injury that we expect to be updated on later this week. Bellinger has put himself on the fantasy radar with a couple of key performances and two touchdowns so far in his debut season.

 

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Quarterback

 

Trevor Lawrence: 22/43, 310 Yards | 4 Carries, 3 Yards, TD

 

Everything but the cherry on top of the cake for Trevor Lawrence, who narrowly missed dragging his team over the line when a final play pass to Christian Kirk fell agonizingly short of the end zone as time expired. Lawrence pulled off a miraculous throw on fourth and long earlier in the drive to keep the Jags’ hopes alive.

 

 

However, Kirk could not battle through the tackles to earn his quarterback a win. Lawrence threw for over 300 yards for the first time this season and looks to be building the blocks to becoming a fantasy-productive quarterback. Lawrence still missed a number of throws that he should have given his receivers more chances on. These little mistakes have plagued Lawrence this season despite his overall play being much improved from last year.

Lawrence salvaged his fantasy day with an up-and-over at the goal line for a rushing touchdown.

 

 

His only big mistake was a botched fourth down quarterback sneak that turned the ball over back to the Giants in the fourth quarter, allowing the go-ahead touchdown drive.

 

 

Running Back

 

Travis Etienne Jr.: 14 Carries, 114 Yards, TD | 5 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards | 1 Fumble (Lost)

JaMycal Hasty: 1 Carry, 6 Yards

James Robinson: 1 Target

 

The scepter has officially been handed over to Travis Etienne Jr. in the Jacksonville backfield. For the second week in a row, the former Clemson running back has led the Jacksonville backfield with James Robinson almost forgotten as an option. Overall, it was an extremely productive outing, including a touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

 

 

He even converted the two-point conversion to establish himself as the new lead runner for this team.

 

 

With Etienne explosive as a runner, Pederson continued to feed the hot hand as the half approached. However, a disastrous fumble at the goal line was a key mistake that left the door open for the Giants to come back and win in the second half. It could have all been so different for the Jags if Etienne had run this in as he should have.

 

 

Etienne was also in the formation for third-down plays and saw five of six targets out of the backfield. Robinson and JaMycal Hasty saw just one look each. Etienne is now the guy to have in Jacksonville.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Christian Kirk: 1 Carry, 5 Yards | 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 96 Yards | 0/1

Evan Engram: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 67 Yards

Marvin Jones Jr.: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 57 Yards

Zay Jones: 1 Carry, 14 Yards | 10 Targets, 4 Receptions, 54 Yards

Dan Arnold: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 24 Yards

Tim Jones: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards

 

The significant improvement in the Jacksonville receiving room from the previous couple of seasons is evident by the quality on show. Veteran Marvin Jones Jr. was trusted on to move the sticks on early downs and made a couple of crucial grabs in the first half to set up scoring plays, including this fantastic one-handed effort.

 

 

Christian Kirk led the team with 10 targets and seven catches alongside Zay Jones, who also notched 10 targets but could only haul in four grabs. Kirk has been the feature WR1 in this offense since coming over from Arizona and he was so close to winning the game for his team. His seven grabs were a season-high and he achieved his second-highest yards total for the season. All that was missing was the execution on that final play and we would be singing about Kirk as the perfect fantasy WR2.

 

https://gfycat.com/brillianteducatedbelugawhale

 

Another free agent acquisition, Evan Engram has also proved to be a shrewd pass-catcher from the tight end position. His route running has been a big weapon for the tight end in his career and this was a beauty.

 

 

The unlucky man of this group was Jones, who ran excellent routes all day and was overthrown in the end zone when Lawrence should have feathered the pass more to the outside. A missed opportunity.

 

https://gfycat.com/sardonicunrealisticherring

Series Navigation
Introduction
Saints @ Cardinals
Browns @ Ravens
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Falcons @ Bengals
Lions @ Cowboys
Giants @ Jaguars
Colts @ Titans
Packers @ Commanders
Jets @ Broncos
Texans @ Raiders
Seahawks @ Chargers
Chiefs @ 49ers
Steelers @ Dolphins

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