Los Angeles Rams @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Final Score: Rams 35, Jaguars 7
Writer: Raymi Chavez
A slick, rainy Wembley Stadium was the setting for a comedy of errors by the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was also the site of a clinic put on by Matthew Stafford. A lot was made of the Rams’ approach to the time-zone issue, as they spent the majority of the week on the East Coast before heading over to London the day before, but it was the Jaguars who seemed out of sorts. Three straight punts left the Jaguars down 14-0 quickly, and a missed field goal after that promptly led to a Rams touchdown to make it a 21-0 score. This put the Jaguars into a high-tempo offense the rest of the way, and they finally woke up. The Jaguars regularly found themselves in Rams territory, but couldn’t get any points on the board. They overreacted to their deficit and continuously went for it on fourth down when they really didn’t need to, and while the Rams sputtered in the third quarter, the defense kept stonewalling the Jaguars on third and fourth downs. A litany of penalties didn’t help. It felt like every big stop or gain was negated by a penalty. The Jaguars were outplayed entirely. Let’s have a look at the fantasy impact this game had.
Three Up
- Matthew Stafford — Everyone’s All-American shined. This was professional quarterbacking, efficient and effective.
- Travis Hunter — We heard all week about Hunter being a bigger focus of the game plan, and he was. If this continues, the lone silver lining for the Jaguars could be this turning point in his rookie season.
- Davante Adams — No Puka Nacua meant Davante was leaned on in the red zone, and he delivered with a hat trick of touchdowns.
One Down
- Brian Thomas Jr. — I think I wrote incomplete to Thomas more than anything else while watching this game. He struggled, and his injury at the end of the game may be the football gods mercifully making fantasy managers’ decisions for them.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: 21/38, 182 Yards, 5 TDs | 2 Carries, 1 Yard
This was the definition of a clinical performance. Stafford was dealing, wet ball and all. Didn’t make a single mistake, never put the ball in harm’s way and spread the love without Puka Nacua, who was shelved with an injury. He hit 10 receivers, threw two rookies their first career touchdowns and then abused cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage on Davante in the red zone. The entire fantasy world seemed to be worried about his back before the season began, but if there were any more doubts, they have been squashed. Stafford is back to being in that QB5-10 range.
Running Back
Kyren Williams: 12 Carries, 54 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
With the injury to Nacua and the wet weather in London, many anticipated Kyren Williams to have a big game, but the Rams came out firing with their passing game, and the run game wasn’t leaned on nearly as much as managers would have hoped. Kyren is the primary back still, almost doubling Blake Corum in snaps, and more than doubling him in routes run. These types of games are his floor, but he delivered on a couple of big third downs to salt the game away at the end.
Blake Corum: 12 Carries, 37 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
While the stat line is promising, with Blake Corum matching Kyren in carries, in reality, the bulk of those came in latter parts of the game when the result was already in hand, and even then, when it came to big third downs, Kyren would come in to capitalize. Corum’s run production is about 80-90% of what Kyren gives you, and then he falls short in the pass game. As long as Kyren is healthy, he’ll be the primary back and leaned on in nearly all high-leverage situations.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Davante Adams: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 35 Yards, 3 TDs
This was vintage Davante Adams. Absolutely dominant in the red zone, Adams was making defenders look silly in man-to-man. He wasn’t utilized a lot outside of the red zone, but came through on the money plays. This was a good reminder that he still has this in him, and even when Puka returns, Adams will get his opportunities to cash in.
Tyler Higbee: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 19 Yards
Puka’s role was replicated through a team effort that heavily involved the tight end corps. Tyler Higbee paced them in targets. This type of game for him and the other tight ends will likely depend on future injuries occurring for it to be predictable. The four tight ends ranged from 9-13 routes run and 26-36 snaps, as it was truly a committee effort.
Colby Parkinson: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 47 Yards
Colby Parkinson led the team in receiving yards. He had a 14-yard reception that was called down at the 1 after initially looking like a touchdown.
Terrance Ferguson: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 31 Yards, TD
Terrance Ferguson replaced Puka’s deep-ball threat, as all his targets were intermediate or better depths. After nearly coming down with a couple of them, he was able to cash in on a four-and-inches late in the fourth quarter, which was the final nail in the coffin in this game.
Jordan Whittington: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
I was among many managers who thought Jordan Whittington could be the beneficiary of a bump in targets for this game. Unfortunately, he was quiet, receiving three of his four targets on consecutive plays in the second half. Otherwise, he didn’t factor into this game even though he ran the second most routes on the team.
Xavier Smith: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Konata Mumpfield: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards, TD
Caught his first career touchdown!
Davis Allen: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 23/48, 296 Yards, TD | 2 Carries, 18 Yards
This was a rough one for Trevor Lawrence. Giving credence to the idea that the team has been succeeding despite his performance. Trevor made a lot of great passes, but everyone on the team passed the baton of blame around. He’d hit a receiver’s hands two times in a row, only for it to be dropped, and then blow an absolute gimme of a pass. There was one drive where the receiver’s hands worked, and Trevor was accurate for three consecutive plays, which led to their only touchdown of the game. The playcalling was fine. They moved to a heavy pass offense a lot earlier than they needed to out of what seemed like panic, but the playcalls were working, and the players couldn’t make the plays. Like usual, there are flashes of Trevor’s seemingly untapped potential. He needs to find consistency with his accuracy.
Running Back
Travis Etienne Jr.: 8 Carries, 44 Yards | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Liam Coen and the Jaguars’ offense abandoned the run game quickly once they found themselves down three scores, which severely impacted Travis Etienne Jr.‘s production. He ran really well when given carries, but was held back by the game script. He is still pacing the team in snaps with 42, nearly doubling Bhayshul Tuten‘s 22. I wouldn’t worry about this performance. He should bounce right back to the kind of games he was having before.
Bhayshul Tuten: 5 Carries, 22 Yards
Bhayshul Tuten has already been dubbed as Coen’s new Bucky Irving, but he was completely shut out of the pass game. He split backup duties with LeQuint Allen, but still ran fewer routes. He also didn’t pop off the screen. All these running backs were really handicapped by the Jaguars’ playcalling.
LeQuint Allen: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
He nearly matched Tuten’s snap count and even ran more routes, but was held out of the run game entirely. He was solid in pass protection, but that only helps fantasy managers know that he’s building more trust in the offense to be on the field.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Hunter: 14 Targets, 8 Receptions, 101 Yards, TD | 1 Carry, 0 Yards
There it is. The Travis Hunter breakout game was his first touchdown and his first high-usage game on offense. He was quiet in the first half as Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington were seeing a lot of the looks early, but Hunter popped in the second half. Coaches seemed to shift him into focus in the game plan. He was used a lot in screen games, stacking a lot of no or little gain receptions and finally popped on a big 34-yard touchdown play where he fought through a defensive hold to come down with the touchdown still. He looked impressive, and he avoided being a part of the drop parade. If this is the turning point in his season, he is about to be a stud, especially if Thomas is out for any significant portion of time.
Parker Washington: 10 Targets, 4 Receptions, 52 Yards | 3 Carries, 10 Yards
Parker Washington has clearly worked himself into the game plan. He had a 62-yard punt return touchdown called back due to an unnecessary block in the back. He was featured on three jet sweeps and was second on the team in targets, which was encouraging, but he contributed to the problem with his fair share of drops and bad plays. There was a deep 30-yard bomb to him on the outside that he caught with ease, but failed to keep his feet in bounds. Also had a couple of passes from Trevor that hit him right in the hands, not gimme catches, but definitely catches that he’d expect to make more often than not, could have been in line for a big game and has usurped Dyami Brown on the depth chart.
Brian Thomas Jr.: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 31 Yards
I promise you, every single one of his targets hit this man in the hands. This was another inexcusably bad performance. In the latter parts of the game, he seemed always to be coming off the field with some ailment, before fully coming out with a shoulder injury off an innocent-looking tap on the shoulder from a defensive back in coverage. I really think he is someone you can give up on in redraft leagues. Hunter needs to be the focal point of this offense. Brian Thomas Jr. does too much harm to the momentum of the drives and cannot currently be trusted on high-leverage plays.
Dyami Brown: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 50 Yards
If not for a successful deep catch late in the game, I would have forgotten Brown was back from injury. He only played 23 snaps, suggesting he is either being eased back in and is still banged up or that Washington has entirely usurped him on the depth chart. If you have him on your bench in deeper leagues, I would give him a week or two before making any final decisions on him.
Johnny Mundt: 4 Targets, 9 Yards
All of Johnny Mundt‘s missed targets were drops as well, or poorly run routes. I don’t expect him to be of any fantasy value to anyone, but I only make this point to showcase how important Brenton Strange is to this offense.
Hunter Long: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards
Tim Patrick: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 22 Yards