Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buffalo Bills
This game was a rainy, windy mess, featuring gusts of wind up to 25 miles per hour. This altered the course of the game for both teams. Let’s take a look at how both teams coped with Mother Nature.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
- Carson Wentz: 17/24, 172 yards, 1 TD; 8 carries, 35 yards
Carson Wentz and the Eagles kept the offense simple early, running the ball on four of their first six plays and throwing short passes on 17 of 18 throws on their first four possessions. The Eagles then opened the second half with a touchdown drive, putting them up 17-7. The second half was a positive game script for the Eagles and they were happy to keep the ball on the ground. The weather turned Wentz into a game manager, but that proved to be enough to get the win. Wentz faces another tough test in Week 9 hosting the Bears.
Running Backs
- Miles Sanders: 3 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD; 3 targets, 3 catches, 44 yards
- Jordan Howard: 23 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD; 2 targets, 1 catch, 15 yards
- Boston Scott: 5 carries, 6 yards, 1 TD
Miles Sanders showed off his big-play ability as the Eagles set up Sanders to be in space with three screen passes, including one that went for 25 yards. On the second play of the 2nd half, Sanders took a handoff and went up the middle and took it 65 yards to the house. Unfortunately, Sanders injured his shoulder on the carry and didn’t return to the game.
When Sanders wasn’t breaking off big plays, Jordan Howard was banging with the big boys. Once the dust settled, Howard ended up with 96 yards on 23 carries including a nice 20 yard run on the same drive that he ended up in the end zone. This performance was 100% due to the weather and game script, but we’ll have to see if the Eagles change their game plan moving forward to keep this momentum going into their Week 9 matchup against the Bears.
Boston Scott’s first touch of the game resulted in his four-yard touchdown run. His next touch resulted in a lost fumble on a punt return. Following the fumble, he had zero touched until the last two series when the Eagles were just killing clock. We’ll have to keep an eye on Scott’s workload if Sanders misses any time.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Zach Ertz: 4 targets, 2 catches, 20 yards
- Alshon Jeffery: 6 targets, 4 catches, 64 yards
- Dallas Goedert: 5 targets, 3 catches, 22 yards, 1 TD
- Nelson Agholor: 4 targets, 4 catches, 7 yards; 2 carries, 7 yards
Those of us looking for the Zach Ertz bounceback were thoroughly disappointed as he had just two catches on four targets. Ertz will look to get right against the Bears, who have been middle of the road against opposing tight ends this year.
Alshon Jeffery tied Miles Sanders with a team-high six targets. Jeffery caught four of his targets including a key 38-yard reception on the first play of the Eagles second series in the third quarter, which led to a Boston Scott touchdown. Jeffery leads the team with a 25% target share and remains a WR2 moving forward.
The Dallas Goedert train kept on rolling as he had his second-biggest workload of the year. Goedert caught four passes after reeling in five balls in Week 7. So the main question – is Goedert’s breakout a result of Ertz’s bad weeks, or can they both have sustainable production moving forward? If you’re desperate at tight end, Goedert should provide low-end TE2 production moving forward.
Nelson Agholor caught all four of his short targets for seven yards. His role in the offense has been reduced significantly since his two-touchdown game in Week 3 against the Lions and can remain on the waiver wire moving forward.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
- Josh Allen: 16/33, 169 yards, 2 TDs; 8 carries, 45 yards; 3 fumbles, 1 lost
The weather became an extra defender in the Eagles’ normally porous secondary as Josh Allen struggled to connect with his pass-catchers. Allen felt the Eagles rush all game, getting sacked four times and fumbled twice on those sacks. His third fumble, also the one he lost, came on a designed run play. That felt like the turning point of the game as it came deep in Buffalo territory. The Eagles scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive and then opened up a huge lead when they scored again on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter. With the Bills in catchup mode, Allen tried to enter gunslinger mode, but the weather and Eagles pass rush prevented Allen from stringing any drives together. Luckily for Allen, he gets the Holy Trinity of matchups as he faces the Redskins, Browns, and Dolphins over the next three weeks.
Running Backs
- Frank Gore: 9 carries, 34 yards
- Devin Singletary: 3 carries, 19 yards; 6 targets, 4 catches, 29 yards, 1 TD
We knew Frank Gore had his work cut out for him coming into a difficult matchup against the Eagles. The tone was set early as on a 3rd and 1, Frank Gore was stuffed, forcing a punt. Once the Eagles were in control of the game, Gore saw just two touches in the second half. With the Bills having decent matchups over the next three games, Gore may have some fantasy value as an RB2.
With the negative game script, Devin Singletary saw most of the running back snaps in the second half. He managed six targets, tying his season-high, catching four balls including an incredible 28-yard catch and run that hit pay dirt. While it was good to see Singletary more involved in the offense, we want to see him worked in more often in neutral game scripts moving forward.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- John Brown: 8 targets, 5 catches, 54 yards
- Cole Beasley: 6 targets, 3 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD
- Tyler Kroft: 4 targets, 2 catches, 32 yards
- Lee Smith: 1 target, 1 catch, 6 yards
- Duke Williams: 2 targets, 1 catch, 6 yards
- Patrick DiMarco: 1 target
- Robert Foster: 1 target
- Dawson Knox: 1 target
John Brown once again led the Bills pass catchers in targets, catches, and Air Yards, but Mother Nature stopped Brown from taking advantage of an Eagles secondary that had allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. Brown should be a solid WR2 moving forward, especially with the upcoming schedule.
Cole Beasley has had the same number of targets as John Brown on the year and fortunately for him, this was the perfect game condition – short passes for days. Beasley managed six targets for three catches, including a 14-yard touchdown reception. Moving forward, Beasley remains a low-end flex option in PPR leagues.
While there were plenty of raindrops in Buffalo, there were at least a couple of my tears shed for Dawson Knox. Tyler Kroft’s role in the offense increased in his second game back with the Bills, which led to Knox getting just one target. This makes neither tight end startable moving forward.
-Rich Holman, @nextdoorFFguru