Giants @ Football Team
In an NFC East matchup, the New York Giants defeated the Washington Football Team 23-20 in a game that saw a gruesome injury to Kyle Allen and another appearance back from Alex Smith. With that change at quarterback came some questions as to how the Washington offense would look, and whether it would mean good things for those rostered in fantasy football. Let’s dive in to see how it ended up.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: 23/34, 212 yards, 1 TD, 5 sacks | 6 carries, 4 yards
While the Washington pass rush was able to put pressure throughout the game, Daniel Jones was very efficient in this game, ending the game with no turnovers for only the second time this season. There was one play where he threw a pick, but it ended up getting overturned because the ball hit the ground. With the Giants building themselves out to an early lead, they did not have to lean on Jones as much and his numbers could have been even better if his receiver Austin Mack was able to stretch out for just that extra yard instead of having his elbow down at the half-yard line. His one touchdown pass was a nice ball thrown over the top to Evan Engram, with Engram just able to stretch out for that touchdown grab.
Running Backs
Wayne Gallman: 14 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD | 2 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards
Alfred Morris: 9 carries, 67 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
Dion Lewis: 3 carries, 5 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
With the early lead, the Giants were able to lean heavily on their run game, consisting of both Alfred Morris and Wayne Gallman. Though Morris took advantage of his opportunities on the ground, Gallman played the vast majority of the snaps (44 snaps compared to Morris’ 16 and Lewis’ 17), looking very good with the opportunities he got including bursting through for a one-yard touchdown run at the goal line.
Wayne walks in for 6.#FantasyFootball | #TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/Y1AzvhhKut
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 8, 2020
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Sterling Shepard: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 39 yards | 1 carry, 18 yards
Evan Engram: 10 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD
Austin Mack: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 72 yards
Darius Slayton: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
While Sterling Shepard did not break off any long receptions, it was clear that he was the receiver which Daniel Jones wanted to look to in order to keep drives going and move the ball downfield more, including on a few third-down conversion attempts. On the other hand, Darius Slayton caught the first pass of the game, and then was not looked at the rest of the game, with Slayton and Evan Engram taking the vast majority of targets away from him. Jones’ most targetted player this game was Evan Engram and while he may not have been targetted on those third-down conversions like Shepard, Engram did get his red zone looks cashing in on a touchdown stretching out for a ball over his shoulders.
Jones on a dime to Engram.
Evan’s first receiving TD of the year.#FantasyFootball | #TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/QLQx7HFkJj
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 8, 2020
Washington Football Team
Quarterback
Kyle Allen: 5/7, 62 yards
Alex Smith: 24/32, 325 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 2 sacks
With a pretty bad looking leg injury to Kyle Allen early in the game, Washington had to turn the reigns back over to Alex Smith. Smith played how he usually does, taking advantage of the shorter passes and dump-offs to his backs, playing the more efficient game. One of his three interceptions was credited to the Giants putting pressure on him and forcing Smith to throw off his back foot, where the ball was tipped by his intended receiver and into the hands of the defense. Another interception came when the ball landed in the defender’s hand after the intended receiver fell down. On the other hand, his touchdown was a nicely thrown ball to Terry McClaurin, who made the catch crashing into the defender and then breaking free and running the remainder of the way into the endzone.
Running Backs
Antonio Gibson: 6 carries, 20 yards, 1 TD| 3 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards
J.D. McKissic: 3 carries, 17 yards | 14 targets, 9 receptions, 65 yards
After an early fumble, there was concern that Antonio Gibson would end up benched and no longer see the field. The game script forced Washington to end up needing to pass the ball more often in order to try and overcome an early deficit. That is where J.D. McKissic came in and was very involved in this passing game, taking the dump-off passes out of the backfield and making the most of them, with an unfortunate tip leading to a Giant interception. This game script and possibly the early fumble lead to McKissic out-snapping Gibson by a total of 45 to 25. The saving grace for fantasy managers was Antonio Gibson coming in at the goalline and diving over the line in order to pick up a touchdown.
1 yard TD run for Antonio Gibson.#FantasyFootball | #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/ZtvTIyrPcd
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 8, 2020
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Terry McLaurin: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD
Cam Sims: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 110 yards
Logan Thomas: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 28 yards,
Steven Sims Jr.: 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
Terry McLaurin continues to impress week after week no matter who is at quarterback for Washington. When Alex Smith came in to relieve Kyle Allen, the looks for McLaurin did not go away, even with Smith being more conservative. McLaurin remained the clear number one receiver and the option which Smith looked to in key situations including this touchdown pass, with McLaurin breaking a tackle and running loose to get into the endzone.
Terry McLaurin 👀 #FantasyFootball | #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/2sLXNZwB3M
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 8, 2020
The change at quarterback also meant more of an opportunity for QB List darling Logan Thomas. Late in the game with Washington trying to come back, Smith looked Thomas’s way a few more times, with Thomas doing what he could with those opportunities. Smith also looked the way of Cam Sims a few times with those targets coming on big-play opportunities to keep drives going for Washington.
— Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)