Football Chatter Week Nine Review

 

Titans – DeMarco Murray was held to 51 yards on 14 carries. He scored on a 1-yard run late in the game. Murray still managed to get in the end zone even with the Titans choosing to air the ball out in this shoot out, and also served as an effective check down option for quarterback Marcus Mariota His toe was a non factor.

Chargers – Melvin Gordon ran for a career-high 196 yards and scored the go-ahead TD on a 1-yard run. San Diego is turning to Gordon, who has gotten at least 25 touches in six of his last eight games and has topped 100 total yards in three straight contests.

49ers – DuJuan Harris caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick. Harris had 10 carries for 59 yards and caught five of six targets for 83 yards and a touchdown

Steelers – Le’Veon Bell rushed 14 times for 32 yards, and caught six of nine targets for 38 more. Baltimore was able to key on the run with a clearly limited Ben Roethlisberger (knee) unable to provide much of a threat in the passing game until the fourth quarter.

Cowboys – Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 92 yards and scored twice. Elliott gained 92 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries Sunday against the Browns. He also caught his lone target for an additional five yards

Jaguars – Chris Ivory powered through the Chiefs’ defense for 107 yards on 18 carries, but lost a costly fumble

Dolphins – Jay Ajayi rushed for 111 yards and helped to run out the clock after the Dolphins came from behind for the third time. Ajayi finished 89 yards short in his bid to become the first NFL rusher to have three consecutive 200-yard games. He still enjoyed a productive day despite being hit behind the line on many of his 24 carries.Ajayi had 55 yards in the fourth quarter.

Eagles – Darren Sproles gained 57 yards on 13 carries and caught three of nine targets for an additional 17 yards. Sproles was the only Philadelphia back to receive more than five carries but watched as Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner both converted short touchdown runs.Ryan Mathews carried five times for 15 yards and a touchdown

Ravens – Terrance West was held to 21 yards on 15 carries, and caught one of three targets for six yards

Titans – Derrick Henry suffered a calf injury Sunday against the Chargers.

Jets – Matt Forte rushed 12 times for 92 yards and a touchdown during Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. He also caught one of two targets for five receiving yards. Forte ended up with twice as many carries as Bilal Powell, though a good chunk of his fantasy production came on a 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter

Giants – Rashad Jennings had 11 carries for 26 yards and caught all three of his targets for 13 yards. His backup, Paul Perkins, also had 11 carries and three targets and fared only slightly better.

Browns – Isaiah Crowell rushed for four yards on six carries and hauled in four passes (four targets) for 63 yards. Crowell was once again bottled up in the run game but was surprisingly effective catching the ball, as his 63 receiving yards were a career high.

Lions – Theo Riddick carried 14 times for 70 yards and caught one of three targets for six yards. Riddick rattled off a 42-yard run in the first quarter, but was largely held in check thereafter. However, after taking a hard hit and missing an assignment in pass protection (that lead to a Matthew Stafford interception), he was subbed out and appeared to take a backseat to rookie Dwayne Washington, who then went on to log 10 carries of his own.

Rams – Todd Gurley had 12 carries for 48 yards and caught four of five targets for 26 yards. Gurley was once again held in check, failing to produce, outside of an 18-yard run at one point.

Panthers – Jon Stewart had 15 carries for just 42 yards in Sunday’s 13-10 win over the Rams. He was not targeted in the passing game.

Colts – Frank Gore had 19 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught both of his targets for 11 yards.

Colts – Charcandrick West rushed for 39 yards on 13 carries and caught three of four targets for 35 yards. Nearly a third of West’s yardage came on a flip pass from Nick Foles that West took upfield for 24 yards

Saints – Mark Ingram ran 15 times for 158 yards and a touchdown and added a receiving score in Sunday’s 41-23 win at San Francisco. He finished with two receptions on two targets for 13 yards. Ingram took over in the second quarter, however, catching a short touchdown before exploding for a 75-yard rushing score

Saints – Tim Hightower finished with a team-leading 23 carries, but for just 87 yards

 

Chiefs – Tyreek Hill rushed for 21 yards on two carries and snagged three of five passes for 11 yards. Hill was held quiet in the passing game on Sunday, but recorded his second straight game of at least five touches after just one such game in the Chiefs’ first six contests. His usage should continue to increase, especially with Jeremy Maclin nursing a groin injury.

Colts – T.Y. Hilton caught six of eight targets for 82 yards. He had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury, but looked fine Sunday.

Packers – Ty Montgomery had seven carries for 53 yards and caught three of four targets for 38 yards. He led the Packers’ backfield in rushing attempts, as Don Jackson carried the ball four times for just 16 yards.

Packers – Jordy Nelson caught seven of 13 targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. The veteran has scored in back-to-back weeks, and has seven touchdowns this season.

Packers – Randall Cobb caught both of his targets for 14 yards and a touchdown. He he didn’t record a touch in the first half. He came up with a short touchdown late in the game

Packers – Davante Adams caught four of seven targets for 41 yards and a touchdown. Adams came back to earth a bit, after grabbing 25 passes the previous two weeks, which established the Packers’ all-time record for the most receptions in any two-game span.

Saints – Michael Thomas caught five of eight targets for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas leads all rookie wideouts in catches (47) and touchdowns (5)

Steelers – Sammie Coates was held without a reception on five targets. Coates has caught less than half the balls thrown to him this season

Titans – Tajae Sharpe caught four of eight targets for 58 yards

Jaguars – Allen Robinson caught seven of 11 targets for 76 yards and a score The touchdown broke a three-game scoreless streak. The statuesque receiver has been targeted 10 or more times in five of eight games

Bucs – Mike Evans had 11 receptions that included scoring passes of 3 and 24 yards to Evans, and had 11 receptions.

Falcons – Julio Jones had eight receptions for 111 yards and a TD

Ravens – Mike Wallace caught four of six targets for 124 yards and a touchdown

Ravens – Steve Smith had Baltimore’s first catch, a 30-yarder, and caught four of seven targets for 47 yards, and added a successful two-point conversion

Giants – Victor Cruz  hurt an ankle in the first half

Chiefs – Jeremy Maclin hurt his groin on the Chiefs’ first series and did not return

Jaguars – Allen Hurns left early in the second half with an ankle injury. He returned to the game, only to sustain a concussion while trying to make a catch later in the half.

Jets – Brandon Marshall managed only 45 yards on six catches. The Jets receiver complained during the week that Maxwell held him on every play in their only previous meeting. Marshall led the team in targets and receptions, though his day could have been a lot better had quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick not missed him open in the end zone on one play

Lions – Golden Tate  had 11 catches for 79 yards.

Vikings – Stefon Diggs had a career-high 13 catches for 80 yards. Diggs caught a career-high 13 of his 14 targets for 80 yards Sunday against the Lions. He added 12 yards on his only rushing attempt of the 22-16 loss.

Eagles – Jordan Matthews caught six of 10 targets for 88 yards. Matthews led the team in targets and broke off a 33-yard gain. Matthews has topped 100 yards receiving just once through eight games

Steelers – Antonio Brown caught seven of 11 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown. Brown was kept in check for most of the afternoon, but salvaged his day with a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter

Steelers – Eli Rogers caught six of 10 targets for a team-leading 103 yards .He tied  his career high in receptions while easily surpassing his old high of 59 receiving yards set in Week 1.

Cowboys – Dez Bryant caught just one of four targets for 19 yards. Bryant was not force-fed the ball like he has been in the past. He nearly salvaged his day from a fantasy perspective with a 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter

Browns – Corey Coleman hauled in three passes on seven targets for 41 yards

Jets – Quincy Enunwa caught one of four targets for 25 yards

Giants – Odell Beckham had four catches for 46 yards and two scores on 10 targets. Manning missed him on a wide-open deep sideline throw

Browns – Terrelle Pryor caught five receptions on seven targets for 47 yards and a score

Giants – Sterling Shepard caught three of his six targets for 50 yards and a touchdown

Lions – Marvin Jones caught one of five targets for five yards. It was a terrible performance given the fact he was third on his team in targets. The problem may not have been the Vikings’ stout defense, though, as the return of TE Eric Ebron appears to have had an adverse impact on Jones’ production.

Dolphins – Kenny Stills was forced out of Sunday’s game against the Jets

Panthers – Kelvin Benjamin caught five of seven targets for 76 yards . still hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 4, but he’s been solid in terms of receiving yardage, with 70+ yards in six of eight games this season.

Titans – Kenny Britt caught four of six targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. Since exploding for 136 yards and two touchdowns at Detroit in Week 6, Britt has been relatively quiet over his last two games, catching just seven passes for 92 yards

Dolphins – Jarvis Landry caught three of six targets for 33 yards. Landry tied his season low in receptions while failing to gain at least 50 yards for just the second time. Many of those struggles can be blamed on quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw for a season-low 149 yards

Dolphins – DeVante Parker was held to just two catches for eight yards on four targets

Colts – Donte Moncrief caught three of six targets for 55 yards and a touchdown. Moncrief could have had about a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Andrew Luck under threw him and had to settle for a 39-yard completion.  He’s been solid since in two games since his return from a shoulder injury, catching a touchdown in each of the last two weeks.

Chargers – Tyrell Williams snagged six of seven passes for 65 yards and a score. He’s been most effective going deep, with 11 catches of 20 or more yards, but Sunday’s six-yard quick slant for a touchdown showed that Williams can use his frame to be a menace near the goal line as well.

Titans – Rishard Matthews hauled in six of his team-leading 10 targets for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That’s five touchdowns in the past five weeks for the former Dolphins wideout. It took Matthews a while to build a rapport with quarterback Marcus Mariota after coming over in the offseason, but he has undoubtedly emerged as the team’s go-to wide receiver.

Chargers – Antonio Gates  caught five of nine targets for 75 yards. Gates has caught at least four passes in four of five games with three touchdowns.

Cowboys – Jason Witten scored a touchdown while leading the Cowboys with eight catches on 10 targets for 134 yards. It was the first time the veteran had topped the 100-yard mark in his last 40 games and was the highest yardage total he had achieved since Week 7 of 2012.

Chiefs – Travis Kelce was tossed from the game in the fourth quarter after arguing over a pass interference no-call, then tossing his towel at the official as if it was a flag. Kelce caught five of seven targets for 58 yards in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville. He was ejected after throwing his towel at a referee

Lions – Eric Ebron was hit by Stafford for 17 yards on third-and-3

Eagles – Zach Ertz led the Eagles with eight receptions and 97 yards on eight targets. He managed to break off a long gain of 30 yards and registered a season-high in receptions

Browns – Gary Barnidge caught all three of his targets for 23 yards. He is without a touchdown to his name in 2016, his value is beginning to drop.

Rams – Lance Kendricks caught seven of 12 targets for a season-high 90 yards

Panthers – Greg Olsen caught five of seven targets for 52 yards and a touchdown. Olsen bounced back from last week’s one-catch dud, scoring Carolina’s lone touchdown on a nine-yard reception in the first quarter

Titans – Delanie Walker caught five of nine targets for 42 yards and a touchdown Sunday in San Diego. The veteran tight end was one behind Rishard Matthews for the team lead in targets, and found pay dirt for the fourth time this season. He has topped 40 yards in all but two appearances