Week 7 Game Recaps by Jeff Mans
Our Rest of the Season Rankings.
Jay Ajayi, not Arian Foster, led the Dolphins backfield in Week 6. He ran for two scores and 204 yards. Ajayi, who entered the game with 117 rushing yards, is the second Dolphin player to ever run for 200/2 (Ricky Williams in 2002). Don’t know where this came from, but it seems likely Ajayi is the lead back in Miami, for now.
Odell Beckham Jr. – the Good. He had 127 yards after the catch, the most since Week 5 of the 2014 season (Demaryius Thomas 149). He caught 8-of-10 for 222 yards overall with 211 yards in the second half, tied for the second most in football since 1962 in the second half. The Bad – He lost a fumble early, but way worse than that is the fact that he is a raving lunatic. He took a potentially game changing 15-yard penalty late in the 4th quarter for removing his helmet after scoring a long touchdown. He then ran down the sidelines before chucking his helmet at the wall. Forgot to note that he yelled at the referee as he ran down the sidelines. He then went and battled the kickers net (he took a knee and talked to it). He then mugged for the cameras in front of the net. He’s a fantastic football player. He’s also borderline unhinged.
Kelvin Benjamin had eight grabs for 86 yards on 14 targets though he channeled his inner Sammie Coates in the game. Benjamin caught just 8-of-14 passes on the day. He couldn’t get his second foot down on a near touchdown grab. He dropped a pass that was in his hands. He also mistimed a leap on another pass that wasn’t converted for a catch. #StillNotConvinced
Drew Brees had his 15th career game of 400-yards, the most in NFL history. He threw for 465 yards with four scores against one pick against the Panthers.
Kenny Britt is on pace for more than 1,300 receiving yards. #ThatIsAll
Charles Clay caught five passes for 52 yards in Week 6. That’s the 3rd straight game with five receptions for Clay who has hit that mark, exactly five, in 4-of-5 games.
Isaiah Crowell went for 120 yards against the Redskins on the ground. In the two games since he’s carried the ball 22 times for a total of 38 yards. Ugh. #TheHotStreakIsOver
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 130-yards in a 4th straight game, something no other rookie has ever been able to do. Over the last four games he’s averaged 24 carries for 142.3 yards with 0.75 scores. #NeverSeenBefore
Coby Fleener scored as a receiver and runner in Week 6 to become the first tight end to so that since Gronk in 2011. #WhoNeedsARunningBack
Rob Gronkowski had a 2016 tight end best 162 receiving yards in Week 6 as he caught seven of nine targets. He now has 22 games of 100-yards, tied for third at the tight ending position I history with Jackie Smith behind just Kellen Winslow (24) and Tony Gonzalez (31).
Todd Gurley has failed to run for 75 yards the last three games but he’s caught five, three and four passes in that time. Over the last three Gurley has averaged four receptions for 41 yards, an average of 8.1 fantasy points as a pass catcher in PPR setups.
Chris Hogan caught one pass for 39 yards. Remove a 63 yards grab in Week 5 and here is what Hogan has done the last four games: five receptions for 93 yards. #NotAsGoodAsYouThink
Brian Hoyer did it again. For the 4th time in four starts he threw for 300 yards without throwing a single pick. That’s 300/0 in 4-straight games. #WhoNeedsJayCulter
Case Keenum hit 18-of-18 passes in the third quarter Sunday. He finished the game hitting 27-of-32 passes for 321 yards. He threw for three scores as well though he was picked late.
Ryan Mathews ran for 6.7 YPC in Week 6. Inexplicably, he was only given nine carries which he turned into 60-yards. Mathews is the Eagles best running back yet he’s carried the ball 31 times in four games. #FreeRyanMathews
Cameron Meredith has 27 targets the last two weeks. Alshon Jeffery has 24 targets the last three games. In two games since entering the starting lineup Meredith has caught 20 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown.
LeSean McCoy lit up the Niners like a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. He carried the ball 19 times for 140 yards and three scores. That’s 37 carries for 290 yards and three scores the last two games. Moreover, over his last four outings McCoy has scored six touchdowns with an average of 117.5 yards rushing yards a game.
Dak Prescott threw 176 passes to begin his NFL career without a pick, the longest streak in league history. He also threw for three scores in Week 6 to become the Cowboys first rookie QB since 1989 to do that (Troy Aikman). Dak also failed to reach 250-yards for a 4th straight game and a fifth time in six outings.
Brian Quick is nothing if not stable. He caught five passes in Week 6, after catching just seven passes the previous three games, but Quick has been between 53 and 69 yards each of the last four games. He’s also scored three times.
Aaron Rodgers has one touchdown pass in the second half of games this season. Flat out, he looks decidedly average. His mechanics are awful, he won’t step into a pass to save his life, and he’s floating everything. If you didn’t know who he was and you watched him play, you would swear he was a bottom half NFL QB. Check out why Aaron Rodgers Stinks.
Example 4,298 that starting a QB/RW combo is dangerous. Ben Roethlisberger, as he always does each and every year, was hurt in Week 6 (his knee). Big Ben threw for 189 yards and a score with two picks against the Dolphins as he returned in the second half from the injury. Antonio Brown caught just four of eight pass for 39 yards. That’s two games out of six this season in which Brown has failed to reach 40-yards. Big Ben has 12 touchdown passes in three home games and three touchdown passes in three road games this season.
Matt Ryan threw for three touchdowns in the third quarter in Week 6. Coming into the game Seattle had allowed one passing score all season.
Alex Smith completed 86.4 percent of his passes in Week 6 against the Raiders, the best mark in Chiefs history (minimum 20 pass attempts). Smith went 19-for-22 for 224 yards, no scores and no picks. #SolidButNeverGreat
Golden Tate was one of the biggest disappointments in football coming into Week 6 as he had caught 134 yards worth of passes through five weeks. In Week 6 he caught 8-of-10 passes for 165 yards and a score. Can’t trust him, but nice to see it. #WhereTheHellDidThisComeFrom
Michael Thomas has caught at least four passes in all five games this season. He’s scored in 3-straight games. For the second time in three games he caught at least five balls for 70 yards and a score. He’s the #2 in New Orleans, not Willie Snead.
Terrance West scored twice, carried the ball 23 times for 98 yards and caught four passes for another 36 yards in a great fantasy effort. He also had three carries inside the three yards line and was stuffed on all three runs in the third quarter. #TheresMoreToItThanBoxScores
James White became the second Pats running back in 10 years to catch multiple scores in the same game (Shane Vereen pulled off the feat in Week 7 of the 2014 season). White caught eight of nine targets for 47 yards and now has 12 receptions, on 15 targets, in the two games that Tom Brady has been back in action. Do the Pats really need Dion Lewis? I wrote why the Dion Lewis love was completely misplaced last week, before White’s huge game, in Hot Takes, This & That.
T.J. Yeldon was the lead dog in the Jaguars backfield with Jags OC Greg Olsen stating that Yeldon has “taken ownership” of the featured back role. We call that a liar. Yeldon has seven touches in Week 6, Chris Ivory had 13, and it was Ivory who was given the Jags goaline carry. Yeldon caught one five yard pass and ran six times for 21 yards. #HesJustNotThatGoodPeriod
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).