Week 8 gave us a team that won without completing a pass. The Buccaneers beat the Falcons 16-0 on the ground, Joe Burrow did something no QB had done in 75 years, Lamar Jackson lasted one snap, and the Chargers are somehow 0-7. Points are PPR, with tight ends in TE-premium (1.5).
Arizona Cardinals: Tyler Allgeier entered Week 8 averaging 2.9 yards per carry, then ran for 147 yards on 11 carries against Dallas. He added five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, and his 96 rushing yards over expected were the most by a Cardinal in a game since at least 2018.
Takeaway: With Jeremiyah Love on IR and Bam Knight dealing with a concussion, Allgeier is the last man standing, and one 63-yard run did a lot of the heavy lifting. Michael Wilson is the other name to know. He saw 15 of Arizona’s 41 targets, and Gardner Minshew is now the starter after throwing three touchdowns in relief.
Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix threw one interception in his first five games. On Sunday, he threw four, three of them in the first 18 minutes, and finished 8-of-24 for 125 yards. The Falcons had averaged 31 points per game with Penix starting, and they scored ZERO.
Takeaway: Heavy rain and a 16-0 loss don’t erase what Penix did from Weeks 5-7, but Drake London had six targets and turned them into one catch for eight yards. The Falcons play in Madrid next, so here’s hoping the rain doesn’t follow them to Spain.
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson lasted one snap before a thumb injury that requires surgery, and he’s likely out for the season. Including the playoffs, the Ravens are 10-17 without Jackson during his career, so they traded for Jacoby Brissett to help mitigate the loss. Zay Flowers went from 8 for 137 and a TD in Week 7 to zero catches on five targets, while running back Justice Hill led the team with eight targets.
Takeaway: Buffalo blitzed on 64.5% of dropbacks, the highest rate Ravens QBs have faced this season, which helps explain why the ball kept finding the running back. No matter who’s under center, Hill’s role in the passing game and Flowers’ target count are the numbers to watch.
Buffalo Bills: Back in Week 5, I said picking a Bills receiver was a guessing game, and I wondered if D.J. Moore’s return would help. In his first game back, Moore had seven targets, four catches, 82 yards, and a touchdown, and Dalton Kincaid added 86 yards and a score of his own. Meanwhile, Khalil Shakir has quietly put together four straight games of double-digit scoring.
Takeaway: Josh Allen threw 34 passes, above his 29.3 per-game average, and James Cook saw just three targets. Between Moore’s return, Shakir’s rise, and Kincaid’s upside, this offense could reach another level. All it took was adding a passing game!
Carolina Panthers: Chuba Hubbard handled 30 touches on Thursday night, and eight of them were targets. He now has 26 targets this season, so nearly a third came in one game. Bryce Young attempted 41 passes and finished with under 210 passing yards for the second straight week, and he’s been sacked 11 times in the last two weeks combined. Not to mention, it’s rumored Young is dealing with a knee injury, and the offensive line’s poor play isn’t helping.
Takeaway: When a QB is under that much pressure, the running back becomes a safety valve. Young is averaging 38.4 attempts per game, and Hubbard’s target count is worth watching if the protection doesn’t improve, especially with OT Taylor Moton out.
Chicago Bears: With Kyle Monangai out the last four games, D’Andre Swift has scored in all four, and seven of his 10 touchdowns have come in that span. That includes three on Monday night, when he averaged 2.6 yards per carry, because apparently yards are optional when you only need to go five.
Takeaway: Since returning from his hamstring injury, Caleb Williams has 860 passing yards, four touchdowns, and ZERO interceptions, and the Bears have scored 31, 30, and 34 points. Colston Loveland and Luther Burden each saw nine targets on Monday, so the passing volume isn’t going to just one guy.
Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow threw for 462 yards and five touchdowns, then ran in the game-winner in overtime, making him just the second QB in NFL history with 450+ passing yards, 5+ passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in the same game. The other is Norm Van Brocklin, who did it in 1951. Burrow also has four or more passing touchdowns in three straight games. Tee Higgins has back-to-back 100-yard games (148 and 155 yards), and Ja’Marr Chase saw 16 targets for 141 yards.
Takeaway: Chase and Higgins accounted for 27 of Burrow’s 47 targets, and Burrow is averaging 38.1 attempts per game, so this passing game has been feeding both of them. And then there’s Mike Gesicki, who has now scored a touchdown in five straight games. All he does is score touchdowns, and he’s done it on just 17 targets in that span.
