How insane has Harvard Man Ryan Fitzpatrick’s start been? He averaged 12.18 yards per attempt on Sunday. That’s 2.71 yards fewer than he managed in Week 1. Facing two of the NFC’s final four teams from a season ago, Fitz has thrown for touchdowns of 58, nine, 50, 36, 75, 75, eight and four yards as he’s posted 400 yards and four scores in back-to-back games, a feat no one has accomplished since 2004. It’s happened only three times in NFL history.
The first to do it was Dan Marino. The second … Billy Volek. There’s your first reminder that this is fleeting. 35-year-old journeymen filling in for suspended starters don’t suddenly come out of the fog to be Brett Favre. This also isn’t the first hot streak for a quarterback who long ago earned the nickname “FitzMagic.” Fitzpatrick plays for keeps. In his mind, he’s always been Patrick Mahomes. Whatever voodoo — notably, lots and lots of play action — OC Todd Monken is working with Fitzpatrick, it’s not going to last.
That does not mean there’s a zero percent chance Fitz is under center when Jameis Winston comes off suspension in Week 4. For starters, the Bucs will be on a short week, making the turnaround from Monday Night Football against the Steelers as they prepare for the Bears. Then there is the comments GM Jason Licht made in August. “I don’t think it’s fair to say right now that he’s going to be the guy,” Licht said of Winston’s Week 4 return. "(If) Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Griffin, whoever it is, is playing lights out, I don’t think it’s fair right now just to say, ‘Yes, automatically, (Winston) is going to be the guy.” It seemed like GMspeak then and is probably GMspeak now. Alas… this is not a normal situation. The Bucs didn’t even put Winston on their stadium mural this season. Winston has been warned he is facing a lifetime ban from the NFL the next time he violates the personal-conduct policy. He has lost his team’s trust.
Fitzpatrick is a bridge quarterback. The Bills could tell you that. The Titans could tell you that. The Texans could tell you that. The Jets could tell you that. He is not going to be Tampa’s quarterback in two years. The same could be true of Winston. Before Fitzpatrick’s hot streak, the Bucs would have had little recourse to sit Winston and think about his future with the team. With Fitzpatrick dropping 75-yard bombs every other play, the calculus has at least changed for 2018. More than likely, the pursuit of the almighty W will win out. Fitz will begin to struggle, Winston will get his job back and get extended in the offseason. Fitzpatrick is too old and too similar of a player to Winston to keep him at bay. Even if Fitz does keep the job for Week 4, he will be a week-to-week proposition going forward. He’s still done what he’s always done: Provide a bridge to another path.
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Five Week 2 Storylines
Patrick Mahomes destroys Steelers for six touchdowns, sets a record. Mahomes’ 10 scores through two games are the most in NFL history. If Mahomes’ monster Week 1 was Tyreek Hill-aided, there was no such naysaying alibi on Sunday. Mahomes found each of Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins for at least 90 yards, and once again involved role players, hitting Chris Conley and Demarcus Robinson for touchdowns. Mahomes had more scores than incompletions as he blew the doors off a team that went 13-3 in 2017. It is still reasonable to expect sophomore growing pains. A player this young and this aggressive is going to run into some turnovers. It is no longer reasonable to question Mahomes’ fantasy trajectory. He is an elite QB1 with an enviable arsenal of weapons and a million different ways — long bombs, red zone lasers, option runs, scrambles, shovel passes — to beat his opponents.
Eli Manning bottoms all the way out. In a word: Painful. Manning looked shellshocked and defeated against a Cowboys Defense that is no one’s idea of elite. When he wasn’t taking six sacks, Manning was checking down. Over. And over. And over. And over. And over again. When it was all said and done, Saquon Barkley had 14 receptions on 16 targets. Odell Beckham had four on nine. The Giants had three points until garbage time. Manning is playing behind an awful line. No one with eyes can dispute that. Those same eyes should be able to ascertain that Manning — who has 20 touchdowns in his past 17 games — just doesn’t have it right now. “Right now” could easily mean “anymore” when you’re 37. Manning is not the first quarterback to play behind a bad offensive line. Either he adjusts and gets better or the Giants rip the Band-Aid off for the second time and confront their inevitable Manning-less future.
Kenny Golladay has another big game. Golladay easily out-produced Marvin Jones for the second straight week, turning nine targets into 6/89/1. He’s now at 13/203/1 through two games compared to Jones’ 8/108/1. Both players have played close to every snap for an offense that’s been locked into three-receiver sets. Golladay has been on the field for the most plays of his career in back-to-back weeks. Jones is no pushover. He was absolutely fantastic in 2017. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do. Golladay is in the ascendancy. I’m going to rank him ahead of Jones for Week 3 against a Patriots Defense that just got ripped by Blake Bortles.
Phillip Lindsay makes another move in the Broncos’ backfield. Lindsay led the Broncos in carries (14), rushing yards (107) and snaps (28). He drew as many targets as Royce Freeman (one). Freeman was actually third in snaps behind Devontae Booker, taking the field for just 16 plays. Lindsay benefitted from the Broncos spending the entire afternoon in comeback mode, but there are only so many ways to downplay a player being third in the league in yards (178). There could still be weeks where Freeman takes the lead, but Lindsay has gone from speculative Week 1 add to speculative RB2 in fantasy leagues.
Keelan Cole has the game fantasy owners were hoping for. Cole shook off his quiet Week 1 to go 7/116/1 against the defending AFC champions. The 100-yard effort was his third in his past five regular season contests. He got there in part by Odell Beckhaming on Eric Rowe before owning his soul for a 24-yard touchdown three plays later. It was the kind of game we have come to expect from “undrafted Marvin Jones.” Not that we should expect it every week. The Jaguars’ receiver corps remains a rotation, with Cole, Dede Westbrook and Donte Moncrief all duking it out for top dog status. Cole had a head start in the summer and hopefully uses it to pull away in the next few weeks.
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Five More Week 2 Storylines
Cardinals continue to misuse David Johnson. The Cardinals have six points in two games. Their best offensive player has touched the ball just 28 times in the process. Johnson is a running back. Smaller workloads are inevitable for even the best backs when teams fall behind. But one of the reasons the Cardinals are falling behind is that they are not utilizing Johnson properly. When Johnson was steamrolling to 2,118 yards from scrimmage in 2016 — the most by any player over the past three seasons — he was playing a monster role in the passing game, running 31.1 routes run per game and earning a 19 percent target share. He went 80/879/4 as a receiver. As NFL.com’s Graham Barfield points out, Johnson’s routes have been nearly cut in half this season, plunging to 16.5 per game. That’s malpractice by journeyman OC Mike McCoy. If he doesn’t correct course — and soon — the Cardinals will remain unwatchable and fantasy owners will have a first-round pick producing like a third.
Sam Bradford: Further down the spiral. Which brings us to Bradford. Bradford has appeared literally helpless through two games in the desert, being seemingly unable to move as he’s generated an astoundingly bad 243 yards on 61 attempts. That comes out to 3.98 per pop. The Cardinals did not cross midfield until the second-to-last play of the game on Sunday. That’s not going to last if Blaine Gabbert is your backup. It ends yesterday if the No. 10 overall pick is holding your clipboard. Bradford figures to get one final start against the Bears in Week 3. Josh Rosen will be on speed dial. If/when the Cardinals go to Rosen next Sunday, he could be without Larry Fitzgerald, who picked up a hamstring injury in Los Angeles.
Quincy Enunwa reaches double-digit targets for second straight game. Even with Jermaine Kearse back in the fold, Enunwa increased his snap percentage from 66 to 80 as he upped his target total from 10 to 11 and his slash from 6/63/1 to 7/92/0. He’s the leader of a receiver corps for an offense that lacks a viable tight end target and wants to play it safe as No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold finds his NFL sea legs. It’s made for a raw deal for Robby Anderson drafters but an absolute steal of a pick for those who gambled on Enunwa late. It’s time for Enunwa to be added in the 39 percent of Yahoo leagues he remains unowned and plugged in as an every-week WR3 in PPR.
Raiders spark Amari Cooper, still lose. Derek Carr got the message. Not only did Carr lock onto his No. 1 wideout, he did so efficiently, finding Cooper 10 times on 10 targets for 116 yards. The big day came in a no-joke matchup with Chris Harris and the Broncos. Cooper fantasy owners are familiar with the rhythm. Wait forever for a big game, have a big game, start process anew. An angry Jon Gruden is going to see to it that’s not the case, in part because he has no choice. Desperate for points, the Raiders need to feed Cooper as the alpha WR1 they drafted him to be. After back-to-back rough matchups in the Rams and Broncos, the schedule lets up in Week 3 but only slightly. Miami’s Xavien Howard will be waiting.
Matt Breida explodes for 49ers. In the 49ers’ hot hand backfield, Breida stayed hot over Alfred Morris for the second-straight week. Breida piled up 159 yards from scrimmage on just 14 touches in the 49ers’ narrow win over the Lions. Morris won the snap (31-25) and carry (14-11) battles, but Breida now has 210 total yards to Morris’ 118. Most concerning for Morris is that the majority of Breida’s production has come on land. Morris was supposed to monopolize the ground while Breida handled the air. Breida could put a bow on the competition against the Chiefs’ Swiss-cheese defense in Week 3.
Questions
1. Do the Giants wish they had at least made the Jets trade up for Sam Darnold?
2. The 1-32-1 Browns have any plans to use the franchise player they selected at No. 1 overall?
3. Will the next dumpoff to Saquon Barkley be the one that does it, Eli?
Early Waiver Look (Players owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. PIT), Andy Dalton (@CAR), Sam Darnold (@CLE), Derek Carr (@MIA)
RB: Giovani Bernard, Marlon Mack, Austin Ekeler, Aaron Jones, Corey Clement, Corey Grant
WR: Keelan Cole, DeSean Jackson, John Brown, Chris Godwin, Geronimo Allison, Dede Westbrook, Antonio Callaway, D.J. Moore, Rishard Matthews
TE: Ricky Seals-Jones, Austin Hooper, Jonnu Smith, Ian Thomas
DEF: Jets (@CLE), Dolphins (vs. OAK), Cardinals (vs. CHI), Giants (@HOU)
Stats of the Week
Via numberFire’s Jim Sannes: Patrick Mahomes is 10-of-17 for 280 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions on throws that travel at least 16 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Defenses have forgotten what it’s like to defend an offense that actually throws beyond the sticks.
The Giants have not scored 30 points since Week 17 of the 2015 season.
Via ESPN: DeSean Jackson has five career touchdown receptions from Ryan Fitzpatrick and just one from Jameis Winston.
97 degrees at kickoff, Jaguars/Patriots was the hottest NFL game in 15 years.
Awards Section
Week 2 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Patrick Mahomes, RB Todd Gurley, RB Matt Breida, WR A.J. Green, WR Stefon Diggs, WR Michael Thomas, TE Travis Kelce
The That’s Probably Not Going To Help Award, Via ESPN’s Mike Rodak: The Bills will play one game at home over the next 41 days.
The I’m Just A Relatable Guy Award: Vontae Davis rage quitting at halftime of the Bills’ latest blowout loss. May the online FIFA treat you well, sir.
Tweet Of The Week, From Rotoworld’s Raymond Summerlin: Maybe just play prevent against the Bucs?
Best Nickname Suggestion, From @Fitz_843 On Twitter: Dropmaryius
The Please Somehow Don’t Get Hurt Again Award: Will Fuller
