In the funhouse mirror that is 2019, Ryan Tannehill is a mid-season savior. Chased out of Miami after six maddening seasons, Tannehill pulled up a seat behind even more disappointing Marcus Mariota and bided his time. He was ready when his name was called in Week 7 and has guided the Titans to four wins in five starts.
After excellent Weeks 7-9, Tannehill has been turning in statlines that would make Mike Zimmer blush, completing just 37 passes over the past two weeks but having four of them go for touchdowns as the Titans have posted point totals of 35 and 42. Sunday, the 31-year-old ex-slot receiver unveiled a new innovation: His first two-score day on the ground. Tannehill now has three rushing touchdowns over his past three appearances, which is more than Marcus Mariota has over the past two years.
Tannehill has cleared 30 yards rushing each of the past three weeks, something supposed dual-threat Mariota has never accomplished. The Titans remain a ground-and-pound offense — see Henry, Derrick — and against all odds, Tannehill fits it better than Mariota. Picking his spots as a runner, Tannehill is doing the same as a passer, averaging a ridiculous 9.2 yards per attempt. Amazing YAC work from his pass catchers has fueled the YPA, but that’s something that happens when you put people in position to make plays.
Although never quite to this extent, we have seen this movie before with Tannehill. A few weeks of false dawns before the bill comes due against an actually good defense. Tannehill faced one of those three weeks ago in the Panthers and threw two picks. But neither the Chiefs nor Jags are chopped liver vs. the pass, and Tanne has now had one of the best two-game stretches of his career. A string of unimposing matchups (@IND, @OAK, vs. HOU) awaits. Unless his volume increases, Tanne’s fantasy fortunes will probably begin to fade, especially with bye weeks over and all 32 teams playing on a weekly basis. Tannehill has nevertheless shown the ability to provide spiked weeks on limited attempts, making him an excellent streaming candidate with the bottom half of the quarterback board dominated by sub-NFL talents.
Five Week 12 Storylines
Carson Wentz fails to put his team on his back. With his supporting cast in shambles, it has fallen on Wentz to drag the Eagles into the postseason. He is so far failing. The would-be 2017 MVP has contributed just one score in five straight starts, taking at least three sacks each of the past five weeks. We know injuries have hollowed out Wentz’s weapons — No. 1 WR Jordan Matthews says hello — and created issues up front, but at some point, a franchise player needs to franchise. Every team has injuries, and in 2019, every team has issues up front. Miraculously, the Eagles are still in the hunt in the NFC East, and have three straight “get right” matchups in the Dolphins, Giants and Redskins. Anything less than 3-0 — or two weekly scores — will be unacceptable.
Zach Ertz remains Eagles’ only means of moving the ball. With his 12 grabs against the Seahawks, Ertz became the first tight end in league history to post nine-plus receptions in three straight games. Ertz is 30/288/2 over his past three contests, not only returning to where he was in 2018 but somehow exceeding it. With receiver corps reinforcements not on the way for the weapons-desperate Eagles, that figures to remain the Ertz state of play as the schedule takes a turn for the soft. @MIA, vs. NYG, @WAS is on deck. An obvious summer overdraft, Ertz is now a potential league winner for players who were kicking themselves in September and October.
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Aaron Rodgers’ slump deepens in San Francisco. Although he hasn’t thrown a pick in the process, Rodgers has been one of the league’s least effective quarterbacks in November, totaling two scores in three starts while completing just 61.8 percent of his passes and averaging a gross 5.13 yards per attempt. He has taken 10 sacks. Bizarrely, Rodgers’ collapse has coincided with Davante Adams’ return. Before Adams came back, Rodgers had one of the best two-game stretches of his career as he played point guard vs. the Chiefs and Raiders. Since, he seems to have forgotten he can target other players, looking Adams’ way 33 times but generating only 202 yards. Considering the wideouts behind him, it is easy to see why Rodgers would lock onto Adams, but he must start spreading the ball around again, especially to Aaron Jones, who has one catch since Adams’ return. The Giants and Redskins are a two-game exhibition slate before critical matchups with the Bears and Vikings.
Steelers mercifully end Mason Rudolph era. One of the worst non-cameo quarterbacks in recent memory, Rudolph was finally pulled after completing just 8-of-16 passes for 85 yards and an interception in three-plus quarters vs. the Bengals’ league-worst defense. No. 3 Devlin Hodges immediately provided a 79-yard touchdown to James Washington, which was all the Steelers needed to secure the road victory. There’s unlikely to be any real difference between Ben Roethlisberger’s errand boys, but the Steelers will certainly find out against the Browns. Even if JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) returns, Hodges will not be on the QB2 radar in week where all 32 quarterbacks will be available in fantasy.
D.J. Moore stays cookin’ vs. Saints. With his season-best 6/126/2 effort, Moore went at least 6/95 for the fourth straight game. He’s up to fifth in raw receiving (905) and has 61 more yards than any other wideout over the past four weeks. Fifth in YAC on the year (309), Moore is staying true to both his calling cards, compiling and doing damage after the catch. That he is doing so as a 22-year-old with a backup quarterback speaks to a rare level of dynasty prospect. Now an every-week WR1 in re-draft, Moore has back-to-back potential eruption spots in the Redskins and Falcons. [[ad:athena]]
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