By Winsto (10/07/2022)
The Good
The Kickers! If you started Chase McLaughlin (Ind), who had 4 FGs (two from beyond 50 yards), or Brandon McManus, who made 3 out of 4 FGs (one was blocked), then solid work!
The DSTs! Denver had 6 sacks, 2 INTs, and held opponent to 12 points. Not to be outdone, Indianapolis had 4 sacks, 2 INTs, held opponent to 9 points, and got the win. Looking forward, both of these defenses have, more or less, proved fantasy useful. They are both solid defenses. Of course, it helps when they play the type of offense they played here–see below. I may hold off on using them next week, however, if possible, as Indianapolis gets Jacksonville, and Denver visits LAC.
The Solid
Melvin Gordon, RB (Den) actually had a solid game, statistically, rushing for 54 yards and catching 3 passes for 49 yards.
The Interesting
Alec Pierce, WR (Ind). He has steadily seen his target share rise through the first 5 weeks of the season, and his 8 receptions for 81 yards paced Indianapolis. He made several solid plays throughout the game, and if you are in a deeper league, he is a solid add. The only issue, however, is that his snap count has yet to exceed 60%, so in standard size leagues, I would not necessarily add him yet. There is upside here, but one has to ask how much of a ceiling really exists for him in this offense–see below.
The Pure, Unadulterated "Nauseousness" of Everything Else
I am not going to sugar-coat it. Nauseousness is not even a real word, but the word nausea did not seem to do that match-up justice. That game, offensively speaking, was offensive to football, the usage of time, and the institution of television. And just to make our poor football souls die a little more inside, the game went to overtime. We can never get that time back and part of our sparkle probably faded. We can only move forward: maybe a little wiser, but absolutely a lot less inspirited.
Ugh!!! Where do we begin.
Both QBs, Russell Wilson (Den) and Matt Ryan (Ind) have highly decorated careers, but this game will in no way, shape, or form contribute to that. Both threw for over 250 yards, but each had 2 INTs, 0 TDs, and a yards per attempt (YPA) under 7.1. In two words, not good. There are concerns for both. For Ryan, he is fumbling, throwing INTs, and taking sacks this season. But, unless you are in two QB or very deep leagues, you were not starting Ryan (unless you made some very “interesting” draft decisions and still did not rectify those decisions with waiver wire pick-ups). For Wilson, it seems like he is simply not on the same page as his receivers AND he is not seeing the field very well–he missed a wide open K. J. Hamler on the final play. Is he still adjusting to a new offensive scheme? Yes. Could he improve as the season continues? Yes. Should you consider him a top 10 going forward? NO! Look, I, like many in the fantasy football community, saw upside with Wilson this season. He still has 12 more games, and he could still right the ship, but so far, ugh!
The receivers in this game, that were probably played in fantasy, were okay at best: Michael Pittman (Ind)–5 catches for 59 yards, Courtland Sutton (Den)–5 catches for 74 yards, and Jerry Jeudy (Den)–3 catches for 53 yards. If I am a Pittman owner, I may be hoping that Pierce continues to develop some, so that defenses cannot just focus attention on Pittman. We even saw it in the Denver game, as Pat Surtain II (very promising Cornerback for Denver) actually went from covering Pittman to covering Pierce. Maybe that will help? The idea with Pittman this year was that he was going to break out and possibly flirt with WR1 status. He is actually averaging more yards per game this season (almost 71) compared to last season (almost 64). But, based on how this offense is functioning, he may not move higher than a WR2. As for Sutton and Jeudy, Sutton is settling in as a fairly stable WR2, which is better than Jeudy, whose ceiling is, at best, a low end WR2.
As for the other running backs, Nyheim Hines (Ind) left the game very early due to a likely concussion. Mike Boone (Den) rushed for 38 and receiving for 47. The word is that Jonathan Taylor, RB (Ind) will be back next week, so Hines returns to a bench stash. As for Boone, he did look solid, but Denver’s signing of Latavius Murray really makes his longterm value uncertain.