We've had some Thursday duds this year, so this one was comparatively entertaining. Big performances, decent fantasy numbers for most, some controversial choices and decisions. When the dust settled, the Ravens are looking like a playoff team and the NFC South looks like it will have a sub-.500 division champ.
QUARTERBACKS:
Baltimore came out throwing it. Nine of the first 10 plays were passes, and Lamar Jackson was a little erratic, throwing passes at receivers' feet and otherwise missing connections. Losing his main receiver early on was a factor. But that didn't change the approach, with Jackson attempting 30 passes in the first half (running backs carried it only 5 times), which is nuts -- he hadn't previously attempted more than 32 passes in an entire game all season, and just 16 last week. If the plan was to wear the Bucs out, it seemed to work, because after halftime Jackson didn't miss: 8 of 8 for 94 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran it 7 times for 42 yards, after running for just 1 in the first half. Hats off to Jackson, who did all that with Demarcus Robinson and James Proche as his busiest wideouts -- yikes.
Tom Brady, less surprisingly, also came out firing. He was also erratic, making some quick, crisp shorter throws but also badly overthrowing a wide-open Mike Evans in the back of the end zone, then missing him again in the end zone (not quite as open, but he had a step) and floating one slightly down the sideline that was broken up; might have been a long touchdown for Brady a year or two ago. I think it's fair to wonder if Father Time has finally come, or maybe it's just that he's not as comfortable, working behind a lesser offensive line than he's had in the past (due to injuries/departures), and with an injury-riddled revolving door at receiver. Brady did make some nice throws (a couple of pretty connections with Evans) and finished with usable fantasy production: 325 yards and a touchdown. Kind of unlucky/unfortunate not to have another touchdown or two: the one he missed Evans on, and another wiped out by a penalty. Seems pretty clear the Bucs are going to be pass-happy the rest of the season, so Brady won't kill you in fantasy lineups.
RUNNING BACKS:
When previewing this game, given the short week and all, I thought Gus Edwards would be a little less busy, with the team taking it easy on their back-from-an-ACL-injury starter. So...yes? Kenyan Drake, who nobody started, was in the starting lineup, catching a few short passes. ("Short" - he caught 3 balls for zero yards in the first half.) Edwards still wound up getting most of the first-half carries (such as they were), including a really impressive 12-yard run where he was stood up by a tackler in the backfield, shrugged it off, and rumbled for a first down. Edwards wound up playing only 16 snaps, same as Justice Hill and less than half as often as Drake. But he carried 11 times for 65 yards; when he was in the game, he was running it, and quite effectively too. Too bad he left with a hamstring injury, which no doubt means he'll miss a game or more, and we can look forward to a Hill-Drake tandem next week. You're disappointed if you started Edwards, but the limited snaps wasn't a surprise.
It's not happening for Leonard Fournette, and I don't think it would happen for Rachaad White, either. (Although White's 4 carries went for 19 yards, so maybe.) I don't think Fournette looks slow or anything, there's just nothing there. He got you an early touchdown, but didn't have any running room (destroyed an otherwise perfect parlay I had where I needed 40 rushing yards, should have just avoided the running backs entirely, oh well) and with the Bucs falling behind late, it was clear he wasn't going to do much on the ground. Both backs caught 3 passes, and White ended up playing a little over a quarter of the time. I don't think we're going to see a lineup switch anytime soon, but it's clear that Fournette's going to have more quiet weeks than good ones.
WIDE RECEIVERS:
It's the Mike Evans and Chris Godwin show for Tampa Bay. Every time I watch Evans play I'm impressed; kind of an underrated top wideout. I think because of his scoring we tend to think of him primarily as a touchdown threat, but he was making (or nearly making) big plays all over the field last night. He finished with 6 catches for 123 yards, with a couple of longer grabs in there, and it could very easily have been a 200-yard, 2-TD type of game for him. Bucs are going to be pass-happy the rest of the way and Evans is going to clean up.
With Godwin, he's not a big part of the red zone offense (hasn't scored this year), but he's clearly a trusted option on short throws. He's healthy and has caught 6-7 passes four weeks in a row. The occasional touchdown would be nice, but good player.
Julio Jones caught a touchdown late, but I can't imagine starting, or rostering Jones. After every play he's involved in he looks pained, and you have to hold your breath wondering if he's going to limp off the field. He handled the ball on a run behind the line of scrimmage that got blown up, and you really have to wonder what the hell they're thinking calling that play. Injury-prone 33-year-old wideout, yes, let's have him run the ball in the vicinity of Patrick Queen. Moronic. Scotty Miller and Breshad Perriman sprinkled on for some plays, I'm showing what I think of those guys by not bolding their names.
Rashod Bateman aggravated his foot injury and left early. I think John Harbaugh is probably one of the better NFL coaches but maybe don't play a wide receiver nursing a foot injury on a short week. Anyway, the Ravens primarily wound up using a trio of Devin Duvernay, Demarcus Robinson and James Proche. Duvernay is the one with the semi-consistent role (not much the last two weeks, but they didn't pass at all against Cleveland), and he's now scored 5 total touchdowns on the season. There are 10 players in the league with more TDs than Duvernay right now. Robinson's big role (6 for 64) might have been related to Bateman's injury, although almost all of that production came in the first half, when Bateman was sort of still playing. But I think he's probably the No. 2 if Bateman misses more time, which he probably will. Proche has 4 catches on the season after last night's 3, all in the first half.
TIGHT ENDS:
Here we go. Mark Andrews came in with a knee injury, which he was obviously over because he caught 2 for 27 the first series and had 2 other targets before Tampa even touched the ball. But he picked up a shoulder injury and left, burning those who started him. That injury also burned those of us who just 2 days ago released Isaiah Likely, needing to cover bye weeks and giving up on him having a substantial role. Likely proceeded to run a sweet end-zone route on a touchdown and catch a total of 6 passes for 77 yards, looking really good doing it. If Andrews misses time, which seems, er, likely, the preseason and last-night star is going to be a really nice option in lineups. A shame I'm going to have spend a fortune to get him back, probably.
Cade Otton was a disappointment for Tampa Bay, although there were a couple of near-misses. He had an end-zone target early (well-covered) and then a touchdown late, which was erased by a holding penalty. Also a 2-point conversion, incomplete. Would have been nice if a couple of things have panned out, but I'm thinking Otton could be viable going forward. Who knows when Cameron Brate will return, and it's fair to wonder if he really Otton be playing over the rookie anyway.
MISCELLANEOUS:
The Ravens got a field goal early on when the Bucs muffed a punt, the exact same situation that cost the Broncos a game in overtime against the Chargers: a Buc special teamer ran/was pushed into the guy simply trying to catch the ball. I feel like I haven't seen this happen in the league for a decade, and now it's happened twice in the last three weeks. How on earth do these things occur? Isn't Job 1 as a special teamer Don't hit the guy trying to field the punt? Bizarre. Otherwise with special teams, nice 9- and 10-point weeks for the kickers, even with the Ravens passing up a short field goal and having a longer one blocked before halftime.
Other than the punting miscue, no turnovers in this game, but both quarterbacks were sacked 3 times. But the Bucs lost Shaq Barrett to an Achilles injury, which will obviously be a negative going forward.
The Ravens have been on a nice roll; 5-3, and they could easily have won all three games they lost. The Bucs are in freefall, but I still expect them to win the NFC South. Could 7-10 win that division? Ugly possibility, but a real one.
