Hidden Stat Line: NFL Week 5 Recap

Hidden Stat Line: NFL Week 5 Recap

This article is part of our Hidden Stat Line series.

We're adding a new feature this week before we get to the game-by-game breakdowns. The tables below show Week 5 leaders at each position in a few of my favorite stat categories.

Week 5 WR Leaders

(stats from airyards.com)

 Air YardsAir-Yard ShareTargetsTarget Share
1D.J. Chark (175)Mike Williams (73 percent)Cooper Kupp (17)Will Fuller (48 percent)
2Amari Cooper (166)Demaryius Thomas (70 percent)Will Fuller (16)Tyler Boyd (37 percent)
3Sterling Shepard (157)Terry McLaurin (69 percent)Amari Cooper (14)Michael Thomas (36 percent)
4Mike Williams (155)Chris Godwin (59 percent)Tyler Boyd (14)Cooper Kupp (35 percent)
5Michael Thomas (144)Michael Thomas (56 percent)Michael Gallup (14)Courtland Sutton (35 percent)
6Will Fuller (143)Allen Robinson (51 percent)Michael Thomas (13)Demaryius Thomas (35 percent)
7Calvin Ridley (141)Will Fuller (50 percent)Mike Williams (13)Chris Godwin (33 percent)
8Chris Godwin (137)D.J. Moore (47 percent)D.J. Chark (11)Amari Cooper (32 percent)
9Michael Gallup (137)Anthony Miller (47 percent)Dede Westbrook (11)Michael Gallup (32 percent)
10Cooper Kupp (134)D.J. Chark (43 percent)Sterling Shepard (10)Adam Thielen (30 percent)
11Terry McLaurin (123)MVS (43 percent)Chris Godwin (9)Alshon Jeffery (28 percent)
12Byron Pringle (113)John Brown (42 percent)Julian Edelman (9)Allen Robinson (27 percent)
13Allen Robinson (108)Tyler Boyd (41 percent)Byron Pringle (9)Mike Williams (27 percent)
14Marquez Valdes-Scantling (106)Courtland Sutton (41 percent)Calvin Ridley (9)Adam Humphries (27 percent)
15Brandin Cooks (101)Sterling Shepard (41 percent)Robert Woods, D. Thomas (9)D.J. Moore (26 percent)

Week 5 TE Leaders

(stats from airyards.com)

 Air YardsAir-Yard ShareTargetsTarget Share
1Travis Kelce (118)George Kittle (35 percent)Gerald Everett (11)Evan Engram (29 percent)
2Gerald Everett (100)Zach Ertz (30 percent)Evan Engram (11)George Kittle (28 percent)
3Evan Engram (83)Eric Ebron (30 percent)Travis Kelce (10)Travis Kelce (26 percent)
4Austin Hooper (65)Darren Waller (26 percent)Austin Hooper (9)Mark Andrews (25 percent)
5George Kittle (64)Travis Kelce (25 percent)George Kittle (8)Zach Ertz (24 percent)
6Zach Ertz (61)Gerald Everett (24 percent)Zach Ertz (7)Gerald Everett (22 percent)
7Jason Witten (57)Jeff Heuerman (23 percent)Mark Andrews (7)Austin Hooper (20 percent)
8Will Dissly (55)Evan Engram (22 percent)Jared Cook (6)Jared Cook (17 percent)
9Mark Andrews (45)Will Dissly (21 percent)Foster Moreau (5)Will Dissly (17 percent)
10Eric Ebron (45)Mark Andrews (21 percent)Darren Waller, Dawson Knox (5)Foster Moreau, Darren Waller (16 percent)

Week 5 QB Leaders

(stats from NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus)

 Longest aDOTShortest aDOTDropbacksAdjusted Completion Rate
1Baker Mayfield (12.4)Derek Carr (3.1)Dak Prescott (51)Derek Carr (96.4)
2Patrick Mahomes (11.4)Josh Allen (3.8)Gardner Minshew (51)Deshaun Watson (93.8)
3Russell Wilson (11.3)Jacoby Brissett (4.5)Jared Goff (50)Teddy Bridgewater (93.5)
4Dak Prescott (11.0)Philip Rivers (4.6)Matt Ryan (49)Devlin Hodges (88.9)
5Mason Rudolph (10.8)Marcus Mariota (4.9)Philip Rivers (48)Kirk Cousins (88.0)
6Daniel Jones (10.4)Luke Falk (5.3)Tom Brady (46)Josh Allen (85.7)
7Gardner Minshew (9.8)Kyle Allen (5.5)Patrick Mahomes (45)Joe Flacco (83.3)
8Kyler Murray (9.2)Joe Flacco (6.0)Daniel Jones (43)Carson Wentz (83.3)
9Jameis Winston (8.8)Aaron Rodgers (6.0)Josh Allen (41)Andy Dalton (81.1)
10Deshaun Watson (8.4)Colt McCoy (6.3)Lamar Jackson (49)Russell Wilson (81.0)

Week 5 RB Leaders

(stats from RotoWire, PFF and airyards.com)

 Snap ShareYPC after contactAvoided TacklesTarget Share
1Todd Gurley (93 percent)Chase Edmonds (5.4)McCaffrey (12)Le'Veon Bell (35 percent)
2Ezekiel Elliott (93 percent)Chris Carson (4.3)Aaron Jones (10)Austin Ekeler (33 percent)
3Leonard Fournette (92 percent)Dalvin Cook (4.3)Dalvin Cook (8)McCaffrey (29 percent)
4Le'Veon Bell (88 percent)McCaffrey (4.2)Derrick Henry (7)Chris Thompson (26 percent)
5Christian McCaffrey (86 percent)Fournette (4.0)Alvin Kamara (7)Aaron Jones (24 percent)
6Chris Carson (84 percent)Frank Gore (4.0)Carlos Hyde (6)Tarik Cohen (23 percent)
7James Conner (80 percent)Alexander Mattison (3.9)Chris Carson (6)Dalvin Cook (22 percent)
8David Johnson (70 percent)Alvin Kamara (3.7)Josh Jacobs (6)James White (21 percent)
9Alvin Kamara (69 percent)Phillip Lindsay (3.4)Phillip Lindsay (5)Phillip Lindsay (20 percent)
10Josh Jacobs (68 percent)Aaron Jones (3.4)Todd Gurley, Marlon Mack (5)Alvin Kamara (19 percent)

Feedback is encouraged! Time constraints are a factor for every breakdown apart from the Thursday night game, so I'm happy to discuss anything I missed in the comments below or on twitter (@RotowireNFL_JD).

Rams 29 Seahawks 30

Rams

  • Jared Goff was pressured on 42 percent of his dropbacks, a bit lower than Weeks 1-4 (43.2) but still a higher rate than league-average, per PFF. His average time from snap to throw was 2.93 seconds, pushing him up to 2.79 for the season — closer to his marks from 2017 (2.93) and 2018 (2.95).
  • Goff finished with his best single-game QBR (64.8) and PFF grade (77.6) of 2019, moving up to 14th of 36 among QBs (min. 50 dropbacks) in the latter category, per PFF. An 8.3 aDOT was right in line with his season mark of 8.0, and he completed one of four passes 20 or more yards downfield (he's now 3-for-13 on those throws for the year), per PFF.
  • Todd Gurley returned to his every-down role of years past, logging 93 percent of snaps after playing 70, 63, 73 and 75 percent the first four weeks. He lost a fumble, dropped a pass and managed 3.4 YPC, but he did force a season-high five missed tackles on 15 carries, per PFF.
  • Malcolm Brown played 4 percent of snaps, down from 28, 37, 27 and 25 percent the previous four weeks.
  • Gerald Everett's 81 percent snap share was the second-largest of his career, behind only 88 percent from the Week 3 game Tyler Higbee missed with a lung injury. Everett ran a route on 36 of Goff's 50 dropbacks (72 percent), after running a route on 55 percent over the first four weeks of the year (including 53 percent in the other three games Higbee played), per PFF.
  • Higbee played a season-high 56 percent, but ran a route on just 26 percent of dropbacks (he's now at 29 percent in the four games he's played this year, per PFF).
  • The Rams used 12 personnel (one RB, two TEs, two WRs) on 24 of their 67 plays (36 percent), after using that grouping just 14 times on 278 plays (5 percent) the first four weeks. And it wasn't just a matter of Brandin Cooks suffering a concussion — 15 of those 24 plays occurred before halftime Thursday night.
  • The Rams have run the ball on 24 of 38 plays (63 percent) from 12 personnel this year, averaging 3.4 YPC. The 14 passes have produced 5.4 YPA.
  • The Rams ran the ball on 54 of 68 snaps (79 percent) from 12 personnel during the 2018 regular season, averaging 4.6 YPC. They completed 10 of the 14 passes for 7.9 YPA and two TDs. Those snaps from 12 personnel accounted for just 6.4 percent of their total play volume, but the number rose to 16.2 percent in the playoffs (61 percent run rate, 3.5 YPC, 8.8 YPA)
  • Robert Woods played 93 percent of snaps, while Cooks and Josh Reynolds combined for 104 percent.
  • Cooper Kupp played a season-low 67 percent, following 89, 94, 98 and 96 percent the first four weeks. Regardless, he ran a route on 42 of Goff's 50 dropbacks (84 percent), not too far behind Woods (94 percent).
  • Kupp finished Thursday eighth among WRs (20-target min.) with 2.40 yards per route, far ahead of Cooks (1.66, 33rd of 53) and Woods (1.61, 37th) per PFF.
  • Kupp still hasn't seen a target 20 or more yards downfield, but his overall rate of 0.28 targets per route is fourth highest in the league, behind Keenan Allen (0.30), T.Y. Hilton (0.30) and Michael Thomas (0.29).
  • Following Thursday's game, the Rams' pass-play percentage before halftime this season (70.6) was third highest in the league, behind only Cincinnati (72.9) and Kansas City (72.7).
  • For the first time all season, the Rams had multiple starters on the offensive line — LT Andrew Whitworth, C Brian Allen, RT Rob Havenstein — graded above 70.0 by PFF. At the conclusion of last week, four of the team's five O-line starters graded in the bottom five at their respective positions; now, only LG Joseph Noteboom is that low. Noteboom is the replacement for offseason departee Rodger Saffold, who holds PFF's No. 11 grade among guards as a member of the Titans this season.
  • The Rams have the league's second-highest pass-play percentage (70.6) in the first half of games this season, trailing only Kansas City (74.1 percent).

Seahawks

  • Russell Wilson completed each of his five passes 20 or more yards downfield, giving him a league-high 64 percent completion rate on those throws this season, per PFF. He's also thrown deep at the ninth-highest rate — 16 percent of his attempts. Last year, he completed 48.5 percent (2nd-best) and threw deep on 15.9 percent of overall passes (t-3rd), per PFF.
  • The Seahawks had a 61 percent pass rate in the first half Week 4 at Arizona, but it was back to run-heavy Thursday night — 39 percent pass rate before halftime, 36 percent overall.
  • Seattle has the league's third-lowest pass-play rate (51.9 percent) in the first half of games this season, behind Minnesota (46.8 percent) and Baltimore (47.8).
  • Chris Carson took 84 percent of snaps and 29 of 37 RB opportunities (78 percent), leaving Rashaad Penny with six carries and two targets on 16 percent of snaps, while Travis Homer strictly played special teams and C.J. Prosise technically was active but didn't actually play.
  • Carson is tied with Alvin Kamara for the league lead with 23 avoided tackles on rushes, though Kamara has played one fewer game and taken 35 fewer carries, per PFF. Carson's 101.2 elusive rating is fifth among 46 RBs with 20 or more carries, and his average of 3.45 yards after contact is 14th.
  • Penny has played 51 snaps in three games, drawing a carry (22) or target (three) on 49 percent of his plays.
  • Tyler Lockett ran a route on each of Wilson's 30 dropbacks, followed by Carson (26 routes), DK Metcalf (23), Will Dissly (20), Jaron Brown (13), Luke Willson (7) and David Moore (7), per PFF.
  • Metcalf is at 0.75 routes per dropback the past two weeks, down from 0.92 in Weeks 1-3. He's drawn seven of his 29 targets on snaps inside the red zone (zero touchdowns), and he's also had some nice scoring opportunities from long distance, including TDs of 40 and 28 yards.
  • Moore, Brown and Malik Turner all landed between 23-to-31 percent of snaps, splitting the No. 3 job and also poaching a few chances from Metcalf.
  • Dissly played 89 percent of snaps, setting a career high for a second time in as many weeks. He was used as a pass blocker on six plays, up from four the previous week, per PFF.

Patriots 33 Redskins 7

Patriots

  • New England had an 83 percent pass-play rate before halftime (39 percent after the break).
  • Sony Michel took a season-high 49 percent of snaps, lifting his 2019 share to 36 percent. He had four of his 16 carries and two of his career-high three catches in the first half.
  • Michel ran a career-high 20 routes, per PFF.
  • James White played 40 percent of snaps and ran 21 routes, while Brandon Bolden played 14 percent with four routes (including a TD catch on his only target). Rex Burkhead was held out with a foot injury.
  • Julian Edelman played 92 percent of snaps and ran a route on each of Brady's 46 dropbacks.
  • Matt LaCosse played 94 percent and ran 42 routes, likely benefiting from extra snaps after Phillip Dorsett suffered a hamstring injury. With Ben Watson released Monday, it appears LaCosse is locked in as the top tight end, though his Week 5 workload is no sure thing to continue.
  • The Patriots used 11 personnel on just 27 of 74 plays (36 percent), down from 42 percent in Week 4 and 59 percent in Week 3. My theory that they'd become 11-heavy with FB James Develin (neck) on IR has been proven incorrect.
  • In fact, FB Jakobi Meyers played 41 percent of snaps Sunday, up from 29 percent in Week 4.
  • Josh Gordon ran 42 routes and logged 86 percent of snaps. Gordon leads the team with 184 routes this season — 0.92 per QB dropback.

Redskins

  • Terry McLaurin played 95 percent of snaps and tied for the team lead with seven targets. He's run routes on 92 percent of QB dropbacks in four games (per PFF), commanding a league-high 51 percent air-yard share despite overall target share (21 percent) outside the top 30. His 15.8 aDOT stick out like a sore thumb compared to Paul Richardson (8.6), Trey Quinn (7.4), Vernon Davis (6.4) and Chris Thompson (1.3).
  • Thompson played 54 percent of snaps and also drew seven targets, running 24 routes on 35 QB dropbacks (69 percent), per PFF. Thompson has run a route on 62 percent of the team's dropbacks this year, with his 124 routes tied for seventh among all RBs, per PFF.
  • Paul Richardson played 86 percent of snaps, and Trey Quinn logged 76 percent. Among 64 WRs with 20+ targets this season, Richardson and Quinn rank 62nd and 64th, respectively, in yards per route (0.93 for Richardson, 0.71 for Quinn), per PFF.
  • With Vernon Davis and Jordan Reed both out because of concussions, Washington ran 29 plays from 10 personnel (one RB, four WRs). The team ran zero snaps from this package prior to Week 5.
  • Steven Sims scored a 65-yard TD on an end-around while logging 54 percent of snaps.
  • Kelvin Harmon wasn't part of the four-wide game plan, logging 10 percent of snaps.

Jaguars 27 Panthers 34

Jaguars

  • Gardner Minshew's 9.8 aDOT was sixth-longest among QBs in Week 5, pushing him up to 8.2 for the season (17th among 39 QBs). It continued a trend from Week 4, when he had a season-high 11.3 aDOT. PFF charted him with a season-high seven pass attempts 20+ yards downfield, including three completions. Translation: Minshew isn't just dinking and dunking.
  • A trio of fumbles brought Minshew's season total to seven, tied with Kirk Cousins for most in the league.
  • Leonard Fournette played 92 percent of snaps, putting him at 91 percent for the season. Christian McCaffrey (96 percent), Le'Veon Bell (94 percent), David Johnson (79 percent) and Alvin Kamara (75 percent) round out the top five in RB snap share.
  • D.J. Chark played 81 percent of snaps and ran a team-high 47 routes on Minshew's 51 dropbacks (92 percent), per PFF. While his snap share has never topped 82 percent, Chark has run a route on 90 percent of Minshew's dropbacks in the rookie's four starts, per PFF.
  • At 2.76 yards per route, Chark ranks fifth among all players with 20 or more targets. He's yet to be charged with a drop this season, after having five on 31 targets last year, per PFF.
  • Chark is sixth in the league in air yards (536) and eighth in air-yard share (38 percent). He has a league-high eight receptions on throws 20 or more yards downfield, and his 12 targets are tied with Kenny Golladay for second behind Will Fuller (13), per PFF.
  • Chris Conley played 77 percent of snaps and ran 42 routes (82 percent), while Dede Westbrook played 69 percent of snaps and ran 44 routes (86 percent).
  • Marqise Lee is still mostly used as a run blocker — eight routes on 19 snaps.
  • Seth DeValve played a season-high 22 snaps, getting more work after James O'Shaughnessy suffered a season-ending injury. Geoff Swaim's snap share landed in its usual range — 51 percent. Note: the Jags could have rookie TE Josh Oliver (hamstring) ready for Week 6.

Panthers

  • Kyle Allen's 5.5 aDOT on Sunday put his season mark down to 7.3 — 24th among QBs. He's thrown 10 percent of his pass attempts 20 or more yards downfield, the 27th-highest rate among 37 QBs with five or more deep throws, per PFF.
  • Christian McCaffrey forced 12 missed tackles on 25 touches, with his snap share down to 86 percent because he dealt with cramps in the fourth quarter. Only Alvin Kamara (38) has forced more missed tackles than McCaffrey's 35 this season, per PFF.
  • Reggie Bonnafon played 17 percent of snaps, subbing in for a cramping McCaffrey and also getting a couple plays in formations with two halfbacks. Bonnafon wasn't touched by a defender on his 59-yard touchdown run.
  • The Panthers kept playing time tight at the skill positions — 98 percent snap share for Greg Olsen, 97 percent for D.J. Moore, 91 percent for Curtis Samuel, 77 percent for Jarius Wright.
  • Moore had eight targets and 91 yards, seeing more volume and production than Samuel (six targets, 19 yards) for the first time since Allen took over as the QB.
  • Olsen went for 6-75-2 in Allen's first start (at ARZ), but has since combined for 2-5-0 on six targets in two games. He was used as a pass blocker 10 times Sunday, compared to 13 total snaps over the previous four weeks, per PFF.
  • Here are the updated numbers from Allen's three starts:

         McCaffrey: 25 percent target share, 2 percent air-yard share (0.5 aDOT)

         Samuel: 22 percent target share, 39 percent air-yard share (13.2 aDOT)

         Moore: 16 percent target share, 24 percent air-yard share (10.9 aDOT)        

         Olsen: 14 percent target share, 17 percent air-yard share (9.2 aDOT)

         Wright: 12 percent target share, 11 percent air-yard share (6.8 aDOT)

Vikings 28 Giants 10

Vikings

  • Kirk Cousins' 6.5 aDOT on Sunday was right around his season mark of 6.9. His completion percentage (81.5) was 20 points above his xCOMP% (61.5), and his +5.7 differential for the year is fourth-best in the league behind Russell Wilson (10.5), Drew Brees (8.5) and Dak Prescott (8.0)
  • Cousins has mostly been throwing shorter passes, but that doesn't mean he's consistently getting rid of the ball quickly. His average time from snap to throw in Sunday's game was 3.1 seconds, pushing his mark for the season up to a league-high 3.07. His 8.0 percent sack rate is a career-worst mark, putting him 25th among 34 qualified passers.
  • Dalvin Cook played 66 percent of snaps and handled 27 of 33 RB opportunities (82 percent) before Alexander Mattison got four carries in a row on the game-ending drive.
  • Mattison played 23 percent of snaps, while Ameer Abdullah played 14 percent. Abdullah's three carries included one on a 3rd-and-20 and two in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half. Cook also got work in that two-minute drill — two catches for 43 yards and a carry for a one-yard loss.
  • Stefon Diggs played 75 percent of snaps and ran 25 routes on Cousins' 31 dropbacks (81 percent). Kyle Rudolph played 90 percent and ran 24 routes with just one catch, while No. 3 receiver Bisi Johnson put up a 4-43-0 receiving line on 12 routes, per PFF.
  • Diggs has run a route on 85 percent of Cousins' dropbacks this season, compared to 96 percent for Adam Thielen, per PFF. Thielen ranks 10th in the league at 2.27 yards per route, with Diggs (2.12) not too far behind at 16th. Rudolph, with 0.36 yards per route, is officially a non-factor. It isn't clear why he's playing ahead of Irv Smith Jr. on obvious passing downs.

Giants

  • Daniel Jones had the fifth-longest aDOT (10.4) of Week 5, pushing him up to 13th (8.7) for the season. His completion percentage (64.2) remains slightly higher than his xCOMP% (62.7), despite a -3.0 differential Sunday against Minnesota. NFL Next Gen Stats puts him second in the league with a 27.5 percent rate of "aggressive passes" (throws to a receiver within one yard of a defender).
  • Jones overthrew a wide-open Sterling Shepard for what might've been a 57-yard touchdown on the opening drive. A 35-yard scoring dime to Darius Slayton on the next drive erased the memory, but Jones got a bit lucky later in the second quarter when he threw consecutive incompletions that hit a defender in the hands. He also had a pair of near picks (and a couple actual INTs) the previous week against Washington.
  • With Wayne Gallman concussed on the opening drive, Jon Hilliman played 64 percent of snaps and Elijhaa Penny played 36 percent.
  • Evan Engram led the team's skill-position players in both snap share (84 percent) and routes (38 on Jones' 43 dropbacks). Engram has run a route on 84 percent of dropbacks in Jones' three starts, while Sterling Shepard is at 93 percent, per PFF.
  • Shepard was down to 81 percent of snaps and 37 routes (86 percent) in Week 5, still ahead of Golden Tate (67 percent, 37 routes), Darius Slayton (65 percent, 28 routes) and Cody Latimer (46 percent, 21 routes)
  • (The Shepard vs. Tate split appears irrelevant for Week 6, with Shepard joining Gallman in the concussion protocol ahead of Thursday's game against New England.)
  • Shepard has seen 27 percent target share and 38 percent air-yard share in Jones' three starts, compared to 25 percent and 17 percent, respectively, for Evan Engram. Slayton has seen 11 percent target share and 23 percent air-yard share, with a 17.3 aDOT. The rookie should be the team's top outside weapon for as long as Shepard is out.

Cardinals 26 Bengals 23

Cardinals

  • Kyler Murray's 9.2 aDOT was his longest since Week 1, and a huge difference from Weeks 3-4 (below 5.0 both games).
  • Murray had season highs for carries (10) and rushing yards (93), with PFF charting just three of his rush attempts as scrambles on designed pass plays. For the season, Murray is credited with only 10 scrambles (t-eighth most) among his 28 carries, but he's produced 11.2 YPC on those plays, compared to 5.2 YPC on 18 designed runs, per PFF. His total rushing yardage (206) is second to only Lamar Jackson (308) among QBs, and his 7.4 YPC is second to only Dak Prescott (7.6 YPC on just eight carries).
  • David Johnson took 70 percent of snaps and 22 of 34 RB opportunities (65 percent), ceding a bit more work to Chase Edmonds while playing through a back injury. Johnson has two games with snap share below 86 percent this season, and both times he dealt with an in-game injury (his wrist in Week 2 at Baltimore).
  • Edmonds handled his second-largest snap share (35), reaching season highs for carries (eight), targets (four) and scrimmage yards (86), not to mention his first TD of 2019.
  • KeeSean Johnson played 95 percent of snaps, followed by Trent Sherfield (77 percent), Larry Fitzgerald (74 percent), Pharoh Cooper (18 percent) and Andy Isabella (13 percent).
  • The Cardinals ran just 18 percent of their plays from 10 personnel (one RB, four WRs), after using the grouping on more than half of snaps in each of their first four games. Kliff Kingsbury responded to the absences of Christian Kirk (ankle) and Damiere Byrd (hamstring) by giving more snaps to tight ends Charles Clay (57 percent) and Maxx Williams (56 percent).

Bengals

  • Joe Mixon played 63 percent of snaps and took 20 of 25 RB opportunities (80 percent), but Giovani Bernard had a 15-to-8 advantage in routes run, per PFF.
  • Auden Tate played every single snap on offense, followed by Tyler Boyd (99 percent), Damion Willis (60 percent), Alex Erickson (22 percent) and Stanley Morgan (4 percent). Erickson left the game due to a concussion.
  • C.J. Uzomah played 64 percent of snaps and ran 18 routes, while Tyler Eifert played just 27 percent and ran 13 routes. Eifert has run a route on just 97 of Andy Dalton's 226 dropbacks (43 percent) this season.
  • Dalton's 226 dropbacks are fourth-most in the league, behind Matt Ryan (240), Jared Goff (235) and Kyler Murray (232)
  • The Bengals are second in the league with a 70.4 pass-play percentage this season, including the fourth-highest rate (67.6) in the first half of games. They did try for more balance against Arizona, with a 41.7 percent pass rate before halftime and 76.3 percent rate after the break (they were trailing the entire second half until the two-minute warning).

Bears 21 Raiders 24

Bears

  • David Montgomery played 52 percent of snaps, down from 69 percent in Week 4 and 65 percent in Week 3. The rookie took 11 of the Bears' 15 RB carries, but Tarik Cohen (53 percent of snaps) had a 7-to-1 advantage in targets.
  • Cohen played 15 snaps in the backfield, eight out wide and six in the slot, per PFF. Last year, he ran 19 percent of his routes from the slot, where he drew 28 percent of his targets (15 catches for 188 yards on 17 targets), per PFF. This year, Cohen has seen 48 percent of his routes but just 19 percent of his targets from the slot, catching seven passes for 44 yards on 10 slot targets, i.e., he's been a much more effective pass catcher from the backfield, per PFF.
  • Allen Robinson played every snap on offense, followed by Javon Wims (93 percent), Anthony Miller (78 percent) and Trey Burton (76 percent).
  • Burton's mark of 0.70 yards per route is worst in the league among 37 TEs with double-digit targets this year, per PFF.
  • Wims ran 35 routes on Chase Daniel's 36 dropbacks, but Wims drew one target, while Anthony Miller had seven on 31 routes, and Burton drew three looks on 25 routes, per PFF.
  • Miller took 30 snaps from the slot and 13 out wide, after a 40/3 split the previous week and a 20/2 split back in Week 3, per PFF. He's run a route on 74 percent of Chicago's dropbacks the past three weeks, compared to 98 percent for Robinson and 68 percent for Burton.
  • Basically, Chicago's snaps/routes were divided in a similar way to what we saw last year, only with Montgomery replacing Jordan Howard and Wims replacing Taylor Gabriel (concussion).

Raiders

  • Derek Carr leads the league in PFF's adjusted completion percentage (84.7), with his 43 incompletions including nine drops, eight throwaways and three batted passes, per PFF. NFL Next Gen Stats paints a less generous picture, with Carr's 73.3 completion percentage only 2.0 percentage points above his league-high 71.3 xCOMP%. He's thrown just 11.8 percent of his passes to a receiver within one yard of a defender, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
  • Josh Jacobs played 68 percent of snaps, his largest share since Week 1. He handled 30 of 43 RB opportunities (70 percent), including a pair of red-zone touchdowns even though he also lost a short score to DeAndre Washington.
  • Washington played 18 percent of snaps with nine touches (three targets), and Jalen Richard took 15 percent of snaps with four touches (two targets). Richard had one game with 49 percent snap share in a blowout loss to Minnesota, but he's otherwise maxed out at 18 snaps and five touches in a game.
  • Trevor Davis led the WRs with 75 percent snap share, followed by Hunter Renfrow (58 percent), Keelan Doss (55 percent) and Marcell Ateman (38 percent).
  • Darren Waller played 78 percent of snaps and led the team with 27 routes on Derek Carr's 33 dropbacks (82 percent), per PFF. Waller has run a route on 83 percent of Oakland dropbacks this season, ranking sixth among TEs with 143 routes despite playing for a team with the ninth-fewest pass attempts. Even after a down week, Waller is ninth in the league for target share (26 percent), t-14th in targets (42) and t-5th in receptions (37).
  • Renfrow's failure to benefit from the Tyrell Williams (foot) injury shouldn't come as any surprise. The rookie has played 74 percent of his snaps from the slot this year, including 74 percent in the London game, per PFF. Williams has lined up outside on 82 percent of his snaps with Oakland, per PFF.

Buccaneers 24 Saints 31

Bucs

  • Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber each played 34 percent of snaps, with Dare Ogunbowale up to 32 percent in a game where the Bucs mostly trailed. Jones led the group with 12 opportunities, followed by nine for Barber and four for Ugonbowale. The week prior, Jones handled 49 percent of snaps and 57 percent of RB opportunities in a win over the Rams.
  • With Breshad Perriman (hamstring) sidelined, Bobo Wilson (46 percent snap share) split the No. 3 receiver role with Scott Miller (39 percent).
  • O.J. Howard played 80 percent of snaps and finished third on the team with 26 routes, going out for a pass on 72 percent of Jameis Winston's dropbacks. The production still didn't happen, but Howard's rate of 0.72 routes per dropback was an upgrade from his mark from Weeks 1-4 (0.61). He was used as a pass blocker just three times, and Cameron Brate was limited to 24 percent of snaps for a second straight week.
  • Mike Evans played 97 percent of snaps and drew three targets in his first game without a catch since Week 2 of 2015 (also at New Orleans).
  • In addition to his huge production advantage, Chris Godwin is ahead of Evans in targets (43-to-38), though Evans has seen more air yards (603-to-526) thanks to a 15.9 aDOT (12.2 for Godwin). Evans actually leads the league in air yards.
  • Godwin holds the following league-wide ranks this season: 7th in target share, t-11th in targets, 8th in air yards, 3rd in receiving yards, t-8th in receptions.

Saints

  • Alvin Kamara played 69 percent of snaps, his lowest share since 63 percent in a 27-9 loss to the Rams back in Week 2. He handled 23 of 32 RB opportunities (72 percent), with Latavius Murray and his 33 percent snap share taking the other nine.
  • Kamara is eighth among RBs with 18 percent target share this season, down from 21 percent (fourth-largest) in 2018.
  • Michael Thomas leads the league with 32 percent target share, well ahead of second-place Cooper Kupp (28 percent) and DeAndre Hopkins (28 percent). It's only a slight uptick from last year when Thomas was No. 2 at 29 percent.
  • Ted Ginn played 64 percent of snaps, running a route on 31 of the Saints' 40 dropbacks (78 percent), per PFF. Jared Cook was third on the team with 25 routes, followed by Kamara (20) and No. 2 tight end Josh Hill (17).
  • Tre'Quan Smith played just 27 percent of snaps in his first game back from injury. He logged 64 and 60 percent the first two weeks of the season.
  • Usage rates for Saints pass catchers in Teddy Bridgewater's three starts:

         Thomas: 31 percent target share, 48 percent air-yard share (9.1 aDOT)

         Kamara: 22 percent target share, -0.01 percent air-yard share (-0.4 aDOT)

         Cook: 15 percent target share, 17 percent air-yard share (6.6 aDOT)

         Ginn: 13 percent target share, 24 percent air-yard share (11.0 aDOT)

         Hill: 11 percent target share, 12 percent air-yard share (6.5 aDOT)

Jets 6 Eagles 31

Jets

  • Le'Veon Bell played 88 percent of snaps and handled 24 of 27 RB opportunities (89 percent).
  • Among 41 RBs with 30 or more carries, Bell ranks 28th in yards after contact per carry (2.76) and 39th in yards per carry (2.9), per PFF. His 78.1 elusive rating is 10th-best, with 16 avoided tackles on rush attempts (71) and a league-high 12 avoided tackles on receptions (27).
  • Bell's 27 percent target share is fifth-largest in the league and No. 1 among RBs.
  • Jamison Crowder dropped down to 54 percent of snaps in this game, behind Demaryius Thomas (78 percent) and Robby Anderson (76 percent). Crowder played at least 90 percent of snaps in each of the Jets' previous three games.
  • Anderson and Thomas ran 31 routes apiece on 35 dropbacks (89 percent), followed by Crowder (74 percent), Bell (71 percent) and Ryan Griffin (57 percent), per PFF.
  • Adam Gase reduced his use of 11 personnel to 55 percent of snaps, instead using reserve tight ends Trevon Wesco (32 percent snap share) and Daniel Brown (24 percent) behind Griffin (97 percent).
  • Griffin has been used as a pass blocker 28 times in the Jets' past two games, per PFF.
  • Note: the Jets get Chris Herndon back from suspension for Week 6.

Eagles

  • Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders each played 43 percent of snaps, with Darren Sproles taking 15 percent before suffering a quad strain. Corey Clement strictly played special teams (22 snaps).
  • Howard had a 13-9 advantage over Sanders in carries, but the rookie had a 5-0 advantage in targets.
  • Howard has taken five carries inside the 5-yard line this season, scoring four times. Sanders has seen two such carries and didn't score on either one.
  • Dallas Goedert set a career high for snap share (74 percent) for a second time in as many weeks, with his playing time coming at the expense of Mack Hollins (46 percent) rather than Zach Ertz (85 percent).
  • Alshon Jeffery ran a route on each of Carson Wentz's 31 dropbacks, followed by Nelson Agholor (29 routes), Ertz (28), Goedert (17), Sanders (14) and Hollins (13), per PFF.
  • Goedert logged four plays as a pass blocker and 24 as a run blocker, while Ertz had zero as a pass blocker and also 24 as a run blocker. Ertz has played 48 percent of snaps this season as an in-line tight end, compared to 75 percent for Goedert, per PFF.

Ravens 26 Steelers 23

Ravens

  • Lamar Jackson got his second-worst PFF grade (55.7) of the year. Two of his three INTs hit a teammate before being caught by a defender, but all involved a poor decision — 1) Thrown into triple coverage; 2) Thrown directly to a defender; 3) A 50/50 ball for Nick Boyle.
  • Jackson's mistimed aggressiveness has arguably been a bigger issue than accuracy this year. NFL Next Gen Stats puts his xCOMP% at 65.6, nearly identical to his actual completion rate (65.4). On the other hand, he ranks 26th of 37 QBs in PFF's adjusted completion rate (73.7), a stat that accounts for throwaways, drops, spikes, batted passes and plays where the QB was hit while throwing. ACR doesn't account for the difference in difficulty of throws, which explains how Derek Carr (84.7) is first and Patrick Mahomes is 24th (73.9).
  • PFF charts Jackson with the second-most scrambles (17) on designed pass plays, behind Josh Allen (21) and ahead of Marcus Mariota and Gardner Minshew (15 apiece).
  • Mark Ingram played a season-high 65 percent of snaps, up from 46 percent in Week 4 and 61 percent in Week 3. He accounted for 72 percent of the team's RB opportunities, up from 54 percent in Week 4 and 61 percent in Week 3.
  • Gus Edwards played 26 percent of snaps, while Justice Hill played just six percent.
  • Marquise Brown's snap share (46 percent) fell below 65 percent for the first time since Week 1 — he missed a good chunk of the second and third quarters with an ankle sprain.
  • Seth Roberts led the team with 29 routes on Jackson's 40 dropbacks, followed by Mark Andrews (27), Willie Snead (26), Brown (22) and Ingram (17), per PFF.
  • Miles Boykin played 25 percent of snaps, down from 30 and 33 percent the prior two weeks.
  • Andrews has run a route on 65 percent of Baltimore's QB dropbacks this year, per PFF.

Steelers

  • James Conner played a season-high 80 percent of snaps, while Jaylen Samuels dropped to 25 percent (45 percent in Week 4, partially due to wildcat use).
  • Conner failed to draw a target for the first time since 2017, partially because he was used as a pass blocker on 12 snaps, after logging just nine snaps in that capacity over the first four games combined, per PFF. This may just be a one-week blip, considering Baltimore has the second-highest blitz rate (45 percent) this season, including 44 percent in Sunday's game.
  • Among RBs with 30 or more carries this season, Conner ranks 34th of 41 in PFF's elusive rating (35.5) and 33rd in yards after contact per carry (2.48). Last year, he was ninth of 47 in elusive rating (63.8) and 24th in yards-after-contact average (2.87).
  • JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson both played 92 percent of snaps, running 31 routes apiece on the team's 31 QB dropbacks, per PFF. Johnson ran a route on 25 of 28 dropbacks the previous week.
  • Vance McDonald played 62 percent of snaps and ran 20 routes, while Nick Vannett played 50 percent and ran just eight routes.
  • Johnny Holton logged 33 percent of snaps and ran 10 routes, filling in after James Washington (55 percent, 20 routes) suffered a shoulder injury.

Falcons 32 Texans 53

Falcons

  • Matt Ryan is on pace for 710 pass attempts, which would be the second-most in a single season (Matt Stafford had 727 in 2012).
  • Devonta Freeman handled 54 percent of snaps and 16 of 27 RB opportunities (59 percent), while Ito Smith took 46 percent of snaps with five carries and six targets. This has been the trend when Smith has been healthy — small gaps in snap share, bigger gaps in touches.
  • Ryan had 49 dropbacks Sunday. Calvin Ridley led the Falcons with 44 routes, followed by Austin Hooper (43), Mohamed Sanu (42), Julio Jones (38), Freeman (18), Smith (18), Russell Gage (10) and Justin Hardy (6), per PFF.
  • For the season, Sanu leads the team with 211 routes (88 percent) on Ryan's 240 dropbacks, followed by Jones (83 percent), Ridley (82 percent), Hooper (80 percent) and Freeman (50 percent), per PFF. Note: Freeman's rate is slightly inflated by the one game Smith missed.
  • Jones leads the Falcons at 20 percent target share, but he's nowhere near the top of the league leaderboard, with Hooper (19 percent), Sanu (16 percent), Ridley (14 percent) and Freeman (12 percent) all staying busy as well. The Falcons have five players with more than 25 targets; no other team has that many.

Texans

  • Deshaun Watson's 88.7 PFF grade was his best since Week 12 of last season and fourth best of his young career. His five incompletions included two drops and one throwaway, per PFF.
  • Watson's 9.5 aDOT for the season is ninth-longest in the league, a notch up from last year's 8.8 (11th-longest). His completion percentage (69.2) is 2.9 points above his xCOMP% (66.2), the eighth-best differential in the league.
  • Carlos Hyde handled 64 percent of snaps and 22 of 32 RB opportunities (69 percent), while Duke Johnson's snap share (40 percent) sunk to its lowest point since Week 2. Johnson gets more carries as a pure passing-down specialist, but Hyde has seen more carries and more total touches in every game this season.
  • Hyde accounts for four of the team's six carries inside the 5-yard line, with Watson getting the other two.
  • Will Fuller now holds the following ranks among WRs this season: t-14th in targets (39), 16th in target share (24 percent), 10th in receiving yards (400), fourth in air yards (542), 22nd in air-yard share (32 percent).
  • DeAndre Hopkins has been a disappointment for fantasy owners, but he does rank t-eighth in air yards (526) and third in target share (28 percent), so we're still talking about high-end No. 1 WR usage. Those numbers drop to 29th in air yards (310) and 19th in target share (24 percent) if Week 1 is removed, but frankly, it would be stupid to remove 20 percent of a five-game sample — that's generally a good sign that you're trying too hard to make an argument. My argument? Hopkins will be fine.
  • Keke Coutee played 44 percent of snaps and ran a route on just 18 of Watson's 36 dropbacks, per PFF. With Kenny Stills (hamstring) out of the lineup, Houston became more reliant on tight ends Darren Fells (79 percent snap share) and Jordan Akins (66 percent).
  • Fells scored twice, but he and Akins ran 23 routes apiece.

Bills 14 Titans 7

Bills

  • Frank Gore played 51 percent of snaps, compared to 49 percent for T.J. Yeldon
  • Duke Williams replaced Zay Jones and took on a 78 percent snap share, a tick behind John Brown (82 percent) but ahead of Cole Beasley (65 percent).
  • Despite the missed snaps, Beasley ran a route on 34 of Josh Allen's 41 dropbacks (83 percent), per PFF.
  • Brown ran 40 routes and Williams ran 33, while TE Dawson Knox wasn't too far behind with 30.
  • Knox had a career-high 72 percent snap share, and he's now third on the team with 134 routes this season. He ran a route on 71 percent of Buffalo's QB dropbacks the past two weeks, third on the team behind Brown (99 percent) and Beasley (90 percent).

Titans

  • The Titans opened with a pass-first gameplan for a second straight week, featuring a 64 percent pass-play percentage in the first half (but just 38 percent after halftime). Marcus Mariota's time from snap to throw (2.37) was fifth-quickest in the league for Week 5, perhaps continuing a trend after his 2.57 time was eighth-quickest the week before (compared to 3.0 in Week 3, 2.84 in Week 2, 3.04 in Week 1).
  • Per PFF, Mariota's 31 dropbacks Sunday included five sacks, four scrambles and three drops — that's how you end up with 13 completions and 22 attempts. Two of the five sacks occurred within 2.5 seconds of the snap, per PFF.
  • Derrick Henry played 61 percent of snaps, compared to 40 percent for Dion Lewis (who had two of the team's three drops).
  • Corey Davis logged 87 percent of snaps, followed by A.J. Brown (65 percent), Adam Humphries (58 percent) and Tajae Sharpe (32 percent).
  • Delanie Walker played just 44 percent of snaps, landing closer to MyCole Pruitt (40 percent) than to Jonnu Smith (61 percent). Last week's HSL column discussed how the Titans' preference for Pruitt and Smith in two-TE formations was impacting Walker's pass-catching opportunities.
  • Davis led the team with 28 routes, followed by Humphries (24), Brown (23), Walker (17), Lewis (14) and Smith (10).
  • Brown's rate of 0.74 routes per dropback was a season high, up from 0.56 over the first four weeks, per PFF.
  • Walker ran 0.48 routes per Mariota dropback in Weeks 4-5, compared to 0.67 in Weeks 1-3. I'd probably drop him if I had him anywhere.

Broncos 20 Chargers 13

Broncos

  • Royce Freeman played 54 percent of snaps to Lindsay's 46 percent, but the latter had a 15-to-13 edge in carries and 4-to-2 advantage in targets. For the season, it's been 52 percent of snaps to Freeman and 50 percent to Lindsay, with the latter averaging 13.8 carries and 4.6 targets per game, while Freeman is averaging 11.0 carries and 4.2 targets.
  • Lindsay has accounted for six of Denver's seven carries inside the five-yard line, with Joe Flacco getting the other. This is where Freeman is really missing out, though he did have carries from the Los Angeles 10-yard line and 5-yard line on back-to-back snaps in the first quarter of Sunday's win.
  • Courtland Sutton played 84 percent of snaps, followed by Emmanuel Sanders (64 percent), DaeSean Hamilton (52) and someone named Fred Brown (15 percent).
  • Sutton led the team with 24 routes on Joe Flacco's 25 dropbacks, ahead of Sanders (20), Noah Fant (17), Freeman (13), Hamilton (13) Lindsay (10) and Jeff Heuerman (10), per PFF.
  • For the season, Sutton has run a route on 176 of Flacco's 186 dropbacks (95 percent), ahead of Sanders (89 percent), Fant (70 percent), Hamilton (68 percent), Freeman (48 percent), Lindsay (42 percent) and Heuerman (34 percent). (Denver's core group of skill-position players hasn't been impacted by any injury absences).
  • Fant's 1.05 yards per route ranks 29th among 37 TEs with double-digit targets this season, per PFF. Heuerman is one spot higher at 1.06.
  • Sutton's 370 air yards are just 36th-most in the league, while his 35 percent air-yard share is 12th-largest. (Joe Flacco's 6.4 aDOT is fifth-shortest.)
  • Sanders is lagging behind his teammate in terms of production, but Sutton's advantages in targets (38-to-35) and air yards (370-to-343) are minuscule. The usage is very similar for both.

Chargers

  • Austin Ekeler played 66 percent of snaps, compared to 46 percent for Melvin Gordon (the Chargers kept both on the field for a bunch of plays).
  • Ekeler had a 16-to-6 advantage in targets, while Gordon had a 12-to-3 edge for carries.
  • Ekeler still leads all RBs in yards per route (2.70), drawing a target on 39 of 132 routes (30 percent). Among 49 players with 30 or more targets, none has been targeted on a higher percentage of routes.
  • Mike Williams came back from injury to play 89 percent of snaps, running a route on 47 of Philip Rivers' 48 dropbacks, per PFF. He played 93 percent of snaps in his last game (Week 3) before the one-week absence, up from 65 and 62 percent the first two games of the year.
  • Williams has run a route on 96 of Rivers' 101 dropbacks in his last two active games, per PFF.
  • Keenan Allen led the team with 48 routes, followed by Williams (47), Ekeler (33), Travis Benjamin (33) Virgil Green (32) and Gordon (18).

Packers Cowboys

Packers

  • Aaron Jones handled 68 percent of snaps and 73 percent of RB opportunities, including a team-high eight targets in his four-TD performance.
  • Last week, I commented on Jones' low rate of targets per route and yards per route throughout his career... oops.
  • Tra Carson played 32 percent of snaps and got 10 touches, directly replacing Jamaal Williams (head/neck).
  • Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the WRs with 95 percent snap share, followed by Geronimo Allison (86 percent), Jake Kumerow (68 percent), and Darrius Shepherd (5 percent).
  • Jimmy Graham led the TEs/FBs with 70 percent of snaps, followed by Marcedes Lewis (46 percent), Danny Vitale (16 percent) and Robert Tonyan (9 percent).
  • Valdes-Scantling ran 35 routes on 37 Aaron Rodgers dropbacks (95 percent), followed by Allison (92 percent), Graham (73 percent), Kumerow (68 percent) and Jones (51 percent), per PFF.
  • MVS ran a route on 90 percent of dropbacks in Weeks 3-4, while Graham (65 percent) and Allison (76 percent) had lower numbers. With Davante Adams sidelined by a toe injury, all three saw slight usage boosts that didn't show up in the box score.

Cowboys

  • Ezekiel Elliott's snap share topped 90 percent for a second straight week. Adios, Mr. Pollard!
  • Michael Gallup played 86 percent of snaps in his first game back from a knee scope.
  • In Gallup's three appearances this season, he has a 29-28 advantage over Amari Cooper in targets and a 376-339 advantage in air yards. Gallup's average of 113 air yards per game would put him fourth in the league if he'd played all five weeks.
  • Usage rates for Dallas pass catchers in Gallup's three games:

         Gallup: 27 percent target share, 32 percent air-yard share (11.4 aDOT)

         Cooper: 26 percent target share, 30 percent air-yard share (11.2 aDOT)

         Randall Cobb: 16 percent target share, 13 percent air-yard share (7.8 aDOT)

         Jason Witten: 11 percent target share, 7 percent air-yard share (6.2 aDOT)

         Elliott: 8 percent target share, 3 percent air-yard share (3.4 aDOT)

Colts 19 Chiefs 13

Colts

  • Jacoby Brissett's 4.5 aDOT was third shortest of Week 5, moving him to 6.9 (10th shortest) for the season. He piled up 484 air yards while playing from behind Week 4 against Oakland, but he's averaged just 166.3 air yards in his other four games. Handoff. Dink. Handoff. Dunk.
  • Marlon Mack handled 67 percent of snaps and 32 of 46 RB opportunities (70 percent). He's averaging 20.2 carries and 2.8 targets per game, accounting for 67 percent of the RB opportunities in an offense that's had a ton of them (all while dealing with injuries).
  • Nyheim Hines played 21 percent of snaps, with Jordan Wilkins pitching in 15 percent. Mack actually ran more routes (13) than Hines (11), though the latter had a 5-3 advantage in targets, per PFF.
  • T.Y. Hilton returned from injury to play 83 percent of snaps, running a route on 27 of Brissett's 31 dropbacks (87 percent).
  • Deon Cain was second on the team with 21 routes, followed by Chester Rogers (20), Eric Ebron (17), Zach Pascal (14), Mack (13), Jack Doyle (13), Nyheim Hines (11) and Mo Alie-Cox (5).
  • Doyle played 73 percent of snaps, right in his usual range, but he's run a route on just 53 percent of Brissett's dropbacks this year, often coming off the field for passing downs.

Chiefs

  • Patrick Mahomes was PFF's highest-graded player (82.2) from the KC offense in this game. He's thrown just one TD pass the past two weeks, completing 56.8 percent of his throws (not good) for 7.9 YPA (still good). His 10.3 aDOT is fourth longest in the league this year, while his aggressive pass rate (10.8 percent) is second lowest...basically, he gets the ball downfield without risking many interceptions, which is a tricky thing to do.
  • Damien Williams returned from a knee bruise to lead the KC backfield with 56 percent snap share and 13 of 15 RB opportunities (87 percent). He's led the team's running backs in snaps every game he's been active this year, either leading in opportunities or tying with LeSean McCoy.
  • McCoy played 22 percent of snaps Sunday night, his lowest share of the season and same amount as Darrel Williams.
  • With Sammy Watkins (hamstring) knocked out early, Demarcus Robinson played 92 percent of snaps, followed by surprise star Byron Pringle (78 percent), Mecole Hardman (62 percent) and No. 2 tight end Blake Bell (44 percent).
  • Robinson leads the team with 186 routes on 201 dropbacks (93 percent) this season, but his mark of 1.51 yards per route places 46th in the league among 64 WRs with 20 or more targets, per PFF. Hardman (1.65, 36th) hasn't been too much better in that regard. Tyreek Hill, of course, will be.
  • Among 37 TEs with double-digit targets, Travis Kelce is fourth at 2.44 yards per route, per PFF.

Browns 3 49ers 31

Browns

49ers

  • Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman played 34 percent of snaps apiece, followed closely by Raheem Mostert (32 percent), who took five of his seven carries during the final eight minutes of the blowout. It was a pretty even split between Breida and Coleman, with the former having a 3-to-0 advantage in targets while the latter had a 16-11 advantage in carries. It worked for everyone in Monday's blowout, but the three-way split will create problems for fantasy owners in future weeks.
  • Dante Pettis led the WRs with 63 percent of snaps, followed by Marquise Goodwin (61 percent), Deebo Samuel (46 percent), Kendrick Bourne (22 percent) and Richie James (8 percent).
  • George Kittle played 96 percent of snaps and led the team with 26 routes on Jimmy Garoppolo's 31 dropbacks (84 percent), per PFF. The 49ers do use Kittle as a blocker on some pass plays, but it's less of a problem for fantasy owners when he barely ever comes off the field. The tight end has now run 0.76 routes per Garoppolo dropback this season, ahead of Goodwin (0.70) and Samuel (0.64) for the team lead, per PFF.
  • In Monday's game, Goodwin led the WRs with 22 routes, followed by Pettis (21) and Samuel (19). Each of the three is a legitimate threat to be viewed as the team's No. 1 WR at some point this year, though it seems more likely that none truly emerges as a reliable fantasy starter.

Editor's Note: Many stats that include a player's rank in a category don't account for the Monday game. Posting the article by Tuesday morning requires much of the research to be done before MNF.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerry Donabedian
Jerry was a 2018 finalist for the FSWA's Player Notes Writer of the Year and DFS Writer of the Year awards. A Baltimore native, Jerry roots for the Ravens and watches "The Wire" in his spare time.
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