HOU-NE
CHI-JAX
WAS-BAL
DEN-LAC
IND-TEN
Houston Texans - New England Patriots 41-21
HOUSTON
As stated in last week's review, most of the reduced overall offensive numbers were related to a sluggish run game. Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce returned with a bang. Each looked solid, posting multiple explosive runs alongside 3 touchdowns between them. Cam Akers was readily expendable, so they quickly traded him back to the Vikings.
Tank Dell looked like Tank Dell. He's still that twitchy sparkplug that he was during his rookie year. While other analysts might have been hesitant on Tank heading into last week's game, I was not. It's pretty straightforward. When Nico is stretching the field and getting the big boy stuff, Tank is the gadget checkdown. When Nico is out, Stefon Diggs is not going to be stretching anything. Tank is big "E" Essential with Nico on IR, so expect the volume to stick around (team-leading 9 targets). With favorable matchups over the next couple weeks, he continues to be a flex-worthy starter.
Drake Maye looked exactly like UNC Drake Maye in his first start. Which is actually very encouraging. It's taken 6 weeks for Caleb Williams to look like himself. Drake was slinging it around well against a solid defense. He throws a beautiful deep ball and delivers well on the move. The accuracy issues are also the same. They won't change this year, and that's okay. He'll miss 3-4 throws a game, but it won't really affect you for fantasy because he's the locked in starter for the next three seasons. If his deep game stays on point, he should be able to hit what you'd like to see in terms of yardage as well. They've got the Jags in London this week and his opening line is sub-200 yds. That's a tempting bet, since the only real concern for me is the travel element. Teams will scheme more effectively against him as they get more tape, but the Jags are (almost certainly) not the team to do it.
Kayshon Boutte had an enjoyable performance. He's always had interesting upside. The scouting report with him was that he was an explosive, competitive athlete who could use route strategy refinement. There hasn't been enough tape to confirm whether he's really developed the route skill, but he is playing fast & physical and that's all you really want from a WR3.
Demario Douglas is a legit fantasy play now. Drake Maye knows small shifty slot receivers after playing with Josh Downs. I like Douglas and even Hunter Henry as substitutionary pieces.
Chicago Bears - Jacksonville Jaguars 35-16
CHICAGO
Caleb Williams continues to make strides. He followed up last week's mediocre play with a stellar performance against the Jags (a major theme for quarterbacks this year). He hit every throw save for the interception. The ball died on him with that throw, it's possible wind was a factor, but his deep ball has not been dialed in at all this year. Once he starts hitting deep (and he will), it's over.
Rome Odunze is winning most of his reps. He hit his yardage prop on just two catches and will continue to be the primary downfield weapon as DJ Moore works the YAC opportunities. His play has been solid despite low volume. He remains bettable in high point total games and he'll be fantasy startable soon enough. Too many mouths to feed currently, but that's part of the nature of the game for Odunze drafters, you knew you'd be waiting about a year before he took off. Don't panic, he's playing well.
D'Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet are all playing like the reliable veterans we had hoped. Solid supporting cast for Caleb. The production machine is becoming more gamescript related rather than ability related. The game is starting to slow down and Waldron is not calling TE flare screens on 3rd & long anymore, so they can actually move the ball.
JACKSONVILLE
Kurt Warner has been on a mission to post the best educational content on Twitter. His diagnosis of the problem with young QB play is spot on, especially as it pertains to a quarterback like Trevor Lawrence:
