Red Zone Passing
Daniel Jones NYG - Jones and company nearly vanquished the Tampa Bay Bucs on Monday night and that close game led to Jones having a second double-digit attempts day in the red zone. He turned two of those into scores and spread the ball around pretty well including getting the running backs involved too against what’s been a pretty stringent pass defense for the Buccaneers. They will have to keep piecing this offense together throughout the rest of the season but the upside is clearly still there for Jones to be a viable QB in fantasy.
Russell Wilson SEA - Wilson touched it 11 times in the red zone with 10 passing attempts and a rush in the process had three touchdowns. Six of the attempts were inside the 10 as well which was interesting to see given the amount of work their fill-in running back got as well. It wasn’t surprising to see the work their offense saw in the red zone as the 49ers always play them tough no matter what the state of their team is and not allowing big plays lead to more red zone plays. Now the Seahawks face Buffalo in Week 9 and that pass defense shouldn’t put up much of a fight.
Nick Mullens SF - Mullens had to come in in relief of Jimmy Garoppolo after an ankle injury knocked him out and despite playing fewer snaps (29 to 41), Mullens posted four times as many attempts inside the 20. His eight passing attempts resulted in two scores for the heavily injured and makeshift Niners offense. Obviously we know that the Niners didn’t exactly fare well in Week 9 against the Packers but if they can get a couple of their wide receivers back and Jordan Reed not on a snap count, that should help Mullens and company out.
Red Zone Rushing
Zack Moss RB BUF - Moss continues to show why he was drafted in the first place, to be the short yardage and goal line back as he’s just better in that role than Devin Singletary . It’s showing too. Moss is outpacing Singletary in terms of runs inside the five already this season in fewer games played and in Week 8, Moss toted it six times inside the 20 total and three times inside the five. Posting two scores is bound to get him a bigger role as the weeks tick off as well as Buffalo needs all the scoring they can get as their defense is starting to show their weaknesses. The Seahawks defense hasn’t exactly been shut down this season and that’s who awaits in Week 9.
Dalvin Cook RB MIN - Cook had a huge game in Week 8 with four scores on the ground and a huge yardage day. All told he carried it seven times inside the Packers’ 20-yard line and five times inside their 10 while punching two of the scores in from the red zone. Cook is clearly a top-three back in the league when healthy and even a lackluster season from Kirk Cousins isn’t slowing him down. As long as he’s on the field he’s a threat to rack up a ton of work all over the field but especially in the red zone.
DeeJay Dallas RB SEA - Dallas got thrust into the starting role last week due to two injuries to the backs above him on the depth chart and he made full use of it. It was a huge day for Dallas and that shows up prominently in his red zone work totals with eight carries and four catches for a combined two scores. It was one of those perfect storm games where an unexpected guy gets a start against a banged up defense and shows what he can do to the fullest extent of his ability. If Chris Carson and/or Carlos Hyde are healthy though, Dallas goes back to seeing only a handful of snaps a game and certainly not this much work.
Red Zone Receiving
Davante Adams WR GB - Is it any wonder that Adams is dominating again in the red zone? I mean really, look at the volume he gets as the only legitimate weapon on the Packers offense in the passing game and how efficient that offense is. Adams had seven catches in the loss to Minnesota in Week 8 and four targets were in the red zone of which caught three and all three for scores. When you combine that with his 10-catch, 173-yard, and a touchdown game on Thursday night against San Fran, he’s up to eight touchdowns and there’s no sign of stopping any time soon. At this point regardless of match-up, Adams is always going to be the top red zone target for the Packers in a very efficient passing offense.
Evan Engram TE NYG - Just because he can’t catch the balls thrown his way, doesn’t mean won’t still get balls thrown his way. Engram saw a season-high three targets in Week 8 as the Giants tried to take down the Buccaneers but Engram only caught one of those targets and it wasn’t for a score. He still is a big target in short yardage situations but the not catching of the passes is certainly becoming an issue and something to watch going forward as he could start losing targets.
Brandon Aiyuk WR SF - Welcome back to Aiyuk and at a great time for the Niners offense. He saw three targets and caught all three including one for a touchdown. The connection with Nick Mullens seems to be pretty good right off the bat so if they both stay healthy it could be a fruitful relationship for a team that needs all of the help they can muster on offense. He is likely still available on waiver wires as well so now might not be a bad time to pounce on a promising young wideout for San Fran.