It turned out to be a lawn-chair Sunday for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. And the Ravens' Derrick Henry turned in a clunker on the heels of a Week 1 gaffe. However, there’s no need to stress over the Fantasy Football bad beats from Allen, Henry, and certain others during Week 2.
Allen did next to nothing for fantasy managers, completing just 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards while rushing six times for 59 yards. Keep in mind, 40 of those came on one play.
Meanwhile, Henry floundered for 23 yards on 11 carries. And neither Henry nor Allen found the end zone. Ugly day indeed for the fantasy superstars.
Bills didn’t need QB Josh Allen to do much
The 30-10 win over the Jets was a total mismatch. James Cook ran circles around the Jets’ defense. And it was clear the Bills knew Allen didn’t need to do much because of the way the play calling developed. The Bills seemed conservative inside the red zone, settling for field goals likely because of a lack of respect for the Jets’ offense that lost starting quarterback Justin Fields to injury.
There is some bad news for fantasy managers of Allen, and it’s the Bills’ schedule. They will be heavily favored against the Dolphins, Saints, and Patriots over the next three weeks. However, it’s unlikely they will leave their Ferrari parked in the garage. Look for Allen to cut loose against the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.
Still, fantasy managers may have taken a loss because of the Bills' reliance on the ground game against the Jets. But running the football is part of the plan, according to buffalobills.com.
“It just shows that you can do it in multiple ways,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “We have a good team, we have a great team, and every week, they're showing up. They're showing different cards that we can play with on the poker table, so I'm thankful. I'm thankful to be a part of it.”
Allen said he didn’t worry about getting the pass game cranking.
“I was just trusting our guys up front,” Allen said. “I thought James was doing a great job of getting onto the second level. He had a heck of a game. When something's not broke, don't fix it. And, you know, we kept going back to it.”
Ravens RB Derrick Henry got stuffed by Browns
Cleveland came in with a mindset of stopping Henry. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said effort played a role, according to clevelandbrowns.com.
“I thought the run defense was really strong throughout,” Stefanski said. “That is just from effort. The schemes are the schemes, but I thought the guys played with great effort in the run defense.”
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Defensive end Myles Garrett agreed.
“As far as stopping the run, we did a solid job there keeping both of them contained on the ground,” DE Myles Garrett said. “But we let them start bombing away.”
Look for Henry to have a much different fantasy football game on Monday against the Lions. It should be a shootout, and the Ravens will want to control the time of possession more against the Lions’ stout offense.
The key thing to note about Henry is that he has two things to make him run angry against the Lions. First, his Week 1 fumble played a huge role in the loss to the Bills. And in Week 2, he got stuffed. So he will want a different outcome in Week 3.
Other bad beats that cause concern
Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jaguars looks downright poor. Is it him, or Trevor Lawrence? Thomas had been expected to dominate this year, but instead has caught only 5 of 19 targets.
Jets quarterback Justin Fields didn’t look good before leaving the game to be evaluated for a concussion. Fields looked a lot different from his standout performance in Week 1.
It’s not just the Chiefs, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks a little iffy early. There’s room for fantasy football concern, but no need to panic.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson may be a victim of shaky quarterback play. He has just seven catches for 125 yards over two weeks with one touchdown. And now, starter J.J. McCarthy is likely out for Week 3. Things are looking poor for Jefferson, but maybe Carson Wentz can get him the ball.
The main, though, is it's Week 2. The season will ebb and flow. Injuries will disrupt plans. Fantasy managers should stay the course until at least a third of the way through the season.