The last set of games before the trade deadline and the midway point of the regular season occurred last weekend and some players that had already been moved made some splashes for the their new teams right away. Let’s see how the Red Zone work shook out this week and what we can derive from those performances.
Red Zone Passing Attempts
Gardner Minshew, QB JAC – Minshew has had a good couple of weeks from a Red Zone standpoint as he’s posted eight and seven attempts respectively and those 15 combined attempts nearly equaled the total for the season coming into those. This week the seven attempts accounted for two of the touchdowns against the Jets in a winning effort. As good as Minshew has been, Nick Foles is approaching a come back in a few weeks and there might be a quarterback controversy brewing as Minshew has been that good for a rebuilding Jags squad.
Drew Brees , QB NO – Brees was coming off a torn UCL in his thumb that caused him to miss the last several weeks. It was a favorable match-up for him against the Cardinals and that turned into six passing attempts in the Red Zone with three of those being touchdowns. A couple of them went to Michael Thomas who snagged a touchdown off of those too. The Saints now have a Bye Week in Week 9 for him to get even healthier and make the stretch run to the playoffs as New Orleans is firmly in control of the NFC South at this point.
Tom Brady , QB NE – There’s really been no slowing down the Patriots offense this year and Week 8 was no different as Brady had 10 Red Zone attempts against the Browns and a couple of Red Zone touchdowns. Believe it or not, those 10 passing attempts are the most in a game this season for Brady as they have been running quite a bit once they get down inside the 20. Brady just got a new weapon in Mohamed Sanu , who he reportedly picked in the trade talks, and he’s been known as being a Red Zone threat and also a weapon that can take the pressure off some other in the passing game in that stretch of the field.
Andy Dalton , QB CIN – Yes Dalton got benched this week, heading into the Bye week, three hours before the trade deadline, and on his birthday, but he had a productive week in the Red Zone in Week 8. The 12 passing attempts he had was the most all season for him from the 20 or closer and he had two touchdowns from there too. There are most that believe that Dalton ultimately wasn’t the biggest issue with the Bengals’ offense but they do have to see who they have behind him so while his performance was picking up, they’ll transition to Ryan Finley for now.
Red Zone Rushing Attempts
Tevin Coleman , RB SF – Coleman had himself a heck of a day on Sunday. He actually saw the most carries in the Red Zone for the 49ers who laid the wood to the Panthers as his three carries turned into two touchdowns on the ground and then he also caught to passes inside the 20, one going for a score. All four running backs were active and saw carries and usually it’s Jeff Wilson that gets the vulture TDs but in this case that didn’t happen as Coleman had a career day in the backfield.
Latavius Murray , RB NO – Murray kept the roll going again in Week 8 as Alvin Kamara was out once again in a tasty match-up. He saw five Red Zone carries against the Cardinals, one of which was a touchdown and he also snagged two catches inside the 20 which also netted him a touchdown. Murray is on Bye for Week 9 and Kamara might be back after that but if Kamara isn’t Murray has proven to be a very capable option in his place and a good one to watch out for in DFS and streaming options in season-long.
Sony Michel , RB NE – The run game has been starting to takeover for New England at this point in the season, which is shocking given that Michel came in off a knee injury and would take a bit to get going. Michel had five Red Zone carries, one of which went for a score and also caught a pass inside the 20 as well. In the last few weeks, Michel is the bulk carrier in the Red Zone for the Patriots despite the presence of James White and Rex Burkhead in the backfield. Those that took him as an RB2 with upside are really starting to see that upside develop now and the work inside the 20 will help that upside continue.
David Montgomery , RB CHI – Montgomery has seemed like a bust this year, and for the most part he has been to this point whether it be from play or play calling. They finally decided to use Montgomery in bulk in Week 8 and it paid off with a better offensive showing including five Red Zone carries and a touchdown inside the 20. Montgomery was drafted with the eyes on being the back of the future and that future is starting to show now. He might have a tough match-up in Week 9 with Philadelphia on tap and their ability to stop the run in general.
Red Zone Receiving Targets
Julian Edelman , WR NE – Edelman has always been a favorite target of Brady as he’s been the top target in all but one week this year, however coming into this past week, he’s posted just nine total Red Zone looks. This week though, against Cleveland, he had five looks inside the 20 and caught three of them and two for scores. That was a big boon for his owners, especially after the arrival of Mohamed Sanu earlier in the week, and paves the way for him to continue to be the top guy in all phases of the passing game going forward and keep in mind that they still have the easiest schedule in the NFL down the stretch.
Auden Tate , WR CIN – Part of the reason that Andy Dalton had such a big day was in part due to Tate being the top Red Zone target. He’s been the favorite Red Zone target all season for Cincy and why shouldn’t he be with his big frame and taking the spot in the system usually occupied by A.J. Green who’s still missing time with the injury. The big rookie will now be working with Ryan Finley under center but with the big frame that Tate possesses, he should still be looked at quite often when they get the chances.
Darren Fells , TE HOU – Fells has been mentioned as a favorite target in the passing game for the Texans previously and this week that was no different against the Raiders who had four targets while catching three of them with two touchdowns. Granted one of the touchdowns was on a broken play in which Deshawn Watson got kicked in the head and still managed to complete the pass in the endzone. Kenny Stills was expected to have a big game but instead those looks went to Fells as he continues to show that he is capable of being a TE1 option in seasonal or DFS formats.
Red Zone Defense
Denver Broncos – Denver was potentially going to make moves at the trade deadline with shipping Chris Harris out of town but that didn’t materialize. That’s likely a good thing for the Broncos too. So far the defense has allowed 22 trips to the Red Zone by opponents but has only allowed nine touchdowns for a scoring percentage of 40.9-percent. For any team with 20 or more trips allowed, that’s the stoutest percentage allowed in the league. They have been known for solid defense over the last few years and haven’t had the offense to capitalize on that defense, and that appears to be true again this year, but for those playing fantasy football against them, just know they don’t give up a ton of TDs inside the 20.
Buffalo Bills – Buffalo is a defense that’s been known as one of the toughest units to face for the last few years now and that is generally true again in 2019 except for one notable category. Inside their defensive 20, they’ve allowed the opponent to reach the end zone two-thirds of the time. On 18 trips, the opponent has produced 12 touchdowns which is a bit interesting considering how stout in the rest of the field they are in terms of lack of yards allowed in both the passing and running games. These are the types of quirky things that it helps to know when playing contrarian match-ups because if the team makes it to the Red Zone their chance of scoring is pretty good.