Week 5 had some impressive performances put up by teams and players alike, however how many of those performances were in the Red Zone and who shone through the brightest? That’s what we’re talking about in the Red Zone Report this week, so let’s dive in.
Red Zone Passing
Deshaun Watson , QB HOU – It’s hard to tell what’s more impressive at this point, his play on the field or his diagraming of the opponent’s defenses in the post-game interviews. His play in the field in Week 5 resulted in a 50-point outcome against the Falcons with six pass attempts in the Red Zone with three touchdowns. The passing attack is loaded for Houston with DeAndre Hopkins , Will Fuller , Keke Coutee , and the running backs out of the backfield and so weeks like this should be more frequent going forward and especially this week against the Chiefs.
Philip Rivers , QB LAC – Rivers has been a bit underwhelming this season so far with just seven touchdowns to his four interceptions. That rough start got a little rougher in Week 5 with no touchdowns through the air despite having seven pass attempts inside the 20. His 65.4-percent completion percentage in that part of the field is the second-best among QBs with 20 or more Red Zone attempts and that’s resulted in five of the seven touchdowns he has on the year. He now gets to face the newly revamped Steelers’ defense in Week 6 which might be a rough day for him and the Chargers passing game once more.
Russell Wilson , QB SEA – Wilson is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league and that extends to his performance in the Red Zone too. He had just five attempts in Week 5 but three of those went for a touchdown. That shouldn’t come as a shock as he has thrown nine of his 12 touchdowns inside the 20 so far this year through five games. Now he gets the Browns and a banged up secondary to pass against in Week 6 which should be good news for his owners.
Red Zone Rushing
Josh Jacobs , RB OAK – The Raiders haven’t been shy about using their first-round draft pick to this point in his rookie year and after a couple of down weeks in the Red Zone department, he returned to multiple carries in Week 5. He had three carries and two touchdowns in London as the Raiders upset the Bears and his work by the goal lines was a key reason why. Jacobs continues to be an RB2 candidate each week going forward after the Bye week of course.
Jordan Howard , RB PHI – Howard was brought to Philadelphia to do this. They had almost no semblance of a Red Zone rushing attack last year and now with Howard, it’s much improved. This is the third week in a row that he’s led the team in Red Zone carries and he punched it in for another touchdown as well. At this point, even though the Eagles are known for their running back by committee approach, Howard continues to get the most work and the Red Zone work it’s hard not to look Howard’s way for fantasy purposes.
Derrick Henry , RB TEN – The four Red Zone carries that Henry had in Week 5 was the most to this point in the season and half of those came inside the five. He turned one into a touchdown as the running game continues to be a pivotal part of the Tennessee offense this year. Henry has put up five total touchdowns this year and in three of their five games, he’s scored the offenses only trips to the endzone. There is no real reason to be concerned with his workload going forward as he continues to be an RB1 candidate each week.
Red Zone Receiving
Will Fuller , WR HOU – It was a huge day overall for the Texans offense as they hung over 50 on the visiting Falcons. Fuller was the receiver that was the major beneficiary of the big day with three total touchdowns and one of those inside the 20 after seeing four targets and catching three of them. Darren Fells was also a big target as he had two touchdowns on two targets out of the tight end role. The Texans are getting a showdown looming with the Chiefs in Kansas City and so it should be another shootout type atmosphere to look at for the Texans receiving corps.
Adam Thielen , WR MIN – All the talk heading into the game against the Giants was could the Vikings passing game get going, and it’s fair to say that it did, at least for Thielen. He was targeted twice inside the 20-yard-line and caught both for two scores. The saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease comes to mind here as Thielen criticized the passing game after the loss to the Bears and going against Philly in Week 6 he could have another nice game as the Eagles pass defense isn’t the tightest of units.
Michael Thomas , WR NO – It’s been an interesting season for Thomas with not having Drew Brees throwing him the ball, however it’s not slowing down his roll at all as he’s still the top target in the passing game and that goes for the Red Zone too. On Sunday he had two Red Zone targets and caught both for two touchdowns. Teddy Bridgewater is really starting to show what he can do in the passing game after a 340-plus yard game last week and with a fairly soft pass defense in Jacksonville on tap, it could be another big target week for Thomas.
Red Zone Defense
Cincinnati Bengals – Cincy has been a trash heap on both sides of the ball this year but the Red Zone defense has been a bit of a bright spot for them. They’ve allowed 19 trips this season to their 20 or closer and allowed just nine scores which gives them a 47.4-percent score allowed rate. So while the rest of the field, the Bengals don’t really stop anyone, they are playing a pretty good bend but don’t break approach so far through five games.
Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals get ragged on, and for good reason, for being a terrible this year, however, they do have a solid Red Zone defense. They’ve allowed 19 trips inside their 20 but have only given up nine scores for a 47.4-percent scoring rate. That’s one of the best percentages in the league for any team allowing 10 or more trips to this point.