2020 Dynasty/Fantasy Week 14 Game Analysis: Cowboys 30, Bengals 7
I take notes during the live watch. I re-watch the game on tape looking for hidden clues to report on. Here are my notes/takes on what I saw and how it related to FF 2020. I write anywhere from 1,000-3,000+ words on each game, and I must move fast to get to all of them through the week…so, please forgive any typos/grammar.
First play of the game, innocent handoff by Cincinnati…fumble lost. Dallas stalls on their ensuing drive but gets a field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Next series, Bengals start driving down near the Dallas Red Zone…and fumble…scooped up and 78-yard defensive TD. Two drives in, two lost fumbles…10-0 Dallas. It was that kind of day for Cincy…that kind of last couple decades.
Dallas played pretty poorly. They probably aren’t much better than the Bengals today (Jerry Jones just rolled over in the coffin he sleeps in) – but spotting hapless Dallas a couple of turnovers, a quick double-digit lead…it allowed the Cowboys to just go through the motions for an easy win. Cincy had a million chances to get back into it, but the Dallas defense had a good day vs. an awful Bengals O-Line.
Dallas is now (4-9) and two games back of Washington in the NFC East with three games remaining. IF Dallas can win out and…and…you know what…? Let me not waste time typing scenarios that Dallas miraculously gets the NFC East title. Another dud season by GM Jerry Jones. We’re onto 2021…with a bloated payroll and nothing else to show for it. The Bengals are probably set up better for the future than the Cowboys right now.
The Bengals fall to (2-10-1) losers of eight of their last 9 games. Without Joe Burrow, they’re arguably the worst team in the NFL this very moment. They should finish with just the two wins and achieve another high draft pick, but no amount of draft picks can fix their overall organizational/ownership/geography issues.
Fantasy Player Notes…
-- The most interesting thing about this game? The Cincinnati Bengals RBs.
So, Gio Bernard (3-8-0, 3-15-0/3) starts…because we have to see what this kid is all about and definitely NOT check out the younger backs to see what they can do in a lost season.
However, Gio fumbles on the first play. But Gio is a long time, respected veteran on this team. I’m sure there will be no coaching retribution. He won’t be benched.
But he is.
Trayveon Williams (12-49-0, 3-14-0/3) then enters the game, and starts slicing and dicing his way through the Dallas defense – but then he fumbles in the red zone, Dallas scoops and runs it back. Well, now there has to be retribution? So odd that Trayveon, not Samaje Perine was put in the second series here.
Next series (#3)…Samaje Perine (10-32-0, 2-9-0/2) was in the whole series.
So, we’ve had Gio-Trayveon-Perine for the #1-2-3 series…and Perine didn’t fumble, so I guess Perine next series? Nope. Back to Trayveon Williams. Gio kept on the bench.
Halftime.
Now, I’m thinking – Cincy has never cared a wit about Trayveon Williams…but now he’s playing a lot and Gio is benched? What universe am I living in? Did Zac Taylor just get semi-smart? This is a pattern that shows me he is wanting to see more of Trayveon Williams…which makes sense, because Trayveon is really pretty talented – and showed it here on the two series he got. Let’s go, Trayveon!
Nope.
Gio takes the entire first series of the 2nd-half.
Then Gio next series.
Then Perine next series.
Then Gio next series.
Down 23 with a minute+ to go, Trayveon is back for the final nothing series.
It doesn’t even make any sense.
The takeaway? I have no idea. Trayveon got good playing time and was clearly a ‘spark’ as a runner and very much as a receiver. And then he was gone.
The takeaway? Zac Taylor, like so many other NFL head coaches – no business sense at all. No feel for talent. Gio knows the playbook best, so…ta-da. Another horrific Bengals season in the books.
Who to use for FF from this backfield Week 15? None…none of them vs. Pittsburgh.
But there’s hope for Trayveon Weeks 16 or 17…some kind of hope.
-- The best RB on the field this day…Tony Pollard (11-39-0, 2-9-1/2). Also known as the RB buried in Dallas for two more years before he can fly away in free agency…unless Zeke eats his way or smokes his way out of the league before then. Doubtful.
Pollard could do so much more as a runner, but especially could do much more in the passing game – but that would require foresight, planning, strategy. All things that will not get in the way of Mike McCarthy getting a massage in his office at Dallas HQ.
Ezekiel Elliott (12-48-0, 2-11-0/3) has not rushed for a TD in his last 8 games. He has rushed for 100+ yards in a game just once this season.
Who would have thought Ezekiel Elliott would be a worse redraft pick than Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey this season? At least you could move on to other things with Barkley-CMC out. How many people got burned week after week by pushing Zeke in -- because ‘it’s Zeke, you gotta play him!’
I wouldn’t play him vs. SF this week or PHI next week, unless you had nothing else.
-- So, I’m re-watching this game and there was so much focus on ‘Andy Dalton’s return to Cincinnati’…and they keep showing his face, talking about it ad nauseum, panning to the hundreds in attendance – and I’m thinking…who the hell cares about this? People in Cincinnati don’t care as much as the TV people keep insisting that they do.
Andy Dalton is probably the happiest guy there that he finally escaped Cincinnati.
They just kept droning on and on about during the TV coverage. The amount of shits anyone gives about Andy Dalton’s emotional return to Cincinnati is equivalent to the percentage chance I’ll care about or watch the movie Wonder Woman 1984…which is zero.
The amount of previews I saw for this movie in the last week is set at 1,984…but my interest level in it, or any other Superhero movie is still set at zero.
I tried to watch the Avengers because my kids were talking about how good it was. Really? There are rare rocks that if you ‘collect ‘em all’ you can rule the universe? Sounds plausible.
I really love watching people with superpowers like where they can change time and space, be indestructible, breathe underwater, fly, disappear, conjurer spells, move things with telepathy, shift weather patterns, have special weapons, special suits, invisible planes, control the world through collected rocks…I love that they have all these abilities and toys -- and then are fighting each other every other scene by punching each other.
Look, if you wanna fight me…and I have the ability to pick up a car or Mt. Kilimanjaro and hurl it at you at 5,000 mph just be thinking it – I think I’ll go to that option first versus trying to punch your lights out.
Stupid superhero movies are like the NFL…these coaches have all this talent around them but use Gio Bernard to try and win instead.
-- Brandon Allen (27-36 for 217 yards, 1 TD/0 INT) doesn’t have any superpowers. Well, he has one gift…he’s better than Ryan Finley (1-2 for 5 yards, 0 TD/0 INT).
If the Bengals go into MNF vs. Pittsburgh with Ryan Finley at QB…what a follow up/marquee matchup to watch versus the last MNF game between the Ravens v. Browns. What appointed viewing.
Who am I kidding, we’ll all be tuned in on the edge of our seat to see if Diontae Johnson can catch a pass or not.
If Finley is starting…all the Bengals WRs are FF-dead this week. Pretty much the same for them with Allen in, but better/hopeful if Allen is in…but I don’t think Allen is going to be in.
Snap Counts of Interest:
28 = Perine
27 = Trayveon
17 = Gio
32 = Zeke
19 = Pollard
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