So, about that lopsided fantasy football matchup the New York Jets faced last week when they played the Buffalo Bills? Yeah...that one didn’t quite go as planned. The Bills defense collapsed in a big way on Thursday night, giving way to some solid performances from the Jets.
RB Matt Forte
The veteran had his best night of the season, racking up 77 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries. He looked spry and strong, breaking tackles and making people miss while making the Bills’ defense look silly. He also added 4 receptions for 19 yards on the night, giving him a total of 23.6 fantasy points for the week. Only two running backs scored more than Forte in Week 9, and one of them, Alvin Kamara, comes to New Era Field on Sunday when the Bills host the New Orleans Saints.
QB Josh McCown
The Jets’ veteran quarterback did not throw for many yards, as he only totaled 140 passing yards on the night; however, with the Jets shredding the Bills to the tune of 194 yards rushing, he didn’t need to throw much. He did score two touchdowns, with one coming on a 10-yard rush in the first quarter and the second coming on a 25-yard pass on New York’s first drive after halftime. On the passing touchdown, McCown read the coverage and saw that Robbie Anderson would be one-on-one with rookie Tre’Davious White; McCown audibled and threw a dime to the end zone, and Anderson went up and made a brilliant grab. When all was said and done, MCCown scored 16.9 fantasy points.
WR Robbie Anderson
Speaking of Anderson, the Jets’ big-play wideout lived up to that billing, with the aforementioned 25-yard receiving touchdown putting the Bills in a ten-point hole early in the second half. On the day, Anderson caught 4 of 5 targets for 48 yards and that touchdown. He scored 12.8 fantasy points in the process.
K Chandler Catanzaro
New York’s reliable veteran field goal kicker made 2 field goals, one of which was of the 40-49 yard variety, and also nailed 4 extra points on the night. An 11-point outing from a kicker is always a plus, and Catanzaro has been solid all season, converting 15-of-19 field goals to go with 20 extra points on the season.
Jets D/ST
While the Jets were unable to record an interception, and they did allow 14 garbage-time points to lessen the potential bonus for allowing a low point total, Gang Green was dominant on the defensive side of the ball. They forced and recovered three fumbles, and even though two of them were of the incredibly stupid (and some would say “Billsy”) variety, they count just the same. Jordan Matthews really forced his own fumble just before halftime, as he extended the ball while falling in an attempt to gain a first down. He knocked the ball out just before he hit the ground. Then, in the third quarter with the game still somewhat within reach, Nick O’Leary made a great catch, fell down, didn’t realize he went untouched, stood up, tried to gain more yards, and had the ball stripped. Tyrod Taylor also lost a fumble on one of his seven sacks on the evening. The Jets’ defense scored 13 fantasy points, good for the second-highest total among defenses in Week 9.