by Vince Verhei

The biggest Quick Reads development of Week 6 was Peyton Manning finally playing like a highly skilled and talented professional athlete, and not some sort of pigskin-slinging diety sent to Earth by the football gods to humble mortals at their own chosen pastime. With no historically good or bad trends to analyze, let’s jump into right into the week’s most surprising absences from the QR tables among running backs, wideouts, and tight ends.

Marshawn Lynch was fifth in the league among all players in yards from scrimmage this week, but he finished just 10th among running backs in DYAR. Lynch ran 21 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee, and chipped in four receptions for 78 yards in five targets. Still, he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry with only four other first downs. Even for all that, he would have finished atop the running backs table this week were it not for one critical run: a 6-yard loss on first-and-goal at the 2 that ended in a fumble and nearly cost Seattle a chance to take the lead in a tie game.

Reggie Bush gained 135 yards from scrimmage in the Lions’ win over Cleveland, but he also finished outside the top 10. He had a fine day as a receiver, catching five passes in six targets for 57 yards, with one touchdown and three other first downs. (All five receptions, by the way, came on second down.) As a rusher, though, he wasn’t nearly as effective as his 17-carry, 78-yard statline suggests. Exactly half those rushing yards came on one 39-yard play in the third quarter. Otherwise, he gained only one first down, averaged 2.4 yards per carry, and gained 3 yards or less 13 times.

Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers ran 23 times for 120 yards against Baltimore, and was third in the league in rushing DYAR. However, Green Bay only threw him one pass, a 5-yard gain on third-and-16, and many runners surpassed him when we include their receiving data.

At the other end of the spectrum is Ben Tate. Tate ran ten times for 12 yards against St. Louis, and even though eight of those carries came with 5 yards or fewer needed for a first down (four of them came with 1 yard to go, another came with 2), he gained only two first downs on the day, one a touchdown on third-and-1. Arian Foster had a fine day, as we shall discuss shortly, so Tate can’t blame his struggles on the offense line. Tate also caught three passes in four targets for 16 yards, and none of those plays gained a first down either.

Finally there’s the unique case of Giovani Bernard. Bernard led all running backs in receiving DYAR, but was next-to-last in rushing DYAR. In 15 carries, he gained only 28 yards and just one first down, getting stuffed for no gain or a loss five times. He caught six of seven passes, though, for 72 yards, with a 20-yard touchdown and three other first downs.

The most prominent receiver missing from these tables is obvious: Justin Blackmon led the league with 14 catches and 190 yards this week, but it also took him 20 targets to get there. He also struggled in short-yardage scenarios. The Jaguars threw him seven passes with 5 yards or less needed for a first down, five of those on third or fourth down, and he only picked up a new set of downs twice.

Vincent Jackson caught nine passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns against Philadelphia, but he had only four other first downs on the day. He was also the target on five incomplete passes.

Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald finished with an impressive 6-120-1 statline that made his fantasy owners happy, but 75 of those yards came on his touchdown, and he only had two other first downs on the day. He was also the target on six incomplete passes, and lost a fumble. He actually finished below replacement level on the day.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Nick Foles PHI 22/31 296 3 0 176 161 15 Foles used a steady series of jabs to set up a small number of knockout blows. He threw ten passes in the first quarter, none more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage. He then threw one deep ball in each of the next three quarters, but he made them count, completing them all for 100 yards and two touchdowns. His receivers also helped him out a lot. Riley Cooper and LeSean McCoy each turned passes caught within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage into 40-plus-yard plays. 2. Matthew Stafford DET 25/43 248 4 1 141 137 4 Calvin Johnson caught only three passes for 25 yards in nine targets, so it's not as if Stafford was just relying on his biggest star. Most of his DYAR came when throwing to undrafted rookie Joseph Fauria, who was thrown three passes, resulting in three catches for three touchdowns, and 34 total yards. (Fauria is turning into quite the vulture; he now has five touchdowns on seven catches this season.) Stafford's leading receiver in terms of targets was Kris Durham who caught eight passes in 13 targets for 83 yards and four first downs. 3. Sam Bradford STL 12/16 117 3 0 139 140 -1 Bradford's biggest gain of the day was a 40-yard DPI to Brian Quick in the first quarter that is not included in the above numbers. That throw came on second down, which is where Bradford played best on Sunday. Not counting the DPI, he went 6-of-6 for 73 yards on second down, with 4-yard touchdown and four other first downs. His only second-down completion that failed to move the chains was a 7-yard gain on second-and-8. Bradford has a reputation as a checkdown-artist, but only three of his completions against Houston failed to move the sticks, and only one was an unsuccessful play. It helps that his average pass came with 7.4 yards to go for a first down, lowest of any quarterback this week. 4. Jay Cutler CHI 25/36 262 2 0 128 121 7 Cutler's first pass against the Giants was an incomplete fourth-down play in the red zone, which is unusual. From there until halftime, he went 13-of-17 for 179 yards with two touchdowns and nine other first downs, and the Bears already had all the points they needed to win. 5. Cam Newton CAR 20/26 242 3 0 113 117 -4 Third- and fourth-down passing: 6-of-6 for 121 yards. True, two of those completions came up short of the sticks, but one of those was a 14-yard gain on third-and-16 that works out to a zero-value play. Further, two of those third-down throws went for touchdowns of 2 and 79 yards. 6. Russell Wilson SEA 23/30 259 0 0 106 85 22 Not listed in the tables: seven carries (six of them scrambles) for 64 yards and four first downs, including two third-down conversions. With about 11 minutes to go in the third quarter, Wilson and the Seahawks started a drive at their own 12-yard line with the score tied at 10. At that point, he had only passed for four first downs on the day. From that point forward, though, he went 10-of-12 for 140 yards and six first downs, with one sack. 7. Philip Rivers SD 22/33 237 1 0 91 91 0 8. Andy Dalton CIN 26/40 337 3 1 87 79 8 On the Bengals' first drive of the third quarter, Dalton hit Marvin Jones for a touchdown that put Cincinnati ahead 24-10. From that point until the end of regulation, he went 10-of-16 for 81 yards with two sacks and only four first downs, a big reason Buffalo was able to come back and force overtime. Then Dalton played much better in OT, going 4-of-4 for 55 yards and two first downs with one sack. 9. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 23/30 264 1 0 67 64 3 Roethlisberger had a weird day on the Jets' side of the 50. True, he went 10-of-11 for 72 yards. Only two of those plays picked up first downs, however, and only one other was considered a successful play. 10. Peyton Manning DEN 28/42 295 2 1 37 45 -8 He's human! The above numbers do not include a pair of aborted snaps, both of which were recovered by Jacksonville. Manning was actually below replacement level in the first half. Denver had five drives in the second quarter, and on those five drives Manning went 6-of-11 for 42 yards with one first down, one pick-six, and one fumbled snap. Then he played more like himself in the second half, going 14-of-19 for 165 yards with seven first downs, plus two DPIs for 25 total yards, and one fumbled snap. 11. Tom Brady NE 25/42 269 1 1 34 33 1 Brady had most of his success throwing to his left, where he went 13-of-16 for 134 yards with eight first downs, including the game-winning touchdown. 12. Matt Schaub HOU 15/21 186 0 0 33 33 0 A statistical example of how gun-shy Schaub has become: Through five weeks, including DPIs as completions, the Rams were allowing opponents to complete 52 percent of their deep passes for 15.9 yards per play, both among the bottom six teams in the league. Yet Schaub tested St. Louis with only one deep pass, an incompletion to DeAndre Hopkins in the second quarter. And even that pass only traveled 17 yards past the line of scrimmage. He threw four other balls that traveled at least 10 yards downfield, completing three of them for 50 yards and three first downs. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Drew Brees NO 17/36 236 2 1 33 37 -5 Through five weeks, Jimmy Graham led all tight ends in receiving value, with 80 percent more DYAR than the next-highest ranked player at his position. With that in mind, it's safe to call Graham's performance against New England a fluke. Brees threw six passes to Graham on Sunday, five of them inside the New Orleans 40. Five of those passes were incomplete; the other was intercepted. Graham eventually left the game with a foot injury, and the Saints are hopeful he'll be able to return after their bye week. He still leads the league in receiving yards. 14. Aaron Rodgers GB 17/32 315 1 1 23 10 13 It would be obvious to conclude that Rodgers struggled without James Jones and Randall Cobb, but he actually played better without them. Cobb's last receptions was a 15-yard gain on Rodgers' last pass of the first half. Up to that point he had gone 10-of-21 for 116 yards with four first downs, three sacks, two fumbles, and a partridge in a pear tree. In the second half he went 7-of-11 for 199 yards with one touchdown, four other first downs, and one interception. 15. Carson Palmer ARI 25/41 298 2 2 23 23 0 Obviously, all quarterbacks will look better on scoring drives than they will otherwise, but the difference between good Palmer and bad Palmer was still striking. On Arizona's three touchdown drives, he went 8-of-9 for 165 yards with two touchdowns and three other first downs. On Arizona's other 12 possessions, Palmer went 17-of-32 for 133 yards with only four first downs, plus two interceptions and one sack for a safety. 16. Thaddeus Lewis BUF 19/32 216 2 0 10 23 -13 First seven drives: 10-of-18 for 85 yards with four first downs and three sacks. Last three drives of regulation (not counting a kneeldown at the end of the fourth quarter): 9-of-14 for 131 yards with two touchdown, three other first downs, and two sacks. He threw just one pass in overtime, an incompletion on third-and-6. 17. Mike Glennon TB 27/43 273 2 1 -2 4 -6 The Bucs got the ball at their own 20 down by eight points with nearly ten minutes left in the game. From that point forward, Glennon went 3-of-8 for 19 yards, with more sacks (two) than first downs (one). 18. Joe Flacco BAL 20/34 342 2 0 -4 -6 2 From the too-little-too-late department: On Baltimore's first ten drives, Flacco went 10-of-21 for 129 yards with four first downs, four sacks, and two fumbles, and the Ravens scored zero points. On Baltimore's last three drives, Flacco went 10-of-13 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and five other first downs, and the Ravens scored 17 points. 19. Brandon Weeden CLE 27/42 292 2 2 -12 -12 0 Weeden's favorite receiver was Chris Ogbonnaya, whose 12 targets were tied for most among running backs and tied for fifth among all players this week. Those 12 targets resulted in seven catches for 61 yards, with two first downs (including a touchdown) and two interceptions. Looks like Weeden needs a new favorite receiver. 20. Colin Kaepernick SF 16/29 252 2 1 -20 -26 6 Not counting passes to Vernon Davis, Kaepernick went 8-of-18 for 65 yards with four first downs, two sacks, one interception, and two fumbles, one on a botched snap. As for Davis, we shall get to him shortly. 21. Eli Manning NYG 14/26 239 1 3 -23 -23 0 Between the third and fourth drives of this game, Eli looked about as good as he ever has, going 7-of-7 for 124 yards, with every completion picking up a first down, capped off by a 37-yard touchdown. Outside those two drives, he went 7-of-19 for 115 yards and six first downs, plus a 15-yard DPI with one sack and three interceptions, including a pick-six. 22. Tony Romo DAL 18/30 170 1 1 -25 -25 0 On passes to the middle of the field, Romo went 3-of-9 for 25 yards with one first down and one interception. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Andrew Luck IND 18/30 202 0 1 -43 -44 1 24. Chad Henne JAC 27/42 303 0 2 -51 -46 -4 Twenty of Henne's throws went to Justin Blackmon. On his other plays, he went 13-of-22 for 113 yards with five first downs, two sacks, and an interception. 25. Matt Cassel MIN 32/44 241 1 2 -54 -47 -7 Cassel led the league with 14 failed completions. On deep passes, he went 1-of-6 for 21 yards and an interception. 26. Ryan Fitzpatrick TEN 17/29 171 0 2 -59 -71 12 Throwing to his right, Ryan Fitzpatrick went 5-of-10 for 43 yards with one first down and one interception. In related news, Richard Sherman usually lines up to the quarterback's right. 27. Robert Griffin WAS 19/39 246 0 1 -62 -86 24 Inside the Dallas 40, Griffin went 2-of-8 for 22 with one first down and one interception. 28. Alex Smith KC 14/31 129 0 0 -66 -71 5 It's very rare to see a quarterback with no interceptions or fumbles this low in the tables. Throwing to the short right, Smith went 6-of-15 for 24 yards and one first down, with six failed third-down plays. No player was targeted on more than four of those throws, so you can't blame it on any one receiver. 29. Geno Smith NYJ 19/34 201 0 2 -90 -71 -19 Third downs: 2-of-7 for 19 yards with two first downs and two sacks. Four times Smith failed to convert a third down with fewer than 10 yards to go. 30. Terrelle Pryor OAK 18/34 216 1 3 -102 -124 22 Not included in that statline: 10 sacks, including six after Oakland fell behind in the fourth quarter. When he did have time to throw, he almost always threw to the short right area, and that predictability cost him through three quarters, half of Pryor's 18 pass attempts were in the short right zone, and he went 6-of-9 for 83 yards with a touchdown and three other first downs. In the fourth quarter, he threw six more passes to that region, going 3-of-6 for 29 yards with three first downs and two interceptions, including a pick-six. 31. T.J. Yates HOU 12/17 98 0 2 -118 -118 0 Guess what, Houston fans -- turns out Matt Schaub is your best option. Inside the Rams' red zone, Yates went 1-of-4 with a pick-six, another interception, and a sack. That one completion gained 3 yards on third-and-6.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Brandon Jacobs NYG 106 2 8 0 52 55 -3 Five of Jacobs' 22 carries were stuffed for no gain or a loss, but he had five gains of 10 yards or more, plus a pair of goal-to-go touchdowns. He also caught one pass in two targets for 8 yards. 2. Arian Foster HOU 141 0 57 0 52 50 2 Five of Foster's 20 carries gained at least 10 yards, while only two lost yards. He also caught four passes in seven targets for 57 yards, including a 41-yarder. 3. LeSean McCoy PHI 116 0 55 0 50 18 32 McCoy ranks this high despite losing a fumble on his first carry. He gained five first downs in 25 carries, and only failed to gain yardage three times. He was thrown two passes, catching both of them for gains of 44 and 11 yards. 4. Knowshon Moreno DEN 42 3 62 0 45 19 26 Four of Moreno's 15 carries resulted in first downs, including three touchdowns inside the 10-yard line. The Broncos also threw him a whopping ten passes, resulting in seven catches for 62 yards and three first downs, including a conversion on third-and-20. 5. Andre Ellington ARI 56 1 36 0 43 38 4 Ellington only had seven carries, but all of them gained at least four yards, and each was successful. Only 15 other runners had seven successful carries this week, and they each carried the ball at least 15 times. His longest run was a 15-yard touchdown. He also caught each of the five passes thrown his way for 36 yards and two first downs.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. LeGarrette Blount NE 9 0 0 0 -26 -22 -5 Blount's median gain on seven carries was just 1 yard. He lost yardage twice and gained no first downs. The only pass thrown his way was also incomplete.

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. Josh Gordon CLE 7 9 126 18.0 0 63 Gordon also had one carry for no gain. Each of his seven catches gained at least 9 yards and a first down, including three third-down conversion in three chances. 2. Brandon Marshall CHI 9 11 87 9.7 2 60 One of Marshall's catches lost a yard, but each of his others gained a first down. Both of his touchdowns came in the red zone. 3. Riley Cooper PHI 4 6 120 30.0 1 48 Each of Cooper's catches gained at least 12 yards and a first down. He had two 40-yard plays, including a 47-yard score. Plus, you know, he's always willing to fight. 4. Marvin Jones CIN 3 5 71 23.7 1 48 Jones only had three first downs on the day, but one was a 42-yard gain on second-and-15, and another was a 10-yard touchdown on third-and-8. He also had one run for 34 yards. 5. Vernon Davis SF 8 11 180 22.5 2 45 Davis' five first downs (including his two scores) averaged 32.4 yards.