The Week 3 installation of “Thursday Night Football” was a blowout Dolphins win over the Jaguars in a Florida showdown.
Entering the game as field goal-underdogs, Ryan Fitzpatrick’s squad scored early and often and quickly piled on a three-score lead against Gardner Minshew II and company. Undrafted rookie free agent James Robinson scored twice for Jacksonville and was the fantasy MVP of the evening.
The contest ended 31-13, which is the Dolphins’ first double-digit win in 39 games. Both teams move to 1-2 on the season.
Here are five things you need to know for fantasy football:
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick near-perfect in duel of the facial hair against Gardner Minshew
Fitzpatrick made history on Thursday night and became the first NFL quarterback to win six times against one opponent while playing for six teams. The 37-year-old journeyman — who has played for eight teams throughout his 16-year career — found some Fitzmagic to best his mustachioed opponent this week and completed 18 of 20 attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He also had seven carries for 38 yards and a rushing touchdown.
“It’s why I still play,” the former Jets’ QB said after the game via ESPN. “I enjoy playing, especially when you’re having success. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world sometimes getting to go outside and play football with my friends.”
Minshew had a rough night against the aggressive Miami pass rush. He was sacked four times and completed 30 of 42 attempts for 275 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and one costly fumble at the goal line.
“We had too many mistakes tonight – that’s just plain and simple,” Minshew said.
The 2019 sixth-rounder from Washington State didn’t look like a franchise quarterback and it will be difficult to trust him as even a streaming option after this killer performance.
2. UDFA James Robinson scores twice in huge night for the Jaguars
Robinson turned heads on Thursday night and was the lone bright spot for fantasy football on the Jaguars. He picked up 11 carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught all six of his targets for another 83 yards.
Robinson is an undrafted free agent from this year’s class. He attended Illinois State — a FCS school — and has taken over a much more significant role since the surprise release of 2017 first-rounder Leonard Fournette.
Prior to Thursday night, Robinson had finished as RB31 and RB8 in half PPR, and his most recent performance should vie for a top-5 finish in Week 3. He is a borderline RB1 rest-of-season.
3. Jordan Howard vultures touchdown away from Myles Gaskin
Howard had three carries for one yard and scored on a first-and-goal attempt amid a drive that Gaskin was utilized heavily.
Gaskin touched the ball a whopping 27 times for 95 total scrimmage yards — his best performance to date. The 2019 seventh-rounder is quickly emerging as the No. 1 option out of the backfield ahead of Howard and Matt Breida, who saw three attempts for four yards. Gaskin is rostered in 45 percent of leagues on Yahoo and should be a popular waiver add, especially in light of the copious injuries to key players.
4. Laviska Shenault Jr., Keelan Cole squander opportunity with D.J. Chark sidelined
With the Jaguars’ No. 1 option dealing with a chest and back injury he suffered against the Titans last week, Shenault had the opportunity to break out on prime time. He saw a season-high six targets, but he wasn’t able to do much with the opportunities.
Shenault made five catches for 33 yards and had one rushing attempt for a yard — his worst fantasy performance to date .
He was tied for the second-most targets on the team behind Chris Conley.
5. Mike Gesicki, Preston Williams finds the end zone; DeVante Parker has solid night
Parker had been dealing with a hamstring injury and was questionable all week. He led the team in receiving and caught five of five targets for 69 yards.
Williams scored on the first drive of the game by way of a three-yard pass at the goal line. His outing otherwise was unremarkable and he finished with two catches on two targets for seven yards.
Williams is also a former undrafted free agent who attended Colorado State. His rookie season ended abruptly when he tore his ACL in Week 9. He is a name to keep an eye on, especially with Parker’s shaky health.
Gesicki caught one pass all night, but made the most of it and scored on a 15-yard pass for a touchdown. It’s a decent stat line for fantasy, but a far cry from last week’s performance where he caught eight of 11 targets for 129 yards and a touchdown and finished as a top-three TE.