Football is back … and so is heartache. Sure, our fantasy football teams scored plenty of points, but do you have any idea just how close they were to scoring more? DO YOU?
Well, you will after reading this. Presenting: The Week 1 "Sheesh" Report, AKA a beyond-the-box-score breakdown of all the near-miss opportunities that you might have missed if you didn't have eyes on each and every game. You know, the sort of tilting things that simply make you say "sheesh!" upon viewing.
Categories we'll cover include:
- Players tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a touchdown on the same drive
- Unrealized air yards leaderboard
- Touchdowns called back by penalty
- Defensive pass interference tracker
- Interception doctor
- Drops and potential better ball touchdowns
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Down at the 1-Yard Line and did NOT Score a TD on the Same Drive
Players who were tackled just short of the goal line, officially the 1-yard line, and did not manage to punch the football into the end zone with any additional opportunities on the same drive.
This is always one of the more painful lists to track throughout the season, and Week 1 was no exception:
- Cowboys RB Javonte Williams (x2, same drive)
- Commanders RB Kaytron Allen
- Rams WR Puka Nacua
- Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan
- Lions WR Jameson Williams
- Commanders WR Antonio Williams
- Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson
- Bears QB Caleb Williams (x2, same drive, did throw for a TD)
- Rams QB Matthew Stafford
Unrealized Air Yards Leaderboard
Unrealized air yards are a nerdy metric that measures the total downfield distance of a player's incomplete targets. So if Jameson Williams had two BOMB incompletions thrown his way that each traveled 50 yards downfield, he would have 100 unrealized air yards. I include targets on pass interference penalties to really try to quantify the missed opportunity at hand.
We saw 13 pass-catchers rack up at least 85 unrealized air yards. These are guys who, whether they were ultimately productive in the box score, still left a lot of meat on the bone:
- Bills WR DJ Moore (170 unrealized air yards)
- Steelers WR Roman Wilson (147)
- Steelers WR DK Metcalf (136)
- Rams WR Puka Nacua (133)
- Cowboys WR George Pickens (127)
- Bengals WR Tee Higgins (118)
- Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (100)
- Dolphins WR Malik Washington (97)
- Saints WR Chris Olave (87)
- Chargers WR Tre' Harris (86)
- Packers WR Matthew Golden (85)
- Lions WR Jameson Williams (85)
- Texans WR Nico Collins (85)
Touchdowns Called Back by Penalty
These were plays originally ruled as touchdowns that were unfortunately taken off the board by the officials for one reason or another.
Jets RB Braelon Allen (23-yard TD run). Allen scooted around left end for the score on 4th and 1, but the points were taken off the board after stud Titans DL Jeffery Simmons was held on the inside.
Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp (7-yard TD reception from Drew Lock). The short score was nullified due to an illegal shift penalty that featured Kupp still getting fully lined up as the ball was snapped.
Ravens WR Ja'Kobi Lane (4-yard TD reception from Lamar Jackson). The rookie's first career touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty on the line of scrimmage. Sad, especially considering Lane hit a fun Ray Lewis celebration after scoring.
Panthers TE Darren Waller and Mitchell Evans (1-yard TD receptions from Bryce Young). Waller was called for, in my humble opinion, a very ticky-tack OPI penalty on a pretty whatever alleged push-off in the end zone. Evans' nullified score was more understandable and came by way of an illegal pick.
Additional big plays called back by penalty: Ravens WR Rashod Bateman had a 19-yard reception overturned by a hold. … Steelers WR DK Metcalf had a 19-yard gain wiped out by OPI. … Dolphins RB De'Von Achane had a cool 16-yard backshoulder reception overturned by an illegal use of hands penalty.
Defensive Pass Interference Tracker
We don't get fantasy points for defensive pass interference penalties, but we should! Maybe? I don't know. Seems like a slippery slope, honestly. Either way: These massive penalties obviously shift games and produce hidden yardage that we wouldn't otherwise notice from our player's traditional counting numbers.
The following players drew a defensive pass interference that:
- Resulted in a big gain (20-plus yards)
and/or:
- Took place in or near the end zone.
*Law and Order music*
These are their stories:
- Chargers WR Tre' Harris (48 yards)
- Bills WR DJ Moore (46 yards – likely 47-yard TD without the DPI)
- Cowboys WR George Pickens (38 yards)
- Steelers WR Roman Wilson (37 yards – good chance at a 63-yard TD without the DPI)
- Patriots WR A.J. Brown (34 yards – likely 36-yard TD without the DPI/better ball)
- Cardinals WR Michael Wilson (24 yards)
- Chargers WR Ladd McConkey (24 yards)
- Texans WR Nico Collins (21 yards)
- Saints WR Devaughn Vele (21 yards – in the end zone, did score after)
- Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (2x, 12 yards – one in the end zone)
Interception Doctor
Contrary to popular belief, I am NOT a doctor, but I do have eyes and can usually do a pretty good job of telling if any given interception was actually the primary fault of the QB. Not always, of course, but things like down-and-distance, postgame quotes taking blame for a wrong route and simple drops are just a few ways we can cut the QB some slack for a turnover that is hardly of the one-size-fits-all variety.
Would have Been a Lot Cooler if that Was a Touchdown
Drops can be a bit subjective sometimes. The same sentiment is true with "better ball touchdowns," AKA perceived inaccurate passes to open receivers who *probably* would have managed to score. But hey, just because something isn't subjective doesn't mean we can't still try to quantify it!
Some of the biggest cases of the butterfingers that were officially ruled as drops by the fine folks at PFF featured:
Cowboys WR George Pickens (x2): Dropped a bomb down the sideline for ~40 yards and another dig for ~20 yards (though there was a penalty on Dallas on that play).
Lions WR Jameson Williams: Was open for a ~45-yard gain on a deep post, but dropped it.
Saints WR Chris Olave: Potential 40-yard gain bounced off his outstretched hands.
Patriots WR Romeo Doubs: Wide-open drop that would have been good for ~30 yards.
Buccaneers WR Tez Johnson: Let a potential nine-yard touchdown bounce off his outstretched hands.
There were also a handful of plays that featured the pass-catcher getting open enough to put together a big gain and/or touchdown, only to be let down by the QB in terms of receiving an accurate pass:
- Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb: Looked back over different shoulder on potential 49-yard TD.
- Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan: Crossed up corner and was pretty open downfield, but potential 40-plus yard gain was overthrown.
- Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka: Open deep on second play of the game for 40-plus yards, but underthrow allowed coverage to catch up.
- Bengals WR Tee Higgins: Streaking downfield for 40-plus yard gain, but turned around wrong direction that Joe Burrow was throwing, defender managed to break up contested target.
- Steelers WR DK Metcalf: Open for 40-plus yards and the ball was on him, but replay showed CB A.J. Terrell pulled Metcalf's arm down just before the ball arrived.
- Patriots WR A.J. Brown: Potential 36-yard TD badly underthrown; did draw a DPI.
- Falcons TE Kyle Pitts: Very open down the seam for 30-plus yards depending on the YAC, but Cooper Rush badly underthrew him.
- Steelers RB Jaylen Warren: Open from six yards out, but A-aron threw it wide.
- Bengals TE Mike Gesicki: Open in the end zone from two yards out, but Burrow overthrew him while under pressure.
- Lions TE Sam LaPorta: Had a step on a play-action pass from the one-yard line, only to be overthrown.
Thank you everyone for reading, and please let me know in the comments if you believe I missed anything. Best of luck in Week 2 and beyond!
