Things have not been going well for the Washington pass game. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has thrown way too many interceptions and he had one of his worst ones of the season in the first half against the Tennessee Titans.
Washington fantasy recap: Colt McCoy takes over in comeback win
Coach Jay Gruden finally became sick of Kirk Cousins’ interceptions. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Because of that, he was benched in the second half in favor of Colt McCoy, which turned out to be a smart move with Washington able to pull out a last-second win on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the productive, or unproductive, Washington players in Week 7:
Colt McCoy/Kirk Cousins: Cousins has been dead in the water from a fantasy standpoint, but it actually happened in reality. Considering McCoy won the game, Cousins has almost no shot to start against the Dallas Cowboys next week.
As for McCoy, he was great in just one half of action, completing 11 of his 12 passes for 128 yards and a score. Of course, one of those plays was a 70-yard TD, so that means he only had 10 other completions for 58 yards. Fantasy owners won’t want to deal with a guy checking down that much.
Robert Griffin III could return as early as next week, so there's very little reason to add McCoy unless you're in a real QB pickle in Week 8.
Alfred Morris: He did suffer a leg injury in this game, but he was able to return. Morris was quiet today in a great matchup, rushing for 54 yards on 18 carries with no scores. He's yet to run for more than 91 yards in any game this season and obviously hasn't benefited from the offensive scheme change.
Morris hasn’t topped more than 3.2 yards per carry or scored in any of his previous three games, so his value is at its low point in his NFL career. He does have a pretty good schedule the rest of the way, so perhaps you can pick him up on the cheap. Still, he’s not going to catch the ball a lot, so PPR owners should view him as more of an RB3/flex play in 10-team leagues.
Pierre Garcon: Kirk Cousins being benched turned out to be a major positive for Garcon Sunday. Early in the second half, Garcon caught a 70-yard TD with plenty of yards after the catch down the sideline. Besides that play, he only added four catches for 17 yards.
After the game, head coach Jay Gruden said he wants to use Garcon more. Sure, that’s coach speak, but Washington really needs some big plays. His fantasy value is likely on its way up and Robert Griffin III coming back should act as a catalyst.
DeSean Jackson: He's been a boom-or-bust receiver in his career, so not having a TD today isn't a surprise. He finished with three catches for 49 yards on his five targets.
Jackson had three scores in his previous four games and was also over 100 receiving yards in those three games as well. Next week, he should have success against the Cowboys. Keep in mind, though, that Colt McCoy isn’t adept at deep throws and if RGIII returns he could be rusty, so D-Jax is more of a WR3 in PPR leagues.
Jordan Reed: Things were looking up for Reed after a a big eight-catch, 92-yard game in limited action against the Arizona Cardinals last week. While he didn't have a major letdown, fantasy owners were likely hoping for more than his five catches for 54 yards on Sunday.
He’s still looking like a very good option in all fantasy leagues as a low-end TE1.
