Flash back to the week before the season and tell someone Sammy Watkins catches zero passes but the Buffalo Bills still win, 27-14, over the vaunted Indianapolis Colts. You'd get skeptical looks. Yet that's what happened, as the Bills used a balanced, Watkins-less attack to beat the Colts going away.
Sammy Watkins couldn’t do anything for Bills, fantasy owners
The Bills probably aren’t upset, since they won going away, but fantasy owners had to be frustrated. We break down the fantasy implications.
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Watkins had only three targets in the game, and none until the fourth quarter, while being blanketed by shutdown corner Vontae Davis. It didn't work for the Colts -- running backs Karlos Williams, Anthony Dixon and wide receiver Percy Harvin all scored. Harvin's touchdown came on a 51-yard completion in the first quarter; he totaled five catches on five targets for 79 yards and a score.
Fantasy impact: The reasons to doubt Watkins entering the season involved the theoretical mediocrity (or below that) of the Bills quarterbacks, but Tyrod Taylor looked more than competent in his debut as a starter. Davis was on full-time Watkins duty Sunday, doing more than enough to keep Watkins from producing.
If Taylor’s competence lasts -- and there’s not a lot of reason to suggest otherwise -- Watkins will produce better going forward. Most teams, as it turns out, don’t have Vontae Davis on their defense.
