NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens

• Justice Hill: 8 carries, 9 yards, 2 touchdowns

• Nico Collins: 6 receptions, 80 receiving yards

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens

J.K. Dobbins suffers an Achilles injury: Coach John Harbaugh confirmed after the game that Dobbins tore his Achilles, which will likely cost Dobbins the rest of his season.

• Dobbins had dominated offensive snaps in the first half, playing 23-of-29 snaps. He hadn’t played more than 50% of Baltimore's offensive snaps in a game since 2020 and never more than 66%. This could have been his best offensive snap rate had he not suffered his injury.
• Gus Edwards was the second running back to play an offensive snap, but Justice Hill also received early-down snaps in the first quarter.
• The Ravens used both Hill and Edwards significantly after the injury.
• We can expect Edwards to lead the team in carries going forward but only with a slight edge over Hill, who will be used more in passing situations.
• It’s certainly possible the Ravens look elsewhere for another running back, but it might not be that likely considering how long both Hill and Edwards have been on the team.
• Melvin Gordon III is on the practice squad, will likely be elevated to the active roster and play at least a few snaps each week going forward.
• Keaton Mitchell was an undrafted rookie with a lot of hype. He’s on injured reserve now, but he could be back as soon as Week 4.
• Hill and Edwards are worth waiver wire pickups if you’re looking for a running back sooner rather than later, as either could be a fantasy starter in a good matchup. Mitchell is worth a stash in deeper leagues.

Start Zay Flowers: Flowers is already Baltimore's clear top wide receiver option.

• He and Odell Beckham unsurprisingly started and consistently played in all personnel groupings.
• Baltimore used both Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor at times in three-receiver sets.
• Flowers would typically stay outside when Agholor was on the field with Agholor playing in the slot. Flowers would typically go to the slot when Bateman was on the field.
• The first-round rookie was making plays regardless of where he lined up.
• He ended up with nine receptions for 78 yards and ran the ball twice for nine yards.
• It is worth noting that Mark Andrews didn’t play in this game, so we can expect Flowers' target share to decline when Andrews returns.

Dameon Pierce’s preseason hype deflates: Pierce did not maintain the three-down role he had during the preseason.

• Pierce saw his ADP rise throughout August, as he consistently was used on third-and-long with the starters.
• Devin Singletary seemed to be Pierce’s biggest competition for the third-down role, but it was clear that role wasn’t the plan in the preseason.
• Mike Boone played the majority of passing down snaps on third down as well as in the two-minute drill.
• Pierce still received a few snaps in these situations, which is better than what he experienced last year.
• Singletary was the primary backup on early downs and cut into Pierce’s playing time in those situations more than any other back did last year.
• This should still end up in a net positive for Pierce if it means more targets.
• Pierce ran the ball 11 times for 38 yards and caught two passes for nine yards.
• Houston didn’t just pass the ball a lot because of the game script, as the Texans were passing in the first quarter when the game was tied. If this pass/run ratio continues, that could be a problem for Pierce long term.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Isaiah Likely took injured Mark Andrews‘ role as expected but was only targeted on one of his 23 pass routes. Andrews should take over next week.
• The Ravens ran more 11 personnel than last season, but they were still at a below-league-average rate of 43.8%. We could see them see them use even less 11 personnel next week, assuming Andrews is healthy.
• Tank Dell made his NFL debut, playing significantly in 11 personnel mostly in Nico Collins‘ place. This could make Collins a sell-high candidate, as we could see Dell take more of those snaps as the season progresses.
• Dalton Schultz’s playing time throughout the preseason was concerning, but his usage in this game was not a problem, playing in 49-of-54 pass plays. Only getting targeted on four of 49 routes leading to two receptions for four yards is concerning.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.