Sheesh Report. The Biggest Misses from Week 4.

Week 4 has come and gone. Sixteen NFL games brought joy, laughs and tears to football fans and, of course, fantasy football faithful.

Today, we’ll focus on the latter sadness and break down just how close some came to achieving fantasy football glory.

What follows is a breakdown on all the “Sheesh” moments from Week 4. I’ve watched every game and combed play-by-play data to help determine instances when:

• Pass-catchers who could have scored or picked up big yardage with a more accurate pass 
• Pass-catchers who did receive an accurate pass that should have resulted in a score or big gain, but the ball was dropped
• Ball carriers who managed to get all the way to the one-yard line, but didn’t score 
• Players who scored or picked up big yardage, but the play was nullified by a penalty
• Other random shit that tilted fantasy football managers of all shapes and sizes

First, the single-biggest sheesh moment of Week 4.

Raiders WR Davante Adams scored a TD, but it wasn’t called a TD

And his own head coach didn’t even challenge the ruling for reasons that remain unknown.

RB Josh Jacobs would score two plays later, rendering the decision a moot point in terms of real-life football impact, but fantasy footballers and anytime TD bettors certainly have to be feeling sheeshy following the most brutal “just short” of the year.

Well, maybe. This one was pretty rough too.

Commanders RB Brian Robinson was oh so close to a three-TD day

It’s one thing to finish just short of the goal line and not capitalize with six points later in the drive. This phenomenon happens many times every week — and we at Sheesh Corp accordingly keep track!

However, it’s another thing to get stopped on one drive, and then FUMBLE across the goal line just before scoring later in the same game.

You might want to sit down for this one, Brian Robinson fantasy managers.

While the second-year bell-cow would finally punch one across the goal line later in the Commanders’ Week 4 loss to the Eagles, Robinson was truly just a few feet away from putting forward an extra special day at the office.

Here’s the full list of Week 4’s players who managed to get the football within three feet of the goal line, but not quite across the plane, and didn’t score later on the same drive:

• Texans QB C.J. Stroud (finished drive with a TD pass)
• Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell
• Commanders RB Brian Robinson (x2)
• Raiders RB Josh Jacobs
• Buccaneers RB Rachaad White
• Colts RB Zack Moss
• Chargers RB Joshua Kelley
• Jets RB Dalvin Cook
• Packers RB A.J. Dillon
• Raiders WR Davante Adams
• Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson
• Seahawks TE Noah Fant
• 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk

“Congrats” to D’Andre Swift for being the only player with three such instances of this sheeshy affair so far in 2023. The likes of Stroud, Robinson, Jacobs, White, Kelley, Dillon, Kyren Williams, Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice are the only other players with two such instances this season.

Time is just a number

At least according to the Week 4 Thursday night football referees, who allowed the Packers to get one last play off in the third quarter even though the clock absolutely struck zero before the snap got off.

As you can probably guess by the inclusion in this article: The result was certainly sheeshy to all sorts of fantasy matchups, as Jordan Love managed to complete a 44-yard bomb to Jayden Reed on the “zero second” before rushing in for his own nine-yard score two plays later.

The Waddle that never was

TDs usually get nullified by a penalty for a good reason, but that doesn’t make the roller coaster of adrenaline any less sheeshful for fantasy managers to deal with.

In Week 4 there were three such instances.

*Law and Order Music*

These are their stories:

Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle hauled in an eight-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to potentially start a late comeback, but the score was wiped off the board due to an ineligible man downfield. No TD, and the drive would end with Tua Tagovailoa taking a sack and turning the ball over on downs.

Sep 19, 2021; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) takes on the field prior the game against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson coulda, shoulda, woulda had a three TD day … if only TE Josh Oliver hadn’t been called for holding on Jefferson’s short two-yard score on the very first drive of the game. Salt was poured in the metaphorical sheesh wound when Cousins threw a 99-yard pick-six just two plays later.

Texans RB Dameon Pierce caught a five-yard TD on the Texans’ first drive of the game, only for the score to be nullified by an ineligible man downfield. Fantasy Life’s fearless leader Matthew Berry was quick to point out just how sheesh the entire sequence really was.

At least they didn't blow the whistle too early

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker looked to have scored an early 73-yard TD courtesy of the token “runner appears to be down but actually rolled over the defender and now he’s sprinting to the end zone unopposed oh my god” play.

But not so fast my friend: Walker’s right butt cheek was ruled to be down, taking back the long score that really seemed to be legit at first glance.

My favorite associated joke on the topic (shoutout Dr. Jeff Mueller): “Kenneth Walker - down with the thiccness.”

Yes, I’m telling you Stefon Diggs could have had an even bigger day

Defensive pass interferences can be finicky and don’t always occur in instances when the targeted receiver would FOR SURE make the catch.

That said: They are very annoying for fantasy managers to deal with when the result could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been a chunk gain — and maybe even a TD.

The top four players in most yards gained courtesy of drawing DPI flags were as follows:

• Vikings WR Jordan Addison (45)
• Bills WR Stefon Diggs (43)
• Falcons WR Calvin Ridley (40)
• Browns WR Amari Cooper (37)

Also note Buccaneers WR Mike Evans was tackled by longtime nemesis Marshon Lattimore for an eight-yard DPI flag on a play that sure looked to have a chance to go for a 23-yard TD had the interference not occurred. Additionally, 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk drew a defensive holding call in the end zone on a drive that culminated with a one-yard Brock Purdy QB sneak.

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Cardinals +15 bettors were likely feeling sick on Sunday afternoon

Dropped TDs objectively suck for all fantasy-invested parties involved, but a pair of late-game mishaps were particularly painful for spread bettors hoping that the Cardinals could cover as 15-point underdogs.

Surprisingly solid Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs had not one, but two rather perfectly thrown potential TDs flat out dropped by first TE Zach Ertz and next WR Zach Pascal. Either would have gone for a relatively easy 15-yard score.

Sheesh.

The only other truly brutal TD drop was committed by Cowboys TE Luke Schoonmaker, who failed to corral a rather b-e-a-utiful 18-yard score from Dak Prescott early in the team’s blowout win over the Patriots.

A similar “not super egregious” sentiment is true for Packers WR Jayden Reed (potential 9-yard score), Falcons WR Drake London (6) and Ravens WR Nelson Agholor (7), who only managed to get one foot inbounds on their near scores, as well as Steelers WR George Pickens (8), who had potential TD in his hands in the end zone … only for their coverage defender to do a great job ripping the football out before possession could be established. 

Also note that Bills WR Khalil Shakir (33 yards) and Chargers WR Quentin Johnston (30) failed to corral pretty great downfield dimes, although the plays certainly didn't look to be headed toward six points if caught.

Saints WR Chris Olave’s disappointing day wasn’t without opportunity

Air yards measure the distance that any given pass travels (wait for it) in the air.

Looking at the difference between a player’s receiving yardage independent of yards after the catch with their total air yards.

Sometimes unrealized air yards are more akin to “prayer yards” because the pass wasn’t overly catchable in the first place, so grinding the ole film helps with identifying those sorts of situations.

The following 10 players racked up at least 75 unrealized air yards in Week 4:

• Saints WR Chris Olave (155 unrealized air yards)
• Eagles WR A.J. Brown (93)
• Chargers WR Joshua Palmer (89)
• Raiders WR Davante Adams (81)
• Saints WR Rashid Shaheed (79)
• Browns WR Amari Cooper (79)
• Ravens WR Marquise Brown (77)
• Jets WR Garrett Wilson (75)
• Falcons WR Mack Hollins (75)

Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins was so close, yet so far away

Our previous section helped quantify the most missed opportunities through the air, but there were an additional handful of targets that I can’t help call out because it sure seemed like the following players could have put six points on the board with a bit more accurate pass.

As someone who drafted a fair bit of the artist known as Nuk: This sheeshy 45-yard bomb had me jumping out of my seat on Sunday afternoon, only to come to grips with the fact that all that just occurred was an incomplete pass.

Of course, this wasn’t a complete layup from either party. Ryan Tannehill’s bomb did indeed hit the fingertips, although it also wasn’t exactly what you would call a flat-out drop either.

Additional “jump out of your seat” incompletions featuring varying levels of pressure, openness and other extenuating factors:

• Saints WR Chris Olave (potential 50-yard TD ever so slightly underthrown allowing Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield Jr. to make a GREAT PBU)
• Vikings WR Jordan Addison (potential 49-yard TD underthrown leading to DPI)
• Jets WR Garrett Wilson (potential 29-yard TD sailed too long)
• Texans WR Robert Woods (potential 18-yard back shoulder TD just a hair too wide)
• Jets TE Tyler Conklin (potential 13-yard score was too wide and couldn't quite be corralled)
• Patriots "TE" Mike Gesicki (potential six-yard score just a bit too long and bounced off one hand)