Sheesh Report. Nullified Touchdowns, Missed Big Plays And More From Week 7.

Week 7 has come and gone. Thirteen 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 7. I’ve watched every game and combed play-by-play data to help determine instances when:

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

First, let’s break down just how much sheesh one particular superstar WR was a part of in Week 7.

Stefon Diggs had a sheesh-ful Sunday at the office

Diggs' fantasy managers can't be too disappointed with his 6-58-1 receiving line, but the performance could have been so much bigger with just a bit better execution from both himself and Josh Allen.

First, Allen failed to give Diggs a catchable pass on what could have been a 75-yard house call. It’s not fair to expect overly pinpoint accuracy on near 60-yard bombs in a windy Foxborough environment, but that said: Sheesh.

That one was certainly more so on Allen, although Diggs himself was guilty of two additional sheeshes on the afternoon:

• Diggs received a catchable ball in the front corner of the end zone on what seemingly would have been one of those “feet in the end zone, but football out of bounds at the one-yard line” situations … if he hadn’t dropped it. Buffalo had to settle for a field goal shortly after Allen and Diggs failed to hook up on this potential seven-yard reception.
• The Bills had just 12 seconds to try and drive 75 yards for the game-winning TD, but the extremely unlikely comeback effort was essentially thwarted when Diggs dropped an absolute ROPE from Allen that would have been good for a 45-yard gain and positioned Buffalo for one last chance at a miracle around the Patriots’ 30-yard line.

All three instances were sheeshful — and together these plays along with Diggs’ other incomplete targets resulted in him racking up the single-most unrealized air yards of Week 7.

Aug 28, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) warms up prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Air yards measure the distance that any given pass travels (wait for it) in the air. Subtracting yards after the catch from every player’s receiving yards total before taking the difference with total air yards helps us pinpoint exactly how much opportunity through the air a player failed to come down with for one reason or another.

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 eight players racked up at least 70 unrealized air yards in Week 7:

• Bills WR Stefon Diggs (187)
• Lions WR Jameson Williams (136)
• Browns WR Amari Cooper (105)
• Giants WR Jalin Hyatt (93)
• Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (87)
• Saints WR Chris Olave (83 — league-high 632 on the season. Nobody else is above 500. Sheesh.)
• Cardinals WR Michael Wilson (73)
• Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley (73 — including this nearly amazing one-handed snag)

Be a lot cooler if Justin Herbert stopped overthrowing Keenan Allen

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.

For example, Chargers WR Keenan Allen got himself wide open on a crafty fake-screen design … only for Justin Herbert to sail the would-be nine-yard TD.

Note that Allen also appeared on this list last week due to both a missed 50-yard TD and ANOTHER uncatchable deep ball that would have at least been a big chunk gain if not six additional points. Fantasy managers might be underwhelmed by the veteran receiver’s relatively slow stretch over the past few weeks; just realize blame/sheesh should be pointed at the man under center, not the stud pass-catcher consistently getting open.

There were another eight subjective instances of this occurring with differing levels of openness, difficult of throw and pressure:

• Browns WR Amari Cooper (47-yard TD with a perfect pass)
• Bills WR Gabriel Davis (x2 from 18 and 8 yards out)
• Colts WR Michael Pittman (15 — and man it looked like he had it for a second on the bobble)
• Commanders WR Curtis Samuel (15)
• Vikings RB Alexander Mattison (6)
• Vikings WR Jordan Addison (3)
• Patriots WR Demario Douglas (1)
• Browns WR Elijah Moore (1)
• Saints WR Rashid Shaheed (5 — GREAT effort)

Also note that Chiefs WRs Skyy Moore (best-case 40-yard TD, at least 30-plus yards) and Rashee Rice (best-case 90, at least 30-plus) got a step or two of separation on deep scramble-drill throws, but didn’t receive a catchable pass. Hardly layups, but Patrick Mahomes did indeed (somehow) leave just a bit of meat on the bone during the course of his otherwise spectacular 424-yard, four-TD performance.

Davante Adams coulda, shoulda, woulda had a six-yard TD

There’s nothing worse than a truly sick, nasty, insert your favorite adjective route that leads to a receiver getting wide open … only to drop the ball.

This leads us to Raiders WR Davante Adams, who had the chance to put an exclamation point on his midweek proclamation that needed to be more involved in the offense, but instead failed to haul in what was certainly a catchable enough ball from Brian Hoyer.

If someone REALLY wanted to freak out Adams’ fantasy managers they could point out that he’s been outscored by teammate Jakobi Meyers (105.5 PPR points vs. 96.4) during their six games together this season, but I’ll personally refrain from rubbing any more sheesh in the wound.

There were five additional HUGE drops that directly led to points not being put on the board:

• Lions WR Jameson Williams (potential 47-yard TD — but man, that inside shoulder to outside shoulder catch is a tough business)
• Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (potential 21-yard TD — would have needed to make a man miss or at least absorb some contact on his way into the end zone, but it sure looked Cheetah had the angle to get there)
• Chargers TE Gerald Everett (potential 8-yard TD — had to dive, but a rather brilliant sidearm sling from Justin Herbert allowed the ball to be in a position to be caught)
• Saints TE Foster Moreau (potential 6-yard TD — cost the Saints a chance at overtime with just 25 seconds left)
• Packers WR Romeo Doubs (potential 4-yard drop — actually conveniently wound up deflecting to teammate Jayden Reed for the score. The rare drop-turned-TD sheesh)

Additionally, Commanders WR Jahan Dotson sheesh-ed in a major way by dropping a game-saving fourth-down conversion on what wound up being the Commanders’ final offensive play. Dotson probably wouldn’t have scored a TD, but the likely six-yard gain at least would have given Sam Howell and company a fresh set of downs at the one-yard line.

There were also four additional pass-catcher mishaps that weren’t objective drops — but that didn’t make the lack of production any less sheeshful:

• Raiders RB Josh Jacobs initially was ruled to have caught a rather b-e-a-utiful nine-yard dime from Brian Hoyer, but replay showed the reigning first-team All-Pro RB only got one foot down inbounds.
• Browns TE David Njoku failed to convert on consecutive targets from the one-yard line, first failing to win a contested-catch situation that did feature the ball in his hands at one point, and next not being ready for a shovel pass that seemingly had a chance for six points.
• Giants WR Jalin Hyatt got one hand on a potential 23-yard score, but couldn’t quite maintain possession through the ground. Good ball, good coverage, sheesh.
• Bears WR D.J. Moore also only managed to get one hand on a potential TD, his from five yards out on what was a perfect ball from Tyson “T-Bag” Bagent.

Drake London was so close, yet so far away

Getting all the way to the one-yard line and failing to score is one of the worst sheeshes that a player and/or fantasy manager can suffer.

But getting to the doorstep of scoring courtesy of a gravity-defining flip that ALSO nearly resulted in the football being fumbled through the end zone? Now that’s a serious sheesh.

Take it away, Drake London.

Here’s the full list of Week 7’s players who managed to get the football within three feet of the goal line, but not quite across the plane, and ultimately didn’t score later on the same drive:

• Seahawks QB Geno Smith
• Vikings QB Kirk Cousins (and it was crazy)
• Saints RB Alvin Kamara (x2, same drive)
• Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker
• Steelers RB Najee Harris
• Bills RB Latavius Murray
• Eagles WR A.J. Brown
• Falcons WR Drake London

Week 7 also saw Desmond Ridder fumble not once, but twice at the one-yard line, with the second being the always sheeshful “fumble through the end zone, defense gets the ball” predicament. Things you hate to see.

Also note that Rams QB Matthew Stafford completed a pass to RB Darrell Henderson down to one-yard line, only for the popular Week 8 waiver wire pick to score a rushing TD on the next play (sorry Stafford managers). Additionally, Patriots WR Demario Douglas got down to the one-yard line on a short reception, but the team accepted a defensive pass interference penalty to presumably gain a few extra inches instead.

“Congrats” to Murray, Austin Ekeler, Brian Robinson, D’Andre Swift and Joe Mixon for being the only players with three such instances of this sheeshy affair so far in 2023.

Javonte Williams deserves better

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 7 there were four such instances.

*Law and Order Music*

These are their stories:

• Bills TE Dawson Knox got wide open in the end zone and hauled in an eight-yard TD … only for Latavius Murray to get (questionably) be flagged for offensive pass interference.
• Broncos RB Javonte Williams had a four-yard rushing TD nullified because of an offensive hold. A shame considering just how well the talented third-year back played for most of the afternoon.
• Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill had a 12-yard TD nullified on a (good) offensive holding call.
• Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon took a screen 48 yards to the house, but LG Joe Thuney was flagged for an illegal block in the back WAY downfield. You be the judge on whether the call was of the ticky tack variety or not.

Yes, I’m telling you Travis Kelce 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.

Dec 12, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates after a first down against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

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

• Raiders WR Tre Tucker (46 yards gained via DPI penalty)
• Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (23 and down to the one-yard line, but then scored on next the play so not TOO sheeshy)
• Broncos WR Brandon Johnson (21)
• Jaguars WR Jamal Agnew (19)
• Vikings WR Jordan Addison (17 and down at the one-yard line)

Also note Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (from 8 yards out, questionably) and Patriots WR Demario Douglas (7) drew defensive pass interference penalties to get their team down to the one-yard line on drives that (sadly for their fantasy managers) didn’t end with them celebrating in the end zone.

Finally, Lions WR Jameson Williams really should have gotten the call on this deep DIME turned headshot from Jared Goff. Sheesh.

Justin Herbert wasn’t QUITE as bad as the numbers make him out to be

While the box score doesn’t account for who to blame on any particular interception, a rocket scientist isn’t always required to figure out that sometimes the QB wasn’t overly at fault.

The following interceptions occurred in Week 7, but you shouldn’t feel quite as bad about them in context:

Chargers QB Justin Herbert had his first interception batted up in the air at the line of scrimmage, while his second came on a desperate second-and-24 heave with just 76 seconds left in a lost-cause two-score game that featured him getting hit as he threw.

On the one hand, Browns QB P.J. Walker’s lone interception occurred on a deep third-and-16 bomb that essentially served as a punt. On the other hand, he had a clean pocket, and it sure looked Amari Cooper was open enough to haul in a 47-yard score with something more closely resembling a catchable pass.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw a pick-six on a pass that was tipped by a free rusher and conveniently (for the Dolphins) deflected directly to another defender.

Raiders QB Brian Hoyer attempted to complete a routine checkdown to RB Josh Jacobs … only for the fine-enough pass to deflect off his target’s hands and to the defense.

It’s tough to overly blame Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa for his fourth quarter interception considering there appeared to be some sort of confusion by Jaylen Waddle which led to Eagles CB Darius Slay suddenly being in position to go off-script and make the big play.

I think I speak for all of us when I say for one last time: Sheesh.

We’re on to Week 8.