Isaac TeSlaa — Week 4: One Yard Short on Fourth Down

Down 32 to 26 against the Panthers, one 29 left, fourth and 13 at the Detroit 10, no timeouts. Jared Goff threw short over the middle to Isaac TeSlaa, and TeSlaa was brought down at the Detroit 22 after 12 yards, a yard short of the first down. Carolina knelt it out.

His biggest play came earlier. Down 22 to 16, seven 53 left in the third, first and 25 at the Detroit 31, Goff threw deep left to him, 52 yards in the air, and he was brought down at the Carolina 12 after 57. +4.0 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 15.4 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it, the biggest swing of the game. Detroit got no closer than the eight and kicked a field goal.

The line: eight targets, four catches, 95 yards, three first downs, +1.2 expected points on the targets. The other two catches were 10 16 yards on back-to-back snaps in the fourth quarter, on the drive that ended in Sam LaPorta's touchdown. Four throws to him fell incomplete, one of them from the Carolina 15.

Back in June the preview's point on TeSlaa was a warning: a rookie season built on a small red-zone role, the least repeatable shape a receiver's year can take. Weeks 1 through 3 were nine targets, five catches and 92 yards. This game alone topped that, on eight targets, his most this season. Four games: 17 targets, nine catches, a hundred 87 yards, no touchdowns. The role is growing between the twenties, not inside them; four games settle little.

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_Data via nflverse._