Over the last 5 weeks of the season no one has gotten torched
as badly by quarterbacks as the Jets have (12 touchdowns). They’ve
lost on last second shenanigans and wall-to-wall blowouts, and remain
overmatched at every level. With the running game clicking I don’t
expect big volume or yardage numbers from Goff, but with plenty
of trips to the redzone, look for Goff to find paydirt multiple
times and extend the Jets freefall.
Playing a division foe on the road is always tough, even if Atlanta
is struggling. “Tompa” Bay really needs this one, and
while he’s coming off a season low 23 attempts last week against
Minnesota, that had more to do with lopsided time of possession
than anything. Atlanta can score, and the Bucs might be without
leading rusher Ronald Jones who had surgery for a broken finger
and finds himself on the COVID-19 list this week. 300 yards and
a few scores put him in top-5 territory.
Rivers and the Colts offense have been clicking as of late, as
the old man has cut down on his turnovers, and enjoyed the resurgence
of T.Y. Hilton (who I’d be stacking this week if I could!).
The passing game has allowed Jonathan Taylor to come alive, and
the stars seem to be aligning for this team as the regular season
winds down. Rivers has a dream matchup this week against a Houston
defense that’s barely participating. He went for 285 and
2 scores against this team a few short weeks ago, and that’s
a nice floor to have in the fantasy semifinals.
With a career high 12 interceptions, and no 300-yard games since
Week 9, it seems like the “Let Russ Cook” experiment has been sent
back to the kitchen. With a healthy backfield, and an improving
defense, Seattle has returned to the offense of yore, and the Jets
won’t be coming to town on Sunday. Instead, Wilson gets to face
the ferocious front of the Washington Football Team, who have single
handedly propelled the team to the top of the NFC East. The rangy,
athletic fronts of the Giants, Rams, and Cardinals have forced Wilson
into a majority of his turnovers this season and lower his ceiling
in a pivotal fantasy round.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Tagovailoa, and I think he’s
mostly validated his insertion into the lineup as the starting
quarterback. He’s making do with Parker and Gesecki as the
only skill position players that the defense has to even consider,
and that my friends, is the issue this week. Both receiving threats
left the game last week with injuries, and in the best case scenario,
both figure to be playing at less than 100% against their division
rivals. New England, for all their shortcomings, have yielded
the 6th fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Belichick has a
strong history of making the lives of rookie quarterbacks a living
nightmare, so I’m avoiding Tua this week.
Raise up if you had the Men of the Mountains giving up the 2nd
fewest (16) touchdown passes this season. Surprised to me too.
Even without their stud pass rushers and a shaky offense, the
Denver defense has been solid for Coach Fangio. In the last three
weeks they’ve held Hill, Mahomes, and Bridgewater to pedestrian
passing days and the Bills are ripe for a letdown on the road
in a tough place to play in December. Allen remains a must start,
but I think he underperforms expectations this week.
