Watson, fantasy’s No.8 quarterback gets a dream match-up
this week coming out of the bye. Since Bill O’Brien was
fired after Week 4, Watson has put together a string of impressive
statistical games. Sure the Texans are 1-2 in those games, but
Watson has been over 70% completions and 300 yards in all of them.
Tack on a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio, and Watson makes
one of the best QB starts of Week 9. With Will Fuller not being
dealt, Watson has a full complement of weapons to roll with.
This is more about match-up and likely game flow than how I feel
in Lock’s talent. Since he returned from a shoulder injury
in Week 6, Lock has been brutal for 90% of his time on the field.
It was only a flurry of activity coming back from a 24-3 deficit
to win on the final play against the Chargers that has me considering
Lock. Even without Courtland Sutton, Lock does have a few receivers
that can get down the field in a hurry and playing in the comfy
digs of Mercedes-Benz Stadium certainly helps. I’m not betting
the house on Lock this week, but if you need a desperate quarterback
fill-in or super cheap DFS play, Lock could be your guy.
Wow, Miami sure looked like a pack of swarming bees last week
as they dismantled Jared Goff and the Rams. With guys like Andrew
Van Grinkle taking strip sacks to the house, the Phins have suddenly
vaulted themselves into the AFC East conversation. Miami is giving
up the 11th fewest points to fantasy quarterbacks and surely will
give Kyler Murray fits this week right? Not necessarily. Dig a wee
deeper into those defensive stats and you’ll see that the boys from
South Beach struggle mightily against quarterbacks who can move.
Cam Newton, Josh Allen, and Russell Wilson all had high QB1 weeks
against Miami, while an injured Garoppolo and a stiff Goff got the
beatdown. Murray’s magical feet will do plenty of dancing this week,
so don’t hesitate to roll him out.
Opening the season 5-0 and navigating a disruptive Covid outbreak
made Tannehill the belle of the ball during the first two months
of the season. But two straight losses, one to the lowly Bengals,
has taken the shine off Tannehill and the Titans. While certainly
not his fault, Tannehill has been a tough fantasy sell the last
two weeks, barely completing 60% of his passes and struggling
to get to 220 yards. Chicago has been suffocating against opposing
quarterbacks, giving up an NFL best 8 passing scores and not allowing
a passer to reach 300 yards.
Good Rivers made an appearance last week in a 41-21 drubbing of
the Lions. Week 8 was the first time Rivers has thrown for multiple
touchdowns without turning the ball over. If he can play solid,
efficient football, the Colts have a chance to beat anyone. Unfortunately,
riding a few dump off touchdowns to Nyhiem Hines isn’t a
weekly recipe for success. The Ravens, smarting from another loss
in a big game, are going to force Rivers to push the ball downfield
and have the pass rush to force the old man into a turnover or
two. This is going to be a physical slugfest of a game between
two teams vying for AFC leadership. With a low implied total of
45.5, Rivers is a limited option.
Getting a win in your first NFL is always an accomplishment, but
I wouldn’t be too quick to give Tua much credit for it.
Asked to do very little because the defense and special teams
units dominated, Tua was only 12/22 for 93 yards. He managed the
game, took what the defense gave him, and made it out in one piece.
Solid strategy, but not a fantasy difference making one. With
fellow rookies Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert balling out, it might
be tempting to start the rookie, but Arizona has been surprisingly
competent on defense. The rushing floor also doesn’t exist
for Tua, as unlike those aforementioned quarterbacks, Tagovailoa
is pretty much strictly a pocket passer.
