Good
IND WR Josh Downs vs. MIN CB Byron Murphy Jr.
Amidst the Anthony Richardson news, the beneficiary of all of this is Josh Downs. Downs and Joe Flacco have an obvious connection. Downs had his most consistent production in the three games that Flacco played a majority of the snaps including two touchdowns in three weeks. Minnesota ranks in the bottom three of most pass yards per game so far this season. Minnesota DC Brian Flores is looking for answers after two straight losses, giving up 30 points in back-to-back games and 559 passing yards. Flacco can still sling it, and Indianapolis will want to win this game to stay in the hunt.
NO WR Chris Olave vs. CAR CB Jaycee Horn
Olave had a double-digit fantasy performance for the first time since Week 5, and now QB Derek Carr is set to return this week. The Saints are running out of wide receiver options due to injuries. WR Bub Means and Cedric Wilson Jr. are dealing with injuries, which will leave Olave and Mason Tipton as the top receiving options for the Saints. Luckily, the Panthers are on deck this week, and their defense has yet to hold a team under 20 points this season. In addition to the poor scoring defense, Carolina is giving up almost 233 passing yards a game. Olave should be a smash start this week.
KC WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. TB CB Zyon McCollum
Hopkins will begin to ramp up more in the offense this week, according to Andy Reid. This is the perfect game to get Hopkins more acclimated with the Chiefs. Tampa Bay’s defense has been their Achilles’ heel this season so far despite HC Todd Bowles defensive background. Bowles was asked if we would concede playcalling, but he will remain the defensive playcaller for now. With Travis Kelce starting to find his footing, he will draw attention from the Bucs outstanding safeties, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead. This could leave an opening for Hopkins to break off big plays and make those contested catches that he is so good at doing.
Bad
HOU WR Tank Dell vs. NYJ CB Sauce Gardner
Dell is now WR1 in Houston until Nico Collins returns from IR. The unfortunate part about that is that Dell now faces one of the best pass-defense teams in the league. Houston could look to lean on the run game against a poor Jets run defense. The Jets play a lot of zone on first and second down and switch to man defense for the critical third down. Gardner is still a good shutdown corner in the league, even if the stat line does not show that.
MIA WR Tyreek Hill vs. BUF CB Rasul Douglas
I have learned my lesson. Buffalo just owns Miami. The Bills were dominating the Dolphins in their Week 2 matchup even before Tua left the game with a concussion. Hill has just three catches for 24 yards. Miami will need to show me something in this matchup to give me hope for Hill in future Buffalo matchups. Bills HC Sean McDermott’s Cover 3 scheme does a great job keeping the big play from happening, which is what Miami’s offense relies on. That scheme, plus the disguises the Bills use, has helped them over the past couple of years beat Miami on a consistent basis.
TEN WR Calvin Ridley vs. NE CB Christian Gonzalez
Do not be fooled by the stat line on Sunday Ridley put up. Will Levis has a chance to return this week, which would drop Ridley’s stock significantly. If Mason Rudolph is under center again, I would still not play Ridley. Christian Gonzalez played a huge role in the Patriots’ win against the Jets last Sunday. He bottled up Davante Adams when he was in coverage against him. In four targets, Gonzalez allowed zero catches for Adams. Adams finished the day with just four grabs for 54 yards. The Patriots are not a good football team in general, but the Titans have been worse.
