Turkey Day Mania: Fantasy Matchups
Game 1: Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions
Time: 12:30 pm EST
Detroit Lions
Key Injuries: RB Kerryon Johnson (Doubtful), WR Marvin Jones (Questionable), WR Bruce Ellington (Questionable), Darius Slay (Questionable)
Lions: The Lions come into this game pretty banged up on both sides of the ball, with players either out or questionable at multiple positions. The Lions offense was already in a bad position going against one of the top defenses in the league, but without Kerryon Johnson the Lions will struggle to get any rushing game going. The lead back will likely be LeGarrette Blount, but to expect any positive performance out of Blount sans a goal line touchdown would be hopeful at best. Over the last 4 games, Blount has 21 carries for 16 yards, and is averaging just 2.3 yards per carry on the season. The more productive RB will likely be Theo Riddick, who should benefit from increased targets thanks to an injury depleted WR corps. The Bears defensive line should also feast on the weak, injury-riddled Lions O-line, which should also force Stafford to throw to Riddick often as his checkdown. Kenny Golladay should be considered a must start, despite the defensive matchup, based on the number of targets he’ll see and a likely pass-heavy gameplan from the Lions. If Marvin Jones and Bruce Ellington are both forced to sit, WR T.J. Jones could be a decent hail mary pick. Despite only registering 1 target last week, he played on 69% of snaps and will surely see more if he is again forced into the WR2 position. Even with Kerryon Johnson and Marvin Jones, Matt Stafford would be a risky play against the Bears Defense, so the smart move would be to keep him on the bench. The Lions Defense however could be a solid streamer pick for defense considering the Bears will likely have to start Chase Daniel at QB.
Start:
RB Theo Riddick
WR Kenny Golladay
DST Detroit Lions
Sit:
QB Matt Stafford
RB LeGarrette Blount
WR Marvin Jones
Sleeper:
WR T.J. Jones
Chicago Bears
Key Injuries: QB Mitchell Trubisky (Doubtful)
Just as Mitchell Trubisky’s play was starting to create multiple viable fantasy options on a weekly basis, he gets injured, and will likely miss tomorrow’s game. Trubisky’s absence puts the entire production of the Bears Offense at risk, but one likely beneficiary will be Jordan Howard. Starting a backup QB in Chase Daniel, the Bears will likely try to rely on the run game to open up the passing game, which means solid production from Howard. Daniel, like most backup quarterbacks thrust into a starting position, will likely be given a gameplan that relies on the short passing game, making Tarik Cohen and Trey Burton likely top options for the new QB. Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Taylor Gabriel have all had good fantasy weeks at some point this season, but any form of consistency hasn’t been seen by any of them. Starting any of the Bears’ WRs with a backup QB is a risky play that should only be taken if your team is very thin at WR. The Bears Defense and their ruthless pass-rush is a must start tomorrow against a team that has been susceptible to giving up pressure.
Start:
RB Jordan Howard
RB Tarik Cohen
TE Trey Burton
K Cody Parkey
DST Chicago Bears
Sit:
WR Allen Robinson
WR Taylor Gabriel
WR Anthony Miller
Game 2: Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys
Time: 4:30 pm EST
Washington Redskins
Key Injuries: QB Alex Smith (Out), RB Chris Thompson (Out), WR Jamison Crowder (Questionable), OT Trent Williams (Questionable), CB Quinton Dunbar (Questionable)
Similar to the Lions, the Redskins are dealing with a plethora of injuries. With Alex Smith out, the Redskins plan on starting Colt McCoy. Even though an offense should normally suffer with a backup QB, McCoy successfully led two touchdown drives last week when put in. Adrian Peterson should still be a solid play despite the Redskins losing multiple offensive lineman to injury, especially considering the Redskins will likely run the ball more with Colt McCoy in. Other than Jordan Reed, no option in the passing game can be considered reliable.
Start:
RB Adrian Peterson
TE Jordan Reed
Sit:
WR Josh Doctson
DST Washington Redskins
Dallas Cowboys
Key Injuries: OT Tyron Smith (Questionable), Sean Lee (Out)
The Dallas Cowboys come into a huge game this week playing against an injury depleted Redskins team for the chance to tie for the top of the NFC East. Expect Ezekiel Elliott to have a big game like he did last year for Thanksgiving, but overall this should be a low scoring contest. Last time these teams faced each other neither team scored over 20, and we shouldn’t expect a higher scoring contest with Dak Prescott and Colt McCoy facing off. Overall this game should be avoided in fantasy outside of a few normal starters, meaning that starting the Cowboys defense is a good play.
Start:
RB Ezekiel Elliott
WR Amari Cooper
DST Dallas Cowboys
Sit:
QB Dak Prescott
Game 3: Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints
Time: 8:30 pm EST
Atlanta Falcons
Key Injuries: Calvin Ridley (Questionable)
To finish out the slate of Thanksgiving Day games comes the Falcons-Saints matchup, which has the potential to be the biggest shootout of the day. That being said, these teams have been trending in opposite directions over the past couple weeks, with the Falcons dropping easily winnable games against the Browns and Cowboys and the Saints obliterating both the Bengals and Eagles in back-to-back weeks. The Falcons have plenty of offensive talent, with Matt Ryan, Tevin Coleman, Julio Jones, and Calvin Ridley all as solid fantasy players this season, but this could be a potential trap game to those hoping for a shootout, especially considering that the Saints have allowed only 21 points scored in the past 2 weeks combined. The Saints should still win this game with putting up plenty of points, so expect the Falcons to pass the ball frequently, which could be bad for Tevin Coleman. Even though the Falcons have been off the past few games, the potential of huge games from multiple positions on the Falcons offense makes passing them up too hard to do.
Start:
QB Matt Ryan
WR Julio Jones
WR Calvin Ridley
WR Mohamed Sanu
K Matt Bryant
Sit:
RB Tevin Coleman
TE Austin Hooper
DST Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Key Injuries: WR Tre’Quan Smith (Questionable), OT Terron Armstead (Questionable)
The New Orleans Saints have been fantastic as of late, scoring 99 points in the last two games. There’s not much to say here other than Saints players are some of the most reliable and highest scoring in all of fantasy football. While it’s possible the Saints will be without Tre’Quan Smith, Drew Brees has shown time and time again that he can make fantasy studs out of no name players. If Smith misses tomorrow’s game, Keith Kirkwood could be a good sleeper pick in a game that the Saints will put up plenty of points.
Start:
QB Drew Brees
RB Alvin Kamara
RB Mark Ingram
WR Michael Thomas
K Will Lutz
Sit:
DST New Orleans Saints
Sleeper:
WR Keith Kirkwood