Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Football Team

Date/Time: October 25, 1:00pm ET
Odds: Cowboys -107, Washington -107
Over/Under: 46 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Washington 23.75, Cowboys 22.5

Dallas Cowboys

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Washington Football Team

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Quarterback

Dallas: After what we saw from Dalton last week, there’s no way we can put him into our starting lineup. Even if the matchup is fine on paper, Dalton can’t be trusted.

Washington: Allen’s not worth rostering in fantasy football. He’s off the redraft radar.

Running Backs

Dallas: Zeke’s fumbling is a huge concern. He now has five fumbles in six games and has lost four of them. If the Cowboys want to have a fighting chance this season, that needs to change quickly. For any other RB, it would be hard to trust plugging them back into our starting lineup, but this is Zeke. With Dalton struggling, Zeke needs to step up and become the focal point of this offense. He’ll simply see too much work to not be viewed as a solid RB1. He might not have the huge ceiling that we thought that he would to begin the season, but he’s seeing too much work as a receiver out of the backfield to be viewed as anything less than a safe RB1. Pollard got more work last week with Zeke’s fumbling issue, but it’s unlikely that that continues on into this matchup. Pollard will continue to see touches in this offense, but it’s not going to be enough to vault him into RB3 consideration.

Washington: Gibson’s usage is a bit concerning moving forward. With Gibson only receiving nine carries and McKissic seeing eight carries in week six, it’s enough to pump the brakes on Gibson’s fantasy outlook moving forward. Gibson has a fine matchup in front of him, but he can’t be trusted as anything more than a low-end RB2 right now if he continues to split the work with McKissic. McKissic had some hype in the offseason, but it faded away pretty quickly. However, now over the past two weeks McKissic has re-emerged as a solid RB3 for fantasy purposes. He’s getting significant touches with Allen behind center. In this matchup, he can be plugged in as a solid RB3 that gets a boost in Full PPR leagues.

Wide Receivers

Dallas: All of the Cowboys receivers take a hit with Dalton behind center, but Cooper should continue to be a safe high-end WR2 every week based on volume alone. The Cowboys are going to continue to throw the ball a ridiculous amount with their defense playing the way that it is now, which means that Cooper should continue to see 7+ targets every game. Fire him up as a high-end WR2 this week. Lamb has been a fantasy football star this season. While it’s hard to trust him with the way that Dalton looked on MNF, Lamb should continue to get peppered with the targets in the short passing game. He’s a safe low-end WR2 this week against Washington. Gallup is the WR in Dallas that takes the biggest hit with the way that the OL and Dalton are playing right now. Gallup thrives on the downfield passing game, but if the OL can’t block anyone long enough for Gallup to get 15+ yards downfield, it doesn’t really matter much. Unfortunately, Gallup is teetering on WR4 status right now for this game and it’s hard to see how he finishes much higher than that.

Washington: McLaurin is simply getting too many targets each week to be ignored. Even though the offense isn’t great, he’s getting the job done and producing solid low-end WR2 numbers. Start him up as a solid WR2 with WR1 upside this week in a plus matchup.

Tight Ends

Dallas: Schultz was targeted regularly last week by Dalton, but it still didn’t amount to much. He should be viewed as a high-end TE2 this week based on the other options at the TE position, but I wouldn’t be particularly excited to rush out and plug Schultz into my starting lineup.

Washington: Thomas was able to reel in a great catch at the back of the end zone last week, but he’s still not seeing enough targets to be considered a reliable option. He’s a touchdown-dependent TE2.

FantasyProjection Buster: All it takes is one big play for Gallup to blow my projections out of the water, but the percentage chance of that happening right now is very minimal…

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Green Bay Packers vs Houston Texans

Date/Time: October 25, 1:00pm ET
Odds: Packers -182
Over/Under: 57 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Packers 30.25, Texans 26.75

Green Bay Packers

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Houston Texans

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Quarterback

Green Bay: Rodgers came crashing back down to earth last week, but he should still be viewed as a solid option moving forward. Against the Houston defense that just got torched by Tannehill, Rodgers is a solid QB1 start yet again.

Houston: Watson seems to have shaken off the rust from the first few weeks of the season and he’s now back to being a dominant QB for fantasy purposes. After throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, plus picking up another 26 yards on the ground, Watson absolutely belongs in your starting lineup as a locked-and-loaded QB1.

Running Backs

Green Bay: Jones had little room to run in week six, but he saved his fantasy day by finding the end zone. Against Houston, that just saw Henry run for over 200 yards on them, Jones should be plugged right back in as a top-5 option this week. Williams had an explosive run on Sunday, but that was about the extent of his impact in that game. He simply was not involved much and he’s now a risky play this week. Even in a nice matchup, it’s going to be hard to trust Williams as anything more than a low-end RB3.

Houston: David Johnson continues to see carries in this offense, even though he hasn’t been incredibly efficient. Johnson now has four games this season, out of six, where he’s averaged less than four yards per carry. However, as long as he’s still seeing carries and finding the end zone occasionally, he belongs in your starting lineup. He can be viewed as a solid RB2 with limited upside yet again this week.

Wide Receivers

Green Bay: Adams came back into the lineup and immediately saw his usual target workload, but he was stifled by Carlton Davis for the majority of the day. Adams should have more room to run in this matchup and he should be viewed as a solid WR1 start. MVS is simply a dart throw at the position at this point. He could break off a big play this week, but you’re simply stuck hoping that that happens. Otherwise, you’re not going to be happy that you started him. He’s a low-end FLEX play this week.

Houston: Are we ready to trust Cooks moving forward? We should. Since putting up a 0 for 0 stat line in week four, Cooks has seen 21 targets and has reeled in 17 of them for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He’s now a solid low-end WR2 with Watson getting back to his usual self, as well. Fire him up with confidence in this matchup. Fuller has been on fire recently and, aside from his disappearing act in week two, he’s been a safe option to plug into your lineup every single week. Over the last four games, Fuller is averaging 5 receptions, 87.75 receiving yards, and one touchdown. He should be viewed as a safe WR2 with WR1 upside every single week moving forward. Cobb was able to find the end zone last week, but he wasn’t involved much outside of that. He’s nothing more than a fill-in FLEX option in Full PPR leagues right now.

Tight Ends

Green Bay: Tonyan was highly hyped coming off of his three touchdown performance, but he fell flat in week six. Now, Tonyan becomes a risky play at the TE position due to the unknowns of what his role in this offense looks like with Adams back on the field. He should be viewed as a high-end TE2 against Houston.

Houston: Fells appears to be taking advantage of his opportunity with Jordan Akins out of the lineup. If Akins is out again for this game, fire up Fells as a high-end TE2.

FantasyProjection Buster: Tonyan wasn’t involved much last week in a tough matchup for the Packers passing attack, but this game should turn into a shootout and Tonyan could easily find the end zone, which I’m not projecting.

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Detroit Lions vs Atlanta Falcons

Date/Time: October 25, 1:00pm ET
Odds: Falcons -130
Over/Under: 55.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Falcons 29, Lions 26.5

Detroit Lions

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Atlanta Falcons

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Quarterback

Detroit: The Lions were able to put points up on the board this past week against Jacksonville, but the majority of them came on the ground versus through the air. While Stafford looked to be a smash play last week, it’s just the luck of the draw sometimes and determining where exactly the points are going to come from. However, in this matchup, it’s smart to go right back to Stafford as a streaming option. The Falcons simply can’t stop anyone through the air and Stafford has the weapons to make them pay. Fire up Stafford as a low-end QB1 this week.

Atlanta: So Ryan needs Julio to be effective, huh? After completing 59% of his passes, throwing for 849 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and struggling to move the offense over the previous three games, Ryan exploded in week six. Ryan completed 75% of his passes and threw for 371 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and led the Falcons to their first win of the season. It’s still hard to completely trust Ryan in your starting lineup, but he has an excellent matchup here against the Lions defense. He should be viewed as a high-end QB2 with upside this week.

Running Backs

Detroit: Peterson continues to get carries in this offense and he can be viewed as a fine fill-in option if fantasy teams are in a pinch. He can be viewed as a RB3 this week. The Lions came out this past week with a clear plan to get Swift more involved in this offense. His talent was on full display and he put up a dominant fantasy performance. The question now becomes, will he receive the same amount of work in a game that the Lions aren’t playing with a huge lead? Swift should still be heavily involved in this offense in the future, but it’s going to be hard to trust him as anything more than a high-end RB3 until we see him start to take over the majority of the touches. As long as AP is still on the roster, it’s unlikely that that ever happens.

Atlanta: Gurley continues to receive one of the largest workloads for RBs in the NFL, but he’s doing next to nothing with his opportunity. Gurley can be viewed as a low-end RB2 with upside in this plus matchup.

Wide Receivers

Detroit: Golladay has been borderline unstoppable ever since he came back from his injury. In this matchup, fire him up as a mid-range WR1. Otherwise, there are no other Lions wide receivers worth considering for fantasy this week.

Atlanta: For those who didn’t panic and held onto Julio during his absence, you were certainly rewarded last week with a huge performance. Jones is a top-5 wide receiver for fantasy when he’s healthy and he could put up another big performance against the Lions pass defense. Ridley continues to get the job done for fantasy and he’s an every week must-start option. He can be viewed as a low-end WR1 with upside in this matchup. Gage wasn’t heavily targeted last week, but with the Falcons offense back to being a dynamic unit, Gage is an intriguing deep league FLEX option this week. The Lions are surrendering plenty of fantasy points to opposing slot wideouts and Gage could be a sneaky play.

Tight Ends

Detroit: Hockenson is Stafford’s second receiving option in this offense. While he didn’t put up good numbers last week, his touchdown reception saved his fantasy day. He should be viewed as a solid mid-range TE1 every single week with ridiculous upside in this matchup against the Falcons.

Atlanta: Hurst wasn’t targeted heavily last week, but he was able to get the job done for fantasy with a 4-57-1 line. As long as the Falcons are back to being a high-flying offense, Hurst can be rolled out every week as a low-end TE1.

FantasyProjection Buster: Was Ryan’s performance last week purely because of the matchup? Was it a fluke after what we saw him put up the previous few weeks? There’s a wide range of outcomes for him, but everything points to him having a great performance in this game.

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Pittsburgh Steelers vs Tennessee Titans

Date/Time: October 25, 1:00pm ET
Odds: Titans -120
Over/Under: 50.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals:

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Tennessee Titans

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Quarterback

Pittsburgh: Ben wasn’t needed much last week in a blowout, but this game promises to be a bit closer of a matchup. With the weapons that Ben has at his disposal, Ben can always be viewed as a low-end QB1. However, in a matchup against a defense that is having a tough time slowing down opposing QBs and opposing WRs, Ben should be viewed as a solid mid-range QB1.

Tennessee: Right now, it’s hard to find a QB who is playing better over the past few weeks than Tannehill. The Steelers are generally a pretty stingy defense, but with the way Tannehill has looked recently, it would be very hard to bench him. Plug him into your lineup as a low-end QB1.

Running Backs

Pittsburgh: Conner continues to get the large workload for Pittsburgh and he’s delivering with it. Last week, Conner had 20 carries for over 100 yards and a score. While he’s losing some touches to Snell and Anthony McFarland Jr., he’s still worth plugging into your lineup as a solid low-end RB1 every single week. This week is no different against a defense that is currently the 9th easiest matchup for opposing fantasy RBs.

Tennessee: Coming off a monstrous performance, Henry is a no-brainer start every single week as a top-tier option.

Wide Receivers

Pittsburgh: Johnson appears to be trending towards suiting up in this game, which creates ripple effects throughout the rest of the receiving corps. Johnson’s going to be hard to trust to plug into your lineup for the first time in several weeks, but he can be viewed as a high-upside WR3 start if he’s fully healthy. Juju has been a disappointment the past few games with the emergence of Claypool beside him, but this is too good of a matchup to not plug Smith-Schuster into your lineup as a high-end WR3 with upside. Claypool has been dominant the past few weeks and he’s consistently finding the end zone. However, there are serious questions about what his role in this offense will look like with Johnson back on the field. Claypool comes with ridiculous upside, but it’s going to be impossible to trust him as anything more than a FLEX play this week. He can absolutely go off, but he’s almost certainly going to see his snaps decrease with Johnson back in the lineup. That makes him a bit more of a risky play, which bumps him down the rankings a bit.

Tennessee: Brown has re-established himself as one of the better wide receivers in the entire NFL since returning from his injury. Although this is a tough defense to go up against, the Steelers can be beat through the air. They’re currently allowing the 7th most fantasy points to opposing wideouts and Brown should be able to put together a solid performance here. He can be viewed as a high-end WR2 in this matchup. Davis should be returning to the lineup this week, but with Brown on the field, he’s not worth rolling into your starting lineup this week. Humphries has continued to get the job done for fantasy over the past couple of games, but Davis returning to the lineup muddies this situation a bit. Humphries can’t be trusted as anything more than a FLEX play in Full PPR leagues that could see an uptick in targets if Smith misses this contest.

Tight Ends

Pittsburgh: Ebron’s seeing enough targets to be viewed as a viable high-end TE2. With all three of the Steelers’ main WRs on the field, there’s reason to be concerned over Ebron’s target share, but he should still see enough work to return solid production.

Tennessee: Smith was able to get in a limited practice on Wednesday, but this is a situation worth monitoring heading into the weekend. If he suits up, fire up Smith as a top-5 option. If he sits, Anthony Firkser becomes a very intriguing option as a low-end TE1.

FantasyProjection Buster: Claypool has a wide range of outcomes this week. With Johnson back in the lineup this week, does he still see a large percentage of the snaps? If he doesn’t, it might be hard for him to reach my projected point totals. If he does, my projections might be too conservative.