Seth Vigdor
Week 10 in the NFL is upon us and the stakes are rising. We’re down to 3 undefeated teams in the league and playoff hopes continue to fade for some teams. So without further hesitation, let’s take a look at my week 10 preview.
Here’s my five biggest Fantasy Football storylines heading into Week 10:
1. Out of Luck
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Indianapolis Colts. Though they were able to hand the Denver Broncos their first loss of the season, news broke on Tuesday that Andrew Luck would be out 2-6 weeks with a lacerated kidney. We started hearing rumblings last week that Luck was playing with an injury, and now we have that confirmation. Thankfully for the Colts, they’re on a bye this week. At 4-5 on the year, the Colts absolutely need Luck if they have any hopes of making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl.
2. Trouble in Cheesehead City
Speaking of trouble, the Packers have now lost 2 games in a row. They’re still sitting at 6-2 on the season, with the woeful Lions coming into Lambeau this weekend. Clearly they’re missing Jordy Nelson, and the fact that Eddie Lacy has been MIA all year on the field surely doesn’t help. James Starks has been named the starting RB, so he’ll have to step up where Lacy couldn’t. I fully expect Aaron Rodgers to take advantage of a Lions team that is on life support, but his WR’s also need to kick things into high gear. They need to get back in the win column this week to get some confidence going again.
3. Wild Wild West
Out in Seattle this week is a big opportunity for the Seahawks to make up ground on the first place Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals go into this NFC West slobberknocker with a 6-2 record, while a desperate Seahawks team comes in with a 4-4 record. The Seahawks must find a way to win this game or the division will most likely be out of reach and it will put them in a tough spot to get into the playoffs. I’m stating this now, but if the Seahawks don’t find a way to get TE Jimmy Graham heavily involved in the offense this week, the Cardinals will win. You can’t go out and trade for one of the best TE’s in the league, not use him and expect for everything to be okie dokie. This game has big time playoff ramifications, so expect this to be a chippy game.
4. A Giant Test
The Patriots play the New York Giants this week. They come into this game undefeated. Where have we heard this before?
Oh yeah, that’s where. Sorry Patriots fans.
The Giants always play the Patriots tough as they hold 2 Super Bowl wins over them. Though the Patriots have been steam rolling their opponents this year, the Patriots know that this will be no easy game. Similarly, the Giants know that they will have to pull out all of the stops to earn a big win here. The Giants own a half game lead over the Eagles in the NFC East and this win would go a long way for the Giants in their quest for the division crown. Though the Giants play the Eagles on the last game of the regular season, they know how huge it would be to pull off the upset here against a ridiculously good Patriots team. The stakes are high and this is a must watch game.
5. Philly’s Florida Two-Step
The Eagles pulled off a huge overtime win 33-27 against the Cowboys on Sunday night. As they try to keep pace with the division leading Giants, now is the time they need to rack up some W’s. They enter a two game stretch at home against two Florida teams, Miami and Tampa Bay and they NEED to come out of the next two weeks with 2 W’s. It’s imperative. Their offense is slowly but surely heading in the right direction, though they still need to figure out a way to start the game off better. They always find themselves in a hole to start and there’s no way that you can realistically think that come December, you can start games off slow and still win. Chip Kelly needs to open up the offense more and get the ball to the players that are actually good. That means no more throwing to Josh Huff, but finding a way to get Zach Ertz the ball more often. It means no more throwing the ball short of the first down yard marker on third down and it means getting creative with 2 RB sets or 2 TE sets. For all of the early season struggles for the Eagles, they’re still right in the middle of the playoff hunt and like we all know, once you get into the Playoffs, anything can happen. Buckle up for the ride Eagles fans, things are about to get interesting.
Week 10 byes: Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Diego, San Francisco
Each week I will present what I think are the juiciest fantasy matchups at each position. I don’t want to keep you guys waiting, so let’s take a look at the juiciest matchups for Week 10:
Quarterbacks
Eli Manning (NYG vs. NE) – As previously mentioned, the Giants always play the Patriots tough. I expect a game Eli Manning to show up, with Manning throwing for 3-4 touchdowns, regardless of the outcome.
Andy Dalton (CIN vs. HOU) – The surprising Bengals are undefeated to start the season and that’s mainly due to the great play of Andy Dalton. On the season, he’s 174/258, for 2226 YDS and 18 touchdowns. The Bengals get a sometimes tough Texans D on Monday night, but Dalton should be able to throw 2-3 touchdowns this week.
Cam Newton (CAR vs. TEN) – The undefeated Panthers have a tricky matchup this week against the Titans. This could be a game that the Panthers come out sluggish after their big W against Green Bay last week. In the end, I expect another W for the Panthers in a close game, with Newton throwing for 2 touchdowns and rushing for another one.
Wide Receivers
Emmanuel Sanders (DEN vs. KC) – The Broncos are coming off of their first loss of the season. I actually think that they needed that loss to re-focus a bit. I expect Manning to get his offense going and I’m looking for 10+ catches for 100+ yards and 1 touchdown against the Chiefs this week for Sanders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJfwLIcd82U
**Update**
Sanders is dealing with an ankle injury suffered early in last Sunday’s game against the Colts, so be sure to monitor his status throughout the rest of the week.
Tavon Austin (STL vs. CHI) – Coming off a 4 reception game for 15 yards last week, I expect Tavon Austin to have a nice game against the Bears. He doesn’t need many receptions to make something big happen. Look for 3-5 receptions this week for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Amari Cooper (OAK vs. MIN) – Amari Cooper is having a great rookie season in Oakland with 45 receptions for 653 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’ll find the end zone once this week against the Vikings.
Running Backs
Mark Ingram (NO vs. WAS) – Ingram has 140 carries, for 584 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year. I think that this will be a close game that the Saints will rely heavily on Ingram and the ground game. I’m expecting 20+ carries for 80+ yards and 1 touchdown here.
Todd Gurley (STL vs. CHI) – I’m not going out on a limb here by saying that Gurley should be able to feast this week on a sad Bears team. On the year, Gurley has 118 carries for 664 yards and 4 touchdowns. Look for Gurley to pound home 1 or 2 more touchdowns here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS1tpS20ocg
James Starks (GB vs. DET) – It’s not a secret that Eddie Lacy is having a terrible season. The Packers have lost back to back games and really need to get the ground game to get things going a bit. Look for the Packers to get Starks the football a lot this weekend, as Mike McCarthy has stated that he considers Starks the number one back now. I expect 1 touchdown and 100+ total yards this week against the Lions.
Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham (SEA vs. ARI) – If Graham isn’t used by the Seahawks in what’s a must win matchup for them this week, then I’m not sure that they’re ever going to use him properly this year. I think they will though, which is why I expect 8 receptions for 100+ yards and 1 touchdown this week.
Jordan Reed (WAS vs. NO) – Surprisingly, Reed has managed to stay healthy for the most part this year. He has 4 touchdowns so far this year and I foresee another one in his future this week.
Kicker
Stephen Gostkowski (NE vs. NYG) – This will be a high scoring game and Gostkowski has been great all year, which is the case every year. He should be able to rack up 15-20 fantasy points this week.
Defense
St. Louis Rams (vs. CHI) – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When the Rams play at home, points are tough to come by on them. The Bears aren’t very good at all, and most likely with no Forte to worry about – the Rams should feast this week.
Bust of the Week
Doug Martin (TB vs. DAL) – Doug Martin had a tough game last week and if you think that he’s in for a bounce back game against the Cowboys, you’re wrong. Dallas is just about done, but I do think that they’ll play with passion this week, knowing that Tony Romo is due back real soon. I expect them to shut down Martin and force Jameis Winston to pass a lot. Martin will get things going again, it just won’t be this week.
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Daily Fantasy Sports
Each week I will give you my value picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Please remember that the salaries are a bit different at each site, so you may not see the same guys on each list because of that. Also, at the end of the day, the final decisions are yours to make, but I’m here to guide you through some value picks. Without further hesitation, let’s get into my DFS value picks for Week 10:
Kirk Cousins (WAS – QB – $6,500) vs. NO – Washington had a tough matchup against the Patriots last week, but they should be able to make a game of it this week against the Saints. I love Cousins here for his price tag.
Ronnie Hillman (DEN – RB – $5,900) vs. KC – Hillman was awful last week against the Colts, but he’s been very consistent all year. The Broncos need him and he’ll bounce back this week against KC.
Michael Crabtree (OAK – WR – $6,400) vs. MIN– It’s been a great rebound year for Crabtree. He and Amari Cooper provide the Raiders with a great 1, 2 punch at WR. Crabtree will keep it going against the Vikes this week.
Jordan Reed (WAS – TE – $5,800) vs. NO – Reed has had a big role in Washington’s offense this year. There’s no reason to think that the role decreases this week. So for $5,800, I’ll take it.
Carolina Panthers (DEF – $4,700) vs. TEN– Carolina’s defense should be able to contain Marcus Mariota for the most part this week. Their defense is a big part of the reason for their success this year.
Ryan Tannehill (CIN- QB – $5,300) vs. PHI – Tannehill and the Dolphins need a win this week and I don’t think that they’ll get that W, but I do think that the Tannehill should be able to throw 2-3 touchdowns this week.
Darren McFadden (DAL– RB – $4,900) vs. TB – McFadden has been playing well and is proving to be quite capable of handling a big workload. He should have a big day against Tampa Bay. I’m looking at 100+ yards and 1 touchdown here.
James Jones (GB– WR – $5,300) vs. DET – Green Bay needs to get back to basics, so I think that Aaron Rodgers will go back to what works for him and that’s to get James Jones involved. It should happen against a weak Lions team.
Benjamin Watson (NO – TE –$4,300) vs. WAS – I’ve been on the Watson bandwagon the last few weeks and I see no reason to get off now, especially for $4,300.
Jacksonville Jaguars (DEF – $2,600) vs. BAL– Baltimore’s offense is hurting right now and I think the Jags will take advantage of that this week.
Good luck this week!
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