Week 10 Fantasy Football Matchups

Putting an informative and funny twist on every Week 10 fantasy-relevant matchup.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Carolina Panthers

Panthers -3; O/U 44.5

Chiefs – The Chiefs get Alex Smith back in Week 10, looking to capitalize on a Panthers defense that struggles more against the pass than the run. Top receiver Jeremy Maclin injured his groin Sunday and is a real threat to miss this contest. The top replacements to stream would be Chris Conley and Tyreke Hill (if you are desperate). RSJ favorite Travis Kelce actually finds himself in a plus matchup. Hopefully he won’t throw a hissy fit and gets himself ejected again because he could have a very good game. The running back situation here gets a little dicey. The Panthers are very good against the run to begin with, so Chiefs backs are already behind the eight ball. Spencer Ware is still dealing with his concussion, so his availability is in question. Charcandrick West did NOTHING after being given the chance to have a very big game. Owners who burned a waiver pick on him are probably pretty damn pissed.

Panthers – As I expected, Cam Newton had a mediocre game in LA, but now returns home against Kansas City. The Chiefs have been up and down with their defense, but perform much better at home, so Newton could do some damage this week. Jonathan Stewart was coming off two big games, but disappointed along with Newton on Sunday. He will likely struggle again against the Chiefs who have been solid against the run since their bye week. Kelvin Benjamin hasn’t found the end zone since Week 4, but I like his chance to break that seal in Week 10. The only concern is that he gets shadowed by Marcus Peters which would be less than ideal. But with Kansas City limiting their points allowed to tight ends, it looks like Benjamin could be in a better spot than Greg Olsen for Cam’s top receiving threat.

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars -2; O/U 42

Texans – If there’s ever a spot for the piece of shit that is Brock Osweiler to win us back, it’s right now. On the road against a very bad Jacksonville team should be all that’s needed for the Brock Star to produce for this highly anticipated offense. DeAndre Hopkins has become borderline unstartable in Osweilers presence. The first round lock could see a lot of Jalen Ramsey though which doesn’t help Hopkins’ matchup this week. The biggest benefactor could be Will Fuller, who is looking to practice in full for the first time in awhile. Lamar Miller should go back to being the bell cow of the offense — being featured very heavily in the game. The surprise though for this offense aside from how underwhelming it’s been, is the emergence of tight end  CJ Fiedorowicz. He’s tied for the team lead in targets which is remarkable considering the other weapons the offense has to offer. Nonetheless, CJ has proven to be a viable fantasy tight end going forward, as Osweiler likes to dump of it off for short gains.

Jaguars – By now you know how much we detest the garbage man Blake Bortles. The man who struggles so much in the passing game unless he’s down 20-plus in the fourth quarter. He actually got back on the same page with his stud receiver Allen Robinson last game, but it could be all for not now facing the Texans. Chris Ivory had himself a day rushing for 107 yards. He looked explosive and like the bulldozer he’s been in the past. TJ Yeldon got in on the action as well with a score of his own through the air. Overall it wasn’t a bad game for the Jacksonville offense and it was great to see signs of life, but a date with Houston is just bad news.

Chicago Bears @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bears -1; O/U 45.5

Bears – Smokin’ Jay Cutler is back under center for the Bears, and nobody is happier than top receiver Alshon Jeffery. Cutler actually finds himself in a decent spot against the Bucs who were just torched by Matt Ryan and the Falcons. Jeffery has produced much better with Cutler in the fold as he scored his first touchdown of the season last week. Owners of Alshon are very excited at the thought of Jeffery returning to his old dominant form. The secondary receivers have all but fallen off the map. Cameron Meredith is pretty much an afterthought now, while Eddie Royal hasn’t played since Week 6. Zach Miller has become a reliable second option in the offense and has solidified his TE1 fantasy value. He’s no Gronk, but you can expect him to put up close to 10 points. The Bears last game against the Vikings marked the reemergence of Jordan Howard. Howard went crazy for 153 yards and score while catching four balls good for 49 yards. After doing that against a very good defense in Minnesota, Howard owners should feel good about his usage going forward.

Buccaneers – Jameis Winston and Mike Evans were lights out against the Falcons last Thursday, and that trend should continue against the Bears defense. Evans erupted with a Mount St Helens fire flames performance of 11-150-2, all but giving The Wolf his ultimate edge over The Truth. Adam Humphries even got in to the score sheet with a touchdown of his own. He’s building a rapport with Winston while developing into that #2 guy. Cameron Brate has now found the end zone in back to back games as he continues to develop as a reliable tight end. The real question will be surrounding the Bucs backfield. Doug Martin should return but it looks like he will be on a snap count. Martin will be a borderline RB2 play. Peyton Barber should get some touches, but with Martin back, he will soon be dead to the fantasy world.

Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins

Redskins -2.5; O/U 41.5

Vikings – Boy what happened to the Vikings? After getting smashed by the Bears, many expected them to right the ship against Detroit at home. Instead, they were dealt a loss in which the offense once again looked anemic. The only positive coming from Minnesota was the reemergence of Stefon Diggs, who recorded his second straight double digit target/reception game. Diggs is a central cog in the offense and is locked in as a must start WR. Adam Thielen started to make some plays, his stock is slowly rising into relevancy. The big let down was Kyle Rudolph though. Sure he scored, but that was his only catch and it was for one yard. We expected a lot more against the worst defense for tight ends. The running back situation was a mess as Matt Asiata actually out-touched Jerick McKinnon. Neither did anything worth writing home about and were very sub par. It’s tough to trust either of them going forward.

Redskins – Kirk Cousins and Redskins must be thinking that it’s their time to strike while the iron is hot. The Vikings have looked bad and vulnerable the last two weeks, so Cousins should like his chances at home. That means good news for Jordan Reed, DeSean Jackson (if he’s active) and Jamison Crowder. Reed and Crowder have been the more consistent options in the passing game and should continue with that success especially with the struggling running game. Shanahan has said that Matt Jones would have to earn his starting job back, meaning Rob Kelley is the starter this week. I can’t see the Redskins having much success running the ball, meaning most of their action should end up coming through the air.

Green Bay Packers @ Tennessee Titans

Packers -2.5; O/U 49.5

Packers – The lack of a running game has done wonders for Aaron Rodgers in the fantasy realm. Throwing a ton of passes has brought him out of his slow starting slump and dragged him back to the top of the QB realm. No.1 guy Jordy Nelson has burst back onto the scene after a slow stretch. He’s actually gone for 94 yards and a score in back to back games. Kinda creepy at first glance. With Randall Cobb dealing with injury, that has allowed Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers to step up in the receiving game. All purpose guy Ty Montgomery saw his role as the running back solidified, but his receiving numbers dipped drastically. Although James Starks expects to return this week, it shouldn’t cut much into Montgomery’s role as a running back. The Packers shouldn’t have much trouble moving the ball against Tennessee. The Titans were shredded on the ground, while allowing 43 points to San Diego.

Titans – Marcus Mariota is playing the best football of his career right now. Sure, the schedule has been beneficial, but Mariota has taken full advantage and is looking like what a #2 overall pick should resemble. Mariota has had serious chemistry with Rishard Matthews — especially in the red zone — which is music to owners ears. Mariota threw for 3 scores last game while running in an extra one. Delanie Walker has continued to be a high volume guy in the Titans offense. The big news though is the injury to Derrick Henry. While The Wolf whimpers over in his den, this allows DeMarco Murray to run free like the savage that he is. Unfortunately, the Packers have a pretty good run defense, although you wouldn’t know that if you watched Frank Gore have himself a day last week.

Denver Broncos @ New Orleans Saints

Saints -3; O/U 49

Broncos – After losing out on an important divisional game against the Raiders, Trevor Siemian and the Broncos head to the Big Easy to face the Saints in the Dome. The Louisiana Superdome is like Coors Field in baseball, where the offensive stats just go through the roof. That’s good news for Demaryius Thomas and Emannuel Sanders. The two didn’t get much going last game but should thrive against New Orleans. The same can be said for Devontae Booker who struggled mightily in Oakland. If there’s any defense to use as a rebound, it’s the Saints. The real deep sleeper in this game would be Kapri Bibbs though. The running back caught a 69 (#nice) yard touchdown pass and could be in line for more work. Bibbs can be used as a flex in extreme situations caused by the bye weeks.

Saints – Where the Broncos offense is very happy to be facing the Saints, the Saints offense is not too happy about having to face the Broncos. This could be Drew Brees‘ toughest test of the season as the Broncos have an elite secondary. The only counter for Brees could be that he’s at home where he appears to pretty much be matchup proof. It would take a lot to sit Brees, but if you have an ideal matchup on your bench, it’s worth some consideration. It’s very difficult to start Brandin Cooks, Michael Thomas and Willie Snead this week. If I had to pick one, it’s Thomas (#shh) who has arguably been the best receiver on the team and is the bigger target over Cooks. Thomas has been a big weapon in the red zone for Brees as well. Where there’s sneaky value for New Orleans is on the ground. The Broncos have struggled and were just gashed by Latavius MurrayMark Ingram has a chance to follow up on his beastly game and really make a statement to the coaches that he can be the guy. Of course, Tim Hightower will see his carries and will eat into Ingram’s work slightly. Hightower is a lower floor and lower ceiling option so he’s a flex emergency play if need be.

Los Angeles Rams @ New York Jets

Jets -1.5; O/U 39.5

Rams – Normally a Rams team coming into New York to face the Jets would be a real bad time, but things have changed the last couple years. Todd Gurley will probably still struggle against the Jets run defense, this is not the game you expect the 2015 version of Gurley to come out. Instead, it gives Rams receivers the opportunity to shine. Kenny Britt becomes a very nice play this week against the aging and rapidly declining Darrelle Revis. Britt has been solid his last couple of games while serving as a nice WR3. Tavon Austin could see some work if you end up trusting him. He’s the utter definition of hit-or-miss making him such a risky play. One guy I love this week is Lance Kendricks the tight end. Kendricks has seen close to 10 targets in his last three games and is becoming a staple in the offense.

Jets – Ryan Fitzpatrick expects to start in Week 10 after injuring his MCL last week. At this point the Jets offense has just become a big bag of bleh. Matt Forte is the lone consistent option that can be relied on. Knowing Fitzpatrick can’t throw, it makes sense to hand Forte the rock and let him do work. Brandon Marshall has been very underwhelming after a stellar 2015 campaign, while Quincy Enunwa has basically gone back to being an irrelevant non-factor. Buckeye rookie Jalin Marshall did find the end zone though so at least he’s trending in the right direction.

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles

Falcons -2; O/U 50

Falcons – Matt Ryan has been discussed in MVP talks and rightfully so. This team has turned it around after last season and the QB has his team looking great. The Eagles don’t look as scary on defense as they did in the past, as they were torched by Eli Manning and Odell Beckham last game. Julio Jones could wind up having similar success that Odell had. Should Julio draw a lot of coverage, then Mohamed Sanu could be in line for some production. He’s been a steady WR3 this year. Tevin Coleman is still trying to work his way back from injury. If he was to go, I wouldn’t expect much production from him, meaning Devonta Freeman owners could rejoice for another solo-backfield day. He’s been a steady contributor as the lone back and can be locked into lineups.

Eagles – Boy did Carson Wentz ever draw himself a matchup. Wentz offers great streamability (that a word?) for Week 10 byes getting the Falcons secondary that can’t stop a nosebleed. That should mean great things for Jordan Matthews as long as he doesn’t draw shadow coverage from Desmond Trufant. Matthews has seen a jump in his targets since the bye week, which should excite his owners. As far as the running back game goes, Darren Sproles was named the lead back. He could see more work going forward which is fantastic news for PPR owners. Ryan Mathews should still be involved in the offense, but most notably in the red zone. He becomes touchdown dependent. As far as other receivers like Dorial Green-Beckham or Nelson Agholor go, they are emergency plays if you have nothing else.

Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers

Chargers -4; O/U 48.5

Dolphins – The Dolphins swim to the west coast to take on the Chargers, featuring two stud running backs. Jay Ajayi has been a stud his last three weeks rushing over 200 yards twice and the other time for 100-plus. I don’t see Miami easing up on his usage as he’s looked excellent on the ground. I’m so glad I completely wrote him off before the season started. Adam Gase has said that he needs to get the ball into Jarvis Landry‘s hands more, to which I respond with “YOU THINK?!” Landry is such a dynamic playmaker and has been shackled due to his low target volume. Maybe the coaching staff looks to set him free and get him back to the elusive playmaker he can be. DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills haven’t done anything aside from Stills’ Week 7 100 yard performance. They are both unreliable. Ryan Tannehill is just meh.

Chargers – While Miami boasts their stud in Ajayi, San Diego counters with Melvin Gordon. Gordon still hasn’t seen any limits of his carries which is great news as he continues to dominate opposing defenses. Miami allows an average of 135 rushing yards per game so Gordon has to be licking his chops thinking of a nice dolphin meal on his plate (can you eat dolphin? Is that legal?) Philip Rivers at home is a sneaky decent play, as long as his guys Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin suit up. Add in the likely return of Hunter Henry to pair with old man Antonio Gates, Rivers has plenty of weapons at his disposal.

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals -13.5; O/U 48.5

49ers – Colin Kaepernick actually put in a dominant first half against the Saints last week. Sure it’s the Saints, but it was still pretty darn impressive. After not voting in the election that he ‘cared’ so much about, he gets to face the Cardinals on the road. I can’t see this offense moving the ball much. Carlos Hyde is still fighting to get back on the field. If he can’t go, then DuJuan Harris will be the lead back again. No 49ers receivers are even worth mentioning in this piece, but I will throw Vance McDonald in here because I remember him catching a touchdown last week and Kaepernick could look for a security blanket with all that pressure.

Cardinals – Get your popcorn ready folks. All-pro running back David Johnson takes on the league worst 49ers defense who has allowed over 100+ rushing yards to opponents in like 8 straight weeks (*estimate, but it’s right around that number). Johnson should just have a monster day that leaves the 49ers defense laying spread eagled on the bed wondering what the hell just happened. Here’s a time to play Carson Palmer as well, seeing as the last time they played SF he was hurt and Drew Stanton filled in. Stanton managed to find Larry Fitzgerald twice for a touchdown, so imagine what Palmer can do. One guy to keep an eye on is JJ Nelson who’s emergence is becoming noticed. Bruce Arians has declared him a starter, and the receiver’s speed makes him almost uncoverable. I can’t see the 49ers having the tools to slow him down. If you snagged him off waivers, feel free putting him in your lineup.

Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers -2.5; O/U 50

Cowboys – This offense all starts with the eating crop top machine that is Ezekiel Elliott. He’s a man possessed with the football and few actually have the ability to stop him. Going against the Steelers defense should be no problem for Zeke whose all but a lock for 100+ yards and a score or two. Dak Prescott remains the starter despite Tony Romo being cleared for games. Prescott has really improved from the beginning of the season and looks like he doesn’t plan on giving his job back anytime soon. Prescott welcomed back Dez Bryant with open arms in his first game back, but the two were silent last game, as Jason Witten was the one who exploded. Cole Beasley operates as the consistent slot guy that will produce every week. The Steelers have a good pass defense, so Dez could end up struggling again while Prescott leans on Beasley and Witten more often.

Steelers – In his first week back from injury, brave Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty bad. Rushing back from an MCL injury isn’t easy as it was probably difficult for Big Ben to play at 100% Sunday. He should start to feel more comfortable over time, and has to like that the Cowboys are without secondary weapons Barry Church and Mo Claiborne. Playing at home always helps Ben, whose return is big news for Antonio Brown. Brown is back in that elite status with Big Ben in the fold. Unfortunately, Sammie Coates looked like shit last game dropping balls left and right. The offense has boiled down to Roethliseberger, Brown and Le’Veon Bell who could struggle compared to normal against Dallas. The Cowboys have done well against running backs, which doesn’t mean Bell will put up 5 points, but possibly more towards 11 or 12 as opposed to the custom 18-20+ we have come to expect.

Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots

Patriots -7.5; O/U 48.5

Seahawks – The Seahawks travel east for a Super Bowl rematch against the Patriots. Russell Wilson finally looked like the QB well all thought he could be on Monday Night against the Bills with three touchdowns in the first half. He reconnected with Jimmy Graham twice in the end zone while building back his connection with WR1 Doug Baldwin. If Baldwin draws Malcolm Butler in coverage, it could be a long night for Dougie Fresh. Unfortunately, this offense has become pretty one dimensional as the offensive line sucks something awfully bad. Christine Michael got 5 carries for 1 yard and a score last game and was rendered useless. The team expects CJ Prosise to see a lot more work, especially in the passing game going forward.

Patriots – New England coach Bill Belichick has had a two weeks to prepare for this game. I like those odds a lot. Granted it’s not the best matchup, but Tom Brady should be fine against the Legion of Boom. He put up the greatest fourth quarter in Super Bowl history against a more stacked Seahawks defense so I’m not scared. If anyone should be scared, it should be whoever is in charge of covering Rob Gronkowski. Good luck with that. Gronk is a stud and should have a big presence in this game. The same should go for Julian Edelman, who is Brady’s blanket guy and was peppered in the Super Bowl with Tom under pressure. Of course there’s Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett to open up the offense, and we might see the return of Dion Lewis this game. Lewis would take over for the recently ineffective James White. I wouldn’t expect much if anything from Lewis, so hold off on him for now. It’s also tough to see LeGarrette Blount get anything going in this game, but he could very well punch one in from the goal line the way Lynch should have. lol

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants

Even Line; O/U 47

Bengals – Andy Dalton actually finds himself in a tough spot here against the Giants. New York has been good in coverage and limiting quarterbacks to big games. That doesn’t mean you are going to take AJ Green out of your lineup however, that dudes a stud. Sure it’s not the most beatable secondary, but Green usually finds a way to do so. Tyler Eifert will also be leaned on in the passing game. His return has given Dalton another serious weapon to use especially in the red zone. The real test will be to see if Jeremy Hill can get things going on the ground. We know Gio Bernard will pull out his 10-12 point game off receptions and some carries, but Hill needs to work his way into the end zone with a strong run game.

Giants – Here’s a riddle for you. According to Yahoo, the Bengals give up the 7th most points to fantasy quarterbacks, but the 5th least to receivers. Hmmmm. I suppose they make you work the ball around to tight ends, a variety of receivers or maybe backs? Regardless, Eli Manning can do work here especially with the freak of nature that is Odell Beckham Jr. Those two are all but locked in for a touchdown, while not even considering Sterling Shepard who returned from the Bermuda Triangle last week. The Bengals also repesent a defense that can be run on, but Rashad Jennings hasn’t flashed the stats and abilities he had last year.

Author

  • THE Inaugural 2016 RSJ Fantasy Football League Champion. Owner of a #bigbrain, and lover of football, baseball and college hoops. When not grinding for the RSJ, can be found captaining his beer league softball team.

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