You have lineup questions. We have answers. At least we hope. Start 'Em & Sit 'Em has helped fantasy managers for years make those pressing lineup decisions. And you know what is a good decision? Starting Patrick Mahomes. But that's too obvious, so you won't see that here. Instead here are some of the most-pressing questions. And, if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings right here.
Start 'em
The Giants' offense isn’t great. We rolled the dice last week and streamed the Cowboys against the Giants and it worked out pretty well. Mostly because the Giants' offensive line is still in rebuilding mode and are having trouble allowing sacks -- with an average of 3.2 this season. I don’t want to point out that Danny Dimes turns the ball over a lot. But, he kind of does. He didn’t throw an interception against the Cowboys. Which was great because it was his first game without a pick. But he did lose a fumble. He’s lost a fumble in three of his last four games.
It’s not a great feeling having this much trust in the Dolphins this week. There’s no way they can keep the magic going for back-to-back weeks, right? But I do love this matchup. I mean sure, it’s the Jets. But it’s important to note the Dolphins have recorded at least four sacks in two of their last three games, including five last week against the 49ers. The Jets have allowed three sacks per game this season, but that’s increased over the last three games.
The 49ers are going to play a lot better than they did against the Miami Dolphins. Mostly because they can’t play any worse. And again, you hate to chase fantasy points because it never works out that way, but the Rams have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The 49ers' line has looked miserable. The 49ers have allowed an average of 4.0 sacks per game over their last three. The 49ers also have seven giveaways this year. That’s tied for seventh in the NFL.
Well, hey. The Giants are a pretty good option this week, too. Everyone celebrated last week when Alex Smith returned to the NFL, which was great, and we should have celebrated it. But we kind of overlooked the fact the FT’s offense looked awful. The only team that allows more sacks (on average) than Washington is the Cincinnati Bengals. I’m not sure the Giants can even get to the quarterback, but if you’re desperate for a defense.
Sit 'em
Were you aware that the Bills DST hasn’t scored double digits in any game this season? And they had a game against the Miami Dolphins, so you just figured they would have gone out and dominated in one game. They scored less points in that game (2) than they scored when they played the Los Angeles Rams (5).
The Buccaneers have one of the better defenses in the league. They have held three teams to 20 points or less. They have great pieces around them. And the DST have been a decent stream at times with double-digit performances against the Panthers and Broncos. But they scored six points in each game against the Chargers and the Bears. A matchup with Aaron Rodgers this week might land them on the bench for me. Or worse, the waiver wire.
The Texans played their best game of the season last week against the Jaguars when they scored nine points. A big part of that was the four sacks of quarterback Gardner Minshew. The only drawback is they scored more points last week (9) than they have in all of the other games combined (7). Combined. The Texans have allowed an average of 1.3 sacks this year headed into Week 5.
This isn’t a one-week deal after getting into negative numbers last week. And if I can say one thing, I hate negative numbers for defenses. I’ve seen a lot of football games in my life. I’ve never seen a team score negative points. But no matter, here’s my thing: The 49ers have scored six points or fewer in four games this season. The lone bright spot was against the Giants in Week 3. If you auto-picked the 49ers this season and you feel obligated to start them every week, please don’t feel that way.
