Need a quick catchup on what to expect in a few of Week 4’s key matchups? Here’s how I see Sunday playing out for some teams, and what the fantasy impact will be.
Rams at 49ers
I do not understand why the Vegas implied total here has the 49ers winning 22-21. Did Vegas not watch Jimmy Garoppolo and company put up only 10 points on the Broncos last week, with Trent Williams? Now you have an untested left tackle in someone named Colton McKivitz taking over for the best left tackle in the world. According to PFF, the little amount of snaps McKivitz has under his NFL belt did not go well.
Add that to the fact that other offensive line newcomers in 2022 (Spencer Burford and Jake Brendel) have not played well to this point, and you have a tough matchup against Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey (prolly gonna be matched up on Deebo often) and the gang, and I could see a low scoring slugfest. The 49ers’ defense appears to be a very physical, hard-hitting bunch so I wouldn’t expect fireworks from the also offensive line-depleted Rams, but I have a fair amount more faith in Matthew Stafford than Jimmy G to put up some points. 17-16 Rams seems more like it.
Broncos at Raiders
Feel confident (that may be too strong of a word) to play Russell Wilson if you have him. If you can’t start Wilson vs the Raiders defense, when can you? If you don’t have a top 10 QB and don’t start Wilson this week, you prolly need to drop him. I know it’s tough to pull that trigger based on the Broncos’ train wreck of an offense so far, but I’m gonna assume Nathaniel Hackett is a reasonably intelligent person, in spite of evidence to the contrary.
Did you see where Denver hired an old, retired coach (couldn’t even tell you his name) to put in the booth to make the game decisions (time-outs, whether to go for it on 4th down, etc) so Hackett can focus on calling plays? Strange would be an understatement. Maybe Hackett should have applied for the offensive coordinator position instead of head coach?
I’m gonna assume he’s understandably been a little nervous as a first-time head coach, and the Broncos are starting to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. I’m gonna assume the talent of Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Javonte Williams (notice I didn’t mention Jerry Jeudy), and what should be a high-level offensive line will gel and ascend. I’m gonna assume Hackett is going to settle down and string together some sensical, positive plays. This may be too many assumptions. What’s the old saying? What do you get when you assume things? You sometimes make an a-s-s out of u and me. Come to think of it, don’t start Wilson with confidence. This head coach and the resulting offense appear to be at least a few weeks away from approaching competency.
Jets at Steelers
I would keep an eye on Zach Wilson here. If he continues throwing the number of passes Joe Flacco has been, he might be a sneaky add if you need QB help. Wilson showed very little in the preseason or in his play last year that would suggest a breakout, but he does have a large number of weapons at his disposal.
Losing right tackle George Fant to injury this week is concerning, but Garret Wilson, Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, Tyler Conklin, and two pass-catching backs are quite a few guys who have been productive, at least intermittently. The Jets might decide to run it more with Wilson at center, but maybe they keep slinging it. The Jets’ generous defense should help by continuing to put the Jets in catch-up passing mode.
Bears at Giants
It’s been fun watching Saquon Barkley return to elite fantasy status. The guy is so talented that it was inevitable with any sort of offensive line and coaching improvement. And it hasn’t been massive offensive line improvement if you watched Evan Neal getting worked over repeatedly by the Cowboys last week. I actually felt sorry for Neal – he just completely stops his feet and reaches as one defensive lineman after another races past him to poor Daniel Jones, who played spectacularly considering his lack of blocking and receiving options.
It sounds crazy to say Jones played spectacularly considering his history and stats vs the Cowboys, but if you watched the game he made something out of nothing repeatedly. If Neal and others can step it up around him (remember Andrew Thomas was poor his first year in the league) Jones could be a productive QB in my opinion. They definitely don’t need the running back to step up his game, he’s already there.
