Lance's Week 2 Predictions

Every week I’ll be putting out my predictions, they will include my winner for each game with a brief explanation, and 1 start and 1 sit for each fantasy football position.

One week is in the books and there were definitely some interesting things that happened, but I think the biggest statement that was made was continuity is going to win games early. The Browns were blown out by a Ravens team that had minimal turnover on offense or within the coaching staff. The Raiders got the better of a Panthers team that has new faces everywhere. The same can be said for the Saints topping the Bucs. It may not look that way with the Jags beating the Colts, but Minshew played with most of his offense last year, Rivers did not. This was certainly a trend we should have seen coming considering there wasn’t a preseason to build chemistry in. As usual, I’ll start with my picks:

Overall Record: 8-8

Cleveland over Cincinnati

These two teams might be 0-1 and coming off bottom of the league finishes, but this is an exciting Thursday night game. The Ravens defense is insanely good, so I would consider this the first chance we’ll get at seeing what Cleveland’s offense can actually do under Stefanski. We’ll also get to see how well Burrow can pick apart a depleted secondary. I’m taking Baker and Company in a 41-35 point explosion.

Tennessee over Jacksonville

I want to take Minshew, I really do, but I just don’t see a way Jacksonville’s defense can stop Henry, Brown, Smith and Davis.

Tampa Bay over Carolina

The Panthers defense just isn’t very good right now. If the Bucs offense looks like they did against the Saints, then maybe the Panthers pull this one off, but I think this is Tampa’s first chance at gaining some cohesion among their playmakers.

Pittsburgh over Denver

At this point I don’t see a team whose offense is strong enough to beat Pitt’s defense, or whose defense can match what Pitt can do until the Steelers take on the Ravens. There’s going to be plenty of one sided affairs over the next few weeks.

LA Rams over Philadelphia

I’m taking the Rams for basically the same reason I took Washington last week, the only difference is Aaron Donald will be a one man wrecking crew up front. The Rams offense should be able to do just enough to help them get the win.

San Francisco over NY Jets

This is a good “get-right” game for the Niners after last week’s disappointing loss. Even with the injuries they’ve suffered, San Fran should still be able to walk away from this game with an easy enough victory.

Miami over Buffalo

This might look like I’m just picking Miami because they have to win eventually, but that’s not the case I swear. I’m taking the Dolphins in a defensive dogfight. Miami has the Corners who can take advantage of Josh Allen’s errant passes and that’s how I see them winning this one.

Minnesota over Indianapolis

The Vikings should be able to follow Jacksonville’s blueprint for taking down the Colts and they’ll have more talent across the board to do so. Look out though, if Rivers starts picking apart the young Corners early it’s going to be a long day.

Green Bay over Detroit

Rodgers will torch the Lions the same way he did the Vikings in week 1. This probably won’t be a fun game to watch unless you’re a Packers fan or have Green Bay players on your fantasy team.

Atlanta over Dallas

I’ve gone back and forth, but I’m sticking with Atlanta now. I see Dallas’ offense rebounding in this one, but I don’t see their defense being able to contain Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley or Hayden Hurst. It’s going to be a long day for the Cowboys secondary.

Chicago over NY Giants

I’m taking Chicago because Trubisky showed last week he can take down a weak secondary, the Giants are arguably worse off in that area than Detroit is. Plus, the Bears should be able to get Montgomery and Cohen going while using their still stacked defense to ruin Daniel Jones’ day.

Arizona over Washington

Washington’s front seven could wreak the same havoc in this one that they did on the Eagles, the difference is Kyler Murray is far better at avoiding the rush than Wentz is. Meanwhile, Chandler Jones can torture Haskins all game long causing mistakes and setting the Cards up with a chance to dominate in week 2.

Kansas City over LA Chargers

The Chiefs get out to an early lead in this one and they don’t let up until the Chargers fan base is weeping in the stands of their new stadium (so sometime next year?).

Baltimore over Houston

The Ravens have an explosive offense like the Chiefs (though in slightly different ways), and they have a much better defense than Kansas City. I see Houston losing by a lot more than 14 in this one.

Seattle over New England

New England’s win was all well and good, but the fact is it was against the Dolphins. Seattle is going to be a whole different animal. Look for Wilson to continue his early bid for MVP.

New Orleans over Las Vegas

The Raiders’ offense looked very good in a week 1, but they were playing the Panthers. They won’t have as much freedom against a very good Saints defense, and if they couldn’t shutdown Carolina’s offense, no way they’ll be able to contain Kamara, Thomas, Sanders, and Cook.

Fantasy Starts and Sits

Record for QBs, TEs, Ks, and Ds is based off if they finished top 12 or not

Record for RBs and WRs is based off if they finished top 24 or not.

QB Record: 1-1

QB Start: Baker Mayfield vs Cincinnati

The Browns offense is much better than what we saw last week against the Ravens, Baltimore just has a very good defense. Cincinnati, on the other hand, does not have a very good defense. They performed well last week against an offense that just isn’t going to light up scoreboards or the stats sheet. Cleveland will be in a better position to show what their offense can really do this week. If you have him don’t be afraid to start him.

QB Sit: Deshaun Watson vs Baltimore

This one is going to be tough on those true believers but go check out what Baltimore’s nasty D-Line just did to Mayfield and the Browns. You can argue the differences between Watson and Mayfield until you are blue in the face, but that won’t change the fact that the Ravens are stacked on defense and the Texans O-Line is a liability.

RB Record: 0-2

RB Start: Raheem Mostert at NY Jets

Mostert is one of the top two options in the 49ers’ offense. He should see lots of touches against an apathetic Jets defense, that will prove very fruitful in week 2.

RB Sit: Austin Ekeler vs Kansas City

Game script will likely lead to the Chargers having to throw the ball to keep up with Kansas City’s explosive offense. Last season that would have meant getting Ekeler into your lineups at all costs, but after week 1 we saw something that should have worried us before the season kicked off, Tyrod Taylor doesn’t normally dump the ball off to his Running Back. Ekeler saw one target in their game against Cincy. It may be difficult to bench Ekeler, but if you can, you should.

WR Record: 1-1

WR Start: Tyler Boyd at Cleveland

Boyd was relatively quiet against the Chargers. I’d expect nothing less when it’s your rookie Quarterback’s first game and you have to go up against one of the best Slot Corners in the NFL. With Cleveland’s secondary very banged up Boyd should see plenty of plus matchups out of the Slot on Thursday night. Make sure you at the very least have him in your flex.

WR Sit: D.J. Moore at Tampa Bay

Not sure if Moore had a bad week 1 because Vegas was able to keep him from being a factor, or he just hasn’t built up the rapport with Bridgewater, but I’d make sure to bench him in this one. The Bucs did a great job of keeping Michael Thomas under-wraps. Moore and Thomas aren’t the same players, but both play a significant amount of snaps out of the Slot and both would be considered their team’s WR1. I think Tampa will use the same schemes on Moore that they used on Thomas.

TE Record: 1-1

TE Start: Jonnu Smith vs Jacksonville

The Colts did not take advantage of the weakest area on the Jaguars defense, their Safeties. Jonnu Smith’s athleticism will allow Tennessee to move the ball down the middle of the field all game long, even if Myles Jack is dropped back into coverage.

TE Sit: T.J. Hockenson at Green Bay

Green Bay has a good secondary, with Savage and Amos covering the back end they shut down Minnesota’s duo of Rudolph and Smith. Detroit doesn’t have as many offensive weapons as the Vikings (especially if Golladay is still hurt) so I’d expect the Packers to focus on Hockenson and force Stafford to look elsewhere.

K Record: 2-0

K Start: Rodrigo Blankenship vs Minnesota

The Vikings run a bend, don’t break defense (though it broke quite a bit against Green Bay), and that often leads to plenty of Field Goal opportunities for opponents. The Colts offense had an up and down week 1, but I’d expect Rivers to take advantage of Minnesota’s young Corners just like Rodgers did, pushing the ball downfield and potentially setting up plenty of manageable Field Goal attempts.

K Sit: Ryan Succop vs Carolina

The Panthers defense is not good, plain, and simple. Tampa’s offense will have a chance to get everything on track when they take on Carolina. I see them scoring 5 or 6 touchdowns and never needing to pause for a Field Goal, thus eliminating the higher value fantasy kicks for this week.

Defense Record: 2-0

Defense Start: Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo

Obviously, Buffalo is a must start this week, but Miami has sneaky value in week 2. They have far more playmakers on defense than the Jets do. The Dolphins can take advantage of Josh Allen’s errant throws, and if the fumbling issue continues to be a thing, that will only help them out more.

Defense Sit: Kansas City at LA Chargers

If you had any inkling to run with the Chiefs after their performance against Houston, don’t do it this week. The Chargers might look like a good matchup in your mind, but it’s not. Tyrod’s #1 quality since he was starting for Buffalo has been his ability to not turn the ball over. He may not light up scoreboards, but he can put enough points on the board to eliminate that fantasy football edge too.