Published: Oct. 30, 2019 at 11:05 a.m.
Updated: Oct. 30, 2019 at 12:20 p.m.
Senior fantasy analyst
Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate weekly look at NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Fantasy superstars such as Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey will not be featured in this column. All player matchups are based on a PPR scoring system. For your final starting lineup decisions, check my weekly fantasy football lineup rankings.
Byes: Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints
Start 'Em
Start of the Week - Dak Prescott vs. New York Giants
Prescott is a virtual must start this week, as he faces the Giants on Monday Night Football. He was the QB2 in a Week 1 matchup against the G-Men, and their defense has given up six top-nine fantasy performances to enemy quarterbacks overall in their first eight games. Look for Dak to post a fine line in this NFC East battle.
Kirk Cousins vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Cousins had a better "real" game than "fantasy" game last week, going 23 for 26 for 285 yards but without a touchdown. He should rebound in a road game in Kansas City, however. The Chiefs defense has surrendered 15 total touchdowns to quarterbacks overall, and the position has averaged over 20 fantasy points at Arrowhead Stadium.
Matthew Stafford vs. Oakland Raiders
Stafford has developed into one of the best bargains in fantasy drafts, throwing two-plus touchdown passes five times in his first seven games of the season. I would start him against the Raiders, who have surrendered 19 scoring strikes, a 115.5 passer rating and the third-most fantasy points (23.7 PPG) to enemy signal-callers.
Josh Allen vs. Washington Redskins
Allen fought off poor weather conditions to score 17.3 fantasy points vs. the Eagles last week, and it would have been better had he not lost a fumble. He'll be a solid option in Week 9, as the Redskins have surrendered 14 touchdown passes and an average of nearly 18 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season.
Gardner Minshew vs. Houston Texans
Minshew is on a nice two-game roll, scoring 21 or more fantasy points while putting up a combined four touchdowns. He'll remain a viable starting option in London, where the Jaguars will face a Texans defense that has given up an average of 293.4 passing yards per game and 19 total touchdowns to enemy quarterbacks this season.
Start 'Em: Jameis Winston at Seattle Seahawks, Derek Carr vs. Detroit Lions
Sleepers: Jimmy Garoppolo at Arizona Cardinals (Thur.), Sam Darnold at Miami Dolphins
Sit 'Em
Sit of the Week - Baker Mayfield vs. Denver Broncos
Mayfield's streak of sit 'em appearances might break a record for this column. He put up another stinker in last week's loss to the Patriots, and now he gets the Broncos in Denver. Quarterbacks have combined to throw for six touchdowns and average a mere 10.4 fantasy points against them this season, so sit Mayfield once again.
Kyler Murray vs. San Francisco 49ers
Murray has struggled in his last two games, and this week's matchup vs. the 49ers makes him almost unstartable in fantasy leagues. San Francisco's defense has allowed just five touchdown passes and a ridiculous 6.1 fantasy points per game to opposing signal-callers, so the talented rookie is in for a scary game on Halloween.
Carson Wentz vs. Chicago Bears
Wentz is in the middle of a tough stretch of games, and the schedule is unforgiving again as the Bears come to town. Chicago has struggled against the run, but quarterbacks have averaged fewer than 14 fantasy points per game against them. In fact, no field general has finished higher than 13th in points when facing Chicago.
Philip Rivers vs. Green Bay Packers
Rivers has scored fewer than 15 fantasy points in three of his last four games, including last week's 10-point stinker in Chicago. He'll be a fade for me once again this week, as the Packers and their rabid fans will no doubt invade the StubHub Center. Green Bay has allowed fewer than 15 points per game to opposing quarterbacks.
Mitchell Trubisky vs. Philadelphia Eagles
You might look at Trubisky's matchup against the Eagles and think he's a viable streamer, but he's not. Believe or not, but Philadelphia has given up an average of 9.23 fewer fantasy points per game to quarterbacks at home as opposed to on the road. Trubisky is playing awful football right now too, so keep him on the bench.
Sit 'Em: Daniel Jones vs. Dallas Cowboys (Mon.), Kyle Allen vs. Tennessee Titans
Busts: Jacoby Brissett at Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Tannehill at Carolina Panthers
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!
