Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own brief take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in every so often over the course of the day to answer lineup questions, too.
What follows is a brief look at all the games with how I'd react in my own lineups to injury developments or other news. The official rankings are the ones in the Weekly. Those are the ones that subscribers are paying for, and should take precedence. But sometimes players are very close, and in those cases I'm glad to offer opinions on how I'd approach those situations. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries etc.
If a guy is 20 spots higher in the rankings, that's a question you probably don't need to ask. Trust the rankings. OK, on to the games.
Kansas City at Titans: Patrick Mahomes is back, and the NFL is better for it. Hopefully Andy Reid doesn't dial up any option plays that expose the NFL's reigning MVP to some big hits. Corey Davis is doubtful with a hip injury. I picked up A.J. Brown in one league and Adam Humphries in another. I got burned already once this year with Humphries, but it's a rough bye week. And if KC puts up 30, which it should, Brown-Humphries-Jonnu Smith should have to do something to try to keep up. Also starting Damien Williams, as the wheel comes round again for the KC runner.
Cardinals at Bucs: I am all over offensive players in this game with two defense-challenged teams. A little uncertain which Cardinals receivers to use, of course, but the Bucs wideouts look great and I like Ronald Jones and David Johnson, who should lead their respective backfields. Both quarterbacks too.
Giants at Jets: Saw the query over the last time these teams have met when both were this bad. Hard to say. But both are bad right now, and bad enough on defense that there should be some nice options. I cut Sterling Shepard in a couple of leagues this week and might even do so in dynasty (though I'm figuring he'll end up on IR soon enough that I can open up a spot that way). But wary of Darius Slayton after having being burned in the past. LeVeon should be fine, not that Adam Gase can be trusted, but sounds like he'll play. Chris Herndon for me is just a bench stash, let's see what he does. Similar with Rhett Ellison; maybe down the road if Engram also winds up on IR. Not using him here.
Falcons at Saints: New Orleans should be able to do whatever it wants and lots of it on offense, which is a little worrying; somebody is sure to get left out. But I think you use the big names and hope they deliver. No doubt either Ted Ginn, TreQuan Smith or Jared Cook will catch a touchdown, but good luck guessing right. Falcons don't cover anyone well. With Atlanta, it'd be nice to expect big numbers from Matt Ryan and Co. in defeat, but I've already benched Ryan for Rivers in a couple of leagues (oops) and am benching him, currently, for Josh Allen in another. Saints defense has been good and I don't trust Atlanta to keep it up with the garbage numbers.
Bills at Browns: I don't have a lot of interest in Cleveland's passing game right now. Maybe they'll come up with a good game and Odell Beckham will catch a long touchdown, but it won't be in my lineup, and Bills are better against the pass than run. Nick Chubb is starting for me, and Josh Allen, Devin Singletary, John Brown and mebbe Cole Beasley for the Bills. And give me the Bills defense, too.
Ravens at Bengals: Should be great numbers for Baltimore's ground game and a whole lot of nothing for Cincinnati. Very few Index readers should have been stuck with A.J. Green this year. I'm not sure Baltimore's defense is as good as it's been in the past, but man it should be plenty good enough to shut down Cincinnati. I might consider Gus Edwards this week, although using a No. 2 running back is always risky, even in a great matchup.
Lions at Bears: Lions defense doesn't do anything well -- hey, a lot like the Bears offense! I'd use Allen Robinson and David Montgomery but nothing else. Tarik Cohen was waived in a dynasty league I'm in last week, ouch. Lions, well, tough matchup. Running back tandem is uggo and matchup isn't great for Stafford, Golladay and Jones, but that's what the Lions do and you can't bench them for just anyone.
Dolphins at Colts: Appealing matchup for the Colts offense, most notably Marlon Mack and Zach Pascal. I think it will be Jacoby Brissett, but I also think he'll do a lot of handing off (and it might be Brian Hoyer anyway). For the Dolphins, Kalen Ballage probably won't do much, but hey, starting running back. DeVante Parker your No. 1 wideout, he should see plenty of targets. Mike Gesicki, too. Good for him. Starting Gesicki over Eric Ebron in 2019, that's what we've come to.
Rams at Steelers: So James Conner was essentially ruled out on Thursday, please make note of this for the next time Mike Tomlin says on Monday that he's "optimistic" about somebody playing. Optimism doesn't cost anything, and with some coaches it's absolutely worthless. The one time when Bill Belichick saying "We'll see" is preferable. Jaylen Samuels main back, Trey Edmunds should get a healthy share of the carries. Rams might use a three-back committee and Todd Gurley, the best bet to score, is the only one I'd consider. I like the Rams passing game a little bit more. Pittsburgh might not have JuJu Smith-Schuster (foot/toe/bad this year).
Panthers at Packers: I'm expecting a nice bounce-back game from Green Bay after last week's reportedly L.A.-nightlife driven dud against the Chargers. I think you start Rodgers-Adams-Jones as usual. For Carolina, no one needs help to start McCaffrey. Moore and Samuel are unexciting but that's where the passing game is going, and Green Bay hasn't defended anything well lately. Fairly important NFC game between playoff contenders.
Vikings at Cowboys: And here's another one. No Adam Thielen. Amari Cooper questionable, but I'm expecting he'll be out there. Both running backs are awesome and will get their numbers. A little wary of the quarterbacks. Entertaining Sunday night game.
Seahawks at 49ers: Facing Russell Wilson in an important game. Glad he's facing a tough defense, but I'm not betting against Wilson having a great all-around game anyway. I've got George Kittle in that league, but it sounds very much like he's going to miss at least this game, which is a shame. Too late to replace him with Ross Dwelley, so I will instead likely pivot to Deebo Samuel in a flex spot. Seattle defense hasn't been too good so San Francisco offense looks OK, it's just figuring out who will be the main targets after Emmanuel Sanders. Deebo and Dwelley are best bets. If Seattle doesn't activate Ed Dickson, I'm interested in Jacob Hollister, but most likely they will, and it'll be a tough situation to invest in. I'm fine using Wilson-Carson-Lockett and DK Metcalf, tough matchup and all.
Enjoy the games.