DETROIT (at Washington)
Washington just let the Jets score 34 points. The Lions managed to put up 27 against Dallas. So maybe. But we're leery of promising even average production out of a last-place team playing without ...
... its starting quarterback. In their other game without Matthew Stafford, the Lions scored only 13 points. And while Washington has been lousy at times, its defense has been more of an average group in many games. It allowed only one touchdown in a loss at Minnesota, and it gave up just 3 field goals in a rainy loss at home against the 49ers. This is a defense that actually ranks just outside the bottom 10 in both yards and points allowed. About 2 TDs seems like the right projection. ... Jeff Driskel put up 3 total TDs against Dallas and passed for 269 yards and a touchdown the previous week in Chicago. Can he be this week's Sam Darnold? Driskel adds value as a ...
This report is taken from today's Week 12 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 21 pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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... runner; he's run for 37 and 51 yards in his two starts this year (they'll use him on some read-option plays), and he ran for 80 yards and a touchdown in his five starts last year. The dual-threat ability and the quality of the opposition will lift Driskel above a few other quarterbacks on the weekly board. But in general, he's not a guy you want to have to count on. Despite the face-plant last week, Washington has actually been decent against the pass at times this year. Only 11 defenses have allowed fewer passing yards, and Washington allowed more than 1 TD pass in only one of its previous six games before the disaster Sunday. Neither Jimmy Garoppolo nor Josh Allen passed for more than 160 yards against them, and neither Garoppolo nor Kirk Cousins threw even one touchdown against them. They're not that bad. And Driskel isn't a starting-caliber quarterback. He's completing only 58 percent of his passes. The Bengals had him last year and had no interest in bringing him back (to be a backup). In his five starts for Cincinnati, Driskel averaged only 153 passing yards, with 5 TDs. He passed for only 209 yards against Dallas last week, and if not for a couple of late-game completions would have been down around that total in his other start. If you start Driskel, you take on the considerable risk that you easily could finish with about 200 yards and a touchdown. ... Bo Scarbrough is the compelling player here. He's been on the 53-man roster for less than a week, but he seems to be the runner they've settled on. He's been bouncing off and on rosters for over a year, but he had a nice debut start against Dallas, banging out 55 yards on 14 carries. Think of him as a poor man's Derrick Henry or a younger version of LeGarrette Blount. Scarbrough won't be used at all in the passing game, but he's huge (6-1, 235) and they'll run it a lot more than they would with Matthew Stafford available. And he'll be working against a defense that's struggled against the run pretty much all year long. Washington has held only two opponents under 115 rushing yards, and both were offenses that simply can't run the ball against anyone -- Dolphins, Bears. Everyone else has been able to run the ball on them, so we're thinking Scarbrough looks pretty certain to be the offense's featured player this week, with a decent chance of running for 80-plus yards and maybe punching in a touchdown. Probably no receptions, but he looks good enough that he should be starting in typical fantasy leagues this week. There is some risk involved. They've got other backs who'll play. Ty Johnson will be worked in, and maybe he gets a decent share of the work. But Johnson got only 2 carries (for 6 yards) last week. J.D. McKissic definitely will get some touches. McKissic carried only 3 times for 13 yards last week, but he's caught at least 3 passes in four straight games. But this looks like a Scarbrough game. ... We're going with a lesser passing projection, so we've got modest grades on the wide receivers. Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones are talented pass catchers, but they're handcuffed to Driskel right now. Other than a 47-yard touchdown late in the Chicago game, Golladay has been a disaster without Stafford -- just 3 other catches for 44 yards in the last two games. Jones comes with the same downside but has been more productive the last two weeks, with 9 catches for 120 yards and 2 TDs. Danny Amendola might catch more passes than one of those guys; he's caught 8 passes for 76 yards in the two games Driskel started. ... T.J. Hockenson looks like he'll probably develop into a top-10 tight end, but he's not playing at that level right now. He opened the season with 131 yards and a touchdown at Arizona, but he's averaged only 24 yards since that time, with just one touchdown. He caught 1 pass for 6 yards last week. ... With a healthier offense around him, Matt Prater would be one of the top half dozen kickers on our board this week. Washington has been a below-average team against kickers. But the Lions are down to Jeff Driskel, making it iffy to count on them being able to move the ball. Prater has scored 7 and 3 points without Stafford the last two weeks. ... The Lions Defense is a lesser group. After 10 games, it has only 20 sacks and a league-low 3 interceptions. But top-10 numbers look possible this week. Detroit is at home, and on the other side is the most defense-friendly quarterback in the league. Dwayne Haskins isn't really ready to play right now, but they've got him out there anyway, with all kinds of wildness ensuing. He's attempted only 79 passes as a pro but has already been involved in 14 sacks and 5 interceptions. As an added bonus, the Lions have Jamal Agnew returning kickoffs and punts; in 29 career games, he's scored 3 TDs on kick returns.