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 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 I don't get to your question, either I missed it (it happens) or the rankings are very clear. (If one guy is ranked a dozen spots above somebody else, I'm going to respect that more often than not; we put a lot of time into those things.) OK, on to the games!
Note: I've got some family stuff going on today and my responses may not be timely. I will do my best to answer all questions by the end of the day.
Bears at Falcons: Atlanta weak against the pass, so worth using Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney. David Montgomery compelling with Khalil Herbert out, Justin Fields a must-start the way he's running. For Atlanta, I'd chance Patterson and Allgeier against a bad run defense, wary of the passing game.
Panthers at Ravens: Panthers soft against the run, making Gus Edwards (if he plays) and Kenyan Drake (if Edwards doesn't) good choices. Mark Andrews should play. For Carolina, it's a week to look for non-D'Onta Foreman options, good as he's been lately. And not crazy about D.J. Moore in this matchup with Baker Mayfield back, either. Ravens should win this one handily, so maybe there's some garbage time for Moore.
Browns vs. Bills: Weather was going to be an issue for this one, but the game was moved to Detroit. So not an issue, and the Bills offense should be very good. Nick Chubb fine for Cleveland. Otherwise hard to get excited about Cleveland offense, though at least it won’t be snowed under.
Commanders at Texans: Not as much criticism of Brian Robinson after his strong performance against the Eagles Monday night. Maybe he's a little healthier and in shape after his missed time (he did look good in August). He should be very good this week against this lousy run defense. You wonder a little if Washington might have a letdown after their win over the Eagles, but man that was some game for Terry McLaurin, I'll be starting him again. For Houston, Dameon Pierce might be about it.
Eagles at Colts: Lot of victory laps of people saying "see, you don't need coaching experience" after Jeff Saturday won his first game over the mailing it in Raiders. I have nothing against Saturday, he might be a fine guy and maybe a great coach. But let's see how things work out before calling that move a win. Is it really wrong to question guys getting hired with zero experience, regardless of the industry? Kind of doesn't seem fair to those who have put in the time. Anyway, Eagles should win this game fairly comfortably. Most of us don't have the luxury of sitting Jonathan Taylor, and will start him. Matt Ryan might have a rough outing though.
Jets at Patriots: Two teams better on defense than offense. The competitive side of me would like to see the Jets win a game in this series for a change. The rational side thinks Zach Wilson at New England is not a good mix. Maybe the Jets D can make things interesting. I like Rhamondre, of course, and probably Jakobi. Michael Carter in PPR, but I don't love him. No Corey Davis, so Garrett Wilson clear No. 1. Lower-scoring game I think.
Rams at Saints: Andy Dalton starting again. The broken bones in Winston’s back are the only explanation I can see for not going back to him. The Rams offense without Cooper Kupp not promising. I am using Allen Robinson somewhere and would use Tyler Higbee, but this offense has been pretty bad and the Saints play good defense at times.
Lions at Giants: Saquon Barkley is the sure thing. Darius Slayton and Daniel Jones maybe, given how bad the Lions have been on defense. As for the Lions offense, I don't know what's up with their backfield. At some point they're going to play D'Andre Swift a lot, right? I mean, there's nothing to save him for. If you play him and he gets hurt now, you know you can't count on him. If you barely play him now, maybe you keep him healthy, but for what? Lions aren't going anywhere. He suggests he’s not 100 percent, so I guess that’s why. Anyway, Amon-Ra St. Brown the best option.
Raiders at Broncos: So I'm going to be at this game. College visit (University of Colorado, beautiful campus) this weekend. That's why answers to questions might be delayed today. I wish I'd bought the tickets last week instead of last month, because they're probably cheaper now, given that these teams are both really disappointing. Should be lower scoring. Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams yes, Courtland Sutton (with Jerry Jeudy out) and Greg Dulcich too. But you really don't want to dip any deeper into a game that will probably be 20-17, tops. Hopefully we get more touchdowns than field goals, more fun.
Cowboys at Vikings: Vikings seem to play a Game of the Week every week, and this looks like a good matchup. Both defenses have their strengths, particularly in terms of sacks and turnovers, but this could still wind up higher scoring. It's interesting that one of the arguments for taking wide receivers early is they're less likely to get hurt, but two of the top 3 (Chase and Kupp) aren't healthy. But awesome year for Jefferson. Cook also looks great, Pollard and Elliott OK, Schultz is one of the last men standing among the top 6-7 tight ends. Good game, I think.
Bengals at Steelers: Steelers won the Week 1 meeting, but I think the Bengals, even without JaMarr Chase, are better on the field right now. But Pittsburgh is closer to full strength defensively, and at home, so we'll see. In general, I'm using the key starters on both teams.
Kansas City at Chargers: I’m not sure on the Chargers wideouts, but seems like they’re playing. I’m penciling in Keenan Allen, but not with full confidence. For Kansas City, yes on Kadarius with JuJu out and Hardman on IR. Should be a higher scoring game, though health questions and the later start are problematic. Might require some baby sitting and backup options playing in this game or Monday. Committee backfield for KC, though I think Pacheco and McKinnon (PPR) are viable.
49ers versus Cardinals in Mexico: Not crazy about AZ offense in this one, though they exceeded expectations last week. DeAndre and Rondale, and James Conner, sure. San Francisco offense looks good, perhaps both running backs and wide receivers. Tricky offense to invest in (sometimes Kittle, for example, should be so much better), but matchup good.
Enjoy the games.