Quarterback Points Allowed Rank Team Opp PPG

Rank Team Opp PPG 1 Washington Redskins SAD 20.8 14 Kansas City Chiefs BUF 19.4 2 Carolina Panthers ATL 19.3 15 Cincinnati Bengals MIA 14.4 3 Dallas Cowboys MIN 19.7 16 Cleveland Browns BAL 16.2 4 Oakland Raiders PHI 18.8 17 New England Patriots PIT 12.3 5 Chicago Bears GB 18.2 18 Indianapolis Colts HOU 14.1 6 Minnesota Vikings DAL 21.5 19 Houston Texans IND 14.6 7 San Diego Chargers WSH 19.3 20 St. Louis Rams TEN 13.2 8 Seattle Seahawks TB 19.1 21 Miami Dolphins CIN 15.4 9 Tennessee Titans STL 15.9 22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers SEA 10.2 10 Green Bay Packers CHI 16.4 23 New York Jets NO 12.2 11 Philadelphia Eagles OAK 16.6 24 Pittsburgh Steelers NE 13.5 12 Baltimore Ravens CLE 16.3 25 Atlanta Falcons CAR 11.0 13 New Orleans Saints NYJ 17.9 26 Buffalo Bills KC 13.8

Happy Halloween folks (or hope you enjoyed yours if reading this later)! Fantasy Football is certainly following the Halloween theme this year. Between the injuries and severely disappointing performances, it’s been a scary year for owners. It’s also a scary week with the Broncos, Lions, Giants and 49ers on a bye. Among those four teams, there are at least 15 every-week starters not available. Then you still have the three receivers between the Cardinals and Jaguars missing. Tough week. Who could be the best fill-in for your team? Time to check those matchups.

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Not only is Terrelle Pryor a great play this week, he’s also a QB1. Yup. Pryor is a Top 10 quarterback and a better option than Matt Ryan. No, Pryor won’t suddenly become a prolific passer; I know he has more interceptions than touchdowns. However, he can put up a decent passing game against one of the worst defenses in the league, and his rushing ability already would have made him a high-upside play. Ryan faces the Panthers, a team people still don’t give enough credit to for its defense. The Panthers allow just 11.0 FPPG to quarterbacks and have one of the best front sevens in the league. As last week proved, Ryan needs more than Harry Douglas to succeed. If Roddy White is out again, Ryan will be in for another long week while Pryor feasts on the Eagles.

Other matchup-boosted QBs: Robert Griffin, Cam Newton, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers

Running Back Points Allowed Rank Team Opp PPG

Rank Team Opp PPG 1 San Diego Chargers WSH 24.0 14 Washington Redskins SAD 11.9 2 Cincinnati Bengals MIA 22.1 15 Indianapolis Colts HOU 17.4 3 Dallas Cowboys MIN 23.9 16 Philadelphia Eagles OAK 16.0 4 New England Patriots PIT 19.6 17 Houston Texans IND 13.9 5 St. Louis Rams TEN 20.1 18 Chicago Bears GB 14.7 6 Baltimore Ravens CLE 18.9 19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers SEA 13.4 7 Tennessee Titans STL 20.2 20 Buffalo Bills KC 12.8 8 Carolina Panthers ATL 16.5 21 Kansas City Chiefs BUF 14.3 9 Minnesota Vikings DAL 18.6 22 Seattle Seahawks TB 15.8 10 New York Jets NO 17.2 23 Cleveland Browns BAL 12.0 11 Green Bay Packers CHI 20.1 24 Atlanta Falcons CAR 13.9 12 Pittsburgh Steelers NE 17.8 25 Miami Dolphins CIN 13.6 13 Oakland Raiders PHI 15.5 26 New Orleans Saints NYJ 12.6

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Hopes for Darren Sproles were much higher this season. Under Sean Payton, Sproles was a RB1 in PPR leagues but still a high-end RB2 in standard leagues. We excused last season to the lack of Payton, but this year, Sproles is tied for 25th with Bilal Powell (standard). Sproles is coming off a zero-point effort that included no carries and just four catches for zero yards. Sproles doesn’t even crack the Top 15 in PPR scoring, which is a huge disappointment. That disappointment will continue this week against the Jets. Not only are the Jets the toughest team versus running backs, but they also allow just 3.4 receptions and 16.5 receiving yards to backs. That’s miniscule. Meanwhile, the Redskins allow 24.0 FPPG to opposing running backs, which bodes well for Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews. It’s taken seemingly forever, but Mathews is finally providing value, and if he can stay healthy (cross your fingers, knock on wood, toss some salt, do it all!) Mathews will provide RB2 value again this week along with Woodhead. Both Chargers backs are better options than Sproles in Week 9.

Other matchup-boosted RBs: Gio Bernard, DeMarco Murray, Stevan Ridley, Zac Stacy, Ray Rice

Wide Receiver Points Allowed Rank Team Opp PPG

Rank Team Opp PPG 1 Carolina Panthers ATL 27.2 14 Green Bay Packers CHI 22.4 2 Washington Redskins SAD 26.7 15 New York Jets NO 21.3 3 Oakland Raiders PHI 32.1 16 Baltimore Ravens CLE 17.4 4 Dallas Cowboys MIN 26.1 17 Pittsburgh Steelers NE 18.0 5 Tennessee Titans STL 24.0 18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers SEA 16.4 6 Chicago Bears GB 21.9 19 Houston Texans IND 22.5 7 New Orleans Saints NYJ 25.9 20 New England Patriots PIT 15.1 8 Philadelphia Eagles OAK 23.3 21 Cincinnati Bengals MIA 14.7 9 San Diego Chargers WSH 26.9 22 Buffalo Bills KC 19.9 10 Kansas City Chiefs BUF 33.7 23 Indianapolis Colts HOU 13.4 11 Seattle Seahawks TB 21.2 24 Miami Dolphins CIN 21.2 12 Minnesota Vikings DAL 25.4 25 Atlanta Falcons CAR 15.6 13 Cleveland Browns BAL 23.7 26 St. Louis Rams TEN 14.4

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There isn’t a wide discrepancy with this next matchup at first glance, but once we dig deeper, we’ll see that Emmanuel Sanders is a better play than Darrius Heyward-Bey. First, let’s start the players themselves. Sanders isn’t the most consistent option, but DHB takes the cake for inconsistency, mainly due to those hands. Second, Heyward-Bey just popped up on the injury report, and stop me if you’ve heard that before. Okay, stop? I though so. Third, the Steelers face a softer defense versus the receiver than the Colts do. The Patriots are rather susceptible to the No. 2 receiver, as they are the second most favorable matchup for them. The Colts face the Texans, and if there is one thing that team is still good at, it’s defending the pass. These situations present Sanders with upside and DHB with risk, making Sanders the better bet.

Other matchup-boosted WRs: Steve Smith, Pierre Garcon, Denarius Moore, Nate Washington, Alshon Jeffery

Tight End Points Allowed Rank Team Opp PPG

Rank Team Opp PPG 1 Chicago Bears GB 11.1 14 Seattle Seahawks TB 8.5 2 Cincinnati Bengals MIA 11.3 15 Indianapolis Colts HOU 6.5 3 Green Bay Packers CHI 9.7 16 Philadelphia Eagles OAK 6.2 4 Minnesota Vikings DAL 10.5 17 Tennessee Titans STL 5.4 5 Carolina Panthers ATL 8.3 18 Houston Texans IND 6.1 6 Baltimore Ravens CLE 8.4 19 Atlanta Falcons CAR 6.8 7 New Orleans Saints NYJ 8.5 20 New York Jets NO 6.1 8 Washington Redskins SAD 6.8 21 Miami Dolphins CIN 6.7 9 San Diego Chargers WSH 9.1 22 New England Patriots PIT 4.8 10 St. Louis Rams TEN 9.5 23 Kansas City Chiefs BUF 6.8 11 Oakland Raiders PHI 5.7 24 Pittsburgh Steelers NE 7.0 12 Dallas Cowboys MIN 9.2 25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers SEA 5.7 13 Cleveland Browns BAL 9.6 26 Buffalo Bills KC 3.4

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Martellus Bennett’s day was saved by a touchdown last week, otherwise we would have seen the dreaded goose egg in standard leagues. Heath Miller barely avoided one himself with 19 yards and one Fantasy point. While Miller has been quality since his return from injury, and Bennett has battled through an injury all season, Bennett is the better choice in Week 9. Not only has Bennett been a larger part of his offense than Miller has in Pittsburgh, but his matchup is much sweeter. The Packers rate out as the most favorable matchup for tight ends and allow 11.1 FPPG to them. The Patriots have allowed 7.0 FPPG, but that is skewed from the Falcons (and Tony Gonzalez) huge day in Week 4. Outside of that game, the Pats have allowed just 3.6 FPPG, and that is a big reason why they check in as the third toughest matchup this week. As mentioned with receivers, sometimes you have to dig deeper, and once you do, you see Bennett is a much better bet.

Other matchup-boosted TEs: Kyle Rudolph, Greg Olsen, Jordan Reed, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten

(Reminder: You’ll notice the rankings are not in exact order of points allowed. Other metrics are calculated in along with just straight points. It allows for better analysis so one off-week doesn’t skew the opponent difficulty too greatly.)