Keep playing (or else)
The Chicago Bears are now 0-2. In the last 17 years, only 11 percent of 0-2 teams made the playoffs. If you’re a Bears fan, you should start to worry. If your fantasy team is off to an 0-2 start, you should be concerned, but not worried. There are a few key differences between the NFL and your fantasy league. Most fantasy leagues don’t have 32 teams. Some or most fantasy leagues send over half the participating teams to playoffs. And lastly, and most importantly, teams in the NFL don’t give up (the Dolphins are a rare exception).
Every year in nearly every league, teams go into tank mode by Week 4, or fantasy owners just give up and stop paying attention entirely. This is exactly why you can’t give up yet. If teams are going to give you free wins down the road, your chances of making the playoffs skyrocket. Just stick with the program and start winning matchups. Besides, if you gave up this early, I would be very disappointed in you. Your parents would be crushed and be left with no choice but to remove you from their will. Keep playing fantasy football or suffer the consequences.
QB – Philip Rivers
If you started Rivers last week, you were disappointed. The Chargers lost to Detroit in a low-scoring game. However, Philip Rivers’ stats weren’t much different from his dominant Week 1 performance. He still managed to throw for 293 yards against Detroit, the touchdowns just didn’t happen. The 16th year veteran has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks of the last decade. Consider last week a fluke.
Rivers faces Houston at home this week. The Texans defense hasn’t quite been the same since they lost safety Tyrann Mathieu and end Jadeveon Clowney. This game could be a shootout, which makes Rivers a solid start with a lot of upside. Josh Allen of the Bills is also a solid streaming option this week. Buffalo takes on the susceptible Cincinnati defense this week.
RB – Matt Breida
Breida was hyper-efficient on Sunday. In the 49ers’ victory over the Bengals, he ran for 121 yards on just 12 carries. Last season, Breida was in a similar situation. He inherited the lead role when Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL during the preseason. Breida put together over 1000 scrimmage yards in 13 starts. With Coleman sidelined again this week, Breida should put up serviceable fantasy numbers. The matchup is inviting: a home game against the Big Ben-less Steelers. Breida will see a healthy volume of touches while Pittsburgh finds their footing. As a secondary option, consider Carlos Hyde against the Chargers. The Texans offense gave Hyde 20 carries in Week 2, and he could reach a similar number again this week.
WR – Christian Kirk
After two weeks, Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald are establishing themselves as Kyler Murray’s favorite downfield options. The duo lead the team in targets with 20 and 24, respectively. Larry Legend has outperformed Kirk thus far, but Kirk will find the endzone eventually. Arizona is at home against the Panthers this week, and I think the game is going to be closer than expected. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is another solid option this week. The Ravens face the Chiefs this week, meaning the ball will probably have to be thrown for Baltimore to stay in the game.
TE – Greg Olsen
Cam Newton just hasn’t looked like himself this season. The ball hasn’t strayed too far from the line of scrimmage, which is great if you have Greg Olsen on your roster. Olsen is second on the team in targets and even has more targets than Christian McCaffrey. In Week 2, he caught six passes for an eye-opening 110 yards. As long as he remains healthy, he can be started. Carolina travels to Arizona this week to play a defense that simply cannot stop tight ends. In Week 1, they allowed T.J. Hockenson six catches for 131 yards, and Mark Andrews racked up eight catches for 112 yards last week. As a backup, consider Jason Witten. Normally I wouldn’t condone such a decision, but Dallas gets to play Miami this week, which gives Witten a decent chance at a touchdown.