3 teams playing sandwich games in Week 7
Here's a look at three teams facing sandwich games in Week 7, along with the fantasy ramifications for all three:
Houston Texans (at Broncos)
Brock Osweiler owners have to be completely exasperated with the Texans quarterback, who has been a bust in the first year of a shiny new contract. He had to scramble in the last five minutes of regulation to help Houston overcome a 14-point deficit in last week's win over visiting Indianapolis, and now faces a daunting trip to his former confines in Denver.
Last week was supposed to be Osweiler's coming-out party against a subpar Colts pass defense, but he only managed 269 yards through the air with two TDs and an interception. He's at an 8:8 TD:INT ratio for the season, and is all but unplayable this week in a hostile setting. Drop him or bench him this week in anticipation of a better matchup next week against visiting Detroit.
The one Texans player you can trust this week is RB Lamar Miller, who did have a breakout game against the Colts and should continue to see enough volume to be a high-floor option at the least. The one weakness in the Broncos' otherwise impressive defense is the ability to stop the run, and Miller's shiftiness and burst make him a matchup-proof fantasy option.
New Orleans Saints (at Chiefs)
The fantasy message here is a simple one: Play all of your Saints in New Orleans, but be much more selective when the team hits the road. Indeed, the Saints were a fantasy buffet in last week's 41-38 victory over visiting Carolina, with Drew Brees passing for more than 450 yards and Brandin Cooks racking up 173 receiving yards and a score. This week? Be wary.
Brees and the Saints head to Kansas City this weekend, and past history suggests the visitors are going to have a difficult time returning appropriate fantasy value. Brees has thrown 11 TD passes with a 114.3 quarterback rating in three home games this season, but has just two scoring strikes and an 82.8 QB rating in two road games. Cooks' splits are similar.
You would have a hard time benching Brees unless you had a clearly superior option, but it might be worth making a few trade offers to see if you can land a solid backup. The Saints head back home in Week 8 to face Seattle, but have some difficult road matchups coming up in the second half of the season - including games in Tampa Bay and Arizona during the fantasy playoffs.
San Diego Chargers (at Falcons)
The Chargers find themselves in a true sandwich position, facing the Falcons in Atlanta between a pair of encounters with the division-rival Broncos. San Diego pulled off a major upset with a victory in Denver last week, but it didn't result in much fantasy value for quarterback Philip Rivers and the rest of the Chargers offense. Things should be a lot different this week.
The Atlanta offense has been far and away the best unit in football this season, which should mean plenty of scoring opportunities for both teams Sunday. And while the San Diego offense is missing a handful of weapons, players like Tyrell Williams, Travis Benjamin and Hunter Henry have stepped up to ensure that Rivers still has plenty of targets at all levels.
Rivers is one of the top fantasy QB plays of the week, and should be rostered both in season-long and daily fantasy formats. Williams and Benjamin are speculative lottery plays, while RB Melvin Gordon is a must-start. As for Henry, he has emerged as Rivers' preferred tight end target ahead of Antonio Gates. Henry is a mid-range TE1 in a favorable matchup.