Prime-Time First TD Bets — Monday Night Football, Week 16
Alex Christenson
Between real injuries and teams just resting a lot of starters, it’s going to be a wild Week 18. Let’s hit the teams that are resting starters first, and then we’ll deal with the injuries that are in play.
Fantasy Football Injury Report: Week 18
Teams Resting Starters
Green Bay Packers – They haven’t said a lot, but running back Josh Jacobs said his workload would almost surely be reduced this week. I’d be fairly cautious with their starting offense.
Buffalo Bills – They have announced they are resting starting players since they have the 2 seed in the AFC locked up.
Dallas Cowboys – I wouldn’t say they’re outright resting, but they have said quarterback Trey Lance is going to get a lot of playing time, so I can’t say they’ll put the best foot forward either.
Houston Texans – They are locked into the 4 seed as the AFC South champion, but coach DeMeco Ryans has said the team will “see how it goes” as far as playing time goes.
Tennessee Titans – Another team that isn’t resting everyone but is splitting plays at quarterback between Will Levis and Mason Rudolph, so the risk is high. Tony Pollard is the main player who matters and is questionable after missing Week 17.
Philadelphia Eagles – We already knew they were resting running back Saquon Barkley, but Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and the main pieces of the offense are all out or “doubtful.”
Los Angeles Rams – They aren’t playing any main cog from the offense, even though they can still improve their seeding if they are motivated.
Kansas City Chiefs – They are not playing most of their starters since they have locked up the best record in the AFC and the bye week in the playoffs.
Injury Situations
Cleveland Browns
David Njoku, TE
Jerome Ford, RB
Pierre Strong Jr., RB
All three of these players have hit the IR for the Browns, so new starting quarterback Bailey Zappe will have to work with a lesser offense overall. D’Onta Foreman will get a ton of touches, even though the quality of those touches is certainly in question. We will also see Jordan Akins take the lead role for tight ends — he did see eight targets last week. The question is at quarterback, because we don’t know if Zappe will target Akins in the same way Dorian Thompson-Robinson did in Week 17.
Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
If you made me pick right now, it seems like Chase Brown misses Week 18. High-ankle sprains can be difficult to come back from as a running back even though the Bengals are still alive for a playoff spot. If Brown is out, Khalil Herbert should be in line for the majority of the touches, but that’s a projection. Brown has been taking just about every touch for the position in the past few weeks.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons
A Falcons stack with Michael Penix Jr. is on my radar this week, but we’re not sure if Darnell Mooney will be a part of that. He’s listed as questionable with a shoulder injury — if he’s out, Ray-Ray McCloud would likely fill the WR2 role. Perhaps Kyle Pitts could even chip in with a catch or two as well.
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
There is no mystery here — Anthony Richardson has been ruled out for the week. Joe Flacco will close the season against the Jaguars, and he’s going to be interesting for DFS. Flacco torched Jacksonville once already this year with 359 yards and three touchdowns. That outcome is tough to predict again, but Flacco will sling it and he’s very affordable. When Flacco has faced poor defenses this year, he’s made those units pay.
Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill, WR
Jaylen Waddle, WR
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Tua Tagovailoa has all but been ruled out for this game, and even if Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle play, they may not play all 60 minutes. Tyler Huntley will be the starting quarterback, and the Dolphins need help to get into the playoffs. There is a chance as soon as that window is shut (if the Broncos are beating the Chiefs handily), they could pull the plug, as Hill and Waddle have been injured for a while now.
San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy, QB
Deebo Samuel Sr., WR
George Kittle, TE
Joshua Dobbs is starting at quarterback, and he still should have some weapons at his disposal. Deebo Samuel Sr. is going to be out, but you can argue he wasn’t doing a whole lot this season as it was. Provided George Kittle plays, Dobbs will still have receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Kittle to throw to with Isaac Guerendo at running back. That’s one stack to consider for the main slate this week.
Arizona Cardinals
James Conner, RB
Trey Benson, RB
It’s going to be the Michael Carter and DeeJay Dallas show in Arizona, as both James Conner and Trey Benson are on IR. I can’t say either one jumps out at me for DFS, but I would bet Carter is going to get the bulk of the first- and second-down work while Dallas works in as the pass-catching back.
Gus Edwards, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers need the Steelers to lose Saturday night to have a shot at the 5 seed in the AFC. If that happens, J.K. Dobbins may well get another 20 touches, because Gus Edwards is out again this week. Dobbins didn’t even play the whole game last week since the Chargers smoked the Patriots, so the workload is clearly his.
Original Monday Injury Report
A lot of folks might stop paying attention to fantasy football, as most championship weeks end after Monday football. But there are still DFS games to play next week and plenty of injuries to talk about regarding the playoff picture as well.
James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Fantasy managers are not going to forget this game from James Conner anytime soon. He was questionable all week, but every report said he was ready to go against the Rams. We also knew that the Cardinals were eliminated and Conner had signed a contract extension, so we thought he was healthy. If he wasn’t, there was no motivation to play him. Then Conner made it four carries into the game and never touched the field again. Assuming he misses Week 18, Michael Carter and Trey Benson (if he’s active) will likely lead the backfield.
Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Chase Brown made a very unselfish play for his team and paid the price for it with a high ankle sprain. He went to slide instead of scoring a touchdown so the Bengals could ideally run out the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. Instead, things went sideways after that, but the attention has turned to Week 18. The Bengals need a win against the Steelers to keep their hopes alive. Brown has not been ruled out yet, but if he can’t go, Khalil Herbert will be in line for all of the work from the Cincinnati backfield.
Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
Jerome Ford battled an ankle injury on Sunday and only had one carry in the second half. The Browns had to shift to Pierre Strong Jr. and D’Onta Foreman without Ford, and that could be the case next week against the Ravens. It’s too early to tell, but it’s not an appealing spot no matter what, as the Ravens opened as 18-point favorites at most sportsbooks.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
The young quarterback took a major headshot early in the game against the Chargers and had to go to the locker room to get through the concussion protocol. He did return for a while before he was pulled due to the score, and Jacoby Brissett took over. Coach Jerod Mayo mentioned that Maye could sit in Week 18, but it’s too early to tell.
Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans Saints
We still haven’t seen much from Kendre Miller without Alvin Kamara Last week, the Packers steamrolled the Saints and Miller was scripted out of the game. This week, he had a concussion in the second quarter and never returned. It’s a wait-and-see situation if Miller or Kamara plays in Week 18, but the motivation for the Saints is not that high.
Kenny Pickett, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
It came out after the game that Kenny Pickett was playing with a broken rib, which was surprising. It makes me question what in the world the Eagles were thinking when they had him QB sneak at the 1-yard line twice instead of just handing the ball to Saquon Barkley Pickett took a couple of big hits, and one of them knocked him out of the game. Tanner McKee filled in admirably, but we could see Jalen Hurts come back in Week 18 from his concussion.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
Tyjae Spears has already been ruled out of Week 18 with a knee issue, and he was dealing with a concussion this week. Spears was filling in for Tony Pollard admirably against Jacksonville before he exited and had right around 100 scrimmage yards. There is a chance that Pollard is back for Week 18, and he does have attainable incentives totaling $450,000. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pollard gives it a go, but Julius Chestnut would be in line next for carries if Pollard doesn’t play.
