Thursday Night Football: Redskins at Giants

Alright, guys, it’s time once again for some Thursday Night Football action! Week 3 is upon us and we’ll all get to witness an NFC East rivalry game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. As an avid watcher of this division, I’ll be paying extra close attention to this contest. So, this week we’ll travel to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New York, for some awesome NFL action!

So, here it is fantasy football fans, my Week 3 TNF preview:

Injury Report:

  • Washington’s star wide receiver DeSean Jackson once again won’t be playing this week. Jackson is still nursing a pulled hamstring from his game in Week 1.
  • Victor Cruz most likely won’t be making his 2015 debut tonight, due to a calf injury. Some good news did come from Giants camp on Tuesday, Cruz ran for the first time on grass since the injury. Stay patient Cruz owners, hopefully, we’ll see him back on the field in Week 4.
  • The Giants’ defense is super thin right now, with all kinds of injuries across the board. Jason Pierre-Paul continues to miss time after hand surgery, proving to all you kids out there not to play with fireworks. Also, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie won’t be available for action due to a concussion received in their game versus Dallas.

REDSKINS

Kirk Cousins, QB 

Cousins began the 2015 season as the number two guy in Washington behind Robert Griffin. Fortunately for Cousins, Griffin had a treacherous preseason and lost his starting job. Cousins has looked decent this season thus far, throwing for 399 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a 91.1 QBR and has completed 75.9 percent of his passing attempts. This year, the Giants rank 25th versus opposing quarterbacks and have given up 20.3 fantasy points per game. I’m not a huge fan of playing guys in Thursday night games, but Cousins could be a nice spot start for you guys.

Prediction: 230 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception

Alfred Morris, RB

Morris once was a great option at running back, especially in standard scoring formats. These days, Morris has almost become a forgotten man in Washington with the new kid on the block Matt Jones. So far in 2015, Morris has rushed the ball 43 times for 180 yards and no scores. He has become a borderline RB2 in all formats and I just don’t have a whole lot of confidence going forward. This season, the Giants are ranked at 26th defending against running backs and give up an average of 22.5 fantasy points per game.

Prediction: 55 rushing yards

Pierre Garcon, WR

With Jackson once again sitting out, Garcon’s value is much higher in Week 3. In 2015, Garcon has caught 12 balls for 97 yards and a touchdown. His numbers will increase as the year goes on as his confidence in Cousins grows. This season, the Giants rank at 16th versus wide receivers and give up an average of 21.1 fantasy points per game. I think Garcon will have a solid game, so start him in your leagues this week.

Prediction: 6 receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown

Jordan Reed, TE

Love our content? Check out the GoingFor2 Live Podcast Network!

Coming into this game, Reed is the guy who has my confidence the most. He has a massive amount of fantasy upside as long as he can stay off the injured list. So far this season, Reed has caught 17 balls for 145 yards and a score. Cousins and Reed seemed to have a solid connection, which means even more fantasy points this week for your team! In 2015, New York has the 30th ranked defense versus tight ends, so Reed should have a field day at MetLife Stadium. The Giants also give up an average of 16.3 fantasy points to opposing tight ends, so start Reed with confidence.

Prediction: 6 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown

GIANTS

Eli Manning, QB

Manning has always been a viable fantasy option at the quarterback position. This year, he has thrown for 485 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. All Giants fans know that Manning has had some bad turnover problems throughout his career, he just so happened to throw 41 interceptions over the last two seasons combined. But the guy still scores plenty of touchdowns and gets just enough yards to make him a spot start each week. So far in 2015, the Redskins rank 4th at defending against quarterbacks, allowing just 10.9 fantasy points per game.

Prediction: 220 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions

Rashad Jennings, RB

Talk about a guy who can’t keep his mouth shut, Jennings decided it’d be a great idea to tell the media that he was told by Manning to not score a touchdown late in their Week 1 game in Dallas. Now, it seems as if Jennings is losing a bit of playing time over this stupid decision. This season, he has rushed just 22 times for 64 yards and a touchdown. In 2015, Washington has the 1st ranked defense against running backs, only allowing 6.6 fantasy points per game. Temper your expectations with Jennings in Week 3.

Prediction: 45 rushing yards

Odell Beckham, WR

Last year’s biggest surprise, Beckham is once again primed to put up big numbers for your fantasy squad. He’s had an overall good start to this season, catching 12 passes for 190 yards and a score. Beckham shredded the Falcons defense in Week 2 and I don’t see any reason why he can’t put up big numbers this week as well. This season, the Redskins rank 12th versus opposing wide receivers, allowing 17.9 fantasy points per contest. It may be a little harder for Beckham to get open this week, but he’s a just so dang good. Don’t worry about ODB this week folks!

Prediction: 6 receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Larry Donnell, TE

Unless Donnell is scoring touchdowns, he’s just not that appealing at all to me for fantasy purposes. So far this season, he has caught just seven passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. He also hasn’t seen a high volume of targets from Manning, averaging right at five targets per game. The Redskins are decent versus tight ends, ranking at 13th overall and allowing 6.8 fantasy points per game. There are better options out there this week than Donnell.

Prediction: 4 receptions for 45 yards

WEATHER

The weather is looking to be nice at game-time, with mid-70’s temperatures. There isn’t any rain in the forecast and the winds look to be blowing right at eight miles per hour. Should be some nice football weather!

[wysija_form id=”1″]

ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.