Week 3 Matchups

Fantasy Spin - Jets at Bills Fantasy Preview

The Bills beat the Jets 27-17 in week six of last year and then lost as a visitor 30-26 in week 17. The Bills lead the all-time series with the Jets, which dates back to 1960, by a 49-41 count. The winner of this divisional matchup can stay close to New England. Both teams lost to the Pats but had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Chad Pennington, who missed the final 13 games of 2005 with a rotator cuff injury, is listed as probable with a calf problem. Laveranues Coles was held from practice this week with a calf injury and he remains questionable to play. J.P. Losman has hardly turned any heads after games of just 164 and 83 yards and just one touchdown but he has yet to turn the ball over and he is completing 63% of his passes. McGahee is the driving force of this offense. He'll touch the ball 25+ times.

Buffalo - Losman (B), McGahee (S), Evans (Z), Price (B), Buffalo D (S)
New York - Pennington (Z), Barlow, (B), Coles (INJ)(S), Cotchery (Z), Baker (B), Jets D (Z)

Week 3 Fantasy Football Matchups
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
September 24, 2006 - Ford Field
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Fantasy Spin - Packers at Lions Fantasy Preview

The Detroit Lions were nearly victorious in their opener at home over Seattle before traveling to Chicago and getting dominated. Green Bay has lost two games at Lambeau Field, getting blown out by the Bears and losing in a shootout to the Saints. The Packers lost 17-3 in Detroit in the season opener last year and then won 16-13 at home in week 14. Brett Favre finally came to life last week when he posted 340 yards and three scores in the losing effort. Jon Kitna only had 230 passing yards last week which mirrored his first game and he still has yet to throw for a score. Wide receiver Donald Driver leads the NFL with 117 third-down receiving yards, and is second with six receptions on third down. He's gotten at least four catches in seven straight games. Unheralded Northern Iowa product Mike Furrey leads Detroit with 11 catches for 122 yards. In three lifetime starts against the Packers, running back Kevin Jones has averaged 102 yards per game.

Fantasy Spin - Jaguars at Colts Fantasy Preview

The Jacksonville Jaguars will try to make yet another statement this Sunday when they take to the road to battle the division rival Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome. As we saw on Monday night, Jacksonville is a very physical football team, and Indianapolis' receivers are apt to be looking over their shoulders as the ball arrives. The Colts come in 2-0 as expected and the offense is clicking right along like last year. But the Jaguars are also 2-0 and took down the Cowboys and Steelers in the process. The Colts have the top passing offense in the NFL this season with an average of 331 yards per game. Indy is 20th in the league with a total of 180 yards on the ground in the first two games. Leftwich has thrown a total of five touchdowns. He's getting over the hump it appears. Fred Taylor has been surprisingly effective in running for 74 yards and a score against Dallas and then 92 yards against the Steelers. Marvin Harrison racked up 127 yards last week and ranks third in receiving yardage in the NFL. Manning and his wideouts are nearly impossible to stop at the RCA Dome.

Fantasy Spin - Titans at Dolphins Fantasy Preview

The Dolphins played respectfully enough in their season-opening loss at Pittsburgh (28-17), but they then lost to the Buffalo Bills (16-6) at home last week. The Dolphins hold a 16-13 edge in the all-time series with the Titans, including a 24-10 win at home in Week 16 of the 2005 season. Three Titans running backs - Chris Brown (22 carries, 73 yards), Travis Henry (9 carries, 22 yards, 2 TD), and LenDale White (8 carries, 22 yards) - have combined for 117 yards on 39 carries. These are two struggling teams that don't want to start the season 0-3. QB Daunte Culpepper will have to play better for Miami to get a win at home. Last week against the Bills, Ronnie Brown had no scores but did managed to gain 70 yards on 15 carries and added 52 yards on six receptions. Collins played badly last week (a passer rating of 1.3) but gets the start again against Miami. Through two games Givens has 5 catches for 54 yards. The last time Chambers played the Titans (week 16 last year) he scored twice.

Fantasy Spin - Bears at Vikings Fantasy Preview

Da Bears have a dominant defense, an explosive offense that is averaging 30 points a game and an impressive special teams unit that has returned a punt for a touchdown. The longtime division rivals split last year's home-and-home, with Chicago taking a 28-3 decision at Soldier Field in Week 6, and the Vikings scoring a 34-10 triumph at the Metrodome in Week 17. Rex Grossman turned in 289 yards and four scores last week to match his career total before this year. Grossman has had games of 262 and 289 yards and five total scores with only one interception. Jones is averaging just 3.0 YPC and has yet to find the end-zone. Benson is healthy now but isn't producing any better. Look for Taylor to squeeze out a borderline fantasy starter performance. Williamson has been the Vikings' go-to receiver so far this season and is a big play waiting to happen thanks to his blazing speed. Both the Bears and Vikings will be facing their toughest tests of the season to date, and both will need some good fortune in order to move to 3-0.

Minni - Johnson (Z), Taylor (S), Williamson (Z), T. Taylor (B), Wiggins (Z), Minni D (Z)
Chicago - Grossman (S), Jones (S), Muhammed (Z), Clark (Z), Berrian (Z), Bears D (S)

Fantasy Spin - Bengals at Steelers Fantasy Preview

Palmer has made a quick and complete recovery from that potentially catastrophic injury in his last game vs. the Steelers, and has shown no signs of rust in helping the Bengals begin this season with a pair of impressive wins over Kansas City and Cleveland. The Steelers have gone 22-8 against the Bengals since 1991. The teams split a pair of contests last season, as the Steelers were 27-13 road winners over Cincinnati in Week 7, and the Bengals returned the favor with a 38-31 victory at Heinz Field in Week 13. This is the first of two battles for AFC North supremacy, with the rematch coming in Cincinnati on the last week of the season. Rudi Johnson has been the one highly consistent and productive aspect of the Bengals offense so far. Chad Johnson never scored against the Steelers last year, ending with games of 94 and 54 yards. Roethlisberger only had nine completions for 93 yards in Cincinnati last year but scored twice in one game, and he looked horrible last week vs. the Jaguars. Look for a Hines Ward TD catch this week. This game will be decided by the level of play of each defense and mistakes that will change game situations.

Cincinnati - Palmer (S), R. Johnson (Z), C. Johnson (S), Housh (INJ) (B), Bengals D (Z)
Pittsburgh - Roethlisburger (Z), Parker (S), Ward (S), Wilson (B), Steelers D (S)

Fantasy Spin - Panthers at Buccaneers Fantasy Preview

Tampa Bay has an NFL-low three points through its first two games. With struggling quarterback Chris Simms (40.0 passer rating) at the helm, the Bucs have dropped back-to-back decisions to the Ravens (27-0) and Falcons (14-3). Carolina is better up front, has a more experienced quarterback, and has more than one viable option in the running game. Look for the Panthers to incorporate a combination of RB DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams in their power running game to set up the play-action pass against a Buccaneers defense that is allowing 326.5 yards per game. Steve Smith is listed as questionable on the injury report but returned to practice on Thursday. Cadillac has rushed for a grand total of 59 yards on 23 carries for the year. That's 2.6 yards per carry. Last week Joey Galloway came to life against the Falcons and hauled in nine receptions for 161 yards. Warrick Dunn dinged the Panthers for 132 yards in week one and Chester Taylor had 113 yards just last Sunday but it takes a leap of faith to expect a big game here from Williams. Carolina may be a shadow of themselves right now, but no way should you be handing the starting spot on your fantasy team to Simms.

Fantasy Spin - Redskins at Texans Fantasy Preview

This is a game between two teams that badly need a win. The Redskins lost a heartbreaker in Week 1 to the Vikings and a divisional game at Dallas in Week 3. The Texans, meanwhile, lost to two very talented teams, the Eagles and Colts. Washington's Gibbs and Houston's Kubiak have never faced one another, or their opponent's respective franchises, as head coaches. Led by Brunell and the possibility of Portis' return to the field, Washington has a chance to give the Texans fits on Sunday. Portis has 32 career 100-yard games, and has reached that mark in each of the past five games that he has been given 20 or more carries. Chris Cooley remains one of the most targeted receivers in games but that's only resulted in a total of three catches for 20 yards. Santana Moss comes off a four catch effort with 69 yards in Dallas. Carr has thrown four touchdowns in the first two games, which is the most of his career in the first two contests of a season. He also leads the NFL in completion percentage, hitting 75.5 percent. If the Texans offensive line can control Washington's burly front four and give Carr enough time to pick apart the secondary, they have a good chance to win. The improved passing has benefited Andre Johnson who has 157 yards and one score so far this year. With Morency gone, the Texans now have three rather similar runners other than Dayne being larger and slower

Fantasy Spin - Ravens at Browns Fantasy Preview

The Ravens are looking to go perfect through three weeks and entrench themselves as a serious competitor in the top-heavy AFC North. An 0-3 start would entrench the Browns as the AFC North cellar dweller, a hole that would be extremely difficult to climb out from. Braylon Edwards will get extra defensive attention and won't be much of a factor. The Ravens should easily dominate time of possession, and Steve McNair will be good for more than one TD pass as Baltimore runs the ball effectively and McNair completes several key passes to Derrick Mason and Todd Heap on critical downs. Jamal Lewis only ran for 58 yards and 89 yards against the Browns last year and never scored. Faced with the onslaught of the Raven blitz this week, Frye's passing numbers are likely to return closer to the 132 yards that he had in week one rather than the 244 he had last week. After a big opening week with eight catches for 63 yards and a score, Kellen Winslow only had four catches for 42 yards last week which led to him publicly calling out the coaches for not playing him more. "Nightmare In Cleveland?"

Baltimore - McNair (S), Lewis (S), Mason (S), Heap (S), Clayton (Z), Ravens D (S)
Cleveland - Frye (B), Droughns (B), Jurevicius (INJ) (B), Edwards (B), Winslow (Z)

Fantasy Spin - Rams at Cardinals Fantasy Preview

An early NFC West matchup is set for Sunday in the desert, as the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams meet in the second regular season game from sparkling new Cardinals Stadium. With LT Orlando Pace (concussion) listed as doubtful, Marc Bulger could become more conservative, throwing quick strikes to Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce as the St. Louis passing game is efficient, but not explosive. Bulger is not getting bashed about nearly as much as he did in the old Martz offense, but he also only has one touchdown pass so far and has only averaged around 200 yards per game. Warner has a trio of solid wide receivers to rely on in Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson. In 14 career games versus the NFC West, Fitzgerald has 77 catches for 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns, while Boldin owns 114 receptions for 1,517 yards and nine TDs. Edgerrin James has far lower numbers than he did as a Colt, compared to previous Cardinals backs he remains a stud. James has only gained 137 yards on 44 carries this season. Both of these teams have solid offenses, but the mediocre defenses will be the difference in this NFC West battle.

Fantasy Spin - Eagles at 49ers Fantasy Preview

Reid and company have faced an endless stream of questions about their late-game failings against the Giants this week, and have also been forced to deal with the season-ending knee injury suffered by defensive end Jevon Kearse in that contest. The 49ers are 1-1 and already look vastly improved from 2005 with both rushing and passing much improved. The defense has been adequate so far but gets their biggest test this week.The Eagles stomped the 49ers 42-3 in week two of last year. The 49ers, who have received strong early play from quarterback Alex Smith and running back Frank Gore, among others, will be looking to maintain their positive momentum in the wake of last season's 4-12 finish. Frank Gore ran for 127 yards on 29 carries last week but this ain't the your Mama's defense. Brian Westbrook was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday with his knee continuing to be an issue with pain and swelling. (he'll still play Sunday but pick up Buckhalter anyways) . So far this season, Donovan McNabb is the #1 fantasy quarterback with games of 314 and 350 yards and five touchdowns. Antonio Bryant has certainly made his presence felt, coming off his first two games for the 49ers with a total of 247 receiving yards and one touchdown. Even if McNabb doesn't have Westbrook or L.J. Smith at his disposal, he will find some holes in the Niner defense.

Philadelphia - McNabb (S), Westbrook (INJ)(Z), Stallworth (S), Brown (Z), LJ Smith (Z), Phili D (S) San Fran - Smith (B), Gore (S), Bryant (S), Battle (B), Davis (Z), 49ers D (B)

Fantasy Spin - Giants at Seahawks Fantasy Preview

Kicker Jay Feely and the New York Giants will try to exorcise their Qwest Field demons on Sunday afternoon, when the G-Men take on the Seattle Seahawks in an especially notable Week 3 battle. This should be a great game to watch with many big fantasy players in it and the outcome should be in favor of Seattle because the Seahawks don't lose at home. Has Eli Manning arrived as a quarterback? The Giants will have their hands full this week against the third-ranked Seahawks' defense. Just the presence of newcomer Deion Branch will open up the Seattle passing game more, but Branch likely won't contribute enough statistically to be a good starting option this week. Matt Hasselbeck will throw more than one TD pass, and Darrell Jackson should have another fine game. Hasselbeck will be trying to make the same type of strides against the Giants defense made by the Colts' Peyton Manning and Eagles' Donovan McNabb, both of whom had huge outings versus the G-Men. The Seattle defense will have its hands full, as Eli Manning comes out throwing early and TE Jeremy Shockey makes many important catches. Seattle might contain RB Tiki Barber early, but expect him to bust loose for some long runs in the second half.

NYG - E. Manning (S), Barber (S), Burress (S), Toomer (B), Shockey (S), Giants D (Z)
Seattle - Hasselbeck (S), Alexander (S), Jackson (S), Branch (B), Burleson (B), Hawks D (Z)

Fantasy Spin - Patriots at Broncos Fantasy Preview

New England will look to exact some revenge for the two road loses at Denver last season. Broncos QB Jake Plummer struggled again last week, but look for him behind center again this week as he tries to get the ship righted. Playing on the road might actually help Plummer. The Patriots are 2-0 after dispatching the Bills and Jets and head into Denver where they lost 28-20 in week 6 of last season and then again 27-13 in the divisional round of the 2005 playoffs. The Patriots have been generally stingy against the run through two games, allowing neither Buffalo's Willis McGahee (20 carries, 70 yards) nor the Jets' cadre of runners (22 carries, 49 yards) to do any extensive damage against them. So that's a big strike for Shanahans run game. Though Denver has yet to surrender a touchdown either on the ground or via the air, the Broncos have allowed both of their 2006 opponents to move the football via the rush. For Denver to win Javon Walker (79 yards on five catches last week) and Rod Smith (five catches for 50 yards in 2 games) must take over this game. Not gonna happen though. What will ultimately win the game for New England will be the re-energized running game, with Dillon and Maroney.

Fantasy Spin - Falcons at Saints Fantasy Preview

Monday night football returns to New Orleans with first place on the line in the NFC South. The resilient Saints face the Michael Vick-led Falcons. This should be a good Monday Night game played as the opener in New Orleans in a refurbished Superdome. The Falcons have this one on paper but the emotion will belong to the Saints. Michael Vick already has three passing scores this year, he has not thrown for more than 140 yards in a game and his completion rate is just above 50%, but, he's only gained 175 yards on 21 runs over the last two weeks. Warrick Dunn had already racked up two games of around 133 yards in each though he still has no touchdowns. The Atlanta passing game will continue to suffer as long as the running game mows down the opposing defenses. Deuce McAllister won't find as much running room as he did late in last week's win against Green Bay, and his yardage numbers could be disappointing. Reggie Bush will continue to be an open-field threat as a receiver. With the lights on I think Joe Horn could have his best game in some time. New Orleans will be fired up in its rare opportunity on the national stage and has the offensive weapons to make this one interesting.

Atlanta - Vick (S), Dunn (S), R. White (B), M. Jenkins (Z), A. Crumpler (S), Falcons D (Z)
New Orleans - Brees (S), R. Bush (S), Mcallister (S), J. Horn (Z), Colston (Z), Saints D (B)