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Welcome to Week 6 of NFL and fantasy football action, RotoBallers. Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down each of the NFL matchups and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well.
Below, you will find our Week 6 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.
To read about the rest of this week’s NFL matchups, check out Start/Sit & Matchups Analysis for Games 1-7 and our Week 6 Standard and PPR Rankings. And of course you can always stop by the RotoBaller chat rooms for any live advice you may need.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Broncos @ Jets - Sunday 10/12 @ 1:00 EST
Matchups We Love
Peyton Manning: You do not sit Peyton Manning. Under any circumstances. He'll probably find a way to rack up 250 and two TDs on a bye.
Julius Thomas: I can think of about seven reasons to start Julius Thomas. (Every reason is a touchdown.)
Demaryius Thomas: Yeah, he just unceremoniously shoved himself right back into the "start every week" category. 226 yards and two TDs tend to do that.
Emmanuel Sanders: He's been ludicrously consistent this season. Just imagine what will happen when he finally finds the end zone.
Broncos D/ST: They haven't been great this season, but the Jets offense is that bad. Denver's a good streaming option this week.
Matchups We Hate
Geno Smith: I can think of -0.6 reasons to start Geno Smith. (Every reason is a fantasy point.)
Eric Decker: Even if he's healthy, look who's throwing to him. The hamstring injury and execrable quarterback play significantly limit his upside.
Other Matchups
Chris Ivory: He will be the only way the Jets generate offense, but how big an accomplishment is being the brightest crayon in the box when every other crayon is grey?
Ronnie Hillman/C.J. Anderson: Peyton said the Broncos "will need the whole committee" during Montee Ball's absence. Who starts? Who gets the most touches? Who gets the goal line work? Who knows?
Ravens @ Buccaneers - Sunday 10/12 @ 4:05 EST
Matchups We Love
Steve Smith: Look for Smith to bounce back against a Bucs defense that wide receivers have feasted upon thus far this season.
Vincent Jackson: His scoring has improved since Mike Glennon stepped back in the saddle, and the Ravens D isn't great against the pass. You could do worse at WR2 or FLEX this week.
Justin Forsett: The Ravens running back committee is a mess, but Forsett leads the league in yards per carry at 5.9, and he gets a solid amount of receiving work. He's the Baltimore back that you want to own right now.
Matchups We Hate
Doug Martin/Bobby Rainey: Rainey is losing touches to Martin, but Martin isn't producing on those touches. Steer clear of the Bucs' backfield.
Mike Glennon: There's no reason to start him unless you're in a very, very deep league.
Other Matchups
Joe Flacco: He may be worth a spot-start against the Bucs this week if your regular starter is on his bye. The matchup is in Flacco's favor.
Chargers @ Raiders - Sunday 10/12 @ 4:25 EST
Matchups We Love
![By Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (Chargers961cS) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.rotoballer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Philip-Rivers-fantasy-football-nfl-analysis-150x150.png)
Philip Rivers: You may be looking at the matchup and thinking, "Well, the Raiders have done pretty good against quarterbacks this season." However, that defense has faced such luminaries as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill. Rivers has been playing like the best QB in the league this season. Those guys have not.
Branden Oliver: With the San Diego backfield falling apart, Oliver got the start and proceeded to turn last week's football game into nothing so much as a celebration of Branden Oliver. He's definitely worth a look as a FLEX this week: he's the only option in a backfield that just signed Ronnie Brown again, and the Raiders are terrible against the run.
Chargers D/ST: If you're streaming defenses, the only option better than "Screw it, who's playing the Raiders?" is "Screw it, who's playing the Jaguars?"
Matchups We Hate
Literally any Oakland Raider, at all: The only reason I can think of to start a Raider is if you have been promised compensation for a loss this week. And that's collusion of the worst order. Shame on you.
Keenan Allen: He's ostensibly the No. 1 guy in San Diego, but his lone "breakout" against Jacksonville actually accounts for half of his season's fantasy production. The Jets game should have kept his fantasy momentum going, but instead he was brought to a grinding halt again. Pass on Allen.
High Risk, High Reward
Eddie Royal: Royal finds the end zone in bunches, or not at all. In his five games, he's had 0, 0, 2, 2 and 0 touchdowns. If it's a bunches game, you'll look like a genius. If it's a not-at-all game, you'll look longingly at your bench. For what it's worth, Malcolm Floyd may be out this week, which could increase Royal's workload.
Antonio Gates: Gates's highs are crazy high (96 yards, three TDs in Week 2), but his lows are crazy low (8 yards in Week 3).
Bears @ Falcons - Sunday 10/12 @ 4:25 EST
Matchups We Love
Jay Cutler: Cutler is quietly the No. 4 QB in fantasy this year, and while the Falcons defense isn't awful, it's not like they're the Seahawks. Cutler is a QB1 until further notice.
Brandon Marshall: While it looks as though Marshall is still trying to shake off the injury that limited him earlier in the season, you can't sit him while the Cutler/Marshall bromance is still alive and flourishing. It's actually nice to see someone sticking to a relationship that long in this day and age.
Alshon Jeffery: He's actually managed to sneak past Marshall in points scored over the last few weeks, and the Bears passing attack is elite. He's a solid WR2 this week.
Martellus Bennett: While he had a quiet Week 5, he's still a premier red zone target in Chicago. Don't sit him now.
Matt Ryan: The Falcons are back home in a dome (call me, Seuss estate), and the Bears secondary is still ravaged by injury. Look for elite-level production from Ryan.
Julio Jones: Truth be told, I kind of resent Julio Jones. I'm in a league where I own Antonio Brown, Jordy Nelson and Jeremy Maclin. Julio is the only man standing in the way of my owning all three of the top three receivers in fantasy. That's not likely to change this week, as Jones lines up against a very friendly Bears defense.
Roddy White: He's in line to be the second beneficiary of the aforementioned pass-friendly Bears D. I'd expect solid WR2 production from White this week.
Steven Jackson: Considering that running backs have been dropping like flies this season, Jackson is actually a pretty good RB2 option for Week 6.
Matchups We Hate
The Defenses: This one's gonna be a shootout, as evidenced by the many, many matchups we love.
High Risk, High Reward
Antone Smith: Yes, he's outscoring Steven Jackson. Unfortunately, he's only gotten 17 touches on the season, making him a risky play. Although his big-play ability is undeniable, if he can't bust one of those big plays loose, his value plummets.
