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Week 2 Thursday Night NFL Matchups Analysis: Start/Sit for Fantasy Football

Ben Ruppert breaks down the Thursday night game for week 2 of the 2016 NFL season. He analyzes which players to start or sit for fantasy football leagues according to matchups.

What's up RotoBallers? I'm here to analyze the Thursday night matchup with my start/sit recommendations. This week’s matchup puts two division foes against one another as the Jets step into New Era Field to face the Bills in their home opener. Both teams were unsuccessful last week, and will look to right the ship on short rest.

Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down individual 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. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL match-ups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.

Editor's Note: Purchase a full season NFL Premium Pass (including DFS Premium), and also get MLB Premium + DFS for free through the playoffs. Premium DFS research, lineup picks, expert lineups, tools and more. You can see screenshots of our NFL Premium and MLB Premium and DFS tools. What are you waiting for?

 

Jets @ Bills - Thursday 9/15 @ 8:25 PM EST

Matchups We Love

LeSean McCoy (RB, BUF)

While the Jets were able to contain the combination of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, they face a RB who can do it all this week in LeSean McCoy. Last week against a good Ravens defense, Shady was the lone bright spot in the offense rushing for 58 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, including four catches for 12 yards. Tyrod Taylor didn’t look sharp last week, so it is possible McCoy receives more than the 20 touches he got last week. Last season, McCoy torched this defense for 112 yards on 19 carries, including five catches for 47 yards. He has a great chance to be the Bills top offensive player again this week.

Matt Forte (RB, NYJ)

Matt Forte was used heavily during last week’s game against the Bengals, rushing 22 times for 96 yards, while also catching five passes for 59 yards. He was the most reliable option the Jets had on offense. The Bills are without All-Pro lineman Marcel Dareus for the first four weeks, and it showed as Justin Forsett ran for a 4.1 YPC and caught three passes for 15 yards. Forte still has a ton left in the tank, and against a depleted Bills defense Forte figures to have a solid game once again. He will be an RB1 option this week in fantasy, especially in PPR formats.

Eric Decker (WR, NYJ)

Eric Decker has been a touchdown machine since joining the Jets. Last season he recorded 12 TDs, and led the league in red zone targets at 28, five more than the next closest player. Last season in two games against the Bills, Decker caught 11 passes for 135 yards, and a TD in both games. He was able to find the endzone last week, and the trend figures to continue in Week 2. Feel confident rolling out Decker after his low catch effort last week. He will likely find the endzone again in this one.
Matchups We Hate

Tyrod Taylor (QB, BUF)

Tyrod Taylor looked very ineffective last week against the Ravens. They were able to contain him in the pocket and not allow him to beat them with his legs, forcing him to pass the ball to beat them. He wasn’t able to do much, throwing for only 111 yards and no scores. Things don’t figure to get any easier this week against and even tougher Jets defense. Taylor will need to look to his playmakers to help him in this one. With starting tackle Cordy Glenn ruled out, Taylor will see plenty of pressure on Thursday. He will need to be able to read the field better than he did last week to find success.

Charles Clay (TE, BUF)

Charles Clay was underused offensively for most of last season, and the trend continued again on Sunday. On a day when the Bills had trouble getting things going offensively, Clay caught two passes on three targets for 40 yards. Unless Clay sees his targets increase it will be tough for him to have an affective game against the Jets, who allowed the third fewest fantasy points to TEs last season and only allowed two receptions to TEs in Week 1 of 2016. With the way the offense looked last week, I wouldn’t want to have to rely on Clay this week.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, NYJ)

Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to have a tough time getting consistent play against a tough Bills secondary, which includes top CBs Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby. Fitzpatrick has had his troubles against Rex Ryan defenses also. In 12 games against Ryan defenses, Fitz has thrown for only has a 47.3% completion percentage and a 16:12 TD:INT ratio. Last season in two games, only threw for 374 yards  (187 YPG) with a 4:5 TD:INT ratio. He is also not as effective on the road; last season he had a 20:7 ratio at home, and a 11:8 on the road. He is unlikely to find success in a ramped up Buffalo crowd.
Notable Players

Sammy Watkins (WR, BUF)

Earlier in the week it was reported that Sammy Watkins may miss significant time while dealing with his re-aggravated foot injury. When interviewed, Watkins himself said the news was overblown and it would only be a pain-tolerance issue. He didn’t feel the issue in preseason, but his foot was sore after the game. The next day it was OK, so there’s hope he can make it through this entire game. He will be facing Darrelle Revis, who just got absolutely torched by A.J. Green last week. If Watkins can play healthy, he has the talent level to make that happen again. His foot also may nag him all game long, limiting his effectiveness.

Brandon Marshall (WR, NYJ)

Brandon Marshall will hope to improve on his disappointing start to 2016. Last week he caught only three passes on eight targets for 32 yards, including one drop that would have nearly doubled his yardage. While some of these misses were from off throws off the mark, Marshall didn’t look like the player we saw last season potentially due to his lingering hip issue. He will have a tough time against Stephon Gilmore on Thursday, who is a physical CB. He will need to make more plays than he did last week if he wants to find success, but if he is not at 100% Fitz can throw to Decker and Forte, who are competent pass catchers.

 

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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Wyatt Langford

Day-to-Day With Side Tightness
Bryan Woo

Exits With Pectoral Tightness on Friday
Alec Bohm

Phillies Reinstate Alec Bohm on Friday
Matthew Coronato

Expected to Make a Big Impact This Season
Johnathan Kovacevic

Out Indefinitely
Evan Engram

Ruled Out for Week 3
Kevin Hayes

to Be Re-Evaluated in About a Month
Brock Purdy

"Highly Unlikely" to Start in Week 3
Evgeni Malkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
Jauan Jennings

Officially Questionable for Week 3
UTA

Alex Kerfoot Out Week-to-Week
Zeev Buium

Misses Practice With Upper-Body Injury
Artemi Panarin

Sustains Lower-Body Injury in Training Camp
Xavier Worthy

Officially Questionable for Week 3
Tucker Kraft

Questionable for Week 3
Yordan Alvarez

Astros Put Yordan Alvarez on Injured List With Ankle Sprain
Zach Charbonnet

Tagged as Doubtful for Week 3
Kyle Finnegan

Set to Return on Friday
Dallas Goedert

Cleared for Week 3
Tyler Warren

Questionable to Play in Week 3
D'Andre Swift

Questionable to Play in Week 3
Isaac Paredes

to Return on Friday
Chris Godwin

Ruled Out for Week 3
Jayden Daniels

Officially Out for Week 3
Emeka Egbuka

Officially Questionable for Week 3
Zach Charbonnet

Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet in True Backfield Split
Brooklyn Nets

Yuri Collins Headed to Brooklyn
Charlotte Hornets

Hornets Sign Keyontae Johnson
Dennis Smith Jr.

Agrees to One-Year Deal With Mavericks
Tyler Herro

Undergoing Foot/Ankle Surgery
James Cook

Tallies 118 All-Purpose Yards on Thursday Night Football
William Eklund

Back at 100 Percent in Training Camp
Macklin Celebrini

Battling an Illness
Kevin Hayes

Evaluated for Upper-Body Injury
Zach Hyman

Out Until November
Stefan Noesen

Nursing a Groin Injury
Laurent Brossoit

Out Long-Term After Hip Surgery
Pierre Engvall

Out for 2-3 Weeks
Kirill Kaprizov

Focused on Having a Good Season
Mats Zuccarello

Likely Out for Start of Season
Jack Eichel

Suffers "Little Tweak" in Training Camp
Roman Josi

Feeling "100 Percent" in Training Camp
Jake Neighbours

Absent From Training Camp for Personal Reasons
Anze Kopitar

to Retire After 2025-26
Alex Ovechkin

Evaluated for Lower-Body Injury
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Upgraded to Probable for Saturday's Tilt Against Missouri
Jaylen Waddle

Good to Go For Thursday Night Football
Tucker Kraft

Suffers "Little Knee Tweak," Checks Out OK
Jaylen Waddle

Expected to Play and be a "Big Factor" on Thursday Night
Tucker Kraft

Suffers Knee Injury During Thursday's Practice
Clayton Kershaw

Will Retire at the End of the Season
Malcolm Brogdon

Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon Both Staying with the Knicks?
Detroit Pistons

Charles Bediako Agrees to a Training Camp Deal with Detroit
Anthony Davis

Recovering From Eye Surgery, Uncertain for Training Camp
Charlotte Hornets

DaQuan Jeffries Waived by the Hornets
CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Questionable For Saturday
NBA

Trevelin Queen Joins Chinese Team
Damian Lillard

Not Rushing His Return
Brooklyn Nets

Keon Johnson Waived by Nets
Justin Verlander

Plans to Pitch in 2026
Junior Caminero

Day-to-Day With Back Tightness
Will Smith

Won't Return When First Eligible
Tyler Soderstrom

Returns to A's Lineup
Tyler Warren

Sidelined on Wednesday with Toe Injury
Jaylen Waddle

Questionable for Week 3 Against Buffalo
Joe Burrow

Bengals Not Closing the Door on Joe Burrow Returning This Year
CFB

LaNorris Sellers to Play Against Missouri?
Kyle Tucker

Progress has "Plateaued"
Isaac Paredes

has "Outside Chance" to Return This Weekend
CFB

Kaidon Salter Expected To Start for Colorado on Saturday
Willson Contreras

Goes on 10-Day Injured List, Done for Season
Trey Jemison III

Joins Knicks on Two-Way Contract
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Knicks
Matt Ryan

Returns to Knicks on Exhibit 10 Contract
New York Knicks

Alex Len Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks
Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Expected to Take on Larger Offensive Role With Hawks
Thomas Sorber

Undergoes Surgery
Dominic Canzone

Has Five-Hit, Three-Homer Game Tuesday
Cal Raleigh

Sets Single-Season Home Run Record for a Switch-Hitter
Bo Bichette

to Miss Rest of Regular Season
Zach Neto

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Hand Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Out on Tuesday, Dealing With "Significant" Ankle Sprain
CFB

Diego Pavia Refutes Report of Seeking Seventh Collegiate Season
CFB

Diego Pavia Seeking Another Year of Eligibility
Tarik Skubal

on Track to Start Thursday
CFB

Kevorian Barnes Questionable Against SMU
Bo Bichette

has Short-Term Knee Injury, Could Return for Postseason
Tosan Evbuomwan

Joins Knicks
NBA

Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
Bismack Biyombo

Returns to Spurs
Bones Hyland

Rejoins Timberwolves
Jean Silva

Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Rob Font

Outclassed In The Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
David Martinez

Wins His Second UFC Fight
Jared Gordon

Suffers Brutal TKO Loss At Noche UFC 3
Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Dustin Stoltzfus

Drops A Decision At Noche UFC 3
Kelvin Gastelum

Gets Back In The Win Column
Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss

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