October 24, 2017

Thursday Night Football starts/sits and matchups analysis for Week 8 of the NFL season. Which Dolphins and Ravens to start or sit for fantasy football lineups.

John Madden would be proud of how Oakland showed up to play last week...

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr's 417 yards and three touchdowns through the air along with wide receiver Amari Cooper's 210 receiving yards headlined the resurgence of a deadly passing attack in a 31-30 win in the 'Black Hole'. For those wondering if Cooper's success was a one-hit-wonder, I fully expect Oakland to continue to utilize him in the slot more often. Cooper's production came largely as a result of lining up a season-high 35-percent of snaps in that spot compared to his average of 15-percent through the previous six weeks.

While two lackluster offenses are featured in the next Thursday Night Football matchup, there might be a few hidden gems that could be fantasy surprises when the Miami Dolphins head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 8. This article's purpose is to help you dig out some of those players that could potentially win you your week while avoiding the busts and duds. Without further ado, let's take a look.

Miami Dolphins @ Baltimore Ravens

Date and Start Time: Thursday, October 26 at 8:25 PM ET

Notable Injuries and Status:

• Jay Cutler (QB, MIA) - Ribs - Inactive
• DeVante Parker (WR, MIA) - Ankle - Inactive
• Terrance West (RB, BAL) - Calf - Inactive
• Terrell Suggs (LB, BAL) - Knee - Inactive
• Mike Wallace (WR, BAL) - Concussion - Active
• Breshad Perriman (WR, BAL) - Concussion - Active
• Jeremy Maclin (WR, BAL) - Shoulder - Active
• Benjamin Watson (TE, BAL) - Knee - Active

Offensive and Defensive Rankings (2017):

Must Starts

Top Performers That Have To Be In Your Lineup

Jay Ajayi (RB, MIA)

It's been a tough ride for Ajayi owners thus far into 2017. The sophomore runner has largely failed to live up to his second-round draft price, having had plenty of juicy matchups on paper without scoring a single touchdown on the year. We have all heard this shtick before, but the Ravens are a particularly susceptible defense that has given up 10-plus PPR points to eight different backs this season while Ajayi still has 20-plus carry per game volume. With the potential revitalization of a Matt Moore-led Dolphins' offense on cue to face a 32nd ranked Baltimore Ravens rushing defense, the Jay-train should be ready to leave the station and find paydirt.

Jarvis Landry (WR, MIA)

Landry is an exceptional high-floor PPR asset in what has been an inept Dolphin passing attack through seven games. He leads the next wide receiver on the team in targets by 30, has garnered no fewer than five receptions in a game, and is riding a touchdown scoring streak over his last three outings. It's tough to be certain whether a change at quarterback will have any impact on the fourth-year wide receiver's level of productivity, but there is also no indication that it will significantly hinder it either. Landry is ultimately the safest play in this matchup and should be started in all formats.

Must Sits

Players To Avoid Putting In Your Lineup

Julius Thomas (TE, MIA)

A few eyebrows were raised when Thomas showed up to the tune of three receptions for 58 yards in a comeback win over the New York Jets on Sunday. However, there simply isn't enough of a sample size or guaranteed volume to justify a start against the Raven's front-seven that is particularly effective at limiting production from the tight end position. Thomas is averaging fewer than four targets per game and has been paid little to no attention in the red zone, though that is largely a product of the Dolphins ranking second to last in points per game. Outside of deeper leagues, owners are better off looking for players with a smaller gap between point floor and ceiling than Thomas in the midst of bye week hell.

Joe Flacco (QB, BAL)

For fantasy owners out there in dire need of quarterback help, let me throw a few stats out there as food for thought. Any quarterback who averages 169.9 yards per game (ranked 32nd this season), 5.3 yards per attempt, and has thrown eight interceptions to five touchdown passes ought not to be anywhere remotely near the conversation of viable fantasy assets. What might be worse is that this carrot on a stick matchup could draw owners to jump at the opportunity for a rebound game, as the Miami secondary is certainly exploitable by the Ravens' motley crew of pass-catchers. However, it takes one look at the Ravens' rush attempts per game this season, the eleventh most in the league, to realize that the days of a high volume passing offense in Baltimore are all but over.

All Baltimore Wide Receivers

This entire Ravens' receiving core is simply unstartable at the outset due to how incredibly low their floors are (see above comments about Joe Flacco). The top-2 leaders in targets on the team are running back Javorius Allen and tight end Benjamin Watson, with no wide receiver receiving more than four red-zone looks on the season. Add into the equation that the No. 1 through No. 3 options at the position are dealing with significant injury problems and you have a volatile group that cannot be trusted in fantasy lineups.

Other Notable Must Sits: DeVante Parker (WR, MIA), Alex Collins (RB, BAL)

Solid Options/Sleepers

Which Players Will Have Solid Games and Which Could Surprise?

Solid Option: Benjamin Watson (TE, BAL)

Do you remember when I discussed startable tight end options earlier? The guy you should be looking for in this particular matchup is undoubtedly Watson, who has the second-most targets on the team and is going up against a Miami Dolphins squad that gives up the 11th most points to tight ends. While his yardage totals in recent weeks aren't too stellar, he makes for a serviceable stream option with high-TE2 upside.

Solid Option: Kenny Stills (WR, MIA)

In the absence of DeVante Parker, Stills stepped up big time by catching six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns against the New York Jets in Week 7. He has been a central component to the Miami passing attack over his last three games, hauling in ten passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Newly anointed quarterback Matt Moore has shown a propensity to throw to Stills in the past, having targeted him on 23.8-percent of his throws since filling in last season, and should help him to produce high-end WR3 numbers so long as Parker remains sidelined. He is worth a speculative add as a plug-and-play starter in Week 8.

Sleeper: Javorius Allen (RB, BAL)

When you start Allen, you do so with the knowledge that his ceiling is capped much like the rest of the Baltimore offensive pieces are. Despite the rushing attack being headlined by backfield-mate Alex Collins, Allen has out-snapped him by a wide margin this season by virtue of being the certified pass catcher of the two (288 snaps to Collins' 99). He is certainly not an every-week starter, but owners could do much worse with Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette on the bye. Allen is worth flex-consideration at best with plenty of receiving upside in PPR formats.

Other Notable Sleepers: Matt Moore (QB, MIA)

More Week 8 Lineup Prep