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Welcome to Week 2 and our Monday Night Football matchups analysis! It's already been an exciting Week 2 of NFL and fantasy football action, and we get two more games on Monday night to finish it off with a double-header.
Below you will find our matchups analysis for the Monday Night Football games between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, along with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles.
Read our fantasy football breakdowns for these games -- the recommended starts, sits, and matchups we love heading into the Week 2 matchups. Good luck RotoBallers!
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Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills - 7:15 pm ET
Spread: Bills -9.5
Implied Total: Titans (19.25) vs. Bills (28.75)
Pace: Titans (24th) vs. Bills (30th)
Titans Off. DVOA: 77.2% Pass (1st), -43.3% Rush (28th)
Bills Off. DVOA: 64.8% Pass (4th), -47.8% Rush (32nd)
Titans Def. DVOA: -17.8% Pass (6th), 22.3% Rush (26th)
Bills Def. DVOA: 45.1% Pass (2nd), -47.5% Rush (2nd)
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles - 8:30 pm ET
Spread: Eagles -2.0
Implied Total: Vikings (24.25) vs. Eagles (26.25)
Pace: Vikings (20th) vs. Eagles (8th)
Vikings Off. DVOA: 44.0% Pass (7th), 24.5% Rush (9th)
Eagles Off. DVOA: 29.2% Pass (9th), 32.4% Rush (6th)
Vikings Def. DVOA: -10.4% Pass (12th), 28.9% Rush (29th)
Eagles Def. DVOA: -0.4% Pass (16th), 27.2% Rush (28th)
Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Monday Night Football
Matchups We Love:
Josh Allen (QB, BUF)
It's rare for the No. 1 quarterback drafted to be worthy of that pick but Allen is the exception to that rule. The positional advantage he offers is rare. He is a must-start each and every week.
Bills Wide Receivers
Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis finished as the WR6 and WR 12, respectively. Diggs was fifth in yards per route run and had the eighth-highest PFF grade. He's a top-five receiver. Davis doesn't have the same underlying metrics but excels in the red zone, which is harder to quantify statistically, outside of his touchdown rate and raw totals. Both belong in your lineup again in this matchup.
UPDATE: Gabe Davis was added to the injury report with an ankle injury. It's a bit of a surprise after he practiced all week so we'll need to wait for the official destination. In the meantime, fantasy managers are best to have an alternative option that they can start if we are still unclear at kickoff tomorrow. If Davis were to miss, Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder would both become upside flex plays.
Vikings Wide Receivers
Justin Jefferson had a monster game as the top-scoring fantasy player outside of the quarterback position. The Vikings passing game looked more efficient and explosive, which is exciting for him and Adam Thielen. Unfortunately for Thielen, there was nothing left this week. Thielen will have a better game this week, which is why both belong in your lineup.
To finish as the QB7 without a passing touchdown is unreal. Hurts may take the crown from Jackson this season as the rushing leader at the position, living up to all the pre-season hype. The Vikings are certainly a better defense than the Lions but Hurts is still locked in because of his rushing statistics.
Dalvin Cook (RB, MIN)
Cook did everything except score a touchdown. He had 108 scrimmage yards, the fifteen-highest elusive rating, and dominated Mattison in touches. He remains a must-start back.
A.J. Brown (WR, PHI)
Brown joined Adams and Hill as one of the elite faces in new places with a massive performance of his own, commanding thirteen targets as the alpha for this offense. Brown ranks in the top-10 in this matchup.
Matchups We Hate:
Bills Running Backs
Allen led the team in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. That makes it really difficult for the running backs to succeed unless there is one clear option. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Devin Singletary finished with eight carries and two targets while Zack Moss had six carries and six targets. Add in James Cook who took himself out of the game with a fumble on his first carry and this backfield is one to avoid.
Ryan Tannehill (QB, TEN)
Tannehill was fortunate to finish with two passing touchdowns, thanks to Dontrell Hilliard making plays in the receiving game. It's clear this offense misses A.J. Brown as a true threat in the passing game. To make matters worse, they now face arguably the league's best defense, removing Tannehill as an option in this matchup.
Titans Wide Receivers
The most exciting player in this receiving corps is rookie Treylon Burks, who commanded five targets despite his preseason struggles. After what we saw the Bills' defense do to the Rams' offense there is no reason to start any of these players.
Austin Hooper (TE, TEN)
Hooper failed to capitalize on the lack of talent this offense has at the wide receiver position in a plus matchup, so he's best suited for your bench against Buffalo.
Other Matchups:
Dawson Knox (TE, BUF)
Knox only had two targets and one catch for five yards. He still played 86% of the snaps, he just wasn't targeted as much as we had hoped. Through one week he seems touchdown-dependent again this year but this is a good offense to bet on for a touchdown, making him a potential streamer.
Derrick Henry (RB, TEN)
Henry still saw 21 carries for 82 yards but did not find the end zone and only received one target. Dontrell Hilliard was the receiving back, who happened to catch two touchdowns. Henry is always one run away from a huge game so he needs to be started but the matchup is a bit frightening.
Eagles Running Backs
The game of Russian roulette with these backs continues. The Eagles managed to generate four rushing touchdowns so that each of the three backs along with Hurts could score one. Miles Sanders is in fact the lead back as was eluded to initially in the offseason but the three-headed attack, four if you include Hurts, that this offense deploys lowers his ceiling.
Dallas Goedert (TE, PHI)
Goedert went three for 60 on four targets, which is a bit of a letdown after last year's role but considering the target share Brown had, this was a decent outing. He's on a great offense as a top-two target at a position where it's hard to find reliable volume, so he's a top-10 tight end against the Vikings.
Kirk Cousins (QB, MIN)
Cousins capitalized on the playmaking and route running of Jefferson, who accounted for 66% of his passing yards and both of his passing touchdowns. Cousins ended as the QB10, which is about where he'll finish most weeks. He's a top-15 option in this matchup against a middle-of-the-road Eagles defense.
Key Injuries:
UPDATE: Gabe Davis was added to the injury report with an ankle injury. It's a bit of a surprise after he practiced all week so we'll need to wait for the official destination. In the meantime, fantasy managers are best to have an alternative option that they can start if we are still unclear at kickoff tomorrow. If Davis were to miss, Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder would both become upside flex plays.
UPDATE: Dontrell Hilliard has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. This should open up some work in the passing game for Henry, adding to both his floor and ceiling in a tough matchup.
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