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RotoBallers – another week, another Monday!
For all of the bad football that we've seen in the NFL this year, the last few weeks of nationally televised games have actually been pretty good. The last two Monday night games have had total scores over 60 and have featured some of the NFC's best teams in the process.
That said, this week looks a little bit different as the 4-6 Texans face the 5-5 Ravens in Baltimore tonight. The Texans are coming off of a win for the first time since Week 6, while the Ravens are just trying to stay in contention for a wild card spot in a weak AFC. And most importantly, it all goes down just a week before the (typical) fantasy football regular season finale. Although there's not a ton of fantasy goodness tonight, it can determine whether you are in or out of the playoffs.
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Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens
Date and Start Time: Monday, November 27th at 8:30 p.m. EST
Game Spread: Ravens -7.5
Notables from Injury Report:
- Will Fuller (WR, HOU) - Ribs - OUT
- CJ Mosley (LB, BAL) - Ankle - Questionable
- Terrell Suggs (LB, BAL) - Ankle - Questionable
- Jimmy Smith (CB, BAL) - Achilles - Questionable
- D'onta Foreman (RB, HOU) - Achilles - OUT
Offensive and Defensive Rankings (based on per game stats through Week 10):
| Texans | Ravens | |
| Passing Yards | 17th | 32nd |
| Rushing Yards | 6th | 13th |
| Pass Defense | 28th | 2nd |
| Run Defense | 6th | 26th |
Must Starts
Top Players That You Should Have In Your Lineup
DeAndre Hopkins (WR, HOU)
The most targeted receiver in football alongside Antonio Brown, Hopkins has avoided much of a drop off in production since Deshaun Watson's season ended earlier this month. Averaging 87.9 yards and almost a full touchdown per game, Hopkins remains fantasy's top-scoring WR entering Week 12. His upside is slightly capped with Tom Savage under center and the Ravens pass defense is one of the league's best, but he continues to be locked in as an elite WR1 given his target share. It's also worth mentioning that Hopkins, in a game filled with fantasy mediocrity, is tonight's only absolute must play.
Must Sits
Players To Avoid Putting In Your Lineup
Alex Collins (RB, BAL)
It's a little weird putting Collins here as he comes off of his second double-digit output in three games, but I'm sold that with the return of Danny Woodhead, Collins production is going to be very game script based from here on out. Once a weekly RB2 option, he'll continue to lead the Ravens backfield in carries (and probably touches), but his snap count is undoubtedly going to go down. That didn't happen last week in Woodhead's return from the IR, but it was also in the midst of a 23-0 shutout of the lowly Packers. In a week where I expect the score to be closer, I prefer Woodhead to Collins tonight.
Any Tight End
This probably goes without saying, but avoid any of the tight ends in tonight's matchup if possible. Ben Watson is the only remotely playable option if you have no choice, but he's probably only good for 4-6 points standard points unless he catches a touchdown, which he's done just twice this year.
Solid Options/Sleepers
Which Players Will Have Solid Games and Which Could Surprise?
Solid Option - Lamar Miller (RB, HOU)
I thought about listing him as a must start because I don't think that he's been getting enough credit over the last few weeks, but you basically know exactly what to expect with Lamar Miller each week, which is kind of refreshing in a league (and season) of such inconsistency. He's gonna score you right around 10 points in standard leagues and 12-14 in PPR leagues, with about a 50% chance of adding a touchdown to that. That's good enough for RB2 value for me.
Solid Option - Jeremy Maclin (WR, BAL)
Both Maclin and Mike Wallace are playable options in the Baltimore offense right now, but I prefer the more consistent and more healthy former. He hasn't seen less than five targets since Week 1, and he gets a good matchup against a poor Houston secondary tonight. I'm not expecting anything huge (his ceiling is low-end WR2 value), but I'm okay firing him up as a WR3.
Solid Option - Joe Flacco (QB, BAL)
I'd like to make it clear that he should only be a weekly option in two-QB leagues, but Flacco is the obvious preferred quarterback play tonight over Tom Savage. He's thrown for at least one score in each of the last four weeks, and I'd expect that trend to continue tonight.
Sleeper - Danny Woodhead (RB, BAL)
I've already mentioned Woodhead, but he's an obvious sleeper as he continues to get back up to speed from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for nine weeks. He's an immediate FLEX option in PPR leagues and could be more by the time fantasy playoffs roll around.
