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Welcome to Week 3 of NFL and fantasy football action RotoBallers.
Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down the NFL matchups and providing our analysis. Below you will find our Week 3 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should hopefully help you prepare your lineups to win this week.
To read about the rest of this week's NFL matchups, check out Start/Sit & Matchups Analysis for Games 1-8, and Start/Sit & Matchups Analysis for Games 9-12. 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) rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) rankings
- Quarterback (QB) rankings
- Tight end (TE) rankings
- Defense (D/ST) rankings
- Kicker (K) rankings
- FLEX rankings
- Dynasty rankings
Editor’s Note: make sure to also check out our famous fantasy football waiver wire pickups list. It's our running list of waiver wire adds, to help you find those sleepers and dominate your fantasy football leagues. Our waiver wire list is updated daily throughout the fantasy football season, for all positions. Good luck RotoBallers!
Broncos @ Seahawks - Sunday, 9/21 @ 4:25 PM Eastern
Matchups we Love
Peyton Manning: We know what happened the last time Peyton and the Broncos played the Seahawks, but we also saw what happened last week when Philip Rivers smoked the Seahawks for 284 yards and three touchdowns without giving up an interception. Peyton is still a must-start this week, even if his weekly ranking isn't as gaudy as usual.
Broncos Receivers: If you have them, they're every week starts. Demariyus Thomas is still a WR1, Wes Welker is a WR2, and Emmanuel Sanders is a solid flex play. Julius Thomas is an unconditional start.
Montee Ball: The fact that he's your RB1 and not Jamaal Charles was probably disappointing to you on draft day, but now maybe not so much. The Seahawks looked vulnerable against San Diego, and Ball is still likely to see those 6-man boxes everyone is so excited about.
Marshawn Lynch: Beast Mode is still doing Beast Mode things. Until he doesn't put up double-digit points, start him.
Russell Wilson: He's putting up decent QB1 numbers and the Broncos' D has been one of the worst against fantasy quarterbacks through two weeks.
High Risk, High Reward
Percy Harvin: Everyone in the NFL knows what Harvin is capable of. The Broncos will want to shut him down, but he could still score on any touch he gets.
Chiefs @ Dolphins - Sun. 9/21 @ 4:25 PM Eastern
Matchups we Love
Knile Davis: As of today, assume Davis is going to start. He did enough against the Broncos to make him a viable option until Jamaal Charles comes back from his high-ankle sprain.
Mike Wallace: He's doing well as the favorite target of Ryan Tannehill in Miami, and the Chiefs have hardly slowed down the receivers they've faced this season.
Lamar Miller: This is a serious "put up or shut up" game for Miller. He has the opportunity to lock down Miami's starting job against a Chiefs defense that's been bad against the run. He's a good option at the flex.
Matchups we Hate
Jamaal Charles: If he plays, his high-ankle sprain will kill his productivity. You'll have to start him if he plays, but dud potential is very high. On a side note, why is it that this is the second year running my first-round draft pick sustained a high-ankle sprain? WHY, FANTASY GODS?
Ryan Tannehill: He's hardly impressed fantasy-wise, and there are better QB options available. Don't rely on Tannehill.
Any Chiefs Receiver: I know a guy who started Dwayne Bowe in a 12-team league. He lost by like, 2 points. Imagine how that would've gone if he started a receiver that plays for any team that actually throws the ball.
Other Matchups
Travis Kelce: He put up respectable yardage against Denver, but he's still a tight end in the mold of "start him and hope for a TD." He's certainly not Gronk 2.0 yet.
Damien Williams: Keep an eye on Williams' performance, he is by no means startable yet but if Miller struggles Williams could be in line for more work.
Steelers @ Panthers - Sunday, 9/21 @ 4:25 PM Eastern
Matchups we Love
Antonio Brown: The Panthers' D is good, but the loss of Greg Hardy impacts their pass rush and Brown is still an elite WR talent. Start him.
Cam Newton: The name of the game is total yardage when it comes to Newton. He should get it against a Steelers' D that's a far cry from the Steel Curtain of old.
Panthers Defense: Carolina is nearly a must start every week, and vs. the Steelers we like them to put up nice points this week.
Matchups we Hate
Ben Roethlisberger: I said losing Hardy would impact the pass rush, but it's still the most fearsome Roethlisberger has faced this season. Pass on Big Ben this week unless you're in 2 QB leagues.
High Risk, High Reward
Kelvin Benjamin: He disappointed last week without any touchdowns. He'll be dependent on those for his production, but he is still one of the most viable red-zone threats the Panthers have.
Other Matchups:
Le'Veon Bell: Total yardage could salvage a game against one of the league's toughest front sevens, but his upside will be limited this week.
Greg Olsen: There's about 2 tight ends in the league right now that are anything more than "eh, OK." Olsen is not one of them.
Bears at Jets - Monday 9/22 @ 8:30 PM Eastern
Matchups we Love
Brandon Marshall: He's one half of the duo that just ripped the hearts out of the 49ers at their own, brand-spankin'-new house. Imagine what he'll do against a Jets secondary that let Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb tee off on them.
Jay Cutler: The other half of that duo. Start him against that atrocious Jets secondary. In unrelated news, that sound you hear is Rex Ryan weeping into a pint of Cherry Garcia.
Alshon Jeffery: No news is good news when it comes to Jeffery's hamstring, and please note the "Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb" comment from two players ago. There's room for both Bears wideouts this week.
Matt Forte: He put up a dud last week, but he's still an elite fantasy talent and the Jets can't hold a candle to the 49ers. And Rex's Blu-Ray copy of When Harry Met Sally... just wrapped up.
Matchups we Hate:
Anyone on the Jets not named Eric Decker or Geno Smith: Neither Ivory nor Johnson were impressive last week, and do the Jets even have a receiver after Decker?
Other Matchups
Eric Decker: He's reaggravated a hamstring injury this week, but if he's in uniform on Monday Night, he's the best (only? still not sure if they have any receivers) option in the Jets' passing game.
Geno Smith: He has looked pretty poised this year, and has a nice points floor from his legs. Even with Decker looking like a no-go, we like Geno as a top 15 QB this week and a potential streamer in 14 team leagues.
