Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 9

Start

Cam Newton vs. Tampa Bay- A week after spewing nonsense of doubt for Cam Newton against a tough Ravens defense, Newton lands himself on the start portion of the list in Week 9. Newton is having arguably his best season since his MVP run a few years back, putting up a minimum of 27 fantasy points the last three weeks against the respected defenses of Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Superman and the rest of the Panthers will square off against a Tampa Bay defense that’s allowing 300+ yards per game alongside a 123.5 passer rating. With how hot Newton has been this season, there’s no reason to expect a sudden drop in production. Factor in Cam’s work as a rusher, and Newton has all the tools in the world to see another high-scoring game in Week 9.

Russell Wilson vs. Los Angeles (Chargers)- All season long, I’ve been pounding the table for Russell Wilson and his amazing second half of the season performance. Now, it’s time for Wilson to back up my talk. The Chargers come to town hoisting one of the better defenses in the NFL, yet when facing a top-notch quarterback in the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff, LA has fallen victim on the scoreboard this season.

Wilson currently finds himself in a three game stretch of 25+ point performances, two of those stemming from games against the Rams and Lions, both tough match-ups for quarterbacks. LA’s defense is solid, yet Wilson’s appeal falls in-line with Newton’s: A veteran quarterback who uses their legs to make plays. I’ll roll with Wilson at home to continue his streak of 20-point fantasy games.

Sit

Mitch Trubisky at Buffalo– Mitch Trubisky currently ranks as the eighth best fantasy quarterback on ESPN, as Trubisky’s last terrible fantasy outing can be traced to a four point showing in week three. Yet after back to back 30+ point fantasy games, Trubisky came back down to earth against a Jets defense that limited him to just 220 yards passing and two touchdowns.

While that stat-line is still very acceptable, the Bears passing offense has shown signs of slowing down. This is not good news for Trubisky as he travels to Buffalo to face a Bills defense that limited Tom Brady to a mere 12 fantasy points last week. With the Bears continually leaning on their two halfbacks in the run game and Allen Robinson potentially missing more time with a groin injury, I’m willing to play it safe and look for other options if I’m a Trubisky owner.

Ben Roethlisberger at Baltimore– After two-straight weeks of doubting quarterbacks against the Ravens defense, is the third times the charm? Sure, we have the usual “Ravens are the best defense in the league” mantra to go off of, yet the decision to sit Roethlisberger can be backed by history and potential game-flow.

It’s no secret Roethlisberger looks like a completely different gun-slinger on the road (and not in the good way) despite 2018 not playing too close to that narrative (21 points per game on the road as opposed to 26.75 points per game at home). Big Ben’s last meeting against Baltimore resulted in a 16 point outing, and with James Conner shouldering more workload by the week, the Steelers may very well try to keep things moving through the ground. There’s just simply too many ugly factors to this match-up to love Roethlisberger in starting lineups this week.