On my flight down to South Carolina last Friday I met a great couple, Michael and Michele. Michael plays Fantasy Football in the “hyper-competitive” Cinque/Tonelli Family League, and he joked that they forced him to be in it. Michele mentioned the trash talk is friendly but intense, and frequently based on Star Wars. Michael was happy with the points he got from Kirk Cousins and Michael Evans the night before (77 combined) against his nephew’s team, Fresh Mutz. He was hesitant to tell me his team’s name, but then he laughed and confessed. It’s called Michael’s Fat Ass. Go big or go home, right Michael? Best of luck to you (and your backside) the rest of the season.
GIDDY UP!
QB Daniel Jones (vs. Bengals) — Danny Dimes looked like a million bucks in Seattle last week. He should break the bank against a Cincy D that is almost dead-last against the pass, especially if uber rookie WR Malik Nabors suits up (concussion: check status).
QB Kirk Cousins (at Panthers) — Raise your hand if Cousins and his 509 yards/4 touchdowns were on your Fantasy bench last Thursday (my hand is up). In fairness, it was his first decent outing of the year. Carolina poses little threat. Start Cousins with confidence.
RB Jordan Mason (at Seahawks) — Mason lost his first career fumble at the Cardinals 7-yard line on what would have been a game-winning TD. Expect him to turn that folly into a motivating destruction of Seattle on Thursday night.
RB Tank Bigsby (vs. Bears in London) — We just witnessed a changing of the guard, and I’m not talking about Buckingham Palace. The Jaguars’ switch from Travis Etienne to Bigsby (101 yards, 2 TDs last week) will pay dividends against a Bears D that yields almost five yards per carry.
WR Jalen Tolbert (vs. Lions) — I don’t expect Tolbert (hand: check status) to outscore CeeDee Lamb again this week, but the special third-year WR should get plenty of action in the highest over/under of the week against the Lions (52.5 points).
WR D.J. Moore (vs. Jaguars) — Moore hasn’t had a bad outing all season and facing a weak Jags secondary will only pad his already impressive stats.
TE Trey McBride (at Packers) — McBride returned from a concussion and picked up where he left off with a nice six catch, 53-yard outing. Expect bigger production in a high scoring affair at Lambeau.
WHOA DOWN!
QB Josh Allen (vs. Jets) — In 11 career games against the Jets, Allen has 11 TD passes and don’t think Gang Green wasn’t watching the beating he took in Houston last week. We will see if the “new coach bounce” is a myth in the wake of Robert Saleh’s offboarding.
QB C.J. Stroud (at Patriots) — Stroud won’t have to do much to defeat the Patriots. Sure, he’ll throw a couple of TDs, but without WR Nico Collins (IR-hamstring), the yardage won’t be substantial.
RB Jerome Ford (at Eagles) — I’m done with all things Cleveland. Ford averages over five yards a carry, yet they refuse to feed him the ball. You can’t fix stupid.
RB Antonio Gibson (vs. Texans) — How’s that “Antonio Gibson is our starter” line of bull workin’ for ya? He got seven touches last week while “backup” Rhamondre Stevenson received 16. Remember: coaches lie.
WR Josh Downs (at Titans) — Whether it’s the ancient Joe Flacco or the inaccurate Anthony Richardson at QB, I don’t like this matchup in Tennessee. The Titans have yet to surrender a TD pass and Downs won’t crack that code this week.
WR Tyler Lockett (vs. 49ers) — If you want 10 points from your WR position, start Lockett. But I think you should be aiming higher.
TE Mike Gesicki (at Giants) — My lofty expectations for a breakout Gesicki season are dashed. He’s had just three targets the last two games, conceding playing time to rookie TE Erick All.
Thursday Night Special: The Seahawks and 49ers come off disappointing (embarrassing?) losses. The 49ers won both games handily last year (31-13, 28-16). I see no reason to deviate from those results, but it should be a little closer. San Francisco 24, Seattle 17
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Bill Reinhard is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and a columnist for FantasyGuru.com. Catch Bill every Thursday night at 6:45 on “This Week in Pro Football” on YouTube TV.