Well the end is finally here. It has been a crazy NFL season where we saw records break, amazing plays, teams fail to live up to expectation, and teams dominating like we all expected.
Next week begins the Wild Card Playoff round and hopefully your favorite team has made it. As for this week, we look at the last “Top 5 Matchups” of the 2013 regular season.
There are some big name matchups this week but are on teams that are playing for nothing but pride this week. I picked matchups that strictly had to do with playoff implications. Let’s get it started:
5. Joe Flacco vs. Andy Dalton
The first of our top five matchups starts with the quarterbacks of rival teams, the Ravens and the Bengals. The Ravens are in a must win game to stay alive in the playoff picture. The Bengals have already clinched the AFC North division so they are playing as a spoiler team.
Joe Flacco has been less than stellar the past two games. In Week 15 against the Lions, the Ravens solely had their faith in kicker Justin Tucker as he kicked six field goals including the game winner as time expired.
Last week Flacco failed to throw a touchdown for the second game in a row in a blowout loss to the Patriots. You can probably blame the poor play due to his knee injury but good quarterbacks play through the pain and get the job done on the field.
This week at Cincinnati, Flacco will need to be on his A-Game. Any type of mishaps could ruin the chances of the Ravens making the playoffs.
Flacco had one of his worst performances earlier this season against the Bengals with three turnovers. If the Ravens want to win, Flacco needs to be flawless.
Andy Dalton has been inconsistent every week. One week he throws over 300 yards with multiple touchdowns and the next he throws less than 250 with only one touchdown and multiple turnovers. If the streak of his ups and downs were to continue into this week, this would be projected a downs week for him after throwing four touchdowns and over 350 yards last week against the Vikings.
As I stated earlier, the Bengals really have nothing to play for but it is possible that they get a first round bye if they win and the Patriots lose. The last time Dalton played the Ravens he threw two touchdowns but had three costly interceptions and lost the game. This game will likely be a close one and will come down to which quarterback makes the least mistakes.
Projections:
Joe Flacco – 230 pass yards, one touchdown, two interceptions
Andy Dalton – 260 pass yards, two touchdowns, one interception
4. Colin Kaepernick vs. Carson Palmer
Kaepernick and the 49ers have clinched a playoff spot but that spot has yet to be determined.
If everything goes their way, they can reach the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
For them to reach that spot it starts with a win this week against the division rival Arizona Cardinals.
Kaepernick has been playing just good enough to keep the 49ers on a five game winning streak.
He doesn’t put up outstanding numbers but the 49ers are winning so there is no reason for complaints from the fan base. In that win streak he has limited his mistakes to just a single interception which plays a major role in winning. Kaepernick also has eight touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown in that span.
The last time against the Cardinals, the defense was able to force Kaepernick to turn the ball over twice but still failed to get the win. Kaepernick threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns in that game as well. The Cardinals defense ranks in the middle of the pack against opposing quarterbacks and gave up eight touchdowns passes in the past four games. If Kaepernick can limit the turnovers like he has been doing, the 49ers shouldn’t have much of a problem.
It is hard to believe that a team with 11 wins will miss the playoffs but it seems likely to happen. The Cardinals are in a must win situation to make the playoffs but still need help from the Buccaneers to beat the Saints. Since the 49ers are playing for a division title, this game will be difficult for the Cardinals to win but it starts with Carson Palmer.
Palmer has thrown at least one touchdown in every game this season except for one back in Week 3 in New Orleans. He was also an interception throwing machine before their bye week but has really limited the mistakes since except for last week where he threw four interceptions to the Seahawks but still was able to come away with the win.
Back in Week 6, Palmer threw two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 12 point loss to the 49ers. That defense ranks third to opposing quarterbacks but have given up six touchdown passes in the past four games. Palmer has an opportunity to have a good fantasy day but it will either be hit or miss for this final week.
Projections:
Colin Kaepernick – 180 pass yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Carson Palmer – 200 pass yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions
3. Eddie Lacy vs. Matt Forte
Here again we have a game where the winner will take the division and move on to the playoffs and the losing team will go home.
There is still some questions about quarterback Aaron Rodgers whether or not he has the ability to play in this season finale. Head Coach Mike McCarthy stated that Rodgers will start but the team will still rely on their star rookie Eddie Lacy to make big plays.
Lacy has been an absolute beast this season. He started off slow in the first couple weeks but has been virtually unstoppable since.
He alone has been keeping the Packers in playoff contention since Rodgers was out with injury. He has six rushing touchdowns in the past six games and had double digit fantasy points in all but four games that he started. This week shouldn’t be any different.
The Packers travel to Chicago where the Bears have been the second worst defense against the run. Lacy racked up 151 rush yards and a touchdown in a seven point loss to the Bears back in Week 9. That was the most rushing yards that Lacy racked up in a single game and that is highly expected to continue again in this division title battle.
Forte has been a top fantasy quarterback all season long. Just twice did he post single digit numbers this year and a lot of that has to do with his versatility like being able to catch the ball on quick outs and screens. That makes his fantasy value at the ceiling in all scoring formats. Forte hasn’t seen the end zone since Week 9 in Green Bay where he also had over 150 multipurpose yards.
Even though he doesn’t see the end zone that often it doesn’t affect his fantasy value due to the heavy doses of touches he gets from carries and receptions. The Packers defense will be missed without linebacker Clay Matthews and that will give Forte a good chance to repeat his Week 9 performance.
Projections:
Eddie Lacy – 120 rushing yards, three receptions, 25 receiving yards, two touchdowns
Matt Forte – 100 rushing yards, five receptions, 48 receiving yards, one touchdown
2. Josh Gordon vs. Antonio Brown
We all know how Calvin Johnson was the number one scoring receiver pretty much all season but going into the final game of the season, Josh Gordon now holds that title by two points in standard scoring leagues.
It is amazing to see that being that he missed the first two games of the season due to suspension.
Gordon is on a six game streak of scoring over 10 fantasy points and has six receiving touchdowns as well during that span.
The Steelers have an average defense but couldn’t do anything against Gordon where he posted 237 receiving yards and a touchdown back in Week 12. He was unstoppable that day and if the Steelers want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they will have to completely shut down Gordon because that is the only offense they really have.
Antonio Brown and the Steelers need a lot and I mean A LOT of help to get into the playoffs. Not only do they need a win but they need a loss from three other AFC teams to sneak in. Brown has been remarkably consistent this season and has no less than five receptions in each game this year. With this it puts him among the top wide receivers of the 2013 season and he will be highly looked after next season in all fantasy drafts.
With all the receptions that Brown gets, there should be no problem for him to have plenty of yards and possibly a touchdown or two. The last time he was up against cornerback Joe Haden and the Browns defense, Brown was able to achieve 92 receiving yards and a touchdown. Since Haden has been against him once, maybe he can adjust and hold Brown in check but that is unlikely due to Brown’s amazing athleticism.
Projections:
Josh Gordon – Seven receptions, 100 yards, one touchdown
Antonio Brown – Five receptions, 85 yards, one touchdown
1. LeSean McCoy vs. DeMarco Murray
The game of the week shouldn’t be much of a surprise but some shocking news has come with it. Tony Romo has a herniated disk in his spine and will likely need surgery at the end of the season. Reports are saying that Romo will not be playing this Sunday but owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett are not ruling him out just yet. We will soon find out what the plans for Romo will be but it does play a big role on how this game will pan out.
Getting back to the matchup of the week, LeSean McCoy and the Eagles will travel to “Jerry’s World” and take on DeMarco Murray and the Dallas Cowboys to battle for the division title and a trip to the playoffs. McCoy has been outstanding this year and a top running back for fantasy teams in all formats. He has six rushing touchdowns in the past five games and averages about 109 yards in that span.
The Cowboys defense is the absolute worst against opposing running backs giving up over 100 yards rushing in nine games this season. McCoy should be able to have a field day against this weak defense but he had trouble the last time he was against them in Week 8 where he only had 55 yards. I strongly believe that this time will be different and McCoy has himself a day.
Murray has been of fire as of late. He has six total touchdowns the past four games and averages about 110 yards in that same span. If Romo does not play in this game, expect the Cowboys to heavily rely on Murray to carry the rock as much as he can. Backup quarterback Kyle Orton hasn’t seen the field all season and will air the ball out but have to establish the run if they want any chance in competing with a hot Eagles team.
The Eagles defense has done well against the run this year but has surrendered four rushing touchdowns the past three games to opposing backs. Murray has yet to see the Eagles defense this year due to injury so it will be interesting to see how he fairs. Given how hot he is right now he should do just fine.
Projections:
LeSean McCoy – 110 rushing yards, three receptions, 30 receiving yards, one touchdown
DeMarco Murray – 80 rushing yards, four receptions, 25 receiving yards, one touchdown