5. Rob Gronkowski vs. Charles Clay

The Gronk has finally returned.  In his return he had huge numbers with 117 receiving yards on eight catches with a total of 17 targets.  It is clear that Tom Brady loves that Gronkowski is back and will look forward to getting him the ball as much as possible.  The Bills have been awful this year against opposing tight ends giving up six touchdowns although three of those were from Jimmy Graham in week four.  Gronkowski will continue his big return to the NFL and collect great numbers week after week.  Clay has scored a touchdown in each of the past three games.  He has been having an exceptional overall season but the past two games his targets and receptions have been down.  Tony Gonzalez has been the only tight end lucky enough to get in the end zone against the Patriots so that doesn’t strike us as favorable for Clay in this matchup. 

Projections:

Rob Gronkowski – Nine receptions, 100 receiving yards two touchdowns

Charles Clay – Three receptions, 40 yards, zero touchdowns

4. Eddie Lacy vs. Adrian Peterson

Since Lacy’s return from injury and the bye week, he has been on top of his game.  The past three weeks he is averaging 100 yards a game but with only a single touchdown.  In this matchup he is competing against a struggling Vikings team and struggling Adrian Peterson.  Lucky for Lacy he is rushing against the last place fantasy defense against the run.  This gives him a huge advantage in this matchup to have a big game and continue his hot streak of a solid stat line.  Peterson has clearly not been himself the past two weeks.  In his favor though, Peterson has been a destroyer of the Green Bay Packers in his career with over 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Unfortunate for him, the Packers have not given up a rushing touchdown since week three.  Hopefully Peterson returns to his old self and continues to be the monster he is against the Packers.

Projection:

Eddie Lacy – 100 rushing yards, one touchdown

Adrian Peterson – 84 yards, one touchdown

3. Alfred Morris vs. Knowshon Moreno

Morris has been putting up solid rushing numbers week after week but he can’t seem to find the end zone.  That is because fellow running back Roy Helu stole all of his red zone opportunities and score three touchdowns last week against the Bears.  If this trend continues then Morris’ fantasy value is slowly diminished week by week.  This poor Broncos defense has given up one touchdown to opposing running backs ever single week except last week vs. the Colts.  This is promising for Morris as long as Helu doesn’t get in on his red zone touches.  Moreno has been one of the most surprising running backs of the year.  Especially in the past four games where he has six rushing touchdowns.  He hasn’t hit the 100 yard mark on the ground yet but that will change this week when he plays against one of the worst rushing defenses in the Redskins.  If Peyton Manning has another off week he can relax and hand it to Moreno who can do all of the work for this week.

Projections:

Alfred Morris – 75 rushing yards, one touchdown

Knowshon Moreno – 105 rushing yards, one touchdown

2. Tony Romo vs. Matthew Stafford

Romo has struggled fantasy-wise the past two weeks with only putting up two touchdowns and three interceptions with less than 500 passing yards.  In this quarterback matchup, he will have to put up a lot better numbers than what he has been doing.  The Lions defense has given up two passing touchdowns to Cleveland and three passing touchdowns to Cincinnati.  This looks good for Romo and the Cowboys offense to get back on track and put up some decent points.  Stafford on the other hand has been outstanding the past two games with seven touchdown passes with only one interception.  The Cowboys defense is almost dead last in fantasy vs. opposing quarterbacks but the in the last two games they have given up a total of ZERO touchdown passes.  The red hot Stafford will need to find the holes in the defense and make good decisions to remain a top fantasy quarterback.  I predict a shootout game where both quarterbacks have solid fantasy numbers.

Projections:

Tony Romo – 290 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception

Matthew Stafford – 304 passing yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions

1. Dez Bryant vs. Calvin Johnson

There is more than one big matchup this week in Motown.  Two monster wide receivers go head to head trying to lead their team to their fifth win of the season.  Bryant has been deprived of touchdowns the past two weeks when having six the first five games.  This Lions secondary gave up six touchdowns to opposing receivers the past four games.  Bryant will be targeted early and often by quarterback Tony Romo.  Big numbers are in his favor.  Johnson finally had that blowout game we have all been waiting for last week against the Bengals with 155 receiving yards and two touchdowns.  The Cowboys defense has been pretty good against opposing receivers the past two games, not giving up any touchdowns to them.  Megatron can change that this week as long as Stafford just puts the ball in his area because Johnson has proved last week he can come down with it no matter where the ball is and no matter who is around him.

Projections:

Dez Bryant – Seven receptions, 117 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Calvin Johnson – Six receptions, 95 receiving yards, two touchdowns