Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers

Who would have thought that through four weeks Philadelphia would be boasting a 3-1 record going into Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team with a 1-2 record. Not me! This game is as much of a must-win you will get at this point in the season for Pittsburgh. They play in the ultra-competitive AFC North where both the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens possess identical 3-1 records. In short, Pittsburgh just cannot afford to fall too far behind, no matter where we are in the season.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia comes in riding a pretty might waive following their defeate of the defending Super Bowl Champion’ New York Giants last Sunday night. Mick Vick avoided putting more darts on that dreaded turnover board of his, managing the game much better than his counterpart, Eli Manning. If Philadelphia is able to avoid those untimely turnovers and penalties consistently, they have the talent to contend in the NFC as a whole. It is all about consistency at this point.

Fantasy Outlook

Rashard Mendenhall returns to this game, but he wasn’t a viable RB1 option when healthy the last few seasons. I would avoid him at all costs in this game, even as a FLEX type of player. Meanwhile, it is hard to imagine Ben Roethlisberger being given the time against a solid Eagles’ front to find either Mike Wallace or Antonio Brown on the outside. That being said, one of them will come up with a long touchdown, I am just not sure which one at this point...Bets would be on the latter.

Meanwhile, I find it extremely difficult to advocate starting anyone against what is a dominant Pittsburgh defense across the board. They don’t allow many rush yards (101 per game) or passing yards (190 per game). In fact, Pittsburgh is only one of six teams yielding less than 300 total yards an outing. Interestingly enough, the Eagles are a member of that group as well.

While I don’t envision LeSean McCoy having RB1 numbers this week, if you select a player in the top five, pretty much where the young back went in every fantasy draft, you run him out there every week.

Sit Michael Vick and don’t even think about suiting Jeremy Maclin up in this game. I do, however, believe both Brent Celek and Heath Miller are going to be solid TE1 options here.

Note: Check out this article by Kwame Fisher-Jones focusing on the NFC East for more information on this game.

Cleveland Browns at New York Giants

I half expect Brandon Weeden and the Browns to keep this game closer than what is being projected at this point. Cleveland has allowed just nine sacks in four games, which is surprising considering they are throwing a rookie quarterback out their. If they are able to negate the Giants tremendous pass-rush, Cleveland could find some seams on the outside and down the field.

But, let’s be real. A winless team going up against the defending Super Bowl Champions’ on the road. Do I really need to go much further than this? Besides, Kwame has you covered here.

Fantasy Impact

Trent Richardson could be a viable option here, especially if New York decides to run downhill at the rookie Weeden in the passing game. That could leave some tremendous holes for the Alabama product to run through and past, considering how average the Giants’ starting linebacker unit is.

I would even consider going with Weeden as a viable option here if you have Tony Romo or any QB1 option on a bye this week and don’t like your QB2 option.

As it relates to the Giants, Eli Manning is a definite start against a Browns’ secondary without the services of Joe Haden. Go with Victor Cruz as a true WR1 option here, especially considering that Hakeem Nicks is going to miss substantial time due to injury.

 Both Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown are solid FLEX options this week.

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs

Something has to give here, and it’s most likely going to be Kansas City’s lackluster defense against what has to be considered one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL.

How many of us actually expect Kansas City to be able to stop Torrey Smith in the passing game and Ray Rice on the ground? Really, it just isn’t going to happen. Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that Kansas City continues to lay down against opposing teams at home.

Meanwhile, I don’t envision a scenario where Matt Cassel and an equally inadequte Chiefs offense to do anything against Baltimore’s defense. This game really shouldn’t be that close.

Fantasy Options

Ray Rice and Torrey Smith are must starts, well that pretty much goes without saying.

Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals

Ryan Tannehill had the best game of his career last week against the Arizona Cardinals, none of his first three games even come close to matching the production we saw from the Texas A&M product. He threw for over 400 yards and nearly led Miami to an upset win in Arizona.

The Dolphins have been much more competitive than most of us believed they would be, despite starting 1-3. Expect Tannehill to have success going in the direction of Brian Hartline, who recorded a whopping 253 receiving yards last week.

Meanwhile, Richard Marshall is going to miss this game for Miami, which should help out what is already a dynamic Bengals’ passing game. While Sean Smith will go up against A.J. Green, there is definitely a trickle-down effect here. Look for Cincinnati to continue their success on the offensive side of the ball. In the end, it makes more sense to go with the home team that has two more wins. However, this game will be much closer than originally anticipated.

Fantasy Outlook

If you are in a bind at the quarterback position it might make some sense to look in Tannehill’s direction here. He might make a mistake or two, but look for some solid yardage numbers and couple scores against a mediocre Cincinnati defense. On that note, Reggie Bush is a solid RB1 option and Lamar Miller could be a good waiver wire pickup as a FLEX guy against Cincinnati. If you want to go wide receiver at FLEX, expect Hartline to continue his solidly surprising season.

Meanwhile, there are a few different solid options for Cincinnati. Andy Dalton has been nothing short of a QB1 option over the course of the last three weeks. Don’t expect that to change with the Bengals going up against a short-handed Dolphins’ secondary. A.J. Green, as always, is a must start.