Combined, the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders have a record of 4-6. That's all well and good, except for the fact that all four wins belong to the Cardinals, sitting in first place in the NFC West. The Raiders are 0-5 at the bottom of the AFC West, tied with Jacksonville for the league's worst team. That seems like a bad setup for Sunday's game -- or a good one, if you're an Arizona fan.
Fantasy football advice, Week 7: Who to start/sit for Cardinals vs. Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are predictably terrible. The Arizona Cardinals are surprisingly really good.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Cardinals come into Sunday's game with a whole host of fantasy names on the injury list, though tight end John Carlson (knee) is the only one who might miss the game -- quarterback Carson Palmer (shoulder), running back Andre Ellington (foot), and wide receivers John Brown (hamstring) and Michael Floyd (groin) are all likely to play. On the Raiders side, quarterback Derek Carr is the only relevant player on the injury list, dealing with an ankle injury. Of course, he had that injury last week, and had his best career game, so that doesn't appear to be a worry.
The Raiders will host Sunday’s game at 4:25 p.m. ET. As might be expected, most of the fantasy intrigue lies with the road team, but here’s a look at both sides:
CARDINALS
Start 'em: Only three teams have allowed more points to opposing running backs than the Raiders, meaning Andre Ellington is firmly in RB1 territory. ... In terms of points per game, only Stephen Gostkowski an Dan Bailey have outscored Chandler Catanzaro, who is a top-tier kicker.
Start 'em?: A healthy Carson Palmer should sit in QB2 territory for most of the year, though it's hard to see him rising up to starting territory. ... The Arizona wide receiver situation has been confounding. Michael Floyd slots ahead of Larry Fitzgerald in terms of usability, but it's inconsistent enough that neither is above a flex play. ... A week ago, the Cardinals' defense would have looked like a top unit for this matchup. But they've been losing players right and left, and the Raiders' offense suddenly looks better than it did. Arizona is a second-tier unit.
Sit 'em: The Cardinals like John Brown, but as long as he's that far down the pecking order in the team's offense, he won't help much in fantasy. ... If John Carlson plays, you can't use him. If Carlson sits, you can't use Rob Housler.
RAIDERS
Start 'em?: There is some question over whether James Jones or Andre Holmes is the wide receiver you want out of Oakland. I would take Jones, but both make sense as low-end flex plays right now.
Sit 'em: Sure, last week was great for Derek Carr, but he had two consecutive single-digit fantasy days before that. Don't buy in yet. ... Darren McFadden has fully supplanted Maurice Jones-Drew as the Oakland running back to watch, but both lie well outside starting territory. ... Mychal Rivera only gets mention because I feel like I should mention a tight end for every team. ... Take out his decent Week 3 game, and Sebastian Janikowski has 10 total fantasy points in four games. ... The Raiders' defense hasn't offered any value this year.
SUMMARY
Start in every league: Andre Ellington, Chandler Catanzaro
Start if you're desperate: Carson Palmer, Michael Floyd, Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona defense, James Jones, Andre Holmes
Bench: John Brown, John Carlson, Rob Housler, Derek Carr, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Mychal Rivera, Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland defense
