The New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons are both 2-2. But in eight team games, the two have played exactly one game that was decided by fewer than 11 points. The Giants have won by 13 and 31 and lost by 11 and 21; the Falcons have won by 3 and 42 and lost by 14 and 13. A 2-2 record might imply the teams have played close to their opponents, but that's not really true here.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 5: Falcons vs. Giants
These two teams have made a habit this season of not playing close games.
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Entering Sunday's game, the Giants are pretty healthy, with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. the only skill player to worry about. He's missed all season so far with a hamstring injury, but it looks like he might make it to the field Sunday. For the Falcons, the injury list has a lot of wide receiver action. Harry Douglas has been ruled out, while Devin Hester and Julio Jones have both dealt with ankle injuries, but are probable. The team also expects to have a very patchwork offensive line, with center Joe Hawley and right tackle Lamar Holmes both placed on injured reserve this week and guard Justin Blalock out for Sunday's game.
The teams will play at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, with the Giants hosting. Both teams have plenty to offer fantasy players:
FALCONS
Start in every league: Julio Jones, Roddy White
Start if you're desperate: Matt Ryan, Matt Bryant
Bench: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Antone Smith, Devonta Freeman, Devin Hester, Levine Toilolo, Defense/special teams
The situation with the Atlanta offensive line really hurts the prognosis of the team’s offensive players. Jones and White are still elite enough that they are starters regardless, but everything else is pretty worrisome.
Even with those two receivers, Ryan could face troubles this week, considering the O-line and the outdoor road game and the like. If you have Ryan, good chance you’re using him regardless, but be aware of the risks. ... If the Atlanta offense struggles, Bryant might not get a lot of kicking opportunities.
The team’s running backs haven’t been very invigorating this season even with the O-line intact, but at this point, you can’t use Jackson, Rodgers, Smith or Freeman unless you are super-desperate. ... Hester has been one of fantasy’s biggest pleasant surprises so far this year, with at least nine fantasy points in three of four games, but it’s hard to imagine putting your faith in him in your lineup. ... Toilolo has barely been relevant since his Week 1 touchdown. ... The Falcons’ defense had 28 points in Week 3, and has negative-17 combined points in the other three weeks combined. That’s a stay-away.
GIANTS
Start in every league: Rashad Jennings, Victor Cruz, Larry Donnell
Start if you're desperate: Eli Manning, Josh Brown, Defense/special teams
Bench: Andre Williams, Rueben Randle, Odell Backham Jr.
I’ve covered this elsewhere, but things couldn’t be set up much better for Jennings this week. ... Cruz has finally showed the last two weeks what he was a couple seasons ago, and you have to buy in for now. ... Donnell has come out of nowhere to be one of the top tight ends in fantasy. He’s a solid TE1.
Manning has been on a significant upswing (his weekly scoring has gone from 6 to 15 to 17 to 32), basically showing he’s no longer worth ignoring. He’s a solid QB2 this week. ... If the Giants’ offense can continue performing like it has on its two-game winning streak, Brown could get plenty of kicking opportunities. ... Last mention, I promise, but the Atlanta offensive line could lead to really good things for the Giants’ defense.
Williams’ strong performance in Week 4 was attributable to the game being a blowout and Jennings coming off a game with an unsustainable number of touches. He’s not someone you want to use yet. ... Randle has alternated good games with worthless ones; until he can show some consistency, you probably want to avoid him. ... Beckham is a nice pick-up-and-stash, but you really need to wait and see how he performs before you use him.
