Fantasy football projections, Week 16: Titans-Jaguars featuring Marcus Mariota, Rishard Matthews, Marqise Lee, more

The Week 16 matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars features division rivals facing off for the second time this season. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota is looking to take the Titans to the playoffs for the first time in his career. While the team looks good having won three straight games, Mariota has cooled off considerably over the last two weeks. He’s thrown for just 329 yards total, no touchdowns, and one interception over that stretch. As bad as the Jaguars have been this season, their defense is pretty good. The team ranks 10th at limiting the fantasy production of quarterbacks this year. The Titans need Mariota to get back on track even though the team is winning games. Expect 265 yards and two touchdowns from Tennessee’s leader in Week 16. It’s time for him to get back to beating his projections as the fantasy finals get underway.

An improved Mariota could do more to pad the stats of wide receiver Rishard Matthews. Matthews caught four passes for 105 yards in a tough win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The performance was his second 100-yard game of the season. Matthews caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars back in Week 8. Finding the end zone in Week 16 will almost certainly get him above his projections. It’s time for Matthews to get back to doing touchdown dances this week.

After an atrocious first 15 weeks of the season, the Jaguars have finally parted ways with head coach Gus Bradley. Unfortunately they’re sticking with Blake Bortles at quarterback. He was pegged as a potential breakout star prior to the start of the season. Now it seems he may not stick in the NFL long-term. Over his last three games, Bortles has just a single touchdown pass to go with three interceptions. Last week the Houston Texans held him to just 92 passing yards. There’s no chance Bortles beats his projections in Week 16.

The only player who has a realistic shot at doing just that is wide receiver Marqise Lee, and that’s being overly generous. Lee failed to catch a pass last week against the Texans despite being targeted three times. He did return a kick for a touchdown, which saved his fantasy day. In leagues that reward kick returns, Lee may warrant starting in Week 16. That said it would be quite a gamble to roll with him as a top performer. Starting anyone in Jacksonville during this championship week is a complete shot in the dark. It’s anybody’s guess as to whether Lee comes close to his totals this time around.