Raiders vs. Ravens: Fantasy football projections featuring Carson Palmer, Marcel Reece, Joe Flacco

The Baltimore Ravens host the Oakland Raiders in a matchup of teams going in different directions. Baltimore's once vaunted defense is struggling however, and it could open the door for some great fantasy options. To help you prepare your fantasy football lineup this week, we've got player projections courtesy of numberFire.

The Raiders find themselves without much in the way of a running game thanks to injuries to Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson. The big question is whether to start Marcel Reece or Taiwan Jones. If you are desperate for a running back, Reece would appear to be the safer play, while Jones has serious upside. Neither is a great option at this point, but both are bye week, injury flex options.

If the running game can't get much going, we could see Carson Palmer airing it out quite a bit. Palmer has turned into a very solid fantasy QB in 2012, even if the Raiders can't find the wins.

This is a very tantalizing matchup for the Ravens passing game. Joe Flacco has shown some signs of progress in the Ravens move toward a more pass-heavy offense, but there are still inconsistencies. This game provides a chance for more highs than lows, which means get Flacco, Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin in your lineups.