Although Rams' quarterback Sam Bradford failed to throw a touchdown for the first time since Week 6 in Sunday's win over the 49ers, he should get his fair share of opportunities this week against a Buffalo team that has given up 21 touchdowns so far this season. Before being shutout against a superior San Francisco defense last week, Bradford managed at least two TDs in each of his previous three games. As for the Bills' Ryan Fitzpatrick, he's been held under 200 yards passing in three straight games and only managed a season low nine completions and 112 passing yards in a win over Jacksonville last week. Though he did manage a total of three scores (one rushing, two passing), the Rams defense is far superior to that of the Jaguars so the former Harvard University grad will have to take his game to a higher level if he is to have any kind of an impactful fantasy stat line this week.
Rams vs. Bills fantasy football projections: featuring Chris Givens, Sam Bradford and C.J. Spiller
We take an in depth look at the fantasy projections for this Sunday’s match up between the St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The going could be even tougher for Bradford as he could be missing his top receiver Danny Amendola once again this week. Amendola suffered a foot injury against the aforementioned 49ers in Week 10 and has for the most part been limited to individual drills in practice this week. He'll be a game-time decision at best this Sunday. That should bode well for teammate Chris Givens, who has benefited greatly from the increased playing time he has received in Amendola's absence. The Rams' fourth round pick in this past year's draft had a career high 11 receptions in last week's win over the red and gold, and Week 10, he hit up the struggling Arizona Cardinals for his first career 100 yard receiving game (five catches for 115 yards).
In stark contrast Buffalo's Stevie Johnson managed just two catches, one of which was for a score, against the Jags' last week. The Bills' go to possession receiver has just a single 100 yard game (six catches 106 yards in Week 12 against the Colts) this season and his next highest yard total on the year is just 86. Though he is heavily targeted in Buffalo's offense, he'll go up against Cortland Finnegan on Sunday, one of the league's best defensive backs.
C.J. Spiller takes the cake at the running back position in this matchup. The former Clemson Tiger averaged a healthy 5.5 yards per carry in Week 13 and seems to put up good numbers even while sharing the load with teammate Fred Jackson, who had a season high 25 carries and 109 yards rushing himself last week. By all accounts, Spiller is still the better back fantasy wise this season in spite of Jackson's recent success.
Another Jackson worth noting in this game is Steven Jackson of the Rams, who has had at least 20 carries in three of his last four games and has his only two 100 yard games of the season during that same span. Jackson should be able to run all over the Bills on Sunday, who allow an average of 139 yards per game to running backs, ranking them 30th in the NFL this year. To say the least, Jackson is a must-start this week if there ever was one.
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