The 2013 NFL regular season gets underway on Thursday as the Denver Broncos host the Baltimore Ravens. The game features the Super Bowl champion Ravens heading into Mile High to face one of this year's Super Bowl favorites in a game that could feature some serious offense. The Broncos will be without suspended linebacker Von Miller, while the Ravens had to overhaul their defense due to retirements and defections. It should be a great night for offense.
Ravens vs. Broncos: Fantasy football projections featuring Peyton Manning, Ray Rice, Torrey Smith
We break down the pertinent fantasy projections for the Week 1 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos.
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To help you prepare your fantasy football lineup the beginning of the playoffs, we've got game-by-game player projections courtesy of numberFire.
Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco is now a "$100 million man", but he is without numerous weapons. Anquan Boldin is now in San Francisco and Dennis Pitta is on short-term injured reserve. That leaves Torrey Smith and Ray Rice as Flacco's primary weapons. If the Ravens are going to hang with the high-octane Broncos offense, they will need serious output from Rice and Smith.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos came up short in the playoffs last year, so they decided to add Wes Welker to their offense. That seems reasonable. The Broncos remain one of the best offenses in the league thanks to Peyton Manning, but adding Welker provides a boost across the board. Who do you defend?
The real question in Denver is who will handle the rushing load. Ronnie Hillman is set to get the start, but what are the odds he is the starting running back by season's end? Montee Ball is breathing down his neck, and even Knowshon Moreno might have a thing or two to say about this before all is said and done.
