The Week 8 matchup between the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens features a pair of mediocre clubs who really need to get it going ASAP if they want a reason to stay competitive in the second half. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 8: Chargers-Ravens featuring Philip Rivers, Keenan Allen and Steve Smith
We break down the Week 8 matchup between the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens.
San Diego Chargers
Despite suffering what appeared to be a hip injury in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, wide receiver Keenan Allen was able to play last week as his team hosted the Oakland Raiders. He caught nine passes for 89 yards in the contest. Allen has been proving all year long that he is a PPR machine, and the fact that his team throws the ball a lot, and also plays from behind a lot has really helped him statistically. While Chargers fans may now be inclined to think there’s nothing left to cheer for the rest of the way, fantasy owners are thinking quite the opposite.
We’re of course not just talking about owners of Allen. Quarterback Philip Rivers has been lighting up the stat sheet as well. He has thrown for at least 336 passing yards in each of the last four games and has been held under that mark just twice all year long. Rivers needs to cut down on the number of interceptions he throws a little bit, but when you’re passing at a volume that he is, some mistakes come with the territory. The Ravens are less than intimidating defending the pass, so Rivers should be in for more astronomical numbers.
Baltimore Ravens
It’s hard not to argue that the Ravens got the short end of the stick from the referees in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Even that game aside, however, Baltimore just hasn’t been able to find a way to win games. Although he’s doing it to a lesser degree than Mr. Rivers, Joe Flacco is capitalizing in the fantasy box scores as the Ravens struggle to keep up with the competition. Most people would probably give the Chargers the edge in this game despite the fact both teams are mediocre, so that could mean more playing from behind and some quickly accrued fantasy stats for Flacco.
That should benefit the one guy in this projections post that has produced consistently for his entire career on both good and bad teams. That would be wide receiver Steve Smith. He caught five passes for 78 yards against the Cardinals last week. San Diego’s secondary unit is nearly just as good as that of the Cardinals, so Smith may have to battle for his points this time around. At the same time, it doesn’t mean he won’t be utilized heavily in fantasy leagues. That’s exactly how it should be for one of the game’s most productive veterans as he enjoys his victory lap prior to retiring at the end of this season.
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SB Nation presents: NFL Week 8 start/sit fantasy advice
