The Week 9 matchup between Washington and the New England Patriots seems like quite a big mismatch on paper. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Washington-Patriots featuring Jordan Reed, Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady
We break down the Week 9 matchup between Washington and the New England Patriots.
Washington
Washington doesn’t have much to offer offensively without DeSean Jackson catching passes, but tight end Jordan Reed is certainly capable of being a top contributor. He proved it last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Reed absolutely went off on the Bucs, finishing the afternoon with 11 catches for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He’s been targeted steadily all year long and that trend will continue against the Patriots. In a game that should be a blowout, Reed is likely going to be one of the top fantasy performers on a losing team in Week 9.
Maybe his teammate and quarterback Kirk Cousins will hold true to the same distinction. He put together his best game of the season last week, just like Reed. Cousins threw for a season-high 317 passing yards and three touchdowns. Putting up similar numbers against the Patriots is going to be a requirement if Washington stands even a prayer of keeping this week’s game close. Cousins could be a garbage time MVP for fantasy owners this time around.
New England Patriots
Tom Brady and the boys just keep cruising right along and destroying everything in their path. Brady made the Miami Dolphins look like a tier two college team last week, throwing for 356 yards and four touchdown passes. It was the second time this season he’s thrown four scores and the third straight week he threw for at least 300 yards. The only thing stopping Brady from scorching Washington for four quarters this week is that he might not have to play the full game once things get out of hand and the Pats have a comfortable lead.
That likely result probably means a good day for tight end Rob Gronkowski, as if you didn’t know. Gronk has found the end zone in each of the last three games and has surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark in back-to-back contests. No one in the NFL can stop him or Brady, and Washington is no exception. Washington gave up 297 passing yards to the Buccaneers last week. It doesn’t take a fantasy football expert to know the Pats are considerably better than the Bucs. This one could be a bloodbath.
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