The Week 1 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos features one team that may struggle on offense this year, and one team that definitely will not. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 1: Ravens-Broncos featuring Justin Forsett, Peyton Manning and C.J. Anderson
We break down the Week 1 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos.
Baltimore Ravens
Heading into the start of the season, running back Justin Forsett is the top fantasy player on the Ravens. With former teammate Ray Rice getting suspended for all of 2014, Forsett burst onto the scene and rushed for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns, both of which were career-highs. This season he won’t sneak under the radar, but the Ravens’ passing game is full of unproven commodities. Forsett should see a lot of action all year long, and the Week 1 matchup against the Broncos will be just the start of it, even if the Ravens find themselves in a blowout.
Aside from Forsett, the team will need a huge game from quarterback Joe Flacco. The Ravens quarterback is in for a tough task in the season opener. Not only is he up against Peyton Manning and the prolific Denver offense, but he has to try and win it on the road. It’s highly unlikely that the Ravens win the game, but Flacco could put up some huge numbers as a result of trying to keep up on Sunday.
Denver Broncos
Father Time may indeed be catching up to Peyton Manning, but he’s thrown for under 4,000 yards in a season just once since his rookie year. Heading into Week 1, he will be a good bet to throw a few touchdowns and post the same numbers we’ve become accustomed to seeing on a regular basis. Starting Manning is a no-brainer in fantasy sports even at his advanced age.
Believe it or not, however, there is a ceiling to Manning’s production and we may see that ceiling start to show up on Sunday. It was quite clear in the second half of last season that running back C.J. Anderson had arrived and consequently taken some of the workload away from Manning, as far as touchdowns go. Anderson brings a dimension to the Broncos’ offense that the team hasn’t had since Manning arrived. Fantasy owners have to keep this guy in the lineup every week, especially considering some of the monster usage numbers he garnered last season.
