Fantasy football projections, Week 16: Colts-Raiders featuring Andrew Luck, Derek Carr, Michael Crabtree, more

The Week 16 matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland Raiders features two top-tier quarterbacks going head-to-head in the fantasy finals. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Andrew Luck and the Colts dominated time of possession against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15. It resulted in Indianapolis winning by a score of 34-6. Luck finished with 250 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. The effort marked just the second time in the last six games that Luck has not thrown a pick. His confidence has to be up right now given that he imposed his will on Minnesota. Heading into Week 16, he’ll likely find himself in a high-scoring game against the Raiders. That will benefit Luck’s fantasy owners. Don’t be surprised to see the quarterback throw for over 300 yards against Oakland, something he hasn’t done since Week 7. The Raiders rank 25th against the pass.

Whenever the Colts decide to run the ball they’ll be putting it into the hands of Frank Gore. Gore rushed for 101 yards on 26 carries against the Vikings last week for his second 100-yard game of the season. As bad as the Raiders are against the pass, they are equally subpar against the run, ranking 25th in the league. That should be music to the years of Gore’s fantasy owners. Expect him to run wild in Oakland and put together a second straight big game. Gore should surpass his projections on Saturday.

Quarterback Derek Carr has cooled off a little bit lately and so has the talk of him being named regular season MVP. Even in spite of that the Raiders have found ways to keep on winning. Carr completed 19 passes for 213 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a win over the San Diego Chargers last week. He also only has one touchdown pass in the last two games combined. The good news is the Colts rank in the bottom third of the league against opposing fantasy quarterbacks. Carr should be back in top form in Week 16. Expect him to beat his projections.

Fellow 2016 Pro Bowl selection Amari Cooper can’t necessarily be counted on to do the same. While it’s good that he’s reached 1,000 receiving yards on the season, Cooper has been held to fewer than 30 yards in three of the last four games. His recent totals are quite surprising, but keep in mind that Cooper also has to compete with Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray for touches. He’s capable of doing a lot more from a fantasy perspective and he will prove it on Saturday. In terms of topping his fantasy projections, however, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution and assume Cooper won’t this time around.