We will continue to write about the fallout from Opening Day and how it translates into everything we are doing in Week 2, but our Games to Target article might be the biggest beneficiary from just one week of football. There are plenty of games for which we have strong opinions — love or hate — and we can directly thank last week’s action for this level of conviction.
A Note from Mario: Minnesota disappointed me on all levels last week, and we start the year 1-2 with these picks. I will continue to provide them as I see fit, but please do your research and play responsibly.
In the world of daily fantasy roster construction, ‘stacking’ players from the same team can often lead to big results. In this column of games to target in Week 2, Luke and Mario will give their thoughts on a few games that are worth watching for fantasy purposes, and whether they like the value or feel the game is getting too much attention.
Luke’s Top Games to Watch
Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers
Football is a funny and fickle game. To kick off the season, the Raiders and Steelers were two of my favorite underdog teams to steal a win. Fast forward to this week, these teams have done their jobs and now meet up for what is my least favorite game on the Week 2 slate. The Raiders’ offense looked very rusty at the start of last week before Derek Carr got hot in the 4th quarter. He also had the luxury of playing at home and against a banged-up Ravens team. This week, the Raiders will have to manage a matchup against the vaunted Steelers defense that just got done manhandling Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Coming off a long Monday Night Football game with an emotional overtime win, traveling across the country for a 1:00 PM EST game, and playing against one of the best defenses in football all add up to make it very hard for me to have any faith in the Raiders’ offense. On the other side of this game, the Steelers may have pulled off a major upset last week, but their offense was hardly the deciding factor. 252 yards of total offense is a very poor showing, and much of that had to do with the offensive line struggles. The running game never stood a chance, and Ben Roethlisberger barely had any time to make plays in the pocket. The one thing that really stood out to me in the Raiders game was their ability to get pressure from their defensive lineman. If they can replicate that success, it is going to be another very long game for this Steelers offense.
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After watching these two teams in Week 1, everyone in the world should Please register or login to read the rest of the article.