This week in the NFL there are plenty of great matchups. This will certainly be an exciting week of football that you do not want to miss. A few decisive division games and old rivalries are renewed this week with a bunch of Pro Bowl athletes battling it out on the gridiron. Here are your top five matchups that you need to pay attention to for Week 10:
Cam Newton vs. Colin Kaepernick
This matchup premiers two young and mobile quarterbacks looking to make a push to the playoffs. It’s not exactly the best news for Newton to face a fresh 49ers defense coming off the bye. But the Panthers are on a hot four game winning streak and Newton has been a big part of that. On this streak, Newton has seven touchdown passes to two interceptions and three rushing touchdowns. We are finally seeing the Cam Newton of old and it makes us fantasy owners ecstatic.
As long as Newton can limit his turnovers, the Panthers have a solid chance to compete. Kaepernick has only thrown for over 200 yards once since week one and it will not get any easier this week against a surprisingly good Panthers defense that ranks first against fantasy quarterbacks; even though they have given up a passing touchdown every week except for week three against the Giants. The yardage most likely will not be there for Kaepernick but he is starting to finally run the ball himself like we all expected. He has three rushing touchdowns the past two games so the Panthers will have a lot on their hands.
Projections:
Cam Newton – 230 passing yards, 30 rushing yards, two total touchdowns, one interception
Colin Kaepernick – 180 passing yards, 50 rush yards, two total touchdowns, one interception
LeSean McCoy vs. Eddie Lacy
McCoy’s number of touches has gone down dramatically over the season. The past three games he averages only 15 carries with 49 rushing yards per game. The Packers defense has been vulnerable against the run the past two games giving up over 200 yards and three touchdowns.
McCoy can definitely get back on track this week against this defense. As for Lacy, this man has been doing it all. His workload averages over 25 touches per game and is on a hot streak of three games in a row with a touchdown. The Eagles defense gives up just under an average of one rushing touchdown per game. Now that Aaron Rodgers is out for an unknown period of time, expect Lacy to continue his major workload and pound the ball as much as he can.
Projections:
LeSean McCoy – 63 yards, four catches, 36 receiving yards, one touchdown
Eddie Lacy – 96 rushing yards, one touchdown
Reggie Bush vs. Matt Forte
In standard fantasy leagues, Bush is one of those athletes who is up and down every week. If the pattern continues then this will be a down week. But if we look back at week four where these two teams met, Bush was on his game where he had over 100 yards rushing with a touchdown. The Bears have been awful against the run the past three games giving up SEVEN touchdowns.
You can count on Bush having another big game against the Bears. Forte just can’t seem to have a bad game. The worst fantasy performance he has put up this season was 11 points. Like Bush, Forte had great stats the last time these teams met where he had 95 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Lions defense has been quite good against opposing running backs since that game in week four, not giving up a touchdown since. If anyone can break that streak, it is Matt Forte.
Projections:
Reggie Bush – 80 rush yards, five catches, 45 receiving yards, one touchdown
Matt Forte – 90 rush yards, three catches, 24 receiving yards, one touchdown
Calvin Johnson vs. Brandon Marshall
What more can we expect from Megatron? This man cannot be covered. Even in triple coverage Johnson somehow gets his hands on the ball and comes down with it. No matter what defenses do, Matthew Stafford finds his man. The last time that Johnson was against the Bears, he had a measly 44 yards and a touchdown. After two weeks of complete dominance and coming off the bye, we all want to see him stay in the clouds and put up more astronomical numbers. But we all know that is very unlikely.
I expect Johnson to come back to earth and the Bears to somewhat keep him quiet. And when I say quiet I mean less than 200 yards. Marshall has not disappeared now that Jay Cutler is out with injury. Even with Josh McCown as quarterback, he still managed to put up over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. The Lions defense has been terrible against opposing wide receivers so this is a major plus for Marshall. He didn’t find the end zone in the week four matchup but this time will be different.
Projection:
Calvin Johnson – Seven receptions, 72 yards, two touchdowns
Brandon Marshall – Eight receptions, 86 yards, one touchdown
Tony Romo vs. Drew Brees
The leading matchup of the day consists of two of the top three fantasy quarterbacks in the NFL. Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys travel down to the bayou to take on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Romo has been quite the fantasy quarterback this season but will find some trouble this week in New Orleans. The Saints defense has been elite against opposing quarterbacks, only giving up multi-touchdown games twice this season. Romo has six games with multi-touchdown passes so he will be put to a good test this week.
He has the weapons to make big plays but the Saints have the weapons on defense to stop them. Brees on the other hand is probably in high spirits about facing this Cowboys defense who is ranked last against opposing quarterbacks. They have also given up over 400 yards passing four times this season and we all know that Brees loves to air the ball out. He should have no trouble at all having over a 300 yard game with multiple touchdown passes, especially since they are playing in New Orleans.
Projections:
Tony Romo – 280 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions
Drew Brees – 350 passing yards, four touchdowns, one interception