St. Louis Rams (3-2) at Miami Dolphins (2-3)

This game pits two really surprising teams against one another. St. Louis will look to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks in third place in an ultra-competitive NFC West. Meanwhile, Miami, who could be 4-1 at this point, will look to hit .500 entering mid-October.

You can expect a lower-scoring affair between two defenses among the top half of the NFL in points against.

While Ryan Tannehill has thrown four more interceptions than touchdowns, he has improved in each and every game, giving Miami a shot to win at the end in almost all games. Sam Bradford completed just 7-of-21 passes against the Arizona Cardinals last Thursday, he did throw two key touchdown passes.

Look for Miami to defend their home field here and hit .500 in what has been a surprising season.

Fantasy Outlook

I am not sold on anyone making much of a fantasy impact in this game. Danny Amendola is injury (won’t play) and Reggie Bush is still a tad banged up. I guess if I had to go with anyone here it would be the aforementioned Bush or Brian Hartline, who has been a consistently good WR2 option this season.

Buffalo Bills (2-3) at Arizona Cardinals (4-1)

Arizona is in a tough situation at the running back position. Both Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams have been place on Injured Reserve. Wells will be eligible to return in November, Williams is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Will it matter against a Bills defense that has yielded nearly 550 yards on the ground over the last two games? Not too entirely sure about that one.

Meanwhile, Ryan Fitzpatrick is among the leaders in the NFL in interceptions and will be going up against what is a tough and opportunistic Cardinals’ defense. I cannot envision Buffalo being able to hang in here too long. Look for Kevin Kolb, yes I said it, Kevin Kolb, to have a big game.

Fantasy Outlook

If you have to rely on a Bills player this week you are in deep trouble. I don’t see either Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller making much of an impact against what has been an elite Cardinals defense. More importantly, look for Patrick Peterson to shut Stevie Johnson down, kinda like what we saw last week in San Francisco.

On the other side of the ball, Kolb is a solid QB1 option this week if your starting quarterback is either on a bye or you don’t like the matchup. On that note, look for Larry FItzgerald to provide solid WR1 numbers. Start em’ both and be happy with it.

New England Patriots (3-2) at Seattle Seahawks (3-2)

This is an extremely interesting game. It pits strength against strength with a dominating Seahawks defense going up against one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL. Will Tom Brady have issues in what is a difficult stadium for opposing teams? Can Seattle muster enough offense to pull out the win?

Look for Pete Carroll and company to give the ball to Marshawn Lynch at least 25 times in an attempt to control the clock, put Russell Wilson in a good situation and keep the aforementioned Brady off the field.

Stevan Ridley, one of the most surprising running backs in the NFL, leads what has quickly become a really good Patriots’ run game. Look for the Patriots to continue feeding him the ball in a strong attempt to maintain balance on offense.

I just cannot envision this Patriots team falling to .500 after six weeks. Look for them to expose a weak Seahawks’ offense and pull off what should be a close game.

Fantasy Outlook

If there was ever a game that I would seriously considering benching Tom Brady, this is it. He is going to have a hard time finding seams in the back end of Seattle’s defense where they boast three Pro Bowl players. Still, it is nearly impossible to suggest that you sit Brady at any time.

I would definitely think about starting both running backs, Marshawn Lynch and Stevan Ridley here. They’re going to get the touches and provide true WR1 numbers. Outside of that, start Rob Gronkowski and sit both of the Pats’ starting wide receivers, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd.

New York Giants (3-2) at San Francisco 49ers (4-1)

For the third time in a calendar year, the defending Super Bowl Champions come to Candlestick to take on a 49ers’ team they defeated in the NFC Championship Game in January. The atmosphere is going to be electric at the Stick as San Francisco looks to exact some sort of revenge.

By now it is well noted that San Francisco put up some record numbers in their 45-3 beatdown of the Buffalo Bills last week and have outscored their last two opponents by a combined 79-3 score. However, that was against what has to be considered relatively weak competition. Absolutely no way New York gives up like the 49ers last two opponents have. Eli Manning, despite being mistake prone, will come to play against an elite defense.

Meanwhile, look for Tom Coughlin and company to attempt to put pressure on Alex Smith with their dominating front seven. If they are unable to get pressure, Smith will literally eat apart a weak Giants’ secondary.

I have the 49ers winning what will be a much different game than most people expected. San Francisco will grab the “W” by double digits, cementing their status as the best team in the NFL.

Fantasy Outlook

Ahmad Bradshaw might have had a solid performance last week against the Cleveland Brown. The problem is, he isn’t going up against the Browns defense this week. I couldn’t caution more sternly, SIT him!! Eli Manning and Victor Cruz are definitely starts as the Giants will have to turn to the pass early and often in this game. Look for Cruz to rack up a minimum of 15 targets going up against Carlos Rogers. who he made look like an average corner in January.

Don’t be fooled by Alex Smith’s performance last week. The 49ers offense is going to start and end with the run game. Smith won’t provide QB1 production because he won’t be given an opportunity to. On that note, start Gore and expect RB1 production. Also, Michael Crabtree is a solid FLEX option, while Vernon Davis will give you a TE1 performance.