New England Patriots (4-3) at St. Louis Rams (3-4) * In London

When the schedule was made during the spring many people had come to the conclusion that the NFL had screwed the Rams over on this one. A home game against the defending AFC Champions in London? Really, that didn’t seem to make much sense.

After the initial seven weeks of the 2012 season, this doesn’t seem like the mismatch that many believed it would be. New England, who is 0-2 against the NFC West this season, struggled in a close win against the New York Jets last week. This is a team that just doesn’t seem to be right on the offensive side of the ball..Definitely a rarity for a Tom Brady-led offense.

Meanwhile, St. Louis has already won more games than it did last season, mostly due to exceptional play on the defensive side of the ball. Though, Sam Bradford has stepped it up recently. The third-year quarterback has thrown for 570 yards and completed 64 percent of his passes over the course of the last two games. This coming off the heels of a three-game stretch where Bradford threw for just 514 yards and completed 48 percent of his passes.

While I am not into giving predictions in these types of articles, I will go off the ranch for a second and pick the Rams in what would have to be considered a major upset.

Fantasy Outlook

Look for Tom Brady, Stevan Ridley and Rob Gronkowski to put up solid fantasy numbers. While they are going up against a top 10 overall defense in the St. Louis Rams, the Patriots success and/or failure is predicated on their ability to succeed on offense. A couple things to think about as it relates to Brady is the fact that he has thrown only four touchdowns in the last three games and will be facing a Rams’ defense that has yielded just seven touchdown passes this season.

As fellow eDraft writer Jesus Castanon indicated earlier, Brandon Gibson is probably the only viable starting option for St. Louis, though only in PPR leagues. Gibson isn’t a deep threat and has only scored five touchdowns in the last three seasons.

Seattle Seahawks (4-3) at Detroit Lions (2-4)

Two teams in desperate needs of wins. Seattle, coming off a hard-fought loss to the San Francisco 49ers, now sits a game back in the NFC West. Meanwhile, Detroit is now three games back in the NFC North. A loss here would put both teams in a precarious position, especially the Lions.

Something just isn’t right in Motown right now. Matthew Stafford has thrown a total of five touchdowns in six games after compiling 41 touchdowns last season. His quarterback rating has also dropped from 97.2 to 78.4 in that span. Obviously not the upward trajectory that Detroit was hoping for after its surprising playoff season.

Meanwhile, Seattle has to rebound from another road loss to the division-leading 49ers last week. It simply cannot afford to fall to .500 halfway through the season. Russell Wilson, who shined a week prior against the New England Patriots, completed just one pass in the second half against San Francisco. He needs to have a better game against a lesser Lions’ defense. If not, Marshawn Lynch won’t be able to carry the load all by himself.

Fantasy Outlook

Really not much to see here. I wouldn’t touch Matthew Stafford with a 10-foot pole right now. He has thrown less touchdowns than Blaine Gabbert, which is an indication of just how much he has struggled. Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson only recorded three receptions last week and struggled with drops. That being said, Johnson is a guaranteed starter every time he suits up.

Marshawn Lynch ran rough shot over a stout 49ers’ defense last week to the tune of 103 yards. He is going up against a lesser defense in Detroit, who ranks 16th in the league against the rush.

San Francisco 49ers (5-2) at Arizona Cardinals (4-3)

For the second consecutive week San Francisco goes up against a division opponent with first place on the line on national television. It does so after a 10-day break to work out some issues in the passing game. Alex Smith struggled for the second consecutive week. It does seem that an injury to a finger on his throwing hand has affected his performance. Smith threw just his second career red zone interception last week. He simply cannot afford to turn the ball over if the 49ers want to be considered top contenders in the NFC.

The bread-and-butter of San Francisco’s success is the run game on offense and overall performance on defense. Both of those aspects did this team well against Seattle. It’s defense now ranks No. 2 in points against, No. 1 against the pass and No. 1 overall. Not too shabby. Frank Gore compiled 182 yards on 21 touches against one of the best defenses in the league. 

Meanwhile, Arizona is in complete shambles right now. It’s quarterbacks have been sacked a total of 35 times, representing a pace that would make David Carr’s pass protection in Houston look elite. Kevin Kolb is unlikely to play in this game and Arizona has lost three consecutive games since starting the season 4-0.

To add insult to injury, quite literally, both Ryan Williams and Beanie Wells will miss substantial times due to injuries. While LaRod Stephens-Howling did step in admirably last week, it’s hard to imagine him doing much against a stout 49ers’ defense.

Arizona does have a couple advantages here. It’s defense has continued to play damn good football and it is playing at home on national television. Expect the fans to be rearing and ready to go for this one.

Fantasy Outlook

This promises to be yet another tough defensive battle between two NFC West teams. As I mentioned before, San Francisco ranks among the best in the NFL in every single defensive category. Don’t expect anyone on the Cardinals to make any type of a solid fantasy impact here. Meanwhile, the only sure bet on the 49ers side of the ball has to be considered Frank Gore, who is currently on pace to gain over 1,600 total yards this season.