New Orleans Saints v Indianapolis Colts
Matchups are a key part of fantasy football at every position. You want to start quarterbacks and wide receivers facing leaky secondaries. Running backs who face defenses that are soft up the middle. Kickers who—OK, no one cares about kickers except maybe their parents.
The same absolutely holds true with team defenses. And there are some defenses right now getting more gravy than at Thanksgiving—because there are a handful of quarterback injuries and benchings that have led to some interesting dudes starting under center.
Last week’s game in Vegas between the Raiders and New York Giants featured a pair of rookies in Aidan O’ Connell and Tommy DeVito. O’ Connell and the Raiders did OK. DeVito and the Giants did not—the G-Men turned it over twice, allowed eight sacks and scored six points. It was even worse for Clayton Tune in his first start for the Arizona Cardinals—the Redbirds tallied all of 58 yards of offense and never got inside the 40-yard line against the Cleveland Browns. Brett Rypien of the Los Angeles Rams isn’t a rookie, but he was a disaster against the Green Bay Packers, completing less than half his passes for 130 yards and a pick in a 20-3 loss in Green Bay.
There are a number of quarterbacks fantasy managers should actively be targeting in Week 10—starting with a game in Dallas that may force the NFL to consider instituting a mercy rule in 2024.
THE NO-BRAINERS
Dallas Cowboys (vs. New York Giants)
Seriously, y’all. This ain’t fair. DeVito has been abysmal in the two games he’s played so far, and the Giants are stuck with the undrafted rookie—both Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones are on injured reserve after Daniel Jones tore his ACL last week. The Giants also have Matt Barkley on the roster, but it’s not like he provides some massive improvement. And whoever starts under center will be playing against arguably the best pass rush in the NFL behind an offensive line that is on pace to allow…
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