Atlanta Falcons - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Matt Ryan or Jameis Winston?

by Mike Rose

12/15/17

NFL

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan

An NFC South matchup will take place at Raymond James Stadium on Monday Night Football this week when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcome the Atlanta Falcons into town for the second and final meeting between the two division rivals in 2017.

The first time around, Matt Ryan and company took advantage of the absence of Jameis Winston and beat the Buccaneers 34-20 in Atlanta. This time, Tampa hopes to return the favor on its home turf and earn a season series split.

Fantasy Matchup: Matt Ryan (17.5 PFP) vs. Jameis Winston (14.5 PFP)

After getting picked off three times last week against the New Orleans Saints, Ryan will be looking to bounce back against a team he had a 316-yard performance against back in Week 12. This is definitely the week for the reigning MVP to show he’s still got it as the Bucs defense ranks dead last in the league in passing yards allowed at 276.1 yards per game and No. 31 in total yards allowed (389.3).

Ryan has averaged 14.11 Dober Fantasy Points per game and enters this divisional tilt installed as a three-point favorite. With a wide receiver combo comprised of monsters Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, it’s not surprising that Ryan is the favorite. Also, with the injury bug plaguing Winston only a few weeks ago, that could have played into Ryan being a decent favorite on the road.

For the season, the Boston College product has thrown for 3,278 yards and a poor 17-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s compiled a 65.9 completion percentage as the No. 16 fantasy quarterback and has averaged 252 yards per game on 32 pass attempts. Since his 300-plus yard performance back in Week 12 against Tampa, Ryan has thrown only one touchdown and three interceptions. While the output came against the Vikings and Saints in that two-game span, he’ll look to take advantage of Tampa this week.

The Buccaneers defense ranks No. 20 against fantasy quarterbacks and has allowed the ninth-most points to passers this season at 21.9 per game. It’s been an up and down year for Ryan, but if he can right the ship this could be the game that helps him lead his squad through another playoff run.

Meanwhile, Winston has had a rough, inconsistent and injury-plagued season. He’s played in only 10 games and has a poor 14-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The former Florida State Seminole has passed for 2,475 yards and is ranked as the No. 25 quarterback in fantasy.

He’ll be running up against the No. 19 ranked pass defense of the Falcons. Atlanta has allowed only 211.5 passing yards per game (No. 6) and ranks No. 7 in total yards allowed at 319.8 per contest.

These teams are going in opposite directions whether Atlanta makes the playoffs or not. Go with Ryan on the road as he’s been the better quarterback and has played very well against the Buccaneers throughout his career.

Week 15 Fantasy Projection: Matt Ryan (-3) vs. Jameis Winston