Baltimore Ravens - Fantasy News

Dolphins vs. Ravens Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Adam Markowitz

10/24/17

NFL

Baltimore Ravens

Benjamin Watson

It's hard enough for a team to have to change its starting quarterback twice in a season. That task is made even harder when the switch has to be made before a short week because said team plays on Thursday Night Football.

Fortunately for the Miami Dolphins, they've got a veteran in Matt Moore who is ready to step into the starting quarterback role for an injured Jay Cutler. Moore and his Dolphins are still underdogs against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, but it would be foolish to immediately write off a team that is 4-2 and has won three games in a row, particularly against a team that is just 1-4 in its last five games.

Miami Dolphins Week 8 Projected Fantasy Points
Jarvis Landry: 12.0 PFP
Matt Moore: 11.0 PFP
Jay Ajayi: 11.0 PFP
Kenny Stills: 8.5 PFP
Cody Parkey: 7.0 PFP

Baltimore Ravens Week 8 Projected Fantasy Points
Joe Flacco: 8.5 PFP
Justin Tucker: 8.0 PFP
Javorius Allen: 7.5 PFP
Mike Wallace: 7.0 PFP
Benjamin Watson: 6.0 PFP
Alex Collins: 6.0 PFP

Start 'Em: Matt Moore (11.0 PFP)

You probably don't realize this, but Matt Moore actually has 40 touchdown passes in his 28 career starts. A Projected Fantasy Points total of just 11.0 insinuates that Moore probably only has to throw one touchdown to produce a winner, especially if he can avoid turnovers.

In effectively just four drives against the Jets, Moore came up big with 13.52 Dober Fantasy Points. Though the Baltimore defense will provide a stiffer challenge than New York, we can't see Moore finishing with single digits in DFP.

Sit 'Em: Jay Ajayi (11.0 PFP)

Jay Ajayi is going to score a touchdown at some point, and if he does so this week against Baltimore, more power to him. But this is man who hasn't scored a touchdown all season long and has just one score in his last 10 games. Ajayi still has 88.6 percent of the rushing attempts for Miami tailbacks this season, but at some point, 3.5 yards per carry isn't going to cut it, and someone else will cut into his playing time.

Ajayi doesn't have a single run this year for more than 20 yards, and if that doesn't change on Thursday, he should be headed to a fifth game under his PFP in his last six. Don’t forget that the Ravens have a rowdy run defense.

Start 'Em: Benjamin Watson (6.0 PFP)

Benjamin Watson has 11 receptions in his last two games, and though he only has a total of 66 yards on those catches, he's still proving to be a nice security blanket for Joe Flacco.

With Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin and Breshad Perriman all likely to sit on Thursday night, receiving options are going to be thin.

If Flacco and the Raven gameplan is prudent, they’re going to go the same route that Eli Manning did without his top receivers and throw the ball more often to the tight end.

Sit 'Em: Javorius Allen (7.5 PFP)

It's a little scary to play against a man who is averaging 4.4 receptions per game, but if Javorius Allen is going to beat us, he's not going to do so on the ground. He only has one rushing touchdown this season, and he is ceding more and more playing time to Alex Collins as the season wears on. Allen only has one carry for more than 17 yards this season, and he has yet to average five yards per carry in a game.

The Dolphins have the No. 5 rush defense in the NFL, and they've only given up three rushing touchdowns all year.