New England Patriots - Fantasy News

Titans at Patriots Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

1/11/18

NFL

New England Patriots

Brandin Cooks

After pulling off a huge upset in the AFC Wild Card round, the Tennessee Titans will travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots in a game with the biggest point spread of the week.

After being shellacked 21-3 in the first half against Kansas City, Tennessee somehow managed to stop the bleeding and put together long drives en route to scoring 19 unanswered points to win the game. Tennessee will need to play a complete game this week, though, to have any chance to advance to the AFC Championship Game.

Meanwhile, led by the presumptive MVP, New England put together another ho-hum 13-3 season. The Patriots are enormous favorites to win this one and advance to their seventh consecutive conference title game. The real tests for this team will come next week and in the Super Bowl.

Tennessee Titans Divisional Round Projected Fantasy Points
Marcus Mariota: 15.5 PFP
Derrick Henry: 11.5 PFP
Delanie Walker: 10.5 PFP
Rishard Matthews: 9.0 PFP
Ryan Succop: 8.5 PFP
Eric Decker: 7.0 PFP
Corey Davis: 6.5 PFP

New England Patriots Divisional Round Projected Fantasy Points
Tom Brady: 21.0 PFP
Rob Gronkowski: 14.5 PFP
Dion Lewis: 13.5 PFP
Brandin Cooks: 12.5 PFP
Rex Burkhead: 10.0 PFP
Stephen Gostkowski: 10.0 PFP
Chris Hogan: 10.0 PFP
Danny Amendola: 7.0 PFP
James White: 6.5 PFP

Start 'Em: Derrick Henry (11.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 8.22

Henry has played like a man possessed since DeMarco Murray went down in Week 16. He recorded 29 touches for 117 yards and a touchdown to get the Titans into the playoffs and then put the team on his back in Kansas City with 23 touches for 191 yards and another score. New England has played soft run defense all year, and the Pats are significantly undersized in the front seven. Henry is bigger and stronger than most of the players on this defense, and he’ll be fed the ball frequently as long as Tennessee is within a couple of scores. His 11.5 DFP projection is way too low for a player like Henry in such a good matchup.

Sit 'Em: Rishard Matthews (9.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 9.34

There’s a reason most people can only name two players on the New England defense. Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore are far and away the two best players on this unit, and they’ll both spend time matching up with Matthews. The Titans receiver has put up DFP totals of 5.8, 1.2 and 2.0 in his last three contests, and Marcus Mariota isn’t going to be mistaken for a gunslinger anytime soon. Mariota excels on short throws between the numbers, making a ton of passes to running backs and tight ends while leaving players like Matthews out in the cold even in favorable matchups. We recommend fading the journeyman receiver on Dober Play Cards this week.

Start 'Em: Brandin Cooks (12.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 11.92

If not for its soft-as-warm-butter schedule, we might be talking about Tennessee as having one of the worst secondaries in the league. The Titans were lit up by every respectable quarterback they faced this year and gave up 231 yards and two touchdowns to Alex Smith in one half last week. Tyreek Hill garnered 87 yards on seven receptions in that game and could have had much more had he not dropped two deep balls. Enter Cooks, playing with the best quarterback of all time and coming off a strong first season in New England. Cooks has the speed and ability to run after the catch to get 12.5 DFP on a single play. We’re betting he’ll do just that this week.  

Sit 'Em: Chris Hogan (10.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 10.29

Nursing a shoulder injury, Hogan has one reception for one yard since Week 8. While early indications are that he’ll give it a go in this game, expect New England to play it safe with a player who put up 33 receptions for 438 yards and five touchdowns in less than half the season. The Patriots will probably rotate Hogan in and out a lot while the game is competitive, and it won’t be surprising at all if they shut him down early in the second half if they have a lead. Hogan will be heard from again this year, but we recommend fading him in his first game back.