New York Giants - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Orleans Darkwa or Samaje Perine?

by Mike Rose

11/22/17

NFL

New York Giants

Orleans Darkwa

A Thanksgiving night matchup is set to occur at FedEx Field in Landover, MD, when the Washington Redskins welcome the New York Giants into town for the first time since Week 17 of the 2016 season.

When these two teams hooked up in their last meeting neither Orleans Darkwa nor Samaje Perine were part of the equation. This time around, however, these two ball carriers will be big factors for their respective squads.

Fantasy Matchup: Orleans Darkwa (10.5 PFP) vs. Samaje Perine (6.5 PFP)

Darkwa has averaged 8.81 Dober Fantasy Points per game this season, which is more than Perine, and enters this matchup as a four-point favorite. With the Giants coming off of a shocking win over the Chiefs in Week 11, seeing Darkwa as such a prominent favorite isn’t too shocking. His only two touchdowns, however, have come at home, while his best yardage output came on the road against the Broncos (117 yards).

For the season, Darkwa has run for 489 yards on 101 carries to go along with those two touchdowns. He’s only managed 100-plus yards once through nine games played and will now be going up against the No. 19 ranked rush defense. Washington has conceded 114.6 yards per game and 256.2 fantasy points (25.6 per contest) to ball carriers on the campaign. This could be a huge advantage for Darkwa and the Giants.

Despite a very down year in which New York has lost nine games and counting, Darkwa has performed better in those defeats. He’s managed 298 of his 489 yards in his team’s losses as well as one of his two touchdowns. In the month of November, he is averaging a respectable 4.3 yards per carry and is coming off of his first touchdown scamper since Week 5. The No. 39 ranked fantasy back has reached 70-plus yards four times, with three of those games coming in as many weeks.

Meanwhile, Perine enters this Thanksgiving night clash with the Giants off of his best game of the season. He ran for 117 yards and one touchdown against the Saints in place of the injured Rob Kelley. He will be facing a Giants defense that ranks No. 30 against opposing backfields, so this could be a favorable matchup considering he had a great game against a stout Saints defensive unit.

The Giants defense has allowed 148.5 yards and 24 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Both teams have had their issues defending against the run and the trend figures to continue in this divisional matchup. We’ll see if the Giants can carry the momentum of their upset win over the Chiefs into this affair with Darkwa carrying the load. If not, it’ll be another long day for the G-Men.

As far as your Dober Play Cards are concerned, it’s kind of a toss-up even though Darkwa is the four-point favorite. Perine is coming off of a fantastic start so that spread is a bit deceiving. If I were to choose one of these two to add to my lineup, I’d go with Darkwa on the road because he’s proven himself just a bit more.

Week 12 Fantasy Projection: Orleans Darkwa (-4) vs. Samaje Perine