Week 2 – Detroit Lions vs. The Green Bay Packers
Spread – GB -12.5 O/U
Last Week
There were two great games to start the NFL season; Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football. What a time to be alive. Whether you enjoy fantasy football, gambling, or just watching your team, week one didn’t disappoint.
Lamar didn’t look great, and the Raiders came out ready to play. Their defensive line harassed Lamar most of the game. Baltimore will have to clean up their offensive front if they expect Lamar to take the next step in his progression.
The Raiders, on the other hand, do what they do – Derek Carr to Darren Waller. Waller had 19 targets, leading the NFL in week one. Waller is simply dominant and barring injury, he will turn in another eye-popping season.
Accountability
Boom – Sammy Watkins – 5 receptions and 96 yards
I will call this a draw. The name of the game in fantasy football is targets and touchdowns. The former should eventually bring the latter. Anytime there are decisions to be made as to who will boom and who will bust, we must anticipate who will get in the endzone. The one touchdown pass went to Hollywood Brown (who outscored Watkins on the evening), but Sammy was involved. He is going to be a part of this offense moving forward.
Bust – Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs did what he does. He scored touchdowns.
In fantasy football, players need to score to separate themselves from the pack. Think about it. If a player runs for 25 carries and 150 yards, they dominated the game. But if that same player had zero catches and zero touchdowns, they seemingly didn’t do much. If a player only has one catch,40 total yards, and doesn’t score, that player would be a disaster as your RB2. But if that player scores two touchdowns in the game, they salvaged their effort by plodding in the endzone. This is how I view Josh Jacobs. Last year as the fantasy football RB8, Jacobs had 12 touchdowns; and when he scores touchdowns, he has good weeks.
In Week 1, Jacobs only had 1 catch and 40 total yards, but he found the zone twice so that’s a fail on my buster call.
I’ll call it a draw and a loss for week one.
Moving on to Week 2, where the lowly Lions try to surprise the downtrodden Packers.
Boom – Marquez Valdes-Scanding (MVS)
MVS is due to boom for your fantasy football team; and when he goes boom, he can win teams a week. Davante Adams is the man to have in the Packers offense, and I believe he destroys the Lions this week; but MVS had 8 targets last week. At 26 years old, he may finally have put it together. He wasn’t a one-trick pony, just going deep either. MVS was running intermediate routes and he should be a solid complement to Davante Adams all season.
The Lions were torched by Deebo Samuel and the 49ers’ pass offense. The Lions are a bad team that is rebuilding. They can neither rush the passer nor defend in their secondary. Not a great combination for any pass defense.
With the Packers being humiliated by the Saints, coming home to face the Lions will be the perfect medicine for Green Bay.
Projection: 5 receptions, 130 yards, 1 touchdown
Buster – Jared Goff
Jared Goff came away Sunday with an excellent stat line for fantasy football. He was 38 of 57 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He looked like classic Goff; making some great touch passes to wide open players, but threw a pick-six and looked shaky any time the 49ers had pressure.
Many believe that Goff would be a solid QB2 in super flex leagues. With 31 fantasy points last week he was QB5 on the week. That was a great start to Goff’s career. The problem is most of those yards, scores, and points came in garbage time.
I don’t discriminate in fantasy football. It is a different game than real football. All points count. But once the 49ers had a lead, they allowed the Lions to make a comeback.
That will not be the case this week. Detroit was down 41-17 when Goff started to make a move. Many things went the Lion’s way at home for them to get that game to within one score. This week I believe the Packers will score at will, and will not relent on defense. I could see a Packers defense Lambeau leap on Monday Night.
Don’t call it a comeback
The one strength of the Lions is their offensive line. Jared Goff can be a good quarterback if he is given time and he is able to throw to a spot. But if he is off his mark, protection breaks down, or if a receiver isn’t open, Goff folds like a cheap chair that bites your finger when you close it.
Goff should not be played this week. I see him facing a lot of pressure. And although the Lions could be down early and often against the Packers, I don’t see garbage time points coming this week. This feels like a get-right game for the Pack.
Goff will have a few top-10 games. When he’s playing at home, his line holds up, and when he’s playing against the right opponent, he can fill the stat sheet. But the Lions are a terrible team that is once again competing for the top pick in the draft.
I believe the Packers run the Lions out of Lambeau and Jared Goff is never able to get on track.
Projection: 28 of 45 for 225 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions
For my gambling friends out there, I am taking the Packers with the points. This seems like the Lions can back door the big number, but I see a laugher this week. The Packers need a win. The Lions were valiant in their effort to come back last week but the Packers are simply much better and will run them out of town.
Final Score – Packers 35-Lions 17
