A look at some key fantasy questions going into Week 3:ARE THE CARDINALS REALLY THIS BAD? CAN YOU STILL START DAVID JOHNSON?The Cardinals are 0-2. They’ve scored just 6 points and given up the sixth most points in football through the first two games. Their passing attack has suffered through the awful play of quarterback Sam Bradford. He’s averaging just 4 yards per pass attempt and will likely be replaced by rookie Josh Rosen soon. David Johnson was a top 3 overall pick in point-per-reception scoring leagues but he’s 27th in PPR scoring.With the Cards playing from behind for virtually the entire season Jace Sternberger Jersey , Johnson has been limited to just 22 rushing attempts, 26th most in the NFL. Arizona also hasn’t been taking advantage of Johnson’s pass-catching skills. He was targeted just twice last week. Head coach Steve Wilks claims he’ll line up out of the slot on occasion moving forward, which should help Johnson’s fantasy production.Based on your investment in his draft slot, Johnson remains a must-start for now. However, if you try trading him based 2018 production you’ll be dealing him based on extremely low fantasy value. It still wouldn’t hurt to put his name on your league’s trading block. Someone might surprise you and offer a trade based on his preseason value.SHOULD YOU START BUCCANEERS QB RYAN FITZPATRICK THIS WEEK?Fitzpatrick leads all QBs in passing yards and all position players in total fantasy points. He faces a Steelers team that is having issues playing on the road, and also gave up six TDs to Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes last week. Fitzpatrick has gotten the most out of his top offensive weapons, including WR DeSean Jackson and TE O.J. Howard. If your primary fantasy QB’s performances have been less than stellar, Fitzpatrick provides you with an opportunity to reap the benefits of one of the hottest performers in fantasy sports.SHOULD YOU START PATRICK MAHOMES EVERY WEEK OR TRY TRADING HIM?Mahomes’ consensus average draft position made him the 16th QB selected overall in preseason drafts. Through two games, Mahomes has scored the second-most fantasy points among all position players. Owners most likely also have a QB on their roster they originally thought would have a better chance of being more productive. If you own Mahomes and a good backup QB in leagues where you’re starting one QB per week, it might make sense to try to trade one. Which one? Well, Mahomes’ fantasy value may never be higher than it is right now.WHICH UNDER-THE-RADAR RB HAS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A BIG WEEK?Vikings RB Dalvin Cook has been ruled out this week against the Bills with a hamstring injury. Latavius Murray could provide RB1 fantasy production in his place. The Bills can’t stop the run and have given up the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing RBs. The Vikings are heavily favored this week and if they take an early big lead they may move away from their passing game as early as the middle of the third quarter. Murray could pile up some significant fantasy points to close out the game.WHICH UNDER-THE-RADAR WR HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR A BIG WEEK?The Giants don’t have a very good pass rush. They’ve played their first two games without their best pass rusher, Olivier Vernon, due to his high ankle sprain. Without any pressure from the Giants defensive line, mobile Texans QB Deshaun Watson will have plenty of time to connect with his open receivers; especially Will Fuller. In five career games with Watson under center Fuller has caught eight TDs Dexter Williams Jersey , and with CB Eli Apple battling a groin injury, Fuller could have a big day.WHAT IMPACT WILL NEW PATRIOTS WR JOSH GORDON HAVE ON THE PATRIOTS OFFENSE?There’s no denying that when he’s on the field, Gordon is a super-talented WR that opposing defenses need to focus on. We wouldn’t be surprised if he had a modest outing in Week 3, and at the same time it wouldn’t shock us if he had a monster game, either. Patriots receivers Chris Hogan and Philip Dorsett could benefit just by having Gordon on the field, simply because defenses will have to shift their focus. However, Tom Brady probably gains the most by adding Gordon to the Patriots roster. His receivers are Gordon, Hogan, Dorsett, TE Rob Gronkowski and after Week 4, wideout Julian Edelman will be reinstated. In his last three seasons in which he’s played at least 14 games, Edelman has averaged just over 98 receptions.SHOULD I START EAGLES QB CARSON WENTZ THIS WEEK?Wentz was having a phenomenal 2018 season before he tore his ACL and LCL in Week 13. His ability to move in the pocket contributed mightily to his 2017 success. Can he be as mobile this week or will it take a game or two for him to get in game shape? We don’t know for sure. In addition, the Eagles receiving corps is hurting. Alshon Jeffery is unlikely to play and they signed Jordan Matthews as a replacement for Mike Wallace, who was placed on injured reserve. That move might do more harm than good since that could force Nelson Agholor to have to play on the outside instead of in the slot Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , where he enjoyed a lot of success last season. If you’ve been able to work without Wentz for the first two weeks of the season and have a viable backup, keep Wentz on your bench and watch how things unfold this week. Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes. Drew Brees against Jared Goff.Two high-profile rematches with the Super Bowl on the line.The NFL’s highest-scoring offenses face off in the conference championships next Sunday. Brady leads the New England Patriots into Kansas City to take on Mahomes and the Chiefs, and Brees and the New Orleans Saints host Goff and the Los Angeles Rams.“We’ll see how it goes,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “Well-coached, they have a lot of explosive players. We had a tremendous game with them here earlier. That was a long time ago. We’ll see where we are now, see where they are.”New England hosted Kansas City way back on Oct. 14, and Brady passed for 340 yards and a touchdown in a 43-40 victory that was the Chiefs’ first loss of the season.Mahomes’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill tied it with 3:03 left, but Brady drove the Patriots to Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard field goal as time expired.The AFC championship game is Brady’s first trip to Kansas City since he threw two interceptions and was sacked twice in an ugly 41-14 loss on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 29, 2014.“It’ll be a tough game,” Brady said. “They’re well-coached. They’ve got a good offense. … It’s going to be a lot of fun to go back there and play in a championship game and try to advance.”New Orleans (14-3) and Los Angeles (14-3) played their own wild shootout on Nov. 4. Wil Lutz’s 54-yard field goal got the lead for the Saints with 6:23 left, and Brees found Michael Thomas for a clinching 72-yard touchdown in a 45-35 victory.“When we come out there, we feel like no one can stop us,” Thomas said of his connection with Brees. “I just feel like we keep building every week. We have a thing, and it’s hard for the other team to stop.”The Saints averaged 31.5 points this season on their way to the NFC South title http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/anthony-zettel-jersey , ranking third in the NFL behind the Chiefs (35.3 points per game) and Rams (32.9) and ahead of the Patriots (27.3).It’s the first time in the Super Bowl era that the NFL’s top four scoring offenses all reached the conference championships.But New Orleans’ defense played a crucial role in its 20-14 win over Philadelphia in the divisional round on Sunday. Marshon Lattimore had two interceptions, including one on the Eagles‘ final drive, and the Saints erased an early 14-0 deficit.“We were real calm and poised and we knew we were going to get things done,” Brees said.Los Angeles advanced by powering its way to a 30-22 win against Dallas on Saturday. C.J. Anderson had 123 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and Todd Gurley rushed for 115 more yards and another TD.“Our sense of focus and the sense of urgency have gone up tremendously,” guard Rodger Saffold said.New England (12-5) also showed off its rushing attack in a 41-28 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Sony Michel rushed for 129 yards and three TDs.The Patriots scored on their first four possessions on their way to a 35-7 halftime lead.“The ability to execute early and get things going sets a lot of things up,” wide receiver Julian Edelman said. “It shows that we had a good week of practice, executed well in practice and it carried over and went into the game.”Kansas City (13-4) is headed for its first AFC title game in 25 years after rolling to a 31-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. Mahomes, who is one of the favorites for the NFL MVP award, passed for 278 yards and rushed for a score in his playoff debut.“This is what we work for,” Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford said. “We just want to keep this thing rolling. Enjoy it now but keep it rolling.”
