Getty Gallery: 2/7
Start: QB Matt Ryan vs. Saints
Sit: QB Philip Rivers vs. Rams
Falcons fans spent a week and a half bemoaning Atlanta's red zone offense after another poor outing against the Eagles. The fear was Atlanta's offense had not progressed at all despite spending the entire offseason working on red zone production. Matt Ryan and the Falcons had 100 percent efficiency against the Panthers. There is reason to think the Falcons offense has finally turned the corner under offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. If so, Ryan is back to being a fantasy relevant quarterback, and he did so by spreading the ball around to a number of receivers.
Ryan is a start this week against the Saints, but it is not because we expect the Falcons quarterback to achieve two rushing touchdowns. Ryan does face a Saints defense that is much worse than the Panthers, and the Falcons offense heads into Week 3 with momentum on their side. Ryan only missed on five passes as he was 23-of-28 for 272 yards and two passing touchdowns to go with his two rushing TD's. Eight different Falcons receivers had at least one reception. After the Falcons big win over the Panthers, Julio Jones explained why the offense looked so different than in Week 1.
"Now you see today, everybody just do your job. We don't need to overthink this thing," Jones told ESPN. "We don't need to make up things. We don't need new plays. We don't need none of that. Let's go out here and just take what they give us. They played three-over-two to me and [Mohamed] Sanu to the left side, even though we had one-on-one backside. Calvin, touchdown. Hoop, touchdown. I mean, it's really simple for us down there, because we have a lot of talent on this team and everybody can make plays."
Philip Rivers Faces a Difficult Matchup Against the Rams
If you are like me, you are streaming quarterbacks in some of your leagues. Like many fantasy owners, I picked up Philip Rivers for Week 2, which worked out as the Chargers quarterback threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns. It may be time to drop him this week as the Chargers square off with the Rams. It is not a good matchup against a Rams defense that has been punishing opposing offenses. The Rams defense may be the best unit in the NFL, and I am not taking any chances with so many other great quarterback options on the waiver wire.
“I can’t remember a time I’ve seen a defense play that complete from whistle to whistle," McVay told TheRams.com. "From first quarter to the fourth quarter, they did an excellent job. And that offense has some good players. “So to be able to hold those guys is a real credit to our defensive coaching staff, to our players for their execution, and what a phenomenal job by them today.”
If Ryan is not available in your league, here are a few quarterbacks to consider picking up for this week: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.