This Sunday, it’s the Buffalo Bills vs. Patriots at New Era Field at 1pm. If you have any of the wide receivers or tight ends in this game on your fantasy football team, here’s what you need to know.
The Buffalo Bills continue to struggle to pass the ball this season. They are second to last in the league with just over 175 yards net passing yards per game. Part of the reason for this is due to injuries to key players including Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. The second part of it is due to the success of their running game which is second best in the league with an average of over 152 yards per game.
New England ranks in the bottom half of the league in passing yards per game at number 19 but that’s partly due to the fact that they are winning games and teams need to utilize the passing game to attempt to come back.
The Bills could get a big boost this week if Robert Woods is able to go. All signs point to the fact that he could play after sitting out last week with a foot injury but he will certainly be less than 100 percent so who knows what to expect. He hasn’t contributed much in fantasy leagues even when he was healthy so he’s not a good start if he does play.
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Marquise Goodwin remains in concussion protocol after last week’s game and Sammy Watkins, while out of his walking boot, won’t return for several weeks at best. That leaves Justin Hunter as the Bills most reliable wide receiver. Hunter didn’t receive many snaps his first two weeks with the Bills but did produce a touchdown each game. Last week he had the most snaps by far of any Bills receiver with 53 however it only led to 25 yards receiving on four targets with zero touchdowns.
The Bills best chance at production in the passing game comes from Charles Clay which says a lot for the team. Not because Clay is a bad player, but because Clay hasn’t been productive either. Clay had one week with 73 yards but besides that hasn’t put up over 52 yards in any other week. Combine that with his zero touchdowns for the season and that means there aren’t any Bills wide receivers or tight ends you should consider playing in fantasy football.
The Patriots, however, are a different story. While the Bills don’t have any receivers with over 300 yards receiving this season, the Patriots have four players. They are Rob Gronkowski (375), Martellus Bennett (367), Julian Edelman (321), and former Buffalo Bill Chris Hogan (300). On top of that, they have gotten good production out of their running back James White who has 244 yards receiving.
The Bills don’t match up well with the Patriots passing game considering they will be without Aaron Williams who would have been tasked with covering one of New England’s giant 6’6″ tight ends. Buffalo’s best chance of limiting their attack comes from getting a good pass rush going on Tom Brady before he can pick them apart.
Bennett is questionable for this game so stay tuned to the injury reports but if he suits up, expect more of the same where the focus will be on Gronkowski who has gained a ton of yards since returning from an injury which will free up Bennett in the red zone to be a touchdown vulture.
Next: Bills vs. Pats: Start Tom Brady, Sit Tyrod Taylor
I wouldn’t start Hogan, but Gronk, Bennett, and Edelman are all good starts this week if they happened to be on your team. The Patriots should be successful through the air and that trio will be the most likely beneficiaries.