Start Buffalo Bills Defense, Bench Raiders Defense

Start Buffalo Bills defense this week in fantasy football. Bench the Oakland Raiders defense.

The Buffalo Bills head out west to play the Oakland Raiders in a matchup at 4:05p.m. eastern time. The Raiders have one of the most powerful offenses in the league led by the passing attack of Derek Carr who’s favorite targets have been Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree this year.

While the Raiders offense has scored the fourth-most points per game in the league with 27.9 the Bills are surprisingly not far behind at number eight with 25.5 average points per game. Buffalo’s offense is not generally considered a juggernaut due to their struggles in the passing game, but they have the best rushing attack in the NFL and have a knack for the big play.

This shapes up to be a potentially high scoring game which is nothing new to the Raiders who have been involved in several shootouts this season. The key to the game for Buffalo will be shutting down or limiting the Raiders offense which will be tougher since Ronald Darby was ruled out for the game after suffering a concussion last week.

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The Buffalo defense is a tough decision this week. If you have another top defense on your team you should consider starting them but the Bills are seventh best in average points per week in standard yahoo scoring leagues so they are still a good option. Part of their reason is that they have the second most sacks in the league with 33.

Oakland, on the other hand, is an easy decision. They should be left on the waiver wire. They are involved in too many high scoring games this season and they are last in the league in sacks despite having such talented front seven players as Bruce Irvin and University at Buffalo star Khalil Mack.

The Bills have given up 13 touchdowns rushing and 13 on passing plays this season. That ranks them as the fifth best in passing touchdowns and 25th in rushing touchdowns. Oakland will surely look to beat the Bills through the air which should make it interesting.

Next: Bills at Raiders: Three Keys to the Game

If you don’t have a good alternative on your roster as a defense Buffalo is a fine start this week. They make enough splash plays that they can overcome a high scoring matchup with Oakland. If you have another top defense with a favorable matchup you can consider starting them as well. Oakland’s defense, on the other hand, shouldn’t be in consideration. Their offense is where their fantasy strength lies.

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