Basisphilosophie » perimeter or inside,” Lynn said.R

Patrick Mahomes is good. 2018 David Johnson looks nothing like 2016 David Johnson. The Rams defense has not only replaced the Seahawks as the NFC’s most dominant unit Rashan Gary Jersey , but may be the best the NFL has to offer.Week 3 will go a long way toward helping fantasy football owners decide how those clear early observations play out. Mahomes, Johnson and the Rams defense are certain starts, but the same can’t be said for some others whose fate will hinge on the faith of their owners.START: Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Buccaneers: FitzMagic’s next act won’t be too hard as the Steelers defense looks easily disappears. Pittsburgh is 31st in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks and will have to contend with the withering assault that will come from Fitzpatrick firing the ball to the likes of Mike Evans, O.J. Howard and DeSean Jackson. Mahomes’ historic start is the only reason that Fitzpatrick’s 699 yards and eight touchdowns aren’t the story of fantasy football. Playing Fitzpatrick on Monday night will give his owners plenty of confidence in pulling out a Week 3 victory.SIT: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: Seriously. The threat of his injured knee giving way blends in with a road game against a Redskins defense that has allowed 161 passing yards per game and a mere 5.1 yards per attempt. Rodgers saw his Week 1 fantasy output nearly cut in half by the Vikings last week and the Redskins will be focused on forcing him to make plays on his bad leg. Under normal circumstances, Rodgers is a must-start on a weekly basis, yet there’s too much risk in play with his injury. Those who have a QB2 who is healthy and has a favorable matchup may want to go in that direction.START: Matt Breida, RB, 49ers: He’s not going to repeat his 12.5 yards per carry from last week against the Lions, but Breida is in line for another big afternoon against a Chiefs defense that is giving up yardage in big chunks. While Kansas City is seventh overall versus the run, its inability to stop pass-catching backs is why it’s 30th in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing runners. Alfred Morris will still get his touches but in a game with two bad defenses, Brieda is the clear choice Darnell Savage Jr. Jersey , especially in point-per-reception (PPR) formats.SIT: Dalvin Cook, RB, Vikings: A hamstring issue led Cook to miss practice on Wednesday and with a battered Bills defense on the Sunday docket, this could lead Minnesota to either put him on a tight “pitch count” in favor of Latavius Murray or have him sit out. Buffalo is 29th in fantasy points allowed per game against opposing backs, making Cook a tempting play, but don’t be surprised if the Vikings play the long-term game and make Murray an intriguing flex option.START: Corey Clement, RB, Eagles: It’s unlikely that Jay Ajayi and/or Darren Sproles will be available against the Colts, making Clement a sneaky good start in PPR leagues. Clement caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss against the Buccaneers and gets a meaty matchup against Indianapolis. The Colts are allowing 11 catches and 93 yards per game to opposing running backs. With Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz as the only reliable options in the Philadelphia passing game, look for the returning Carson Wentz to help get Clement 12-15 touches as a dual threat.SIT: Corey Davis, WR, Titans: Quarterback Marcus Mariota’s status remains in question, which means Blaine Gabbert will again be cast into the role of game manager for a run-heavy attack. It doesn’t help Davis’ cause that he’ll see plenty of All-Pro corner Jalen Ramsey much of the afternoon. The Jaguars are ninth in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing receivers and if Gabbert is indeed the starter, don’t count on Davis putting up big numbers.START: Keelan Cole, WR Elgton Jenkins Jersey , Jaguars: Leonard Fournette should return to the lineup, but it shouldn’t keep Cole from having a solid encore performance after last week’s seven-catch, 116-yard outing against the Patriots that included his first touchdown of the season. Cole has caught 10 of his 12 targets in the early going and has shown his big-play skills, having pulled in four passes of 20-plus yards. Tennessee has allowed a staggering 70 percent completion rate to opposing passers and if the Titans put too much focus on slowing down Fournette, Cole and Blake Bortles will be able to put up solid numbers.SIT: Tyler Eifert, TE, Bengals: C.J. Uzomah is beginning to steal targets from Eifert and it doesn’t help his cause that the Panthers have been solid when it comes to containing opposing tight ends. Eifert could have red zone potential, but the Bengals will look to exploit a Carolina defense that is 28th in completion percentage (73.7) by using running back Gio Bernard to help take attention off A.J. Green.START: Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions: Detroit is 30th in rushing, which is more reason for Stafford to fire away against a New England defense that was scorched by Blake Bortles last week. The Pats have allowed 276 passing yards per game and Stafford comes off a 347-yard, three-TD performance in the loss at the 49ers. This should also be a good game to play Lions receiver Kenny Golladay, who has seemingly passed by Marvin Jones and could have a huge Sunday night.SIT: Josh Gordon, WR, Patriots: Tom Brady will get to deploy his latest weapon on Sunday night Jace Sternberger Jersey , but Gordon won’t be on the field enough to justify starting him. Gordon will probably get 15-20 plays, which means he will get three to four targets with at least one a downfield shot. It will be best to wait a game or two before going all-in with Gordon, whose upside has never looked better now that he is with a franchise who can help him mature on and off the field. COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers find themselves in a familiar spot after the first week of the NFL season — 0-1 and trying to make sure the season doesn’t go off the rails.As much as coach Anthony Lynn and his team have tried to deflect questions about last year’s 0-4 start, those reminders are bound to come up again this week as they prepare for Sunday’s game at Buffalo.The Chargers are 5-9 in September since 2014, which is the third-worst mark in the AFC.Quarterback Philip Rivers, who threw for 424 yards Sunday, said after the 38-28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that this team is better equipped to bounce back compared to previous seasons.“I think last year at that point we were still a little bit snake-bit of how we lost too many games the previous two years,” Rivers said. “It was kind of a little bit the same old story to start out last season and then we kind of got rid of that. I feel like we kind of got rid of that the last 12 games last year.“We still have to go do it, but there’s so many good things that we did today, other than score, which is the most important, that gives me all the confidence in the world that this could be an awesome season.”Lynn said Monday that the biggest takeaways from the loss were the four drops in the passing game. Running back Melvin Gordon had two while wide receivers Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams had one each.“It’s very uncharacteristic. I have not seen that out of our group, at all, but it showed up yesterday Dexter Williams Jersey ,” Lynn said. “Maybe they were pressing. Maybe after you drop one ball, they felt pressed to make the next catch. I’m not sure.”Gordon, who had 102 yards on nine receptions, said on one of the drops that he didn’t get his head around fast enough to see the ball.Despite the drops and going 3 for 11 on third down, Lynn was mostly pleased with the offense’s performance. The Chargers had 541 yards, though 244 came in the fourth quarter when they had the ball for nearly 11 minutes and the Chiefs were well ahead.The running game with Gordon and Austin Ekeler averaged 5.6 yards per carry and they combined for 14 receptions for 189 yards.“Those guys have two different skill sets. I like it when they can attack a defense with those skills out of the backfield receiving the ball or running on the perimeter or inside,” Lynn said.Right tackle Joe Barksdale’s status remains uncertain after he injured his left knee during the first quarter. Sam Tevi took Barksdale’s place and would get the start if Barksdale is out this week.Defensive end Joey Bosa also remains week-to-week after missing Sunday’s game due to a foot injury. Isaac Rochell was in for all but five of the defense’s 56 plays and ended up with four tackles.Lynn said Buffalo’s decision on whether Nathan Peterman or Josh Allen starts at quarterback will have no bearing on the overall defensive game plan. The Chargers had great success against Peterman in last year’s game, intercepting him five times in the first half of a 52-24 victory.“If we’re facing Peterman, we will try to get after him again like we did last year,” Lynn said. “I think of those five interceptions that Joey Bosa was hitting him on four of them. We have to figure out how to apply some pressure to that young man and play our game.”