Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 3rd @ 4:25 PM ET
Location: Between The Forum and In-N-Out, Inglewood, CA
Betting Odds: LAR -3.5 (opened at LAR -0.5), 40.5 total via OddsShark
Network: FOX
Writer: Adam Sloate (@MrAdster99 on Twitter/X)
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Joe Flacco (Sit) or Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Sit)
Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in concussion protocol after taking a big hit from Broncos LB Baron Browning on Sunday. If he ends up playing, the only thing going for him will be the narrative of playing again in the same city as his alma mater, UCLA.
If DTR’s out, the Joe Flacco revenge tour kicks off with a toughie. The 38-year-old Baltimore Ravens legend, who quickly leapfrogged P. J. Walker on the depth chart, will have to contend with a defensive line that includes the best DT on the planet; however, the unit has overall been a friendlier fantasy matchup for opposing fantasy QBs (12th-most allowed) than most. While the matchup’s not bad, Flacco will be playing in his first football game since January 8, 2022. He might be as unfamiliar with this offense as Josh Dobbs was with the Vikings, but Dobbs has above-average mobility while Flacco probably couldn’t outrun Brownie the Elf with his shoes tied together.
Running Backs
Jerome Ford (Start, RB2), Kareem Hunt (Sit, even if he plays)
Kareem Hunt is questionable for this game because he’s dealing with a groin injury. He didn’t practice Wednesday in any capacity, so his injury status will be worth keeping an eye on as the week progresses. Even if he plays, though, Hunt is an easy sit due to the lack of rushing volume and inconsistent receiving attention. His fantasy success thus far has been purely driven by TDs, as he is otherwise averaging a putrid 3.2 yards per carry on the season.
If Hunt is out, Jerome Ford moves from low-end RB2 status to high-end RB2 status; the rushing workload will fall squarely on Ford’s shoulders in that scenario. Unfortunately for Ford, the matchup here is terrible, as the Rams — surprisingly, considering they employ possibly the best DT of all time — rank among the least-friendly teams in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing RBs. LA will probably greet Ford with plenty of stacked boxes as they dare Flacco to beat them through the air, which means Ford is going to have to slog through contact at or near the line of scrimmage to make meaningful gains. However, the impending rushing struggles are counteracted by the fact that Ford has a pretty sizable rushing workload; recently, Ford’s seen an average of about 15 carries per game, and that’s being dragged down by Cleveland abandoning the run after falling well behind the Broncos last week. He’ll see a couple of targets as well, though his workload seems to be fairly difficult to predict, given that he had just 1 target in a very close 33-31 win over Baltimore but then had 5 targets the following week in an ugly 13-10 win over Pittsburgh.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Amari Cooper (Start, WR3 if he plays), David Njoku (Start, TE1), Elijah Moore (Start, Flex; WR3 if Cooper is out)
Amari Cooper was a non-participant at practice on Wednesday after sustaining an injury to his ribs during last week’s contest. Last week, he left the game early and did not return, thanks to that injury, so keep an eye out for injury updates. If he plays, he’ll have a mediocre matchup against this Rams passing defense, which ranks 20th in points allowed to opposing wide receivers for the season but has started to look a bit more cohesive as of late. Cooper has enough of a target share and trust from multiple Browns passers — 28th-highest among receivers across the NFL at 23.3% of the team’s targets this season — that he’ll return some value for fantasy managers. I worry mostly about how often Flacco is going to be throwing the football, given his unfamiliarity with the offense, which is why Cooper is downgraded to low-end WR3 when his workload is more typical of a low-end WR2/high-end WR3.
David Njoku is one of the safest TE options out there. He has returned at least TE1 value in each of his last 6 contests, mostly thanks to volume, not TDs. Njoku has turned in those performances with a variety of QBs tossing the ball his way, from Deshaun Watson to P.J. Walkerto DTR. Even with Flacco under center, I would trust Njoku to get his work and turn what looks to be a miserable game into something positive for fantasy managers. Don’t overthink it, just toss him into the TE spot!
Given the concerns with the volume of the Browns’ passing game with Flacco under center, Elijah Moore is a risky play this week — not that he isn’t every week, but especially this week. His workload and target share (slotting in between Cole Kmet and Christian McCaffrey in terms of team target share) suggest that he has a pretty established role in this offense, but with Flacco doing the throwing, it’s hard to tell whether Moore will continue to put up fringy WR3 numbers, thus the downgrade to Flex status. If Cooper is out, the decision is pretty easy; Moore is the most established receiving threat behind Cooper and should soak up a good chunk of those extra targets.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford (Sit)
Kroenke’s Krew is starting to get back to full strength on offense, helping propel Matthew Stafford to a terrific performance last week against Arizona. Everybody is practicing in full again, including RB Kyren Williams, whom Stafford hit for several short touchdown passes last week. That seems to be good news for the Stafford investors because a healthy and high-functioning Rams offense looks to be very fantasy-friendly. Granted, the Rams have had each of Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams, and Puka Nacua healthy for only 3 games this season, and 2 of those were beatdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, but it probably doesn’t hurt to have all of them available to attack one of the best defenses in football, right?
The reward for getting health is a ferocious Cleveland defense that ranks 4th in ESPN’s pass rush win rate, first in ESPN’s run stop win rate, first in EPA per play allowed, and first in dropback EPA. In short, this defense rules. Accordingly, Stafford and the Rams are going to have plenty of frustrating drives this week, and they might struggle to move the football against this defensive unit, despite better overall health from offensive skill players. It’s hard to trust Stafford to repeat his terrific performance from last week, given that he threw for just 229 yards and returned value on the back of 4 TD passes (he had never had more than 2 in any other start this season). He should come back down to Earth for this one.
Running Back
Kyren Williams (Start, RB2), Royce Freeman (Sit)
I’m not sitting Kyren Williams, fresh off an incredible performance in which he totaled 143 rushing yards on 16 carries and added 6 receptions, 61 yards, and 2 TDs through the air. I understand the matchup’s not great, but Williams is a monster with the football in his hands, and liable to go off for big rushes at just about any time. I don’t expect him to average 8.9 yards per carry, nor will he turn 6 targets into 6 receptions, 61 yards, and 2 TDs as he did last week, thus the downgrade to RB2, but his workload is too enticing and his talent is too obvious to sit or fret over.
Royce Freeman was able to reach paydirt last week against the Cardinals, but given the tough sledding ahead against this Browns team, as well as the inconsistent workload that should come with another week of healthy Williams, Freeman can be kept safely on the bench for now.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Cooper Kupp (Start, Flex), Puka Nacua (Start, WR3), Tyler Higbee (Sit), Tutu Atwell (Sit)
Despite all the hullabaloo over Cooper Kupp finally returning to full health, he’s been missing in action for much of his playing time this season. Kupp had two monster performances against the Eagles and Cardinals at the beginning of October, but since then has provided Flex value in only 2 of his last 5 contests. Last week, the Rams had a pretty even split between passing and rushing plays, with Stafford attempting 33 passes and the run game toting the rock 32 times (taking out the 1 Stafford carry). He’s a risky play, given the decrease in attention as of late, but with the Browns having a lot more success stopping the run than the Cardinals, I would expect the Rams to be forced to throw the ball more often this week, which should lead to a few more targets for Kupp.
Puka Nacua has had a higher floor than Kupp for much of this season. Even when both have been healthy, Nacua has hit at least Flex value in each game. It will be interesting to see how the Browns deploy their coverage resources, given that Kupp has the pedigree and name value from past seasons, whereas Nacua has been the better and more trusted resource for Stafford this season. Even in this tough matchup, it’s hard to bench Nacua given the chemistry he’s developed with Stafford — he still led the team in targets last week — and the regular returns on investment he provides. Expectations should be tempered as far as Nacua’s fantasy output, though.
Tyler Higbee and Tutu Atwell both had good weeks last week, but given their inconsistent performance overall this season, as well as the fact that their performances last week were based on unsustainable good fortune (Atwell only had 3 targets, Higbee had 2 TDs to return value), they’re sitting this week.