Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 10, at 1:00 PM ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Betting Odds: HOU – 6.5 O/U 34.5 Total via PFF.com
Network: CBS
Writer: Matt Prendergast (@amazingmattyp on X/Twitter)
Houston Texans
Quarterbacks
C. J. Stroud (Start, QB2)
I still dig me some C.J Stroud, but I’m going to be a little more real here — the one thing the Jets still have going for them is a pretty staunch passing defense, and Sauce Gardner and crew are going to make it a rougher go. Combining this rougher matchup with the loss of prime target Tank Dell, means I take a little air out of the sails here — by no means would I be sitting C. J. Stroud for C. J. Beathard, let’s not get stupid. However, I don’t expect a tremendous world-shattering output this week, fantasy-wise. He’ll get you in the mid-to-high-teens, but that’s the ceiling this week. I’ll be happy if Stroud proves me wrong, though.
Running Backs
Dameon Pierce (Start, RB2), Devin Singletary (Sit <sigh>)
Welp, this is why we can’t have nice things. Dameon Pierce out-carried Devin Singletary 15 to 8, and while the yardage output (41 to 36) would indicate a more productive Singletary, eyes on the game showed the Houston Texans are back on the Pierce train. While the bare numbers look like more of the same, it was evident this was more of “Last-Season Pierce” than “Why-Did-I-Draft-Him Dameon” from all of this season in terms of confidence and that violent running style that boosted his rookie campaign. Pierce saw the endzone for the first time since September, but most importantly, it was clear that DeMeco Ryans is coming back to Pierce.
The New York Jets have a superior pass defense, but their run-stopping efforts pale by comparison: they’re giving up 133.75 yards per game over the last month. Expect the Texans to use both backs to wear the Jets down, with Pierce getting the majority share. This is a low-end RB2 recommendation, and some of that is on faith that the Texans seem to have a feel for striking when a player is getting hot. As such, I have to accept the fact that Singletary is back to a backup role: he saw only eight and six carries over the past two weeks and should be ushered back to your bench in case of emergency.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Nico Collins (Start, WR2), Noah Brown (Start, Flex) Robert Woods (Sit), Dalton Schultz/Brevin Jordan (Start, TE2)
Let us take a moment of silence as we pour one out for the incredibly great, cut-down-in-its-prime 2023 Tank Dell season. May we all bow our heads and pray that he returns next season safe and healthy and we also ask that he doesn’t end up severely overdrafted in Round 4 next summer. Amen.
In tribute, we offer up Nico Collins as a must-start. In Tank’s absence, Collins blew up, notching 191 yards (and his first back-to-back 100-yard performances of the year). This will be a tougher go, certainly: Sauce and the Gang are pretty much the only reason I don’t have Nico as a WR1, and that’s it. As for filling some of the space available without Dell, I lean towards Noah Brown. Sure, it has been slow coming back, and last week he was a non-factor, but his pre-injury successes lead me to believe that he will be featured in the plans more concretely this week. I do not feel the same about WR3 Robert Woods, who wasn’t even targeted in the Broncos game. At this stage in his career, Woods is strictly an emergency policy for the Texans and not worth a fantasy investment. As far as the tight end goes, Brevin Jordan stepped in for an injured Dalton Schultz and kicked in 64 yards on 3 for 4 receiving, more or less on par with a typical Schultz output. I like whoever gets the start this week with reasonable expectations: Jordan sits if Schultz is back, but run him if Dalton is out. Stroud will need some help from his tight end underneath this week, so take whichever one they give you.
New York Jets
Quarterback
Zach Wilson (Sit)
What are we doing here? The one thing that’s been consistent about the quarterback position since Week 1 with these Jets is they’re all terrible. Even in a 2 QB league, you aren’t considering any of these “options” unless you’ve been drinking paint for the past year. Last week’s “starter” Tim Boyle threw for 135 yards and a pick on 14/25 passing and was promptly yeeted in favor of notable lunchpail Trevor Siemen, who somehow completed 5 of 13 attempts for 66 yards. Zach Wilson got benched for this? I mean, I guess that’s fine. Okay, tell you what, if Human Publicity Stunt Aaron Rodgers researches himself into a ‘miracle’ return centered around philosophical conjecture and papyrus paste, from an injury that will then cause all NFL medical diagnoses to be forever regarded as lies, I’d put him in as a QB2 and wait for East Rutherford to be declared a FEMA qualifying site due to the sheer volume of bull**** that suddenly amassed there.
Wait, what’s that? They signed Brett Rypien? Off of the Seattle practice squad? Wasn’t he on the Rams, like, a month ago? This should get things going in the right direction. Sigh.
Running Backs
Breece Hall (Start, Flex), Dalvin Cook (Sit)
Look, I love, LOVE the idea of Breece Hall, but our man here is doomed on this offense that would make the word ‘dysfunctional’ embarrassed to be associated with it. Breece has one touchdown in the past six games and seems to top out somewhere between 60-75 all-purpose yards on the regular. Except for last week, where he ground out SIXTEEN YARDS ON THIRTEEN CARRIES AGAINST THE JUGGERNAUT FALCONS RUN DEFENSE. Was Arthur Smith calling Breece’s plays in addition to his own? Breece also got 29 yards on…um…6 for 8 receiving? He was the second leading target, at least, to the tight end. Usage alone, and his status as one of two semi-consistent dudes on this team gets him the flex nod, but I barely trust even that. Dalvin Cook saw the most carries — by a ton — since Week 1, with nine last week, and transformed that into an underwhelming 35 yards. I have never seen wheels fly off a guy faster than Dalvin this year. He has no touchdowns. ZERO. This offense has poisoned all the men submerged in it.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Garrett Wilson (Start, WR3), Xavier Gipson (Sit), Tyler Conklin (Sit), Allen Lazard/Randall Cobb (AHAHAHAHAHAHA!)
Speaking of ‘one of two semi-consistent players’ on this team, Garrett Wilson was putting up decent numbers for quite a while this year, despite the burning inferno surrounding him. In the past three weeks, however, as the Jets solidly committed to getting the highest pick available to them, Wilson has put up fifty, forty-four, and nine — NINE?!?!? — yard performances, though he did get his first touchdown since Week Two in there. This team will be incredibly fortunate if he isn’t broken by the time enough is fixed around him, and ‘Rodgers returning’ isn’t going to fix all those issues, much as you want to believe in him as he believes in self-determination as a medical practice. Xavier Gipson came out of literally nowhere last week and put in a solid 77 yards on five for six receiving from two towel holders. There’s no way that one game equals “pick him up and play him.”
On a team that should, theoretically, be leaning on a tight end as much as possible, particularly one that doesn’t go long, Tyler Conklin is regrettably starting on one of my teams due to injuries to legitimate fantasy options. His brief splash of relevance came in back-t0-back games in early November (66 yards against the Chargers, 70 against the Raiders), but he has since put in 18, 33, and 35 and hasn’t scored all year. I should have better options, but I don’t. I hope you had better planning if you, too, thought Darren Waller would be a sure bet this fantasy season, and stocked no backup. Anyhow, I list Allen Lazard and the whisp of the ghost of Randall Cobb here for one reason only: as a Cheesehead, I like to feel even better every day about how the Green Bay Packers handled last off-season. Lazard has 3 catches in the past four games and NONE in the past two. Cobb hasn’t played since mid-October. Great plan, Woody. All the legitimate options except Wilson are just untouchable until there’s a quarterback behind center here.