Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Brad Berreman
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

As always seems to be the case, the NFL season is moving fast and Week 9 is now upon us. This week finds just four teams with a bye, however that does not mean some top options for fantasy football owners aren’t idle. Adrian Peterson, Cam Newton, Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Steve Smith and Maurice Jones-Drew all have the week off and it’s possible some fantasy football owners have more than one of those guys on their roster.

If you are at a loss for who to plug into your lineup this week due to injuries or other factors, here are our “Fantasy Football Start ‘Ems” for Week 9.

QUARTERBACKS - START ‘EM

Eli Manning (New York Giants) @ New England

Manning went 31-for-45 for 349 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Miami Dolphins in Week 8, and now hasat least 292 passing yards in four straight games with seven touchdowns and three interceptions in that span. He now gets another favorable matchup this week against the New England Patriots, who have allowed over 300 passing yards in six of seven games this season and the one who did not reach that total, Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets, had two touchdown passes in Week 5. The Patriots have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in five of seven games, so Manning should have some success even if wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) is out or limited on Sunday. Fantasy owners can consider Manning a solid QB1 for Week 9, and again with nice upside potential.

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Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) vs. Green Bay

His late fumble last week against the Kansas City Chiefs has gotten most of the attention, but Rivers did throw for 369 yards in the game despite throwing two interceptions and not throwing a touchdown pass. That is his highest yardage total over his past five games, and he has just three touchdown passes in that span as he has fallen from elite class of fantasy signal callers. His chances for improvement look good this week against the Green Packers, who have allowed 17 fantasy points per game(sixth-most in the league) to opposing quarterbacks this season, but they have allowed only one 300-yard passing game in their last four contests. That said, Rivers should be plenty motivated coming off last week and he should have to throw the ball plenty to keep pace with the Packers’ offense. Chargers’ running back Ryan Mathews (groin) also looks likely to be out, which only enhances Rivers’ chances to return to high-end QB1 status this week. At the very least, he is a solid choice as a low-end QB1 with upside.