Week 2 Monday Night Start Decisions | Will Eagles' DeVonta Smith Erupt with A.J. Brown Out? Can You Trust Kirk Cousins, Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Other Falcons?
Breaking down the Monday night matchup between the Falcons and Eagles and ranking fantasy players from the contest.
Just one game remains in the second week of the NFL regular season, a Monday night battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.
Let’s break down the game at each fantasy position and then rank the available options in an effort to help you if you still need starting lineup guidance.
Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.
Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks
Jalen Hurts is clearly the better fantasy quarterback for this contest, but Kirk Cousins also might not be a bad starting option for Atlanta.
Cousins struggled in week 1 as he was shaking off some rust after returning from his Achilles injury. He was 16-of-26 for 155 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
That performance was against a tough Steelers’ defense, and in week 2, the Eagles’ defense is a much weaker unit. Philly’s defense allowed the Packers to throw for 260 yards and two scores in week 1, while picking off one pass.
Hurts was 20-of-34 for 278 yards, two touchdowns and two picks in week 1. He added 33 rushing yards on 13 carries, fumbled twice and lost one fumble.
Against Justin Fields in week 1, the Falcons’ defense allowed 156 passing yards and 57 rushing yards, but with no scores or takeaways. Hurts offers the same dual-threat ability Fields does, but is a much better overall quarterback.
Hurts is projected for 23 fantasy points, while Cousins is at 15.
Fantasy owners should be starting Hurts over Cousins if needing to make a decision between the two still, but Cousins should be in line for a pretty big fantasy day if he can take care of the ball. For the leagues where you have an OP (Offensive Player Utility), I’d take Cousins over a decent amount of the backs, receivers and tight ends in this game.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson are about as good of a fantasy running back battle as you can get.
Robinson rushed 18 times for 68 yards and caught all five of his targets for an additional 43 yards in week 1. He’ll take on an Eagles’ defense that allowed 130 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards on 20 carries, four catches and six targets in week 1.
Barkley had 109 rushing yards and two scores on 24 carries in week 1, while adding 23 yards and a third score on two catches and targets. Atlanta’s defense allowed running backs to go for 90 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards on 26 carries, three catches and four targets in week 1.
Barkley is projected for 21 PPR fantasy points, while Robinson is at a strong 17. Both of these guys need to be starting, and might finish as the top fantasy scorers in this contest.
Tyler Allgeier is the only backup RB worth mentioning in this game, and he’s projected for just five PPR points. He’s OK to start in the deepest of leagues, but after just 21 total yards on three touches in week 1, I’d do my best to avoid him.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
A.J. Brown is out for the Eagles, so that’s obviously a massive blow to their chances of winning. Rookie Johnny Wilson is questionable, so the Eagles could really need to rely on Hurts and Barkley on the ground.
DeVonta Smith is the best Philly receiver remaining. Jahan Dotson should be in line for more work as well.
Smith had 84 receiving yards on seven catches and eight targets in week 1. Dotson had just one target, failing to haul it in. Wilson played 10 snaps and failed to catch his only target and Britain Covey didn’t get a target across nine snaps.
Drake London is the top Atlanta receiver. He had just two catches for 15 yards on three targets across 56 snaps in week 1.
Darnell Mooney played 53 snaps, but was limited to 15 yards on a catch and three targets. Ray-Ray McCloud had 52 yards on four grabs and seven targets across 30 snaps. KhaDarel Hodge was the only other wideout to play, but got just two snaps.
In week 1, Philly’s defense allowed 201 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches and 21 targets to wide receivers. They also allowed a rushing touchdown. Atlanta’s defense allowed only 93 yards on eight catches and 11 targets.
I trust the projections at the top of things, and would take Smith as the top fantasy wideout in this game. After him, I’d take London, and he’s the final wideout I’d want to play in a standard league.
In deeper leagues, I’d go with Mooney over Dotson, and then take McCloud - I really don’t want to start any of these guys if I can help it though. The same would obviously apply to the remaining wideouts, who I’d rank: Wilson, Covey and Hodge.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
Kyle Pitts and Dallas Goedert are a couple of decent standard league starting options at tight end.
Goedert had 31 yards on four catches and five targets in week 1. Grant Calcaterra played 36 snaps and caught an 11-yard pass on his lone target. E.J. Jenkins played three snaps.
Pitts had 26 yards and a score on three grabs and targets in week 1. Charlie Woerner played 23 snaps and caught a four-yard pass across two targets. Ross Dwelley was on the field for two snaps.
Goedert and Pitts are the only fantasy options worth starting in standard leagues, while Calcaterra and Woerner would be desperation starts in really deep leagues.
Pitts is projected for 11 PPR points, while Goedert is at 11 as well. Last week, Atlanta’s defense allowed 41 receiving yards on six catches and seven targets to TEs, while the Eagles’ defense gave up just 37 yards on two catches and five targets.
I trust Pitts a bit more than Goedert in this one. After that, I’d take Calcaterra over Woerner. Please don’t tell me you need to consider Jenkins or Dwelley…
Kicker and D/ST Fantasy Outlooks
Jake Elliott and Younghoe Koo are the kickers in this contest.
Elliott made all six of his kicks in week 1 - four extra points and two field goals. Koo was 2-for-2, making a field goal and extra point.
I think there will be a couple field goal chances for each team, and I trust Elliott more than Koo to get the job done. Either are OK starting options though, with Elliott projected for nine points and Koo seven.
I see this as a lower-scoring game with Brown out and Atlanta being a pretty solid defense. I like Atlanta to keep it close, but Philadelphia to win in the 20s (21-20, 24-20, 27-24, etc.).
There’s enough offensive firepower on each side that I do not want to start either D/ST if I don’t have to. I like the Falcons’ D/ST more, even though Philly is projected for more points, but I’m really trying to avoid both units if I can.
Flex Starting Order
I see the running backs dominating this game, so I’d take Barkley first and then Robinson second among the flex starting options.
Give me Smith after that, followed by London. I’d then take Pitts and Goedert, followed by Mooney, Dotson and McCloud. To round things out, I’d go: Allgeier, Wilson, Calcaterra, Woerner, Covey, Hodge, Jenkins and Dwelley.
If you have an OP spot available, I like Hurts in between Barkley and Robinson. I’d throw Cousins in between Robinson and Smith.
Good luck in your final week 2 start/sit decisions.
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