Monday Night Football Starts and Sits - Football Team vs Seahawks

Last week’s Monday night game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants went as expected with Tampa securing a 30-10 victory. Tom Brady paced the Tampa Bay offense, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Mike Evans (six receptions, 73 yards, one touchdown), Rob Gronkowski (six receptions for 71 yards), and Chris Godwin (six receptions for 65 yards, one touchdown) had big days while Leonard Fournette continued to factor both in the run game (10 carries for 35 yards) and the passing game (six receptions for 39 yards). The Giants' offense struggled against Tampa Bay’s defense. Daniel Jones had 167 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Saquon Barkley (six carries for 25 yards and six receptions for 31 yards) was the only skill player for New York to get over 50 yards. Unfortunately, this week’s game is shaping up to be a struggle between two underwhelming teams.

The Seahawks are coming into this game with a 3-7 record, including losses in their last two games with Russell Wilson back from his finger injury. The Seahawks have scored just 13 points in Wilson’s last two starts. All of them came against Arizona in Week 11. Wilson has 1,564 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions on the season, but two of those picks have come in his last two games. Seattle’s rushing attack has failed to launch this season, especially after Chris Carson’s season-ending neck injury. Collins is leading the backfield with 94 attempts, 381 yards, and two touchdowns. The duo of D.K. Metcalf (72 targets, 46 receptions, 637 yards, and eight touchdowns) and Tyler Lockett (71 targets, 47 receptions, 717 yards, three touchdowns) are the only receivers of note in Seattle.

On the other side of things, Washington comes into the game on a two-game winning streak after dropping four games before their Week 9 bye. Taylor Heinicke has performed admirably in nine games as a starter, completing 66% of his passes for 2,390 yards and 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Antonio Gibson (154 carries, 601 yards, and five touchdowns), Heinicke (45 carries, 276 yards, and one touchdown), and J.D. McKissic (41 carries, 182 yards, one touchdown) lead Washington’s run game behind a fantastic offensive line. Terry McLaurin (91 targets, 54 receptions, 735 yards, and five touchdowns) is the only receiver of note, but J.D. McKissic (48 targets, 38 receptions, 371 yards, and a touchdown) can carve out a role in negative game scripts. Ultimately, this game will be a matchup between two teams that are struggling to find their way in 2021.

Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team

Game time: Monday, November, 29th at 8:15 p.m.

Game line: Washington -1.5

Game line: 47

Must Start

Russell Wilson (QB, SEA)

It has been ugly for Russell Wilson coming off his finger injury. In his last two starts, Wilson is completing 51% of his passes for 368 yards and zero touchdowns with two interceptions. Seattle’s season is quickly spiraling and they will need Russ to get back on track. Thankfully, this might be the week Seattle can their passing offense going again. Washington will once again be missing their top two pass rushers due to injury, which should allow Seattle to give extra attention to Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne up the middle. Washington’s secondary has been bad this year and will have even more stress on them without a consistent pass rush. Washington is allowing 23.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, the most of any team in the 2021 season.

Taylor Heinicke (QB, WFT)

Taylor Heinicke has put together a solid season in relief of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The fourth-year quarterback doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he has been getting more consistent as a passer. In his last two games, Heinicke has completed 77% of his passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns while adding nine carries for 44 yards. More importantly, Heinicke has put together consecutive games without an interception for the first time in his limited career as a starter. The Football Team’s quarterback doesn’t put up massive statistics, but has a solid passing floor and underrated rushing upside. The Seahawks are allowing 17.7 fantasy points per game, but have generated only four interceptions on the season.  

Antonio Gibson (RB, WFT)

There was plenty of concern around Antonio Gibson a few weeks ago after he put together three games with less than 45% of the team’s offensive snaps. The second-year running back seemingly used the bye week to get healthy and has come out hot. In Washington’s last two games, Gibson has paced the backfield, carrying the ball 43 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Gibson hasn’t shown much upside as a pass-catcher this year, but he has the explosive ability to break any carry for a touchdown. Seattle is allowing 23.2 fantasy points per game to running backs this season thanks to 1,017 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. If Washington keeps this game close (or gets a lead), then Gibson should get the workload to have a massive day.

D.K. Metcalf (WR, SEA)

Russell Wilson’s struggles in the passing game have had an understandably poor impact on his receiving corps. D.K. Metcalf has been targeted 16 times in the last two weeks but has turned that into just seven receptions for 57 yards. Metcalf has just one game over 100 receiving yards this season and hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 8. Given his big-play ability, Metcalf is a must-start every week. Thankfully for Seattle, Washington’s defense is so bad that the Seahawks' offense can have a huge day even with Wilson struggling. Washington is allowing 26.1 fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season, the fifth most of any team this season.

Tyler Lockett (WR, SEA)

Tyler Lockett has continued his annual trend of being a boom or bust fantasy option. Lockett has four games with over 100-yards and five games with less than 40 receiving yards. Since Wilson has returned, Lockett has had six receptions on 13 targets for 138 yards. Given Washington’s struggles in the secondary, Lockett will have a fantastic chance to put together another boom week in the passing attack.

Terry McLaurin (WR, WFT)

Terry McLaurin is the unquestioned WR1 in Washington and has to be started every week. McLaurin averages 9.1 targets, 5.4 receptions, and 73.5 receiving yards per game this season. He has had at least seven targets in every game since Week 2 and has double-digit targets in four different games. Terry McLaurin has four 100-yard receiving games and five total touchdowns on the year. Seattle’s secondary has done well against wide receivers this year, allowing just 21.2 points per game to opposing wide receivers. Given the lack of competition for McLaurin in Washington, he is a locked-in starter as long as he’s healthy.

Gerald Everett (TE, SEA)

The biggest beneficiary of Russell Wilson’s return in Seattle has been Gerald Everett. Everett has caught 11 of his 12 targets for 100 yards. Everett has emerged as Seattle’s third receiving option in a pretty condensed passing attack, which makes him a strong upside play at a thin TE position. Everett has the athletic ability to split out wide and exploit the Football Team’s weakness on the perimeter this week. Washington allows 7.7 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season.

Consider Sitting

Alex Collins (RB, SEA)

Alex Collins initially had solid production and a high-volume role when Chris Carson went down with an injury. However, in recent weeks that role has shrunk considerably. From Weeks 4-7, Collins averaged 15.3 carries and 56.8 rushing yards. He also scored twice. However, from Weeks 8-11 (Seattle was on bye Week 9), Collins is averaging just 10 carries and 40.3 rushing yards. Collins is getting plenty of work early but gets pulled from the game during negative game scripts. At this point, Collins is a low upside play against a rushing defense that allows just 18.2 fantasy points per game this season.

Rashaad Penny (RB, SEA)

At this point, the idea of Rashaad Penny is better than Rashaad Penny the player. Penny has appeared in four games for Seattle this season, but never had more than seven carries. Penny started last game well, getting 18 yards on his first carry while also injuring his hamstring, which caused him to play only eight snaps total in a game where Alex Collins was limited. Until Penny shows he can finish a game, he’s a bench filler at best.

Logan Thomas (TE, WFT)

Logan Thomas hasn’t played since Week 4 thanks to a hamstring injury that landed him on the injured reserve. Before the injury, Thomas played in 100% of Washington’s offensive snaps in Weeks 1-3. During that stretch, he had 14 targets, 12 receptions, 117 yards, and two touchdowns. Thomas has a chance to be activated this week, but it is hard to know if he will get the same workload coming off a long-term injury. It is probably safest to give Thomas time to re-acclimate and re-establish his role in the offense before rushing out to start him.

Upside Play

DeeJay Dallas (RB, SEA) 

DeeJay Dallas carved out a solid role against the Cardinals last week with Alex Collins and Rashaad Penny limited by lower-body injuries. Dallas had four carries for 25 yards and a touchdown in that game. Dallas has struggled to make a significant impact in his second season, but has a chance to have solid production down the stretch with Chris Carson out for the season, Alex Collins getting limited work, and Rashaad Penny getting injured every other play. Dallas would need a touchdown to pay off, but he has shown the ability to put the ball in the end zone and served as a pass-catching option in his rookie season.

J.D McKissic (RB, WFT)

J.D. McKissic has taken a backseat to Antonio Gibson in recent weeks, carrying the ball just nine times for 50 yards while adding five receptions on six targets for 39 yards. McKissic has shown the ability to have big games when Washington plays from behind, but disappears from the game plan in matchups where Washington keeps the game close or takes a lead. Washington is favored in this game, which suggests a slow day for McKissic in the backfield. If Seattle’s offense can wake up, he could provide an excellent game, especially in PPR formats.

DeAndre Carter (WR, WFT)

DeAndre Carter has put together a solid stretch of games over the last three weeks, catching eight of 15 targets for 129 yards. He’s also recorded a touchdown in his last three games. Carter has carved out a role in the passing attack recently and has played in at least 67% of the team’s snaps in Washington’s last three games. If Logan Thomas is activated, Carter will have more competition in the passing game, but he and Heinicke have a solid rapport, especially inside the red zone.

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