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Week 16 Thursday Night Matchups: Latavius Murray, Danny Woodhead, Antonio Gates and More

It is championship weekend for the majority of leagues in the fantasy football world, and the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers will be the two teams that kick off the most important fantasy week of the year.

With each lineup decision looming large for fantasy owners, below are a few start and sit suggestions for this week's Thursday Night Football matchup.

Good luck RotoBallers!

 

Chargers @ Raiders - Thursday Night Matchups Analysis

Philip RiversAfter back-to-back duds with zero touchdown passes and single-digit fantasy points, Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers were a different team in their final game played at Qualcomm Stadium. His three-touchdown performance was dented with two interceptions, but a road matchup against the Oakland Raiders may actually play in his favor.

Aside from a poor road effort against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago, Rivers has put up 30+ points in three of his past four road starts. With Oakland being in the middle of the league for points allowed from quarterbacks, Rivers is a slightly above average play on Thursday.

 

Derek CarrIt is now four straight games with multiple touchdown passes for Derek Carr, who bounced back for a horrid start against the Green Bay Packers last week. It's going to be a plus matchup for Carr, who tore up the Chargers secondary in their first contest.

Against the Chargers on the road, Carr completed 24-of-31 passes for three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a near-flawless performance. In a game where many passes are expected to be thrown, roll with Carr if he got you to this point of the season.

 

Danny WoodheadOne of the most frustrating players of the semifinal week was Danny Woodhead, who went from obscurity to savior (if he was in your lineup) in a flash. If people didn't have better options and Woodhead was left in the lineup, their prayers were answered, as he caught six passes for three touchdowns, while rushing for one more.

It was Woodhead's first rushing touchdown since Week 1 and his first game with double-digit fantasy points since Week 9. With Melvin Gordon sitting out this week, Woodhead has flipped the script and has to be back in lineups (especially PPR) for the championship.

 

Latavius MurrayManager's who play Latavius Murray need the game to not be a passing shootout (obviously), as Murray's isn't used well as a pass-catcher. The Raiders generally try to get Murray going early, and he did in the first matchup against the Chargers, as he'll look to repeat that success.

In Round 1, Murray rushed 15 times for 85 yards and a touchdown and although his output has been bleak in the past two weeks (single-digit fantasy points), the touches are there as he's had 20+ rushes in three of the past four games. Murray is in all lineups and here's to hoping the usually poor San Diego rush defense shows up.

 

Amari CooperThere's no need to be cute, as I am a firm believer that you play the studs in the end even with not plus matchups. Cooper caught his first touchdowns since Week 9 in last week's game against Green Bay, catching two in a game where he saw nine targets and hauled in six passes.

The targets are never the issue for Cooper, as he's by far and away Carr's go-to guy, and Cooper caught one touchdown in the Raiders previous matchup with San Diego so at least he has shown he's done it before.

 

Antonio GatesThree out of the last four games, Gates has put up double-digit fantasy points and has seen just over seven targets during that span. He has three straight games with six catches but unfortunately hasn't found the end zone.

This is a plus matchup for Gates, as Oakland has given up the third most points to tight ends this season, and after looking great against the Miami Dolphins last week, I'd be surprised if Rivers doesn't help Gates find paydirt on Thursday night.

 

San Diego Wide Receivers: With Malcolm Floyd not being a viable option and Stevie Johnson still questionable trying to return from injury, Dontrelle Inman would be the best choice out of the San Diego wide receivers if desperate.

I don't think anyone could rationally advise to start any of the three, but Inman had 78 yards last week on three catches (five targets). Rivers will be throwing the ball with Gordon out, and Rivers cannot alternate between throwing to Gates and Woodhead the entire game -- so one San Diego wide receiver has to be in the mix and I'm betting on Inman to be the guy.

 

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