Fantasy football wiz says start Jordan Howard, sit Carson Wentz
Leading into Week 11, the great Fantasy football minds are on their job. Here’s what one says you should do with Jordan Howard and Carson Wentz.
As strange as it sounds, we may be looking at a situation where the Fantasy football experts are offering a little advice that the Philadelphia Eagles, their head coach, and offensive coordinator can benefit from. Many of those Fantasy wizards are of the opinion that the game plan for this week should be sitting Carson Wentz and starting Jordan Howard.
Throw Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer at CBS Sports in that category as he released his Week 11 Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em column for both quarterbacks and running backs.
Now you can take this two ways. One, it’s a very nice real-life game plan, one that ‘Birds’ fans are hoping Doug Pederson and Mike Groh follow. Eagles fans have been hoping for weeks that Philly would dedicate themselves to the running game and stick with it.
Here’s some of the thought process as Eisenberg sees it:
"We have criticized Eagles coach Doug Pederson for not featuring one running back, so we should praise him when that happens, which is the case with Howard of late. In his past two games, Howard has at least 20 total touches, and he’s delivered solid performances in each outing. He had 24 total touches against Buffalo in Week 8 and finished with 17 PPR points, and he had 20 total touches against Chicago in Week 9, scoring 15 PPR points. The Patriots have struggled with the run of late, allowing Mark Ingram and Nick Chubb to each run for more than 115 yards in their past two games. Howard will get help from Miles Sanders this week, who is a good sleeper and flex option, but Howard has the chance to be a quality No. 2 running back in all leagues in this matchup at home."
Another theory is this. Whether Pederson and Groh want to put the game in Jordan Howard’s hands or not, they may not have a choice. With what we’ve seen from the ‘Birds’ on offense and the New England Patriots on defense, there’s no reason to believe that Wentz is going to be able to get much done consistently in the passing game.
Eisenberg weighs in on that theory as well.
"Wentz is one of my favorite buy-low candidates because I love his upcoming schedule against Seattle, Miami, the Giants and Washington in the next four games after Week 11. But don’t start him this week against the Patriots. Lamar Jackson in Week 9 is the lone quarterback with more than 12 Fantasy points against New England, and Wentz has scored fewer than 17 Fantasy points in four of his past five games, including three in a row. Better days are ahead for Wentz, but this could be a rough outing for him against New England."
Go with Eisenberg on this one (that’s normally a wise decision). Wentz will serve you well down the stretch if you’re a Fantasy owner and he’s on your team, but this week, you’ll want to rely on Jordan Howard. He’s your best chance for some Week 11 success.