Tonight's game is a tough one to predict. This is often the case when two bad teams face off.
Oakland and San Francisco are a combined 2-13 on the season. They're both bottom-10 in the league in points per contest, bottom-5 in turnover ratio, bottom-6 in opposing QB rating, and bottom-8 in sacks per game. A key difference is rushing D, where San Francisco has been entirely competent, while Oakland is at or near the bottom in rushing yards per game, yards per carry, and rushing TDs.
The final score could be anywhere from 10-7 to 35-32. It hinges largely on which team will be less bad.
Fortunately for the Niners, C.J. Beathard (game-time decision) presently looks like a "go," meaning they won't have to start third-stringer Nick Mullens. Matt Breida might also be healthy enough to start, but keep in mind he's struggled the past two weeks and probably will be at less than 100%. It's unfortunate for fantasy managers with shallow backfields, as you'll have to decide whether to start him against Oakland's atrocious run defense. If he's healthy enough, he could rack up 15+ points. Or his wonky ankle could force him out early. It all comes down to how desperate you are. If you don't have another RB who can reasonably get you 8+ points, Breida is worth the risk if he starts.
That leaves Alfred Morris and possibly Raheem Mostert as uber-questionable fantasy options. I don't trust either to be more than RB6's unless Breida goes down.
Marquise Goodwin continues to be vastly undervalued despite catching only three balls the last two weeks. Once again, if you don't have a WR who can pull in WR4+ production, Goodwin is one of the best flyers around given his upside, particularly against the Raiders. George Kittle is of course an automatic start based on usage and fantasy's scarcity of reliable TE options. And Kendrick Bourne is coming off his best performance (7/71) and should be on every deep-league radar if Pierre Garcon sits.
On the other side of the ball, at what point will the Raiders try to buy out Jon Gruden? There has been no greater NFL disaster than this once-proud franchise. $100 million over 10 years now seems like a cruel joke with the Raiders jettisoning their best receiver and best defender while leaning on a backup-level backfield and a highly inconsistent "franchise" QB. While there's nowhere to go but up, it's hard to anticipate when or where "up" will emerge.
My biggest question for tonight is which Derek Carr will show up. Last week he was brilliant. That's the Carr I expected to see most of the year. He's fully capable of blowing away his consensus Week 9 #18 QB ranking. I'd absolutely take a chance on him if you don't have a top-10 QB. But I don't trust anyone else in this offense. Maybe Jared Cook can string together another top-10 performance. But with seven mostly middling offensive options around him, expect Carr to distribute the ball fairly widely, making it difficult for any one guy to shine -- except (I'm betting) Carr.
Oakland and San Francisco are a combined 2-13 on the season. They're both bottom-10 in the league in points per contest, bottom-5 in turnover ratio, bottom-6 in opposing QB rating, and bottom-8 in sacks per game. A key difference is rushing D, where San Francisco has been entirely competent, while Oakland is at or near the bottom in rushing yards per game, yards per carry, and rushing TDs.
The final score could be anywhere from 10-7 to 35-32. It hinges largely on which team will be less bad.
Fortunately for the Niners, C.J. Beathard (game-time decision) presently looks like a "go," meaning they won't have to start third-stringer Nick Mullens. Matt Breida might also be healthy enough to start, but keep in mind he's struggled the past two weeks and probably will be at less than 100%. It's unfortunate for fantasy managers with shallow backfields, as you'll have to decide whether to start him against Oakland's atrocious run defense. If he's healthy enough, he could rack up 15+ points. Or his wonky ankle could force him out early. It all comes down to how desperate you are. If you don't have another RB who can reasonably get you 8+ points, Breida is worth the risk if he starts.
That leaves Alfred Morris and possibly Raheem Mostert as uber-questionable fantasy options. I don't trust either to be more than RB6's unless Breida goes down.
Marquise Goodwin continues to be vastly undervalued despite catching only three balls the last two weeks. Once again, if you don't have a WR who can pull in WR4+ production, Goodwin is one of the best flyers around given his upside, particularly against the Raiders. George Kittle is of course an automatic start based on usage and fantasy's scarcity of reliable TE options. And Kendrick Bourne is coming off his best performance (7/71) and should be on every deep-league radar if Pierre Garcon sits.
On the other side of the ball, at what point will the Raiders try to buy out Jon Gruden? There has been no greater NFL disaster than this once-proud franchise. $100 million over 10 years now seems like a cruel joke with the Raiders jettisoning their best receiver and best defender while leaning on a backup-level backfield and a highly inconsistent "franchise" QB. While there's nowhere to go but up, it's hard to anticipate when or where "up" will emerge.
My biggest question for tonight is which Derek Carr will show up. Last week he was brilliant. That's the Carr I expected to see most of the year. He's fully capable of blowing away his consensus Week 9 #18 QB ranking. I'd absolutely take a chance on him if you don't have a top-10 QB. But I don't trust anyone else in this offense. Maybe Jared Cook can string together another top-10 performance. But with seven mostly middling offensive options around him, expect Carr to distribute the ball fairly widely, making it difficult for any one guy to shine -- except (I'm betting) Carr.