vDeshaun Watson and Cam Newton will face each other for the first time on Sunday. Do you really need another reason to watch this game?
The Houston Texans (2-7) are coming off a 10-7 loss to the Browns in a game that was really dictated by the weather. High winds forced both teams to play conservatively, so Watson was limited to just 163 yards on 30 attempts. He ran for 36 yards. Brandin Cooks was Houston’s leader in receptions (six), Randall Cobb was the leader in receiving yardage (41), and tight end Pharaoh Brown caught Houston’s only score.
The conditions weren’t perfect for the New England Patriots (4-5) either as rain fell throughout their upset victory over the Ravens, 23-17. Newton scored once through the air and once on the ground. He didn’t do much as a passer — 13-for-17 for 118 yards — be he didn’t need to as running back Damien Harris starred with 121 yards on 22 carries. Newton also got some help in the passing game from wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who threw a touchdown of his own to Rex Burkhead, who broke the plane twice.
TV Info
Date: Sunday, Nov. 22
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Broadcast map
Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)
Patriots: #25 Overall — #22 offense, #32 defense, #7 special teams
Texans: #22 Overall — #15 offense, #28 defense, #17 special teams
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Patriots: -2.5, -141
Texans: +2.5, +125
Total: 48
Fantasy football start/sit advice
Patriots
Damien Harris, RB, $5,700
You know the Patriots are always liable to change their running back rotation on a whim, but last week was Harris’ third consecutive impressive outing, and there should be no going back from him on early downs. Houston has allowed the third-most fantasy points to RBs and just saw Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt surpass 100 yards on the ground against them in Week 10. Even though he is not involved as a receiver, Harris looks like a strong RB2 this week. He just doesn’t have a very high ceiling in DraftKings’ PPR format.
Jakobi Meyers, WR, $4,900
Meyers won’t throw for a touchdown every week — it’s OK if he does though. Even in a driving rain and a tough matchup, he was serviceable, catching five of seven targets for 59 yards. Meyers has broken through as the Pats’ top wideout, and he should succeed this week against a Texans secondary that has been burned consistently. That wasn’t the case in Week 10, but whipping winds in Cleveland made passing hazardous in that game.
Texans
Duke Johnson, RB, $5,400
Duke flopped in a leading role in Week 10. His lack of success as a runner was compounded by his invisibility as a receiver. With David Johnson out for at least a couple more weeks, Duke will continue to have this backfield basically all to himself. The Patriots’ defense was pretty good against the run versus Baltimore, but this is basically the same group that was absolutely grounded into the dirt by the 49ers a few weeks back and then gave up more than 160 rushing yards to Zack Moss and Devin Singletary in Week 8. Johnson is an RB2 who should still be favored in PPR settings. Giving him just one target again should be considered criminal negligence.
Brandin Cooks, WR, $5,200
Cooks and Will Fuller V are both worthy starts in this one, but there’s no way the latter should be $1,000 more expensive than the former. Yet, that’s been the case for most of the season. Fuller has the touchdown advantage, 6-3, but it’s not like Cooks can’t break off a big play and score in ways similar to his teammate. The Patriots saw Breshad Perriman and Willie Snead IV score twice against them in Weeks 9 and 10, respectively. Cooks or Fuller could pull that off this week, but if you feel compelled to choose one in DFS, take Cooks and save some cash.