Start or Sit Andrew Luck
It’s week three of the NFL season, and as crazy as it seems, we will already be a major chunk of the way through the 2018 fantasy football regular season when the Steelers and Buccaneers wind down on Monday Night Football. So far, we’ve had some spectacular ups-and-downs in terms of out-of-nowhere players suddenly playing amazing, and amazing players suddenly playing like they’ve never seen a football field before. We now have two samples of data for the NFL season, and it’s a mess to try to make heads or tails of this so early in the season. However, we at Football Absurdity are here to help you think through some of your tough weekly lineup decisions. For example, should you start or sit Andrew Luck as he takes on the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles?
There has been so much quarterback news early in the NFL season that Andrew Luck’s return has been lost in the shuffle. Weird that two QBs combining for 18 touchdowns over their first two games makes for a story, huh? Anyway, Andrew Luck’s return has been… inconsistent. He started off the season wonderfully, throwing for 319 yards and two scores in week one against Cincy, but last week Washington completely stifled him. Josh Norman & company held Luck to just 179 passing yards, allowed two more touchdowns, and forced two interceptions. The Colts have also (understandably) limited his rushing, as he has nine rushing yards across his first two games after averaging 20 rush yards a game through his first five seasons. So far, this new Luck is limited and reserved. He missed 26 of his previous 48 games, so his trepidation is understandable, though not conducive to fantasy football production.
Early on in his comeback campaign, I’m only comfortable with starting Luck in a good matchup. Let’s see if this is a good matchup.
NARRATOR: It is not a good matchup.
Before Ryan Fitzpatrick went Super Saiyan on the Eagles last week (402 passing yards, four scores), they had demolished their prior eight opponents (dating back to last season’s Bye week). With Fitzpatrick’s performance, their opponents average 236 passing yards, 1.6 passing TDs, 1.1 picks, and 15 fantasy points a contest. Remove the clear outlier game, and the average drops to 215 passing yards, 1.25 scores, 1.125 picks and just 13 fantasy points per contest. Five of the previous eight quarterbacks did not even pass 200 yards passing, and they held that same ratio to one or zero touchdowns. That’s… bleak.
That bleak outlook faces our dear, sweet Geico Caveman background extra this week. Luck’s been more tentative, and while he looks good, he doesn’t quite have that brash Luck bravado on the field yet. With a matchup that has taken a chainsaw to more QBs than it hasn’t over the last half-season, I am going to stay firmly away from Andrew Luck this week. The answer to the question, “should I start or sit Andrew Luck week three,” is: Sit.
