Monday Night Football in Week 12 sees the 8-2 Baltimore Ravens travel to Los Angeles to take on the 6-4 Rams. The Ravens are on a six-game winning streak and have won their last four games by double-digits. The reigning NFC champion Rams have won three of their last four, but find themselves in third place in the NFC West behind the 9-1 San Francisco 49ers and the 8-2 Seattle Seahawks.
Here, I’ll offer my thoughts on players to start and players to sit this week. As ever, Lamar Jackson is playing, so if you’ve got him, you’re starting him.
Start at RB2 – RB, Mark Ingram
One of these weeks I am confident that I will correctly asses the fantasy value of Mark Ingram. I mean, I recommended sitting him last week due to concerns regarding his volume and production. Ingram, true to form, carried the ball only 13 times for 48 yards, the third time in four games he’s been held below four yards per attempt. But then almost out of nowhere, he catches three passes, two of which result in touchdowns. Maddening.
The Rams have been solid and unwelcoming to running backs this season. Only one running back has amassed more than 45 yards against them since Week 8. No running back has scored a rushing touchdown against them since Week 6. Tailbacks are not exactly enjoying themselves as pass catchers against them either. Tarik Cohen had five receptions against them last week, but that was the first time since Week 8 any back has had more than four catches in a game against the Rams. They’ve not allowed a running back to top 35 receiving yards since Week 1.
In his current form, I have to acknowledge that Ingram is a touchdown-dependent fantasy asset. He is not commanding a large workload, as evidenced by the fact that he has 15 or fewer carries in each of his last five games. Nor is he an every-down player, as he has played less than 66% of the Ravens offensive snaps in all but one game in 2019. If you have no other option, then he can be plugged in as an RB2. But we can’t expect him to score two receiving touchdowns ever again.
Sit (and start asking why you have them on your roster at all) – All WRs
We return to our weekly song regarding the Ravens wide receivers, and I’m afraid the lyrics are unchanged. They are simply not getting enough opportunities to make plays, and as such are not assets to be trusted in fantasy football. Last week in the Ravens’ victory over the Texans, Ravens wide receivers saw a combined 10 targets. They produced five receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. In Week 11 in the NFL as a whole, 13 wide receivers saw at least 10 targets. 33 had more than 53 receiving yards. It ain’t broke for the Ravens, so why would they even think about fixing it.
Very few wide receivers have enjoyed their games against Wade Phillips and his defense this season. 15 wide receivers have amassed more than 51 yards against them, but they’ve only allowed one receiving touchdown to a wide receiver since Week 5. Since then, only one wide receiver has taken more than 15.7 PPR points off the Rams defense. There is very little here that makes any of the Ravens wide receivers even attractive as a desperation flex option.
Start – TE, Mark Andrews
There has been a tendency for teams to attack the Rams’ defense with the tight end throughout Phillips’ career. This hasn’t led to any great success this season. Only three tight ends have more than 50 yards against the Rams in 2019, with only one going over the 100-yard mark. Tight ends have been waiting to score a touchdown against the Rams since Week 4.
However, it is nigh on impossible to sit Mark Andrews at present, especially on a week with some of the big-name tight ends on their bye weeks. Despite his continuing lack of a full-time role, Andrews continues to be Lamar Jackson’s go-to guy.
His 23.8% target per snap rate is the highest among all tight ends this season. Andrews is also leading the pack in terms of deep targets, of which he is averaging nearly 1.5 per game. Andrews has three touchdowns over his last two games. All this is even though Andrews hasn’t played more than 57% of the offensive snaps in any game this season. You’re starting Andrews this week.
Start – Ravens DEF
This is not the high flying, jet setting, fully firing Rams offense that the NFL saw in 2017 and 2018. They are a fallible unit and one that we shouldn’t automatically fear rolling out our fantasy defenses against. Jared Goff has the ninth highest interception rate in the NFL this season and has the sixth most interceptions in total. 15.3% of the Rams offensive drives have ended with turnover this season, the sixth-highest rate in the NFL. They’ve committed multiple turnovers in five of their 10 games this season. Indeed, they’ve coughed it up six times in their last two combined.
Since Marcus Peters arrived in Baltimore after being traded for from the Rams, Wink Martindale’s boys have allowed a mere 14 points per game. The Ravens defense has scored 13 or more fantasy points in each of their last four games, with games against Russell Wilson, Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson during this time. They’ve scored five defensive touchdowns and racked up 12 sacks. Set and forget.
