Carson Wentz, Eagles
Carson Wentz truthers and Fantasy Football owners are likely riding high after he led the short-handed Eagles to a win over the 49ers in primetime on Sunday night, and understandably so. However, we would pump the brakes just a bit as he still didn’t look close to himself, finishing 18-of-28 for just 193 yards with one touchdown and interception apiece.
After a dismal start to the season in which he logged a combined 29.38 fantasy points through the first two weeks, Wentz has bounced back with 23.50 and 23.42 points in each of Philadelphia’s last two games. Fantasy Football managers generally love rolling with a quarterback who has multiple weeks worth of momentum behind him, but the former No. 2 overall pick faces an ugly matchup in Week 5 against Pittsburgh’s star-studded defense.
In three games, the Steelers rank second in the NFL in yards allowed per game (290.0) and fourth in points allowed (19.3). Not only is Mike Tomlin’s defense blitzing more often than any other unit in the league — on 51.2% of the snaps, but the unit is doing so at an incredibly efficient level, hurrying opposing QBs on 22% of dropbacks and logging a staggering 15% knockdown percentage on pass attempts.
Mix those stats in with the fact that the Eagles offensive line is already decimated with injuries and could be without world-beating right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle), the odds are stacked against Wentz being a dependable fantasy QB this week. We’d be more comfortable streaming Kirk Cousins, who’s been irrelevant as far as fantasy is concerned, against the Seahawks’ lifeless secondary.
