The Denver Broncos defense couldn’t save the team’s average offense Week 9 in a 27-24 road loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
It’s hit-and-miss each week for the Denver offense, which is driving fantasy owners nuts. There aren’t very many must-start fantasy players on the team, and that starts with quarterback Peyton Manning.
He may have thrown for the most touchdowns in a game since Sept. 27, but it’s still not enough to trust him in your fantasy lineup right now.
It’s beyond the point of saying Manning belongs on your fantasy bench unless your starter is on a bye. It’s easy to get caught up in names when it comes to starting fantasy players, but the numbers don’t lie here.
Manning has nine touchdowns against 13 interceptions and has thrown a pick in all nine games this season. He’s broken 300 yards only twice and has put up a goose egg in the touchdown department three times.
Do you need any more proof?
The one thing he has going for him is his Week 10 opponent: the Kansas City Chiefs.
Manning is 7-0 against the Chiefs since coming to Denver and threw for a season-high three touchdowns in a Week 2 victory against Kansas City. However, the Chiefs defense has not allowed a team to score more than 18 points the past four games and should be determined to not let the 39-year-old QB have another big game against it.
Of course, he warrants a backup spot on your roster, and a 300-yard, three-touchdown game is never out of the question. But if you are counting on it, you will be disappointed more often than not.
While it may be frustrating to have a future Hall of Famer on your roster and not play him, it’s even more infuriating to have C.J. Anderson on your team.
Fantasy owners took him around the 12th pick in most ESPN.com fantasy drafts, and he has just over 300 yards and one touchdown this season. Just when owners were ready to dump him in Week 7, he gained 101 yards and a touchdown in a 29-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
So naturally, you started him against the Colts, right? That was a bad move, of course, because of his 38 total yards and no touchdowns. If it didn’t drop him, you could now or possibly stash him on your bench.
Anderson had 849 yards and eight touchdowns in limited action last season, so he has the capability of putting up good numbers.
He is hit-and-miss in terms of run defense the next three weeks. Kansas City is ranked 12th in rushing yards allowed per game, the Chicago Bears are 29th and the New England Patriots are seventh.
However, it hasn’t mattered much whom the opponent is, considering he has broken 50 yards just once this season.
He is not worth a start at this point in any league. If you kept him on your roster, leave him on the bench in case he puts together two good games in a row and you feel like he might help down the stretch run.
The one good thing he had going for him is that his backfield mate, Ronnie Hillman, had just one yard on seven carries against the Colts.
Don’t start him right now under any circumstances, but if he breaks out down the road, he could be a nice surprise for the playoffs.
When the Broncos traded for former Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis, it looked like Owen Daniels’ playing time could be in trouble. Instead, Davis finished with zero catches, and Daniels had his best game of the season.
Manning likes going to tight ends, so Daniels is worth keeping for now. If Davis happens to get in a flow with the offense, he could take over starting duties. If that happens, Daniels won’t even be worth stowing on your bench.
However, considering Davis hasn’t done much fantasy-wise since Week 2 of 2014, don’t count on that.
Daniels surprised this week, but he still is only worth a start in deeper leagues. The Chiefs allow the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends, per ESPN fantasy scoring, and the Bears allow the third-fewest.
He had only had 17 catches and one touchdown coming into the game; consider this an aberration for the 32-year-old tight end.
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