Lions fantasy football matchup of Week 7

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: QB Matthew Stafford vs. Saints

Matthew Stafford only ranks 12th among quarterbacks overall and has put up just 27.4 points over the last two weeks combined. Don't let that deter you from going with Stafford this week in a pivotal Week 7 NFC matchup.

The Saints are the No. 32 defense against the pass, the worst in the NFL, and are 26th against opposing quarterbacks in fantasy. The only reason they're not worse against opposing fantasy quarterbacks is because three of their five games have been against subpar fantasy quarterbacks Brian Hoyer, Matt Cassel and Mike Glennon. In the other two games, Matt Ryan and Tony Romo combined for 69 points. Stafford, with or without Calvin Johnson, will perform more in line with the latter.

If you have, say, Philip Rivers and Stafford, you've been smart to go with Rivers lately. But if it were me, and this isn't the homer in me talking, I would start Stafford this week.

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS OF THE WEEK:

Week 1: Calvin Johnson vs. Giants - 7 catches (11 targets), 164 yards, 2 touchdowns
Week 2: Golden Tate vs. Panthers - 5 catches (8 targets), 57 yards
Week 3: Reggie Bush vs. Packers - 12 carries, 61 yards, 1 touchdown, 6 catches (8 targets), 38 yards
Week 4: Eric Ebron vs. Jets - 3 catches (4 targets), 34 yards, 1 touchdown
Week 5: Lions D/ST vs. Bills - 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 touchdown
Week 6: Golden Tate vs. Vikings - 7 catches (12 targets), 44 yards

(DEEEEEEEP) SLEEPER: WR Ryan Broyles

My record is stellar here, so let's go out on a limb. A limb that Broyles hasn't broken and/or tweeted about yet.

If you're in a 14-team league like me and are desperate at a WR/TE position, because Zach Ertz is on a bye and Eric Ebron might not play, you may not have many better choices available to you. Jeremy explains in his weekly preview:

Ryan Broyles. Yes, Ryan Broyles. If Ebron can't go, the Lions will have no choice but to give Broyles a shot. Though Broyles only has three targets on the season, I think this is the week he finally gets a chance to prove his worth to the Lions. Broyles' passion is easy to see both on and off the field, and I don't think that can be overlooked forever.

Passionate tweets shouldn't be worth anything, but Broyles has to be given a chance if Ebron can't go. Broyles' problems in his career have mostly been injury related, so if he's healthy, the Lions should run him out there. In his short career, 19 games, he's only been targeted at least six times twice in a game, both in his rookie year. He caught 12 of 18 targets for 176 yards. Give him some targets and look what he might be able to do.

PREVIOUS SLEEPER PICKS:

Week 1: Eric Ebron - No
Week 2: Rain - No
Week 3: Eric Ebron - No
Week 4: Matthew Stafford - YES!
Week 5: Reggie Bush - No (injured)
Week 6: Matt Prater - No, but could've been kind-of-yes if he didn't miss two field goals.

POD FFL GAME OF THE WEEK:

Wide 9ers (JCruize, 5-1) defeated U Aint Got the Ansah (Jerry Mallory, 0-6) 111.72-108.64, preventing Ansah from getting his first win of the season. Ansah, U aint got a tight end! Check your lineup! It cost you a win. The game was won for the 9ers fittingly on Monday night when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick went off for 35-plus points.

POD FFL MATCHUP OF THE WEEK:

Stafford's Registry (me, 5-1) vs. Motown Madmen (Jettero2112, 5-1)

A battle of the 5-1s as they square off in what should be a close battle. Yahoo! currently projects the Madmen full of Packers (Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb) to win by 11 points. I'm not terribly confident given that I'm starting the Jaguars' running back, but hopefully the Storm comes.

FANDUEL:

I lost $50 last week, bringing my six-week total to $134.80. This week I'm playing a variety of lineups in several competitions. This is the team in which I feel most confident:

QB Matthew Stafford vs. Saints $8,300
RB Jamaal Charles vs. Chargers $8,500
RB DeMarco Murray vs. Giants $9,400
WR Brandon Marshall vs. Dolphins $7,700
WR Torrey Smith vs. Falcons $6,100
WR James Jones vs. Cardinals $5,500
TE Jordan Reed vs. Titans $5,400
K Shayne Graham vs. Lions $4,600
D Jaguars vs. Browns $4,500 (ew, I know...)

$0 in salary remaining

Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a $250,000 one-week fantasy football league this weekend. It's $5 to join and the top 9,680 teams win money. League starts Sunday 1 PM ET and ends on Monday night. Here's the link.