EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR WEEK 3! 🏈🤑

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW 🏈👀

Giants vs. 49ers | Tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video

The San Francisco 49ers (2-0) will host the New York Giants (1-1) in the Week 3 edition of Thursday Night Football. This will be the 49ers’ home opener as they come off two road wins, including a huge victory over the division rival Rams last week.

San Francisco comes in as heavy favorites in this game because — not only are they much better on paper — the Giants are going to be playing without star running back Saquon Barkley. That leaves a team that already had limited weapons with an even more questionable supporting cast.

The Niners could be without Brandon Aiyuk, but they have enough weapons to handle that loss, including Christian McCaffrey, who has gotten off to a terrific start with 268 rushing yards in his first two games.

San Francisco is now 10-0 in Brock Purdy starts where he finishes the game, as their only loss was in the playoffs vs. the Eagles when he left early. Expect them to get to 11-0 under Purdy in what could be a blowout against the short-handed Giants. I’ll take the 49ers -10 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

This game also features an intriguing player prop in Christian McCaffrey to go Under 17.5 rush attempts. Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke about how they’re using him too much and need to get Elijah Mitchell more involved. On a short week in a potential blowout, this feels like the ideal opportunity to do so.

WEEK 3 FANTASY RANKINGS 🥇🥈🥉

Our Frank Ammirante takes you through his personal weekly fantasy rankings and reasonings into some of those decisions.

QB Fantasy Rankings This Week

Justin Herbert is currently averaging 21.7 fantasy points per game, which ranks QB3 on the season. This is a terrific spot on the road against the Vikings in a projected shootout with the highest total on the slate. Herbert opens up the week as my QB2.

RB Fantasy Rankings This Week

Tony Pollard is currently RB4 while ranking first in expected fantasy points per game, per PFF. This is a projected positive game script with the Cowboys as heavy favorites against the lowly Cardinals (see where Pollard should be picked in keeper leagues via our fantasy football dynasty rankings).

WR Fantasy Rankings This Week

TE Fantasy Rankings This Week

T.J. Hockenson currently ranks as TE1 following a huge game against the Eagles where he caught 7-of-8 targets for 66 yards and two touchdowns. This is a projected shootout between the Vikings and Chargers, so Hockenson stays ahead of Mark Andrews for this week.

PLAYER NEWS & RUMORS 🤭📰

Saquon Barkley (Ankle):

As of Wednesday afternoon, Saquon Barkley was ruled out for Thursday Night Football due to his ankle injury.

Expect veteran Matt Breida to carry the load for the Giants, mixed in with some Gary Brightwell. Breida is a volume-based RB3 against a tough 49ers’ run defense that has allowed only 3.87 yards per carry this year.

The Giants are likely to be playing from behind in this game, resulting in fewer opportunities for Breida. In other words, Breida is only startable if you’re completely desperate at FLEX.

Brandon Aiyuk (Shoulder):

Brandon Aiyuk is also a game-time decision as he deals with a shoulder injury. The 49ers would be wise to let him rest for this one in a game they should control. There’s no need to risk re-aggravation in a short week on Thursday Night Football.

However, if Aiyuk does play, I’d temper my expectations in fantasy football. We could see the 49ers opt to give him a limited role, resulting in fewer routes and less opportunities for targets.

Aiyuk would be downgraded to a low-end WR3 given this risk, so it’s probably a good idea to start a different wideout in this situation.

MATCHUPS TO EXPLOIT ⭐️🗑

Each week, Sam Wagman breaks down his favorite matchups to exploit that weekend in the NFL, from WR/CB to RB/DL. Let’s go through a couple favorites he likes this weekend.

WR/CB: Ravens WRs vs. Colts DBs

Taking whoever is facing the Colts' secondary has been a popular matchup for the season, and for good reason. Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker have been two of the friendliest matchups for wide receivers this season, with both sporting weak coverage grades, Baker especially (0.85 fantasy points per route run allowed).

Both Ravens' perimeter WRs in Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers should see a good amount of Baker, so they both should get upgraded in your rankings this week.

RB/DL: Josh Kelley vs. MIN DL

It might have been an anomaly last weekend, but the Vikings' defensive line simply had no answer for D'Andre Swift in Philly's matchup against Minnesota and allowed him to rush for 170 yards on 25 carries. Kelley is not the same type of runner, but he should still be able to find room against this line, especially knowing that they'll have their hands full already trying to stop Justin Herbert and Co. from throwing all over their secondary.

Looking at Kelley's numbers from last week, it was always going to be a tough matchup for him to get meaningful yards. This matchup against the Vikings should be a lot more straightforward for him.

INTRUIGING PLAYERS STATS 📊

Here are some player stats that caught our eye this week:

• Kyren Williams played 97% of the snaps, handled 78% of the rush attempts, and put up 80% route participation in Week 2, establishing himself as the Rams’ bellcow for the foreseeable future.

• Deshaun Watson has completed 55% of his passes at 5.6 yards per attempt while being sacked nine times with two interceptions and two fumbles. Not a good start for the former Texan.

• Lamar Jackson is averaging 3.5 designed runs per game, down from 5.9 in 2022. Todd Monken is having an impact on this offense, which means less rushing for Lamar.

• Tony Pollard currently leads all running backs with 25.8 expected fantasy points per game, per PFF. This is a metric that relates to player usage, putting an emphasis on high-value touches, like red-zone attempts and targets. Wheels up for Pollard.

PARLAY OF THE WEEK 💰(+1496)