EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR WEEK 6! 🏈🤑

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW 🏈👀

Broncos vs. Chiefs | Tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video

Right off the bat, this could be another in a long line of hideous Thursday night games like we’ve become accustomed to in the past few seasons.

On one side, you have a Broncos team that has struggled to stop anyone, whether it’s through the air or on the ground. They’ve given up yards all over the place and even made the Bears look like an offensive juggernaut in Week 4.

On the other, Patrick Mahomes looms large as someone who can place the ball where he wants. In addition to that, the Chiefs’ defense is playing at a ceiling level, with their secondary allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season.

Divisional games can be tricky, so even though all of this information screams Kansas City by multiple touchdowns, I’m not sure that that’s the way to approach this game. The Chiefs have struggled to cover spreads.

Knowing this, and seeing that Travis Kelce could be limited in this game coming off an ankle sprain suffered last week, it would seem prudent for the Chiefs to lean on Isiah Pacheco and their defense in an attempt to win this game against the Broncos.

Scroll down for our Week 6 fantasy football and betting BREAKDOWN!

WEEK 6 START ‘EM, SIT ‘EM 🏁🪑

Start ‘Em: Garrett Wilson vs Eagles

This pick is not just to please Brian, the guy who sends out the newsletters and was the first one we knew to buy an Aaron Rodgers Jets jersey. But now he can take his Zach Wilson jersey out of the closet and not be embarrassed to wear it.

The Jets’ “fill-in” QB has performed respectably over the last two weeks and will get the ball frequently enough to his best WR this week. The Eagles rank 29^th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to wide receivers.

Start ‘Em: Matthew Stafford vs Cardinals

He is an ideal plugger if you lost Anthony Richardson, or for those who stream QB starters. Stafford has Cooper Kupp back to complete an impressive trio of WRs with Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell.

The Rams QB is fourth in the NFL in passing yardage and the Cardinals rank 29^th in FFPG allowed to QBs.

Sit ‘Em: Jared Goff vs Buccaneers

The Detroit QB should mostly be started in home games. He has thrown eight TD passes in his last 10 road games. Tampa Bay ranks third in passing yards allowed to QBs.

Sit ‘Em: Terry McLaurin vs Falcons

He has reached 55 receiving yards in a game once this season. The Atlanta pass defense has been performing better than some may have noticed and ranks fifth in FFPG allowed to WRs.

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH 🤔🚨

BUY LOW on DeVonta Smith

A.J. Brown has been dominant over the past three games, while Smith is coming off a one-catch performance and he had 28 receiving yards in Week 3. Jalen Hurts will look to get Smith back involved in the passing flow very soon.

SELL HIGH on Gabe Davis

He has caught TD passes in four consecutive games, but you cannot rely on TD-dependent fantasy WRs. Davis has topped 65 yards once this season and has three games of three or fewer receptions.

BUY LOW on Jonathan Taylor

He had just 34 yards from scrimmage in Week 5 while Zack Moss shined again. Some fantasy players who currently roster him either cannot or will not be patient with Taylor, who will soon surpass Moss in workload after signing a huge contract.

SELL HIGH on Josh Jacobs

He has rushed for TDs in two consecutive games and Jacobs still has significant name value based on his 2022 production. Realistically, he has yet to rush for 70 yards in a game so far this season.

SLEEPERS & BUSTS 😴💩

Sleeper: DJ Chark, Carolina Panthers @ Miami Dolphins

Bryce Young started to show some statistical progress last week, throwing three TD passes against Detroit. Chark caught one of those scoring passes, an 18-yarder.

The Panthers will surely be playing from behind, and Miami ranks 21st in yardage allowed to WRs. Chark is averaging 17.1 yards per reception.

Sleeper: Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders @ Atlanta Falcons

Thomas has frequently dealt with injury concerns, but when he is available, the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder can sometimes post quality fantasy totals.

Thomas caught nine of 11 targets for 77 yards and a TD in Week 5. The Falcons have allowed the second-most FFPG to TEs.

Bust: Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers vs Cleveland Browns

You cannot bench Aiyuk, but this is a week when he cannot be expected to boost fantasy teams to victories. The Browns rank first in FFPG allowed to WRs, a stat that illustrates Deebo Samuel might also be headed for a tough day.

Bust: Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans vs Baltimore Ravens

The longtime axis of the Titans’ offense might frustrate those who roster him with another disappointing performance in Week 6. Baltimore has not allowed a rushing TD in 2023.

INJURIES TO KEEP AN EYE ON 👀🤕

Justin Jefferson (hamstring)

According to The Athletic, K.J. Osborn is going to take over Justin Jefferson’s role as the “X receiver” in the Minnesota passing game. The Vikings’ WR has 12 TD receptions over the past two seasons and has an established on-field relationship with Kirk Cousins. He should function as a startable fantasy WR3 while Jefferson is out with a hamstring injury.

Diontae Johnson (hamstring)

Published reports indicate that the Pittsburgh WR might be able to return after the Week 6 bye. Fantasy players are often open to trading guys who are injured or on a bye week, so if you are looking for a quality WR depth option, make an offer for Johnson before next week.

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: Rams WRs vs Cardinals CBs

We knew this group would be fearsome once Cooper Kupp returned to the lineup, but we may have overlooked the fact that Kupp would immediately pick up where he left off and that Puka Nacua would assume the Robert Woods role right alongside him.

The two combined for 189 yards last week against the Eagles and now got another advantageous matchup against the Cardinals’ below-average secondary unit. Expect Nacua to feast against perimeter CB Marco Wilson this weekend, who has given up 0.61 Fantasy Points per Pass Route this season and has shadowed at times.

Kupp would work against Jalen Thompson or Antonio Hamilton, both of whom have been solid matchups this year, though guarding Kupp is never easy. Kupp looked right at home running his normal complement of routes last week, so both he and Nacua are top-15 plays this week.

RB/DL: James Cook vs Giants DL

Honestly, I would be shocked if Cook was not able to run roughshod over the Giants this weekend, even with his diminished workload over the past couple weeks.

The Giants have had a running back rush for at least 70 yards in all five games this season, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. They’ve also given up at least one rushing touchdown in all five games, so it should be wheels up for Cook here.

Cook has been very efficient most of the 2023 season, and despite the fact that he hasn’t fully established command of the backfield yet, you can fire him up as a top-20 RB with some upside this week.

PLAYER STATS TO KNOW 📊

• Jonnu Smith has five-plus receptions in each of his last three games. Kyle Pitts has five catches in two games this season.

• Tyler Lockett has five receiving TDs in his past five road games. In four of his past five road games, DK Metcalf has finished with 70-plus receiving yards.

• Zack Moss ranks third in the NFL with 445 rushing yards. He has 100-plus scrimmage yards and a TD in four of his past five games overall.

• Breece Hall has averaged 98.8 scrimmage yards in six career home games. In Week 5, he became the first Jets player ever to deliver two games of 175-plus scrimmage yards in his first two seasons.