All News & Analysis

Premium Content Sign Up

Odell Beckham Jr. continues to roll in Week 9

Welcome to the Matchups Machine, which narrows down ideal matchups from around the league on a weekly basis using the tools we have available at PFF, the Las Vegas odds, and insight from yours truly.

PFF has all the tools to break down each individual matchup. Do you want to know how your wide receiver is going to do? Well, if he lines up as a split end on 90 percent of his snaps, we can pinpoint which cornerback he will be matching up with for those snaps. We can also tell you how that cornerback has performed.

Of course, as was the case in the past, this column will become more accurate as the season goes on and we compile more grades for the players and get a feel for the tendencies and overall strengths/weaknesses of the 32 teams.

The goal of this column is to help you with those tricky decisions in year-long leagues, but also to help you narrow down your best options in daily fantasy leagues. You will see a mix of big-name players and fringe starters. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Jay Cutler at Chargers

In his six games played in 2015, Cutler has matched up with five of PFF’s Top-15 defenses overall, and the easiest defense he matched up against was the Lions — PFF’s 17th-best defense overall. In Week 9, he won’t have to deal with Mike Zimmer’s talented and aggressive front seven or a Cardinals defense with several ballhawks — he draws a beat up Chargers defense that lacks the talent to compete. Even if safety Eric Weddle returns to action, the Chargers have no hope of generating enough pressure to hold up in pass coverage with Alshon Jeffery and Jay Cutler nearing full health.

Only seven teams have earned a worse pass coverage grade overall than the Chargers, and only two teams have earned a worse pass rush grade overall. The Chargers use undersized linemen like Sean Lissemore and Ricardo Mathews along their interior line, in hopes of generating pressure, but they can’t find a way to get it done through the middle. Chargers defensive linemen have combined for just 33 total pressures and 4 sacks all season. Things aren't much better off the edge. The only bright spot on the defense is outside linebacker Jerry Attaochu — who has 5 sacks and 5 hits — but he can be schemed around. Attaaochu rotates out of the game, and about 30 percent of his snaps go to Kyle Emanuel, who played 79 snaps as a pass rusher, and he has only generated 8 total pressures all season. 

DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32

Unlimited Fantasy League Sync
Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire
WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools
Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks
PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools
NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades

Already have a subscription? Log In

Dan Schneier is a staff writer at PFF Fantasy and he covers the NFC East beat for FOX Sports. You can find him on Twitter @DanSchneierNFL. You can also add him to your network on Google+ to find all of his past material.

All Featured Tools

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit, with League Sync, Live Draft Assistant, PFF Grades & Data Platform that powers all 32 Pro Teams

$31 Draft Kit Fee + $8.99/mo
OR
$89.88/yr + FREE Draft Kit