The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 2 Arizona Cardinals vs Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon game on September 15, 2019 at 1:00 pm ET.
ArizonaRank@BaltimoreRank
13.5Spread-13.5
16.5Implied Total30
2716Points/Gm591
2718Points All./Gm104
821Plays/Gm733
8031Opp. Plays/Gm471
28.05%25Rush%63.01%2
71.95%8Pass%36.99%31
40.0%19Opp. Rush %25.53%6
60.0%14Opp. Pass %74.47%27
  • The Cardinals have failed to cover in nine consecutive games in the Eastern Time Zone.
  • The Ravens are 3-11 against the spread over their past 14 games as double-digit home favorites.
  • Rookie starting quarterbacks are 1-10 playing in Baltimore since 2008 under John Harbaugh
  • Those passers have thrown seven touchdowns and 16 interceptions in those starts, averaging 9.4 fantasy per game.
  • The 59 points scored by Baltimore in Week 1 were the most in Ravens’ history, surpassing the 55 points scored in Week 10, 2012.
  • Lamar Jackson had just the fourth ever game with 300+ passing yards and 5 TD passes on 20 or fewer pass attempts. It was the first since Steve Grogan in 1979.

Trust (spike production for that player)

  • Lamar Jackson: Yes, last week was against the Dolphins, but he hasn’t even run yet and now he’s at home against a defense that just allowed a QB4 scoring week to Matthew Stafford
  • Mark Andrews: The only thing that limits Andrews is he still isn’t playing a ton (18 pass routes), but when he is on the field, he’s being used heavily. But he still led the team in targets (eight) and only George Kittle was targeted more per pass route (45.6 percent) than Andrews was (44.5 percent) in Week 1 among tight ends. Arizona just surrendered a huge 6-131-1 line to a rookie tight end in his first career NFL game. 
  • Mark Ingram: The Ravens backfield churned rushing production with Jackson under center to close 2018 and they picked where they left off in Week 1, posting 191 yards from scrimmage on 39 touches. Ingram led the way with 107 yards and two touchdowns. As a huge home favorite, go right back to the well of elevating Ingram. If this game plays out as Vegas objectively suggests, it’s worth noting that Gus Edwards racked up 17 touches (11 in the second half) and had three carries from inside of the 5-yard line.

On the Cusp (proxy of a player’s average)

  • David Johnson: Johnson tallied 25 touches and 137 yards from scrimmage in our first look at his role in this offense. He also lined up as a wide receiver on 15 snaps, which was more than he did in any game a year ago. The touch count and return of receiving work give him a higher floor than 2018, which he’ll need as a massive road dog against a Ravens team that was second in points allowed to backfields a year ago and allowed the fewest in Week 1 to a hapless Miami team.
  • Larry Fitzgerald: The bulk of his 8-113-1 line came in the fourth quarter and overtime (6-104-1), but he showed he’s still the wideout to own in Arizona. We also got to see Fitz used more downfield. Fitzgerald’s average depth of target in Week 1 was a team-leading 12.0 yards. His depth of target has been 9.3, 8.4, and 7.7 over the previous three seasons.
  • Ravens WRs: Baltimore wideouts snagged four touchdowns and Marquise Brown led the way with 147 yards and two scores in his NFL debut. The only question here is sustainability on usage. Ravens WRs tallied just 10 total targets (38.5 percent of the team total) which was the lowest rate in the league. Brown himself turned in his gaudy line while just running eight pass routes in the game. The good news is the matchup sets as strongly as the Cardinals were shredded in Week 1, allowing Detroit wideouts to catch 15-of-26 targets for 202 yards and two touchdowns. The volume question keeps expectations in check, but Brown is in play as a WR3/FLEX option once again.

Bust (down-week production for that player’s standards)

  • Kyler Murray: He may just be a quarterback who gets so much volume and has so much rushing upside that you swallow all of the bad to get the good. But he needed a bonkers fourth quarter and overtime to get him to QB11 in Week 1 and that was at home versus the Lions. Traveling to Baltimore is another beast to tame and if he falls way behind again, they may not let him up.

If You Must (intriguing bench option or deeper league play) 

Non-Fitzgerald Cardinals WRs: Aided by game script and overtime, the Cardinals had four wide receivers in the top-eight in terms of routes run in Week 1 and all four of them had seven or more targets. Christian Kirk (12 targets), KeeSean Johnson (10), and Damiere Byrd (seven) all have various degrees of FLEX appeal.

More Week 2 Fantasy breakdowns from The Worksheet:

TB at CAR | SF at CIN | LAC at DET | MIN at GB | IND at TEN | NE at MIA | BUF at NYG | SEA at PIT | DAL at WAS | ARI at BAL | JAX at HOU | KC at OAK | CHI at DEN | NO at LAR | PHI at ATL | CLE at NYJ