Raiders vs Texans Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 8

The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 8 Oakland Raiders vs Houston Texans 49ers Sunday afternoon game on October 27, 2019 at 4:25 pm ET.

Oakland	Rank	@	Houston	Rank
6.5		Spread	-6.5
22.25		Implied Total	28.75
21.2	18	Points/Gm	26.4	9
27.5	29	Points All./Gm	23.4	18
61.5	23	Plays/Gm	64.3	13
59.8	7	Opp. Plays/Gm	62.7	14
45.8%	6	Rush%	42.9%	11
54.2%	27	Pass%	57.1%	22
40.7%	17	Opp. Rush %	33.0%	2
59.3%	16	Opp. Pass %	67.0%	31

The Raiders are first in the league in yardage differential than their opponents on rushing plays at +1.3 yards.
Josh Jacobs has forced a missed tackled on 28.4% of his rushing attempts, trailing only Alvin Kamara (33.7%) among backs with 50 or more carries on the season.
Oakland is second in the league in first down run rate (61.8%) and lead the league with 5.6 yards per play on first down run plays.
Houston is allowing just 3.1 yards per first down run play, third-best in the league behind the Rams (3.0) and Jets (2.8).
Oakland has allowed a league-high nine touchdowns from outside of the red zone this season.
The Raiders are allowing a gain of 20-plus yards once every 10.0 plays on defense, the highest rate in the league.
The Raiders are allowing the most non-passing fantasy points per possession (8.6) while the Texans are 28th (7.9).

Trust (spike production for that player)

Deshaun Watson: The Raiders pass defense has been atrocious so far and Oakland has pressured the opposing the quarterback on a league-low 11.8% of dropbacks this season. The Raiders are allowing a league-high 21.7 passing points per game.
DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins had 12 targets and nine receptions in each of the past two games while he found the end zone for the first time since Week 1 a week ago. The injury to Will Fuller also brought more downfield targets for Hopkins. His 10.2 yard average depth of target last week was his highest in a game since Week 4. The Raiders have been torched vertically and are 32nd in points allowed per target (2.26) and 30th in yards per target (10.2) to wideouts.
Kenny Stills: The injury to Fuller majorly elevates Stills. Stills played 94% of the snaps last week while posting a 4-105 line. Stills ranks fourth among all wide receivers in yards per route run (2.84) and now is a full-time player against this Raiders defense that has been their worst against the vertical pass.

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

Darren Waller: It was only a matter of time before he finally cracked the touchdown column and he nearly had three last week. Waller leads all tight ends with 7.3 receptions per game and share of team targets (26%). Houston has allowed three straight top-12 scoring weeks to a tight end in Austin Hooper (6-56), Travis Kelce (4-58), and Eric Ebron (4-70-1) but all have been more modest performances.
Josh Jacobs: He’s now seventh at the position in yards from scrimmage per game (106.8), but 81.2% of his fantasy output is from rushing only, which is ahead of Carlos Hyde (91.2%) among top-30 scoring backs. Houston ranks fifth in rushing points allowed per game to backfields (8.8) while ranking 32nd in receiving points allowed (15.6).
Tyrell Williams: Williams is on track to return from a plantar fasciitis injury that has forced him to miss the past two games. Williams has a touchdown in all four of his games played this season while the Texans are most exploitable against wideouts (30th in points per game allowed to the position).

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

Derek Carr: Carr has multiple touchdown passes in three of the past four games, but has yet to finish higher than QB16 in any week this season. The way to attack the Texans is through strong wide receiver play, where the Raiders have a shortage of options.

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

Carlos Hyde: He’s in play as a home favorite on an offense with a team total near 30 points. But the Raiders have been solid versus the run, ranking 10th in rushing points allowed (11.0) and 10th in yards per carry allowed (3.88) to opposing backfields.
Duke Johnson: He’s had single-digit touches in five of his past six games, but has still been an RB3 or better in three of the past four weeks. The Raiders have defended the run well, but rank 29th in points allowed per game (13.9) to backfields.
Keke Coutee: Coutee remains an option as the third wideout. He played 69.2% of the snaps and ran 30 pass routes last week. Coutee has been a WR4 or better in each of the past three games, but has yet to crack the top-30.

More Week 8 Fantasy breakdowns from The Worksheet: