The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 17 matchup between the Titans and Saints.
Find a breakdown of every Week 17 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| New Orleans | Rank | @ | Tennessee | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | Spread | 2.5 | ||
| 21.0 | Implied Total | 19.0 | ||
| 17.0 | 29 | Points/Gm | 16.7 | 30 |
| 22.5 | 14 | Points All./Gm | 26.9 | 26 |
| 63.9 | 9 | Plays/Gm | 58.6 | 27 |
| 61.3 | 14 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 59.9 | 11 |
| 4.8 | 28 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.4 | 31 |
| 4.9 | 7 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.7 | 26 |
| 40.29% | 26 | Rush% | 37.66% | 30 |
| 59.71% | 7 | Pass% | 62.34% | 3 |
| 50.43% | 31 | Opp. Rush % | 45.16% | 21 |
| 49.57% | 2 | Opp. Pass % | 54.84% | 12 |
- The Saints have gained 10 or more yards on 30.1% of their passing plays over their past six games, 7th in the league.
- Before that period, they had gained 10 or more yards on 21.1% of their passing plays, 31st in the league.
- New Orleans is allowing a league-low 4.4 yards per play since Week 10.
- The Saints have allowed 1.45 points per drive over that span, 2nd in the league.
- The Saints have allowed opponents to convert 34.8% of their third downs, 4th in the league.
- Tennessee has converted a league-low 32% of third downs.
- The Titans have scored 10 offensive touchdowns over the past three games after scoring 12 through 12 games.
- Tennessee has averaged 2.32 points per drive over the past three weeks (17th) after a league-low 1.19 points per drive prior.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Tyler Shough: Shough was effective again on Sunday against the Jets, setting season-highs in completions (32), pass attempts (49), and passing yards (308).
Ending the week as the QB15 (17.1 points), Shough has delivered at least 17 fantasy points in four consecutive games and in five of his past six.
With the status of the New Orleans running back room, the Saints were pass-heavy on Sunday, using the short passing game as their run game.
They threw the ball 13% over expectations and 16% over expectations on first downs.
Even if Alvin Kamara is back this week, it would make sense to take a similar approach here.
Tennessee is the top pass funnel in the league, with offenses throwing the ball 6.3% over expectations against them, the highest rate in the league.
The Titans had a reprieve against the pass last weekend with Gardner Minshew going down early on and Chris Oladokun making his first career appearance, but this has been a team we have targeted for passing production over the past half of the season.
Before Sunday’s game, the Titans had allowed eight straight QB1 scoring weeks.
Tennessee is 29th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.511), allowing a 67.9% completion rate (27th), 7.9 yards per attempt (29th), and a 5.5% touchdown rate (25th).
Shough has streaming appeal in 1QB leagues here and is a high-floor QB2.
Since Week 10, Shough has completed 68.9% of his passes (2nd) for 7.1 yards per pass attempt (16th).
The one hang-up in going all in on him is a 2.9% touchdown rate (30th) over that span and the potential of losing out on a scoring opportunity to Taysom Hill, like last weekend.
Cam Ward: Ward is closing the season with some promise, and this offense has found a way to generate some production as things wind down.
Ward is coming off completing a season-high 75% of his passes (21 of 28) against the Chiefs for 228 yards (a season-high 8.1 Y/A) with 2 touchdowns.
Ward has thrown multiple touchdowns in three straight games after throwing 7 touchdowns through 12 games.
Ward does not have the same stability or as good a matchup as Shough, but Ward is in play for 2QB gamers.
The Saints have not allowed a 200-yard passer since Week 9.
They have allowed a 60% completion rate (6th) for 6.0 Y/A (4th) and a 2.5% touchdown rate (4th) over that span with a 10.1% sack rate (3rd).
They have had a favorable runout against Bryce Young (twice), Baker Mayfield, Tua Tagovailoa, Kirk Cousins, and Brady Cook over that period.
Still, Ward is in an adjacent bucket to players in that sample.
Running Back
To continue reading this article
and gain access to The Worksheet as well as all of Rich's regular fantasy content, click below to learn more about our Fantasy Package.
Learn MoreMore Week 17 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Cowboys @ Commanders | Christmas Day |
| Lions @ Vikings | Christmas Day |
| Broncos @ Chiefs | Christmas Day |
| Texans @ Chargers | Saturday -- 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Packers | Saturday -- 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Patriots @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Bills | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ 49ers | Sunday Night Football |
| Rams @ Falcons | Monday Night Football |