Raiders 16, Rams 17 (Rams +6 Under 44.5)

Pregame: The Raiders come into this game desperate for a win, as they need to make up a lot of ground in the playoff race. The Rams come into this game with nothing to play for, as their roster is almost unrecognizable when compared to their Week 1 starters. John Wolford and Baker Mayfield are both active in this game, and it will be very interesting to see who gets the bulk of the work at quarterback. This game will only be close if the Rams’ defense can overcome their injuries since their offense likely won’t be able to score over 20 points. 

Postgame: This game was the Baker Mayfield show. He played pretty well throughout the whole game, but he shined late in the fourth quarter, leading the Rams on back-to-back scoring drives to steal this game. Derek Carr played terribly during this whole game, and the Raiders’ defense couldn’t make late timely stops. Both of these teams are now out of the playoff picture, but they’re trending in completely opposite directions. 

Raiders

QB

Pregame: Derek Carr comes into this game as a fringe top-12 quarterback. He’s playing up to par with his career averages, but he has Davante Adams at his disposal now. The Rams defense will be without Aaron Donald, so the Raiders might run the ball since the Rams likely won’t put up many points. Carr won’t see much volume, so fantasy managers might want to look elsewhere this week.

Postgame: Carr had a terrible game on Thursday night. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 137 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Carr saw his lowest passing volume of the year during this game, and he also had his worst performance. Carr saw a passer rating of just 36.9 against one of the NFL’s most depleted teams. I wouldn’t lose all hope for Carr, as he still could be valuable in high-scoring games, but this makes it hard for fantasy owners to trust him down the stretch and through the playoffs. 

RB

Pregame: Josh Jacobs has been phenomenal for the Raiders this year. He’s on pace to set career-highs in almost every volume and efficiency metric, both on the ground and through the air. With Aaron Donald out, Josh Jacobs will likely have a field day with 30-plus touch upside. Jacobs might be the RB1 this week, making him an absolute must-start. 

Postgame: Jacobs carried the ball 27 times for 99 yards and a touchdown while adding two catches for 15 yards on Thursday night. Although he didn’t look completely dominant, Jacobs fought through injuries and turned 29 touches into 19.4 PPR points. The Rams proved to be a tough run defense, even without Aaron Donald, so this is a solid performance from Jacobs. He still remains an RB1 for fantasy managers as we approach the fantasy playoffs. 

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WR

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