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As the 2-7 Houston Texans play host to the 3-6 Oakland Raiders, both teams look like they will be battling it out for mere pride in this one and, well, pretty much for the rest of the season. Each franchise has had their share of issues with the quarterback position which leads us to a week 11 matchup between Matt McGloin and Case Keenum — bet you never saw that coming.
For fantasy owners, this is a game that could feature a couple of sleeper starts, starting with Texans’ rookie wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
The Texans could be passing much more than rushing the ball on Sunday, as Arian Foster is obviously out and Ben Tate is still playing with four broken ribs. Keenum has targeted Hopkins more over the past couple of games and that trend could continue against Oakland.
Houston probably wouldn’t fare well running the ball on Oakland in the first place, due to the Raiders’ 7th-ranked rush defense. Giving up only 98.4 yards on the ground per game, the Raiders’ front seven have been a bright spot this year in terms of stopping the run. On the other hand, Oakland’s 22nd-ranked pass defense is giving up 247 yards per game which could give Keenum a much easier route to get the ball into the end zone.
Hopkins came alive toward the beginning of the season when Matt Schaub was still the starter, but since then has somewhat tailed off. Don’t be afraid to start him this week, as he’s had 17 targets in the past two weeks and this week’s matchup is a great one. Don’t forget, Hopkins score the Texans’ touchdown in a 17-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs a few weeks ago. He’s still a threat.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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