{"id":191749,"date":"2024-09-27T13:45:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T17:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=191749"},"modified":"2024-09-27T12:21:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T16:21:02","slug":"bills-ravens-fantasy-football-james-cook-bench-mark-andrews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/27\/bills-ravens-fantasy-football-james-cook-bench-mark-andrews\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills-Ravens Fantasy: James Cook Concern; Bench Mark Andrews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens feature no shortage of fantasy football star power as they prepare to face off on <em>Sunday Night Football<\/em>. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/24\/josh-allen-mvp-biggest-hurdles-buffalo-bills-qb\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Josh Allen<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/23\/ravens-lamar-jackson-john-harbaugh-comments-cowboys\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lamar Jackson<\/a> should put on quite a show as two of the NFL&#8217;s best quarterbacks battle in the prime-time spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>While the result should be numerous standout fantasy performances, there are notable names on both sides that may not join the point-scoring bonanza. Few things are more frustrating than seeing a game approach 60 total points only for your fantasy player to barely crack the stat sheet.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s analyze one star from each AFC team that may struggle to live up to expectations on Sunday night. Kickoff from M&amp;T Bank Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n<h2>Bills-Ravens Fantasy Football Key Storylines (Week 4)<\/h2>\n<h3>Buffalo: Downgrade <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/07\/04\/2024-bills-fantasy-football-james-cook-running-backs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">James Cook<\/a> Despite Red-Hot Start<\/h3>\n<p>Cook rebounded from a poor training camp to open the regular season on a heater. The 25-year-old Miami native has tallied 285 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns through three games. He&#8217;s been a major beneficiary of the Bills&#8217; more balanced offensive approach.<\/p>\n<p>There are some reasons for concern in the underlying numbers, though. Most notably, it&#8217;s hard to rely on that level of touchdown production over an entire season. Only two non-quarterbacks\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">San Francisco 49ers<\/a>&#8216; Christian McCaffrey and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/dolphins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Miami Dolphins<\/a>&#8216; Raheem Mostert\u2014scored more than 15 total TDs in 2023. Neither of them had a mobile QB like Allen stealing red-zone carries.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">James Cook&#39;s rushing touchdowns inside the 10-yard line:<\/p>\n<p>2023:  1<br \/>2024:  2<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6tfAwy2CSa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6tfAwy2CSa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Scott Spratt (@Scott_Spratt) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Scott_Spratt\/status\/1838364171974365375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In addition, Cook has only played 53 percent of Buffalo&#8217;s offensive snaps so far. It was a modest 61 percent in a close Week 1 win over the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cardinals\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, so the low number isn&#8217;t merely because the Bills blew out their last two opponents. He had a 55 percent snap share last season.<\/p>\n<p>Although backups Ty Johnson and Ray Davis have produced middling results, their involvement is consistent. It&#8217;ll prevent Cook from becoming a high-volume, bell-cow running back.<\/p>\n<p>So, you have a rusher whose production is outpacing their role. He now faces a Ravens defense that leads the league in rushing yards allowed per game (50.0) and per carry (2.8).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ravens DEF ranks:<\/p>\n<p>\u25ab\ufe0fRun: 1st<br \/>\u25ab\ufe0fPass: 32nd<br \/>\u25ab\ufe0fTotal: 23rd<\/p>\n<p>This has to be another Josh Allen game for the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Bills<\/a>. Baltimore\u2019s pass defense has been a liability this year. Buffalo needs to get points early and force Lamar to throw on them. Do not let Derrick Henry dictate the game.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kevin Siracuse (@kevin_siracuse) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kevin_siracuse\/status\/1839400838474989580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Does that mean Cook should be on the fantasy bench? Probably not. Unless a manager is in an incredibly shallow league or hit the jackpot drafting RBs, there simply isn&#8217;t enough depth at the position to leave someone with his upside out of the lineup.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it&#8217;s best not the expect RB1 fantasy production from the Bills&#8217; starter on Sunday.<\/p>\n<h3>Baltimore: It&#8217;s Time to Bench <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/23\/mark-andrews-fantasy-football-concerns-ravens-te-struggling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Mark Andrews<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>One of the biggest mistakes fantasy managers make is sticking with their early draft picks too long. It&#8217;s understandable, of course. In Andrews&#8217; case, he required a fourth- or fifth-round pick. You want return on that investment. Sometimes the production just isn&#8217;t there and you have to move on, though.<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0Z2r2CMEUFc?si=ZfaIqS68nPPAlj2G\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Watch: Is Mark Andrews a Buy or a Lemon? And More Trade Targets<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The underlying metrics suggest that may be the case with the Ravens tight end. He&#8217;s amassed just eight targets through three games. His playing time is also moving rapidly in the wrong direction:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Week 1: 74 percent snap share<\/li>\n<li>Week 2: 63 percent<\/li>\n<li>Week 3: 33 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh didn&#8217;t suggest a reversal of those numbers was guaranteed, either. He discussed Andrews&#8217; role after Sunday&#8217;s win over the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s probably going to be a part of the gameplan each week\u2014and a lot of it is how the game goes, too,&#8221; Harbaugh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/news\/baltimore-ravens-coach-explains-mark-andrews-lack-playing-time\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told reporters<\/a>. &#8220;But Mark did what he was asked to do in the game\u2014it just turned out that way. It wasn&#8217;t like he wasn&#8217;t on the pass routes\u2014he could&#8217;ve been thrown the ball; it just didn&#8217;t come his way. The blocks came his way. He was out there blocking those guys, and he did a great job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Yikes. It&#8217;s hard to have much confidence in his fantasy outlook when his coach is praising the work he did as a blocker. It also doesn&#8217;t help the roster features a younger pass-catching tight end in Isaiah Likely, who&#8217;s earned a bigger role.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ravens TEs in Week 3<br \/>+ per <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FantasyPtsData?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FantasyPtsData<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Isaiah Likely: 39 snaps, 5 routes<br \/>Mark Andrews: 25 snaps, 4 routes \ud83d\ude2d<br \/>Charlie Kolar: 21 snaps, 3 routes <\/p>\n<p>Note: other sources count blocking on screens and run-blocking on RPOs as &quot;routes&quot; which is dumb IMO<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottBarrettDFB\/status\/1838603124329549995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Make no mistake: Andrews is going to have some nice fantasy performances before season&#8217;s end. He&#8217;ll find the end zone a few times, and maybe he&#8217;ll even have one or two strong outings that hearken back to his days as a top-tier fantasy football weapon.<\/p>\n<p>His days as an every-week must-start fantasy player are seemingly over, though. That could change if Likely gets hurt. He&#8217;s a risky option until proven otherwise, however.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens are going to lean as heavily as possible on their rushing attack against the Bills. Andrews belongs on the bench in Week 4 as a result.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens should produce a high-scoring game Sunday. Not everyone will be a fantasy football standout, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5175,"featured_media":180656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,10,3],"tags":[7723,7705,9058,3770,7638],"class_list":["post-191749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-ravens","category-bills","tag-baltimore-ravens-news","tag-buffalo-bills-news","tag-james-cook","tag-mark-andrews","tag-ravens-featured"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}