Fantasy Football Week 2 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: Jared Goff getting his due, plus deciphering Eagles' backfield

Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) has been ruled out for Thursday night’s game against Minnesota. Now, we get to see if D’Andre Swift or Rashaad Penny can be reliable options for Fantasy managers in Week 2.

In Week 1 at New England, Gainwell was the lead running back for Philadelphia. He played 62 percent of the snaps and had 14 carries for 54 yards and four catches for 20 yards on four targets.

Swift played 29 percent of the snaps, but he only had one carry for 3 yards and had one catch for no yards on two targets. Penny was actually a healthy scratch, and Boston Scott was the No. 3 running back. He had one carry for 3 yards and one catch for 7 yards on one target.

For Week 2 against the Vikings, it will likely be a committee approach, but I’ll use Swift as a low-end starter in all leagues. Nick Sirianni is fond of Swift, and he said Wednesday that “I see (Swift) being able to play any role that he’s in because of the type of back and the skill set that he has.”

Penny should be viewed as a flex, and we’ll see if his debut for the Eagles can lead to more playing time moving forward, especially if Gainwell’s injury lingers. It wouldn’t surprise me if Penny had a breakout performance given his history of big games, but that’s not something you should count on.

Scott is the wild-card here given his history with the Eagles, but I would be surprised if he got more work than Swift or Penny. At best, use Scott as a desperation flex in deeper leagues.

I’m excited to see what happens Thursday against the Vikings. It would be nice if someone — Gainwell, Swift or Penny — took ownership of this backfield because then we would have a potential starting Fantasy running back in all leagues.

Did you know that Jared Goff has not thrown an interception in his past 10 starts and 359 pass attempts? He joins Bart Starr, Tom Brady, Milt Plum and Derek Carr as the only quarterbacks to go 10 consecutive starts without an interception. And those 359 passes without an interception is third all-time in NFL history, with only Brady and Aaron Rodgers having longer streaks.

It’s impressive, and Goff doesn’t get the credit he deserves in Fantasy and reality for being a quality quarterback. For this week, I like him as a top-10 Fantasy passer against the Seahawks.

Last year, in Week 4 against Seattle, Goff had his best game of the season with 41.2 Fantasy points. He passed for 378 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, and his performance was part of a trend — Goff loves playing at home.

In nine home games last year, Goff averaged 26.5 Fantasy points per game. This is his first home game of the season, and I expect the trend to continue.

Seattle just allowed Matthew Stafford to pass for 334 yards in Week 1, and I expect Goff to pick apart this secondary as well with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Goff disappointed us in Week 1 with just 16.1 Fantasy points at Kansas City, but things will be different this week. He’s back at home, and Goff should go off in Detroit.

Jacob Gibbs projects even bigger things than I do for an AFC South receiver. You can find that and a lot more in his Week 2 Fantasy Football Lineup Advice column at SportsLine.

Browns (at PIT)

The Browns defense played great in Week 1 against the Bengals, holding Cincinnati to just three points and 142 total yards. Bad weather and bad play by Joe Burrow helped Cleveland, but this defense has the potential to be nasty with Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith coming after the quarterback. This week, the Browns get the Steelers, who just lost Diontae Johnson (hamstring) and looked awful in a 30-7 loss to the 49ers, including two interceptions from Kenny Pickett. The Browns DST has top-five upside in Week 2.

• Giants (at ARI)
• Lions (vs. SEA)
• Buccaneers (vs. CHI

Jaguars (vs. KC)

I liked the Jaguars DST in Week 1 against the Colts, and Jacksonville had four sacks and three turnovers, which was solid. But things change dramatically in Week 2 against the Chiefs, even if Travis Kelce (knee) remains out. Now, Kansas City was a little sloppy in Week 1 against Detroit, including a rare pick-six from Patrick Mahomes. But he wasn’t sacked against the Lions, and I would stay away from the Jaguars DST in Week 2 if you can. This game also has the highest projected total of the week at 51.5, and there’s the possibility of a shootout for Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence.