Top 5 Passing Matchups
LA Chargers vs Pittsburgh
Justin Herbert and the Chargers continue to produce through a multitude of key injuries. Herbert's interceptions are on the rise, but to be fair, he did throw only 10 over his prior 30 games. For fantasy's sake, he's balancing that with career-highs in completion rate and touchdown rate. It's resulted in his best volume and fantasy numbers (266 yards and 2.0 touchdowns per game) since 2021. He's thrown 35+ times in three of his last six games, and he's routinely shredded weak pass defenses. Ladd McConkey has emerged as Herbert's most consistent target. Over the past four weeks, he's claimed a 28% share of team targets and averaged 17.3 PPR points. He and Keenan Allen project especially well against the Steelers, who struggle to defend against slot receivers. Vertical threat Quentin Johnston is running more of a route tree than ever, and he's scored in five of his seven games thus far.
The Pittsburgh defense continues to hit new statistical lows, particularly against the pass. Long gone are the days of quarterbacks fearing this matchup: here in 2025, five of the eight they've faced have produced 295+ yards. Four of the last five, in fact, have recorded 340 or more, and in a variety of game scripts, too. At this point, it's difficult not to post prime numbers against this group. Wideouts have picked relentlessly on a flawed cornerback trio of Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, and Darius Slay. Porter has yet to regain his rookie form of 2023, and the latter two are no longer much help in downfield coverage. Ramsey has more or less moved to safety to paper over some of the team's injury woes, and Brandin Echols is a mediocre replacement. Secondary talent has long been an issue, but it was often masked by T.J. Watt and a truly dominant pass rush, one that's been less consistent of late. Together, they were gashed very publicly by Ja'Marr Chase (16-161-1) just a few weeks back, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Amazingly, 11 other pass-catchers have recorded 90+ yards against this unit. Justin Herbert and his wide array of weapons project as well this week as they ever have.
Detroit at Washington
Jared Goff and the Lions would typically prefer to keep the ball on the ground, controlled and dominating the clock, whenever possible. That tends to result in disappointing fantasy weeks in which Goff stops throwing shortly after halftime. And it's certainly a concern against the 3-6 Commanders. Still, this blend of friendly matchup and high-octane playmaking is too juicy to pass up. After all, Goff excelled for fantasy managers in blowout wins over the Bears (334 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Bengals (258 and 3). Goff sticks to safe, productive throws to receivers that excel after the catch; few are on-target more consistently. Amon-Ra St. Brown (sixth league-wide in YAC) and Jameson Williams (third in YAC per catch) match up nicely with the Commanders' stripped-down secondary, which has struggled to contain anyone. And there's hardly a better week for vertical threat Williams to snap his deep-ball funk. Williams' 58% catch rate and 7.0 YAC rate both look ripe for positive regression.
The Commanders' season looks more and more lost with each new week. Franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels is out indefinitely, and this is certainly not a defense that projects to hold up in shootouts. Last year's unit finished 10th in net yardage under coach Dan Quinn; this year, they sit dead last. Opposing passers have averaged 269 yards per game, with six of nine throwing multiple touchdowns. Few secondaries across the league are more in need of a talent infusion. Consider this: Marshon Lattimore has been poor in coverage this year, yet the team will miss him desperately on injured reserve anyway. Rookie Trey Amos has tailed off badly after a strong start, and veteran Jack Jones has hardly played after an ineffective 2024 in New England. They'll now be pushed into every-down roles with the high-octane Lions at bat. Mike Sainristil and the safeties are pure liabilities in the slot, with bad angling and worse tackling down the field. Last week's massacre at the hands of Sam Darnold and the Seahawks (21 of 24, 330 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception) laid all those warts on full display. It's hard to imagine anything but game flow slowing Jared Goff and his many weapons.
NY Giants at Chicago