Fantasy Football Pitfalls – Week 4

By Ryan Lester, LestersLegends.com

I’m going to look at the matchups each week and pick five fantasy starters that could be in for a tough week. Here’s a look at players who could struggle this week.

With the bye weeks upon us, you can’t necessarily sit the guys on this list unless you have great depth, but expect a drop in production.

Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers – Rivers is facing Pittsburgh on the road. He has historically been more turnover prone on the road (22 INTs, 8 fumbles in 25 road games vs. 17 INTs, 5 fumbles in 30 home games). Facing a desperate Steelers team won’t help matters.

Ryan Grant, RB, Green Bay Packers – Facing Minnesota’s run D is always tough, but doing so in Brett Favre’s first game against the Packers should be especially tough. The Metrodome will be rocking and the new Purple People Eaters are going to be fired up.

Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams – Mike Singletary has the Niners playing tough D. They even kept Adrian Peterson somewhat in check. After losing a heartbreaker, they’ll be fired up. Jackson has to take them on in San Francisco, which doesn’t bode well for his fantasy owners. Chester Taylor was able to do some damage through the air, which is where S-Jax will likely need to earn his keep.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Seattle Seahawks – The Colts have one of the tougher passing defenses in the league. I wouldn’t expect Housh to have his breakout game against them. Plus, Nate Burleson is continually getting more looks than Housh.

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans – In three games against Oakland, Johnson has just 9 receptions for 143 yards and 1 TD. He’ll be draped by Nnamdi Asomugha, which should limit not only his targets, but his production as well.