Passing Matchups Week 19

Top 3 Passing Matchups

Washington at Tampa Bay

Jayden Daniels has finally looked healthy over the last several weeks after suffering that rib injury back in Week 7 against Carolina. What makes this passing offense so dangerous is the dual threat of Daniels forcing defenses to respect his rushing ability. As a passer, he’s been efficient this season, completing 69% of his passes, but it’s clear that the Commanders need more receiving options outside of Terry McLaurin. Washington has seen Olamide Zaccheaus step up in recent weeks with the injury to Noah Brown, as Zaccheaus has 50 yards or more in each of his last three games, with 75 yards or more in the two games that Daniels played in full while scoring three touchdowns in those two games. Zaccheaus is an undersized receiver who is one of the best yards after catch players in football as he seems to get lost by opposing defenses with over 50% of his yards coming after the catch for the 5’8’’ receiver. The ability for Daniels to throw the ball and have either Zaccheaus or Dyami Brown play a big role in this playoffs will be a key to how far this offense can go as while Terry McLaurin is a good number one receiver, he’s not a great number one receiver which can cause him to be somewhat matchup dependent.

Tampa Bay’s secondary is a complete mess, although there is some hope this week. The Buccaneers will get All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr back this week after he had an injury-filled 2024. The big question this week will be whether Jamel Dean will be able to play, as the team has been decimated at cornerback, and it would be a major issue if he’s unable to go. The Buccaneers already lost their top two safeties. Christian Izien was lost in Week 16, while Jordan Whitehead returned in Week 17, only to be injured once again due to a car accident. If they are without Dean, this is a disaster for a defense that already has allowed the third-most fantasy points and third-most passing yards this season. Tampa Bay’s stats have looked better in recent weeks, but they’ve faced quite possibly the easiest schedule imaginable as they’ve faced Spencer Rattler, Bryce Young, Cooper Rush, Justin Herbert, Desmond Ridder, Bryce Young, and Tommy DeVito over the last seven games.  

Buffalo vs Denver

What Josh Allen has done with this receiving group is nothing short of remarkable. Allen has thrown for 3,731 yards, with his leading receiver being Khalil Shakir, who had just 821 yards this season, while only one other player on the Bills had over 500 yards, which was Keon Coleman, who had 556. Neither the free agent signing of Curtis Samuel nor the midseason trade of Amari Cooper has resulted in any consistency for this offense, while Dalton Kincaid, who has dealt with injuries, has yet to emerge as the Bills had hoped when they took him with a first-round pick in 2023. This is an offense that is content, taking what the defense gives them, and Allen is the best in the NFL at buying himself an extra second to go through his progressions in order to find the open receiver.  This does create a bit of a boom or bust without that reliable number-one receiver, but against Denver, this could be an advantage as Denver has Patrick Surtain II, who can only lock up one player, and the rest of the defense has shown that they’re vulnerable.