Fantasy Football, Eagles vs Giants: Sit Eli Manning?

This is one of those weekends when the Eagles fans who also happen to own Giants players in fantasy feel anguish. Obviously you want an Eagles win, but you may also have money or at the very least, pride on the line in your fantasy matchup.

So you've got Eli Manning against the Eagles... do you start or sit him? Well, that obviously depends on your backup a bit, but Football Outsider's Danny Tuccitto, writing for ESPN, says he expects a subpar fantasy performance from Manning this weekend.

Manning currently sits fifth in quarterback fantasy points, mainly due to his 510-yard game two weeks ago; he's only averaged 14.1 points in his other two starts. This week, he goes up against a Philadelphia Eagles pass defense that's ranked second in VOA, and has given up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Granted, two of Philadelphia's games have been against Brandon Weeden and Kevin Kolb, but the Eagles are playing well enough to keep Manning under his gaudy 21.6-point average. To wit, he's scored 17.0 points per game in 16 career starts against the Eagles.

One Giant who I've personally benefited from in fantasy this season is Martellus Bennett, who has suddenly become a favorite target of Eli's, particularly in the red zone. But Tuccitto expects that if Manning has a slow day, Bennett will too.

Bennett has been a pleasant surprise at tight end so far this season, handsomely rewarding fantasy owners who took a flier on him. The onslaught of points is likely to subside this week against an Eagles defense that's given up the third-fewest points to tight ends. And of course, this is one of those situations in which receivers only go as far as their quarterback takes them. With Manning likely having a substandard game, Bennett is likely to as well.