• Start Zack Moss: The veteran running back has established himself as Cincinnati’s clear starter and the Bengals are big favorites this week.

• Sit Matthew Stafford: The Los Angeles Rams are without Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and in a matchup against a defense well-suited to slow Stafford down.

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Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

Deciding who to start or sit can be as simple as checking PFF’s rankings and choosing the higher-ranked player. This start-sit column goes a step further, examining why a typical starter might struggle in a given week or why an overlooked player could perform well. While usual starters often remain the best choices, we also focus on those borderline players worth considering.

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QUARTERBACKS

START

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Purdy got off to a slow start in Week 1, understandably, against the New York Jets‘ defense. He turned things around last week with a 319-yard performance, averaging 8.9 yards per pass and scoring 15 fantasy points. While fantasy managers hoped he would have managed another touchdown, he has an opportunity for an even better game this week.

According to PFF’s strength of schedule chart, the 49ers have the second-best matchup for quarterbacks against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks so far this season. Purdy has been excellent in his career against zone defense, with an 87.5 grade compared to a 67.4 mark against man. The Rams are using zone at the fourth-highest rate through two weeks and did so at the fifth-highest rate last season.

Purdy has one career game against the Rams, a contest the 49ers won by running 25 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns between Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. Neither player will be featured in this game, so San Francisco will need to rely more on Purdy this time around. He should win again — but this time with much bigger individual numbers.

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