The Cardinals and Washington were two of the biggest surprise winners of Week 1, but now something’s got to give in their Week 2 showdown. Who among these two resurgent franchises is ready to move 2-0? For the 2020 NFL season, Matt Savoca will be providing his weekly NFL Fantasy Football Matchups Breakdown column, going through every single game and offensive and defensive matchup, every week of the season. For your viewing convenience, we have broken up the matchups breakdown into several single columns, each one covering a single game. You can find links to every game right here. We have 13 games on tap for Week 2 NFL DFS and NFL Fantasy Football, so let’s dive in. The entire matchups article will be available in podcast form, every Friday afternoon on the Awesemo Podcast Network. Let’s get into Cardinals – Washington.
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE FANTASY FOOTBALL MATCHUPS HUB
For a full list of all our NFL DFS and fantasy football content this season, check out the NFL content schedule.
And don’t forget to join Matt Savoca and Dave Loughran, every Thursday morning at 11 ET on the Awesemo YouTube channel.
Arizona Cardinals (26.5) at Washington Football Team (20) – Sunday, 4:05 PM ET
Arizona Cardinals Breakdown
It took nearly two quarters of up-down-play, but the Arizona offense appeared to find its footing during it’s two-minute drill (scratch that, 30-second drill), stealing three points at the end the half against the 49ers. From there, they never looked back. Despite being outscored by an average of 1 point on a per-drive basis, 2nd worst in the NFL, the Cardinals thoroughly outplayed San Francisco in the second half in part due to Kyler Murray’s ability to neutralize the 49ers pass rush with his legs. Murray was the Cardinals’ leading rusher in Week 1, finding the end zone on a beautiful scramble in the fourth quarter. Most impressively, though, he was only tackled one time on 13 rushes, flashing his MLB-level sliding ability and drawing two unnecessary roughness calls while giving himself up. When Murray wasn’t running, it was usually because he’d gotten the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, who led the league in weighted opportunity share and was second in raw targets behind Davante Adams. He was also inches away from cashing in on a brilliant 34-yard touchdown of his own. Hopkins is a no-doubt, locked-in WR1 and a cash game lock, particularly on DraftKings until further notice.
Washington’s strength on defense, like Arizona’s Week 1 opponent, is their pass rush. They consistently won their matchups against a battered Eagles offensive line, recording an alarming eight sacks during Week 1, so Murray will once again be asked to maneuver a quickly collapsing pocket on Sunday. Look for Arizona to also rely on their quick pace of play (fourthin the NFL in Week 1) to tire out the Washington pass rush. Though completely overshadowed by Hopkins’ huge day, Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald were both heavily involved in the offense, in fact Arizona’s big-3 make up over 60% of the Cardinals’ weighted opportunity (WOPR) share. Murray missed a wide-open Kirk for a huge gain, late in Week 1 — a mistake erased by a brilliant Hopkins first-down catch-and-run on the very next play — and the Cardinals also ran several plays designed to get Fitzgerald in space. A final note, Chase Edmonds saw work on special teams and in the passing game, out-targeting starting running back Kenyan Drake.
Related NFL DFS Content
- Awesemo YouTube Channel — NFL DFS Picks & Strategy
- From the Slot: FREE Week 2 NFL DFS Picks Based on Awesemo’s Grades
- Cover the Field: WR vs CB Matchups for Week 2 NFL DFS | Julio Jones
- NFL Week 2 Survivor Picks + Strategy | Titans or Bucs?
- NFL Data Deep-Dive: Recapping All The Week 1 Data (FREE This Week Only)
Washington Football Team Breakdown
Washington was arguably the most surprising team of Week 1, appearing disciplined on offense and ferocious on defense, a signal of possible changing times under coach Ron Rivera for the wayward franchise. Dwayne Haskins’ expected points added per drive was 14th among quarterback’s in Week 1 and turned a third of his drives into scores, both middle of the road. But most importantly, he avoided turnovers and made key plays down the stretch to help secure a victory.
Though they were quite fast in pace of play (seventh overall but fourth in neutral game script), Washington was the fifth-most conservative play-calling offense in terms of neutral early-down passing attempts. They chose their aggressive moments wisely in Week 1, converting a fourth-and-1 inside their opponent’s 10-yard line on their ultimately game-winning touchdown drive and subsequently passing on early downs on their game-sealing field goal drive later in the fourth quarter. Pass catchers Terry McLaurin (over 20% of Washington’s weighted opportunity) and Logan Thomas (over 30%) will need to be very efficient in order to hit in fantasy, as their volume will likely remain limited, but Scott Turner’s offense appears to be setting Haskins up for success long term. The aforementioned Thomas is a surprise early contributor. He seems to be a massive part of the Washington game plan, even being set up for tight end screens on occasion by Washington. Thomas, a converted quarterback who possesses elite athleticism, may very well have weekly fantasy value in this offense. With a workload similar to what he had Week 1, he could be a breakout star. We shouldn’t be giving up on Antonio Gibson despite Peyton Barber getting the goal-line work and J.D. McKissic being more involved than Gibson in the passing game. Gibson had an impressive 0.36 avoid tackles per touch, showing glimpses of the game-breaking ability that made him a day 2 pick in this year’s NFL draft.
Prediction: Arizona 24, Washington 21
Alternative Scenario: Murray, emboldened by his Week 1 performance, scrambles his way to two more touchdowns and throws for two more. Hopkins finds the end zone as well. Washington doesn’t have eight sacks nor a +2 turnover differential again. Arizona 37, Washington 17.
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE FANTASY FOOTBALL MATCHUPS HUB
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
Looking for more NFL DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NFL home page, just click HERE.
