If you play fantasy football long enough, you see a number of trends that develop.
You will learn things such as which quarterbacks do better against zone coverage or which defenses are better at stuffing the run. But among the numerous trends you will witness, you also will encounter a variety of myths as well.
There are tales of the “third-year receiver breakout,” the need to draft a running back in the first round, and even stories of why you should draft based on strength of schedule. But the classic fantasy football myth, which may or may not be true, is the revenge-game narrative.
There was an actual study published in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics that supposedly proved the validity of the revenge-game narrative, but for every DeSean Jackson example, there are countless arguments against the theory.
So rather than accept this as 100 percent accurate, we’ll fall back on the statistical analysis of Brian Fantana who once said, “Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.”
Regardless of what you believe, you certainly can have some fun with lineup decisions here in Week 4, as there are a number of revenge-game narratives to follow and potentially use.
At the quarterback position, we have Jameis Winston taking over under center for the Saints, who face the Buccaneers, the only other NFL team Winston has played for.
Your lead running back is none other than Ezekiel Elliott, who faces the Cowboys for the first time in his career.
Bill Belichick may be a grump, but it certainly is not above him to give Zeke some goal-line touches.
Your second running back might be a bit of a stretch, but if you’re desperate, perhaps Jake Funk taking on the Rams this week can give you a slight boost.
The receiver position is really where it’s at for revenge this week.
You have Calvin Ridley facing the Falcons in the London game, Adam Thielen squares up against the Vikings, and Brandin Cooks takes on the Patriots.
Ridley and Cooks are quality enough that you would play them without the revenge factor, but we would have preferred Andy Dalton as Thielen’s quarterback rather than Bryce Young, who will return from an ankle issue.
Betting on the NFL?
You could pivot to Mecole Hardman against the Chiefs or, if he plays, Odell Beckham Jr. against the Browns. That should give you enough for a Flex play, too.
Tight end is a tough one, but Tyler Kroft goes up against the Bills this week.
He may be banged up a bit, but he has taken part in limited practices all week and is expected to play. If you have to punt somewhere, this might be it.
The revenge-game narrative may be one of fantasy football’s greatest myths, but it also happens to be the most fun.
There is no exact science, but they also say that laughter is the best medicine.
So if your fantasy team is struggling, maybe having some fun with your lineup this week is the cure.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to Fantasy-Alarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.
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