Only one or two weeks left in the fantasy regular season, so this may be your last chance to make the playoffs. Or perhaps you are fighting for a playoff Bye week. Or maybe you aren’t playing for anything besides playing spoiler.
Whatever your case, we will try and make it a little easier on you if you are trying to decide who is going to guide you to a fantasy playoff berth.
Let’s take a look at this week’s Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em.
Starts
-
Jared Goff, QB (Detroit Lions)
Probably one of the best streaming options this week, Jared Goff and the Lions welcome the Minnesota Vikings in what should be a high-scoring divisional matchup.
Goff has performed well this season, especially at home, and the fact that both the Lion's and Vikings’ defenses are horrible makes this an intriguing opportunity for high-scoring fantasy days. The Lions have put up 31, 31, 25 (against the Bills), and 40 points in the last four weeks, so they obviously are scoring.
D’Andre Swift seems to be fully healthy, and Amon Ra St. Brown has shown he is the real deal. Jameson Williams returning also bodes well for Goff, but he may not see much action in this game.
Either way, Goff is a great streaming option for those looking for big points in what probably is your final regular season matchup in fantasy.
-
Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard, Running Back (Dallas Cowboys)
This is one of those weeks where you can confidently start both Cowboys’ Running Backs, even if you have both on your roster.
The Cowboys face the hapless Texans’ run defense, which is currently giving up the most points to opposing Running Backs. They have allowed a whopping 1731 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
My guess is that the Cowboys rely heavily on Zeke and Pollard, who should split the work pretty evenly. Zeke is always in line for a goal-line touchdown, and Pollard should break a long run for a touchdown.
-
Zay Jones, WR (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Zay Jones disappointed last week against the Lions but has another opportunity to redeem himself this week against the Titans, who currently are giving up the most points to Wide Receivers.
The Titans have given up 17 touchdowns to Wide Receivers and obviously plenty of yardages, so Jones is in a great spot to bounce back.
The Titans have a very good run defense so look for Trevor Lawrence and company to be airing it out if they want to keep up.
-
Greg Dulcich, TE (Denver Broncos)
Greg Dulcich continued his solid rookie campaign after missing the first part of the season with an injury, catching six passes for 85 yards against the Ravens last week.
The Broncos should also be without Courtland Sutton, who is dealing with a hamstring injury and seems to be trending toward not playing.
The Broncos face the Chiefs this week, a team that will obviously put up some points on the defense. The Chiefs have a “meh” defense, and Dulcich is probably the best athlete left on the Bronco offense, so he should see plenty of work this week.
Just pray the Chiefs don’t shut him down in order to force Russell Wilson to “throw” to his Receivers.
-
Dan Carlson, K – (Las Vegas Raiders)
The Raiders are traveling to Los Angeles this week to take on the Rams, a team who is giving up the fifth-most points to opposing kickers.
Carlson has been a solid kicker for fantasy this season, and the Raiders should be able to move the ball easily enough on a team that has pretty much waved the white flag on its 2022 season.
But I don’t trust Derek Carr enough to say he will throw a ton of touchdowns, so look for Carlson to kick a few field goals as well as a few extra points.
-
New England Patriots, DST
The Patriots take on the Cardinals in Arizona on Monday night, and I believe they are in a prime position to record a few sacks and turnovers.
Kyler Murray really hasn’t performed well this season, and the offensive line is pretty bad. That means the Patriots should be able to get to him early and often and may force him to make throws under pressure.
If the Patriots can limit DeAndre Hopkins and Hollywood Brown, they should easily hold the Cardinals to a few points.
Sits
-
Dak Prescott, QB (Dallas Cowboys)
Dak Prescott has one of the best matchups on paper this week, but don’t let that fool you into believing he is a must-start. The Cowboys travel to Houston this week to take on a Texans team that is currently allowing the second-least points to the Quarterback position.
Now it’s not because they have a stout pass defense, but rather because their run defense is so atrocious that teams opt to just run all over them.
Prescott probably won’t have to throw much, and although I believe he might toss a touchdown or two, my guess is he will finish with 200 yards and 1-2 touchdowns, a stat line that may disappoint.
As I mentioned above, look for this one to be a run-heavy game with both Pollard and Zeke getting a ton of work.
-
Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White, RB (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette are in a 50/50 timeshare now, making both players an iffy start when going against tough run defenses. And they sure get a tough run defense in Week 14: the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers are the league’s best-run defense, allowing the least amount of points to opposing Running Backs. It also doesn’t help that Tampa’s offense is struggling right now. They are averaging a sad 18 points per game and haven’t scored more than 22 points since Week 4.
Your only hope with either back is their pass-catching abilities. Both backs had six catches in their Week 13 win over the Saints, but that means nothing if you aren’t in a PPR league.
If you can bench them this week, it’s probably in your best interest to do so.
-
Gabe Davis, WR (Buffalo Bills)
A few things with this one. First off, Gabe Davis has not really been the Receiver fantasy players hoped he would be this season. Secondly, the Bills face a decent pass defense that held Josh Allen to 205 yards and two interceptions a month ago.
That team is the New York Jets, who beat the Bills 20-17 in a shocking upset. And they did that with Zach Wilson, who has been benched in favor of the gunslinger Mike White.
Stefon Diggs still had a good day against the Jets last month, but Davis only caught two passes for 33 yards. The Jets of yesteryear seem to be gone and have now become a tough defense to throw on.
-
Cam Brate/Cade Otton, TE (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
I just can’t find many Tight Ends I wouldn’t want to play this week over these two, so I’m just going to keep them on my “Sit em” list. The Buccaneers, as I mentioned above, take on the 49ers who not only are the best-run defense but also are the number one defense in points allowed to Tight Ends.
With how bad the Buc offense is and how good the front seven of the 49ers is, you have to pray that one of these guys scores a touchdown. The fact that Cam Brate and Cade Otton are eating into each other’s targets makes them a hard pass once again.
-
Brett Maher, K (Dallas Cowboys)
Going along with what I mentioned above, the Cowboys should have no issue scoring on the Houston Texans.
If you are looking for a kicker who can score a ton of points this week, Maher is probably not the best option. He should kick a few extra points, heck maybe even five or six, but don’t expect too many field goal chances in this one.
-
Las Vegas Raiders, DST
The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense is bad, but it seems like people are jumping on them as a streaming option against the Rams this week, which could blow up in their faces.
The Rams were able to put up 23 points on a much better Seattle defense last week, and that mostly came thanks to John Wolford. Wolford didn’t have a good game stat-wise, but he brings more to the table than Brycen Hopkins.
The Rams should be able to score enough which makes the Raiders a trap streamer.
Filed under: Free Articles
