Who Should I Start? Ka'imi Fairbairn or Riley Patterson

Friday, December 12, 11:02 PM

Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn has been locked in all season, making 29 of 32 field goal attempts and 18 extra points. The fact that he has almost twice as many field goals as extra points shows how conservative the Texans typically are on offense, as they lean into the strength of their defense to win most matchups. Fairbairn converted both of his field goals and both of his extra points in last week's win in Kansas City, and he'll have an even better matchup this week against the Cardinals, who have given up the third-most points to kickers this season. Fiarbairn also gets to kick indoors in NRG Stadium, so the weather won't be a factor. In a great environment and a favorable matchup, Fairbairn is ranked as the No. 4 kicker in RotoBaller's Week 15 rankings

Saturday, December 13, 6:51 PM

Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson has been solid but not spectacular this season, while filling in for Jason Sanders (hip), who remains on IR. Patterson has made 23 of his 25 field goal attempts and 28 of his 29 extra point attempts. He didn't have any issues on the road in the cold against the Jets last week, making all four of his kicks. This week, he'll be on the road for a night game in Pittsburgh with very cold temperatures again in the forecast. While it won't be ideal conditions for long field goals, Patterson has been consistent enough from short range to not be a total "must avoid" option, especially since the Steelers have been a top-10 matchup for kickers. Patterson is the No. 19 kicker in RotoBaller's Week 15 rankings, so there are potentially kickers with more upside on the waiver wire in most standard-sized leagues this week.