The Fantasy playoffs are here, and the only thing that matters is getting your win and advancing. I feel like Bill Belichick with that statement, but it's the truth. All you have to do is make it to Week 15. You will likely have some tough decisions to make, especially when it comes to star players in tough matchups. For example, there's no way I'm benching any of the Chiefs' main stars of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce even though they are playing in New England.
However, I would shy away from someone like Josh Allen against the Ravens, even at home. He could struggle, along with John Brown, so you might want to find an alternative for Week 14.
It's also tough to "stick with your studs" if they haven't been so studly lately. I'm not benching Saquon Barkley or Alvin Kamara this week, but some of you could be considering benching someone like Tyler Lockett, who had no catches in Week 13 against Minnesota.
I have a sneaky feeling that Lockett has a breakout game against the Rams this week. D.K. Metcalf could get shadow treatment from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and Russell Wilson might have to lean on Lockett, who only had three targets against the Vikings (he also was battling the flu).
Lockett has three games in a row with a touchdown against the Rams, and he's due for a big performance. But those of you who were burned by Lockett last week might not want to trust him, which is understandable.
We'll have suggestions for players to start and guys to sit in Week 14, but it's ultimately your decision as always. I hope you choose wisely because I want your Fantasy season to continue in Week 15 in your search for a championship.
Good luck!
Start 'Em & Sit 'Em
Start of the Week
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The Eagles have their backs against the wall this week in facing the Giants on Monday night. They need to win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive in competing with the Cowboys for the NFC East division title. It's kind of like your Fantasy leagues this week – you need a win to advance in the playoffs. And in both scenarios, Carson Wentz should lead the way.
It was a shock to see Philadelphia lose at Miami last week, but it wasn't Wentz's fault. He had 310 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and he scored 30 Fantasy points. It was his first game with more than 16 Fantasy points since Week 6, and I expect him to stay hot this week against the Giants.
The Giants have allowed five quarterbacks in a row to score at least 20 Fantasy points coming into Week 14, with three of those guys (Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott and Aaron Rodgers) throwing for at least three touchdowns. Wentz will hopefully follow suit.
He has a healthy receiving corps and offensive line again after Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks have missed time in recent weeks. And you can see the upside for Wentz when he's surrounded by talent, including Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders.
I like Wentz as a top-three Fantasy quarterback for Week 14, behind only Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, and he's poised to go off. That should be good for the Eagles, and Fantasy managers will benefit as well.
I'm starting Wentz over: Patrick Mahomes (at NE), Aaron Rodgers (vs. WAS), Tom Brady (vs. KC), Drew Brees (vs. SF) and Matt Ryan (vs. CAR)
START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Quarterbacks
Start 'Em
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Mayfield is expected to be fine despite hurting his throwing hand in Week 13 against Pittsburgh. He played through the injury but he had a rough outing with nine Fantasy points. That snapped a string of three games in a row with at least 21 Fantasy points, but I expect him to rebound this week against the Bengals at home. All four of his 20-point outings this season have been in Cleveland, and he was great against the Bengals in two games last year, scoring a combined 64 Fantasy points. Look for Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry to come up big this week as well, and Mayfield has the chance to be a top-five Fantasy quarterback in Week 14.
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Winston let us down last week when he only scored 10 Fantasy points at Jacksonville, but I'm going to stick with him this week against the Colts. He's passed for at least 313 yards in each of his past four home games, and I expect him to stay at a high level again in this matchup with Indianapolis. The Colts have allowed the past three opposing quarterbacks to each throw multiple touchdowns, including Nick Foles, Deshaun Watson and Ryan Tannehill, with Watson and Foles each scoring at least 21 Fantasy points. Winston is a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues.
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The Patriots offense struggled in Week 13 at Houston, but Brady got some much-needed Fantasy production in garbage time, finishing with 30 points. That snapped a three-game stretch where he scored 15 Fantasy points or less, and I expect him to get hot over his next two games, starting with the Chiefs game in Week 14. While Kansas City's defense has played better of late in games against Philip Rivers and Derek Carr, Brady should have a big game at home. He has at least 21 Fantasy points in four of five home games this year, and he had 340 passing yards and two total touchdowns against the Chiefs in New England last season. Brady's not done yet as a quality Fantasy quarterback in Week 14.
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Cousins has scored at least 21 Fantasy points in four games in a row, and he should stay hot this week against the Lions. In his first meeting with Detroit in Week 7, Cousins had his best performance of the season with 37 Fantasy points. The Lions have allowed seven of the past eight quarterbacks to score at least 22 Fantasy points, and Dwayne Haskins in Week 12 is the lone quarterback who failed to do well against Detroit in the past two months. I like Cousins a lot in Week 14, and hopefully Adam Thielen (hamstring) will return this week as well to help.
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Fitzpatrick just had his best Fantasy game of the season with 32 points against Philadelphia, and he's now scored at least 26 points in three of his past five games. One of those positive outings was against the Jets when he scored 29 Fantasy points in Week 9, and he faces his former team again in Week 14. The Jets have allowed four of their past six opposing quarterbacks to score at least 20 Fantasy points and could be without star safety Jamal Adams (ankle) this week. He's a better option in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues, but I like Fitzpatrick as a low-end starter in Week 14.
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Sleepers
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Darnold should hopefully play better against Miami in Week 14 than he did at Cincinnati in Week 14 when he struggled with just nine Fantasy points as the Start of the Week. Against the Dolphins in Week 9, Darnold had 14 Fantasy points, but he lost a touchdown on a bad call for Ryan Griffin in the end zone. The Dolphins allow the second-most Fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks at 26.0 points per game, and I would stick with Dalton this week as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Tannehill is someone we've been touting for weeks, and he just had his first sub-par Fantasy performance since taking over for Marcus Mariota in Week 7 with 17 points at Indianapolis. Still, he scored multiple touchdowns for the sixth week in a row, and I'm going right back to him as a low-end starter in all leagues in Week 14 at Oakland. The Raiders allow 25.2 Fantasy points a game to opposing quarterbacks, and Tannehill should stay hot in leading the Titans to a potential playoff berth.
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Manning is back for the Giants with Daniel Jones (ankle) banged up, and it appears like Evan Engram (foot) and Golden Tate (concussion) will be healthy as well. That gives the Giants their full complement of weapons with Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton against an Eagles defense that just struggled against Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins. I would only consider Manning in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues, but he could be making his final start in the NFL. It would be fun to see him go out with a bang in a potential shootout with Wentz.
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Sit 'Em
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Garoppolo has at least 22 Fantasy points in three of his past five games, but two of those were against the Cardinals and just one on the road. He only had 10 Fantasy points at Baltimore in Week 13, and this is consecutive games on the road against two top-tier defenses. While the Saints have allowed Kyle Allen and Matt Ryan to score at least 20 Fantasy points in consecutive games, I'm not sure Garoppolo will have the same success since he's averaging just 18.2 Fantasy points per game for the season. He's only worth starting in two-quarterback leagues this week.
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Murray was a disaster in Week 13 against the Rams, finishing with 12 Fantasy points, and he should struggle for the second week in a row against the Steelers. Murray has now gone consecutive games with fewer than 165 passing yards, and the Rams kept him to under 30 rushing yards, although he scored on the ground. The Steelers have allowed two quarterbacks to score more than 18 Fantasy points since Week 2, including Brian Hoyer in Week 9 and Mayfield in Week 11. They got revenge on Mayfield last week in holding him to nine Fantasy points, and this defense also kept Lamar Jackson to 13 Fantasy points in Week 5. Murray is a risky option in two-quarterback leagues this week, even at home.
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It's fun to have Minshew Mania back in Week 14 now that the Jaguars have benched Nick Foles. I'll consider starting him in Week 15 at Oakland and Week 16 at Atlanta, but I don't like this matchup against the Chargers. Even though the Chargers are playing consecutive road games this week, they have only allowed two quarterbacks to score more than 19 Fantasy points this season, which was Deshaun Watson in Week 3 and Tannehill in Week 7. That includes matchups with Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. Minshew had seven Fantasy points in his last start in Week 9 against Houston in London, and I expect him to struggle again this week.
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The narrative of Brissett not throwing enough was thrown out the window last week against Tennessee when he attempted 40 passes and scored just 14 Fantasy points. He had 319 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and he's now scored more than 16 Fantasy points just once since Week 4. He's down two key weapons in T.Y. Hilton (calf) and Eric Ebron (ankle), and while I like Zach Pascal and Jack Doyle this week, those two aren't enough to make Brissett a starter in most leagues. Tampa Bay also has played better defensively the past two games against Matt Ryan and the Jaguars quarterback combination, allowing a combined 25 Fantasy points, and Brissett is only worth a look in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues.
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Brees is more of a bust alert than a must-sit quarterback this week, but I'm nervous about him, even at home, against this San Francisco defense. The 49ers have struggled against running quarterbacks recently with Lamar Jackson and Murray (twice) each scoring at least 24 Fantasy points in the past five games. Otherwise, San Francisco has held notable quarterbacks like Jared Goff, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers to 18 Fantasy points or less in three games since Week 6. No quarterback has been above 150 passing yards against the 49ers in the past three games, and Brees recently had an 11-point Fantasy performance at home against the Falcons in Week 10. He also has offensive line concerns with left tackle Terron Armstead (ankle) and left guard Andrus Peat (forearm) banged up, although Armstead could return this week. I expect Brees to be good this week, but I don't expect him to be great. As such, he's just a No. 2 quarterback in most leagues.
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Bust Alert
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Allen has been fantastic as a Fantasy quarterback all season, especially of late. He comes into Week 14 with at least 22 Fantasy points in four games in a row, but I expect him to struggle this week against the Ravens, even at home. Baltimore has only allowed one quarterback all season to score more than 17 Fantasy points, which was Mahomes in Week 3. The Ravens have held Watson, Jared Goff and Garoppolo to a combined 17 Fantasy points in the past three games. Allen is still worth a look in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues, especially with his ability to run, but this should be a down game for him given his recent level of play.
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START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Running Backs
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Freeman returned in Week 13 against New Orleans after a two-game absence with a foot injury, and he led the Atlanta backfield with 17 carries for 51 yards, along with four catches for 13 yards on five targets. He's now gone all season without a rushing touchdown, but I expect that streak to end this week. He's facing the Panthers in Week 14, and Carolina allows the most Fantasy points to opposing running backs, including the most touchdowns with 22 total. Freeman missed the first meeting with the Panthers in Week 11 when he was hurt, but Qadree Ollison scored in that game for the Falcons. And Freeman has scored a touchdown against Carolina in three of his past five meetings with that team.
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Ekeler has been among the best running backs in PPR this season, but he's also been good in non-PPR leagues. It helps when you have either a touchdown or at least 90 total yards in 10 of 12 games this season, including six in a row. This week, he's facing a Jaguars team that has been miserable against opposing running backs of late. In the past four games, Jacksonville has allowed seven touchdowns to running backs, with seven guys scoring at least 12 PPR points over that span. Melvin Gordon and Ekeler should have huge games in Week 14.
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I like the setup for Hyde this week, and he's worth starting as at least a flex option in all leagues. The Broncos run defense hasn't been great of late, allowing a running back to score or gain at least 100 total yards in four of their past five games coming into Week 14. And now defensive lineman Derek Wolfe (elbow) is out for the season. The Texans are a touchdown favorite at home, and Hyde should have the chance for 15-plus carries. In the six games where he has at least 15 carries he has scored at least eight non-PPR points five times, with at least 12 PPR points in three of those outings. He's a non-factor in the passing game, but I like Hyde's chances to find the end zone this week at home.
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Hunt has played four games this season after coming back from his eight-game suspension to open the year, and he's been a top 24 PPR running back each week. He's scored a touchdown in consecutive games, and he has three outings with at least five catches. Nick Chubb should continue to be the lead back for the Browns and has the chance to be awesome in Week 14 against the Bengals. But I also expect Hunt to score at least 11 PPR points again for the fifth game in a row, and Cincinnati has allowed a running back to score or gain at least 100 total yards in 11 of 12 games this season.
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The Giants run defense has improved of late, with only one touchdown allowed to a running back in their past three games against the Jets, Bears and Packers, as Le'Veon Bell is the one who scored in Week 10. And no running back has rushed for more than 41 yards against the Giants over that span. But I still expect Sanders to do well this week, and he's worth starting in all leagues if Jordan Howard (shoulder) remains out. Sanders has started the past three games with Howard out, and he's scored at least 11 PPR points in two games in a row. His role in the passing game has been vital, and he has at least three catches in seven of his past eight games. This is a big game for the Eagles, and I expect Sanders to again play a pivotal role for them after a season-high 22 total touches in Week 13 at Miami. He's the man in Philadelphia's backfield until Howard returns.
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Sleepers
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James Conner (shoulder) is likely out again, which should give Snell the chance for a heavy workload in Week 14 against Arizona. In Week 13 against Cleveland, Snell had 13 PPR points, and he has at least 10 PPR points in his past two games. The Cardinals are No. 10 in Fantasy points allowed to running backs, and they have allowed a running back to score in each of their past three games.
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Mattison would be a must-start running back if Dalvin Cook (shoulder/chest) is out, so keep an eye on his status. But even if Cook plays then I would still use Mattison as a flex. Detroit comes into Week 14 having allowed the third-most Fantasy points to opposing running backs for the year, and the Lions have allowed seven touchdowns to running backs in their past five games.
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Laird will start for Miami in Week 14 at the Jets with Kalen Ballage (leg) out for the season, and Laird has scored at least 11 PPR points in two of his past three games. The Jets defense will miss safety Jamal Adams (ankle) if he's out as expected, and Laird has at least four catches in two of his past three outings. I like him as a flex in all leagues, with his value slightly higher in PPR.
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Penny should be considered a borderline starter in all leagues, and I'm putting him in this category just to have somewhere to write about him. He's scored at least 18 PPR points in his past two games, but his performance in Week 15 against Minnesota was impressive. He had 15 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown, along with four catches for 33 yards and a touchdown on five targets. It's doubtful he gets 19 total touches again, but I can see him getting 15 this week. And against the Rams that makes him a flex, with Chris Carson still a must-start running back in all leagues.
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In two of three games since coming back from his knee injury in Week 1, Guice has scored at least 13 PPR points twice. I'm hopeful that his workload continues to increase after having just 12 total touches last week at Carolina, but he scored 26 PPR points in that outing with 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns, along with two catches for 8 yards. Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson remain speed bumps for Guice, but I still like him as a flex against the Packers, who have allowed five touchdowns to running backs in their past four games.
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Sit 'Em
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Drake has played four games with the Cardinals after being traded from the Dolphins prior to Week 9, and he's scored at least 13 PPR points in two of them and nine PPR points or less in two others. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 9, and he just had his worst game with Arizona in Week 13 against the Rams with 13 carries for 31 yards, as well as two catches for 20 yards on five targets. He should struggle again this week against the Steelers, who haven't allowed a running back to score on the ground since Week 5. We'll see if David Johnson and Chase Edmonds also take work away from Drake, and he's a flex at best, with his value higher in PPR.
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Matt Breida (ankle) is expected to return this week from a three-game absence, which should make this backfield messy. Tevin Coleman and Breida will share touches with Mostert, who was awesome in Week 13 at Baltimore, but isn't worth trusting this week. Mostert had 19 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens, along with two catches for 8 yards on two targets. But with the touches likely divided three ways, as well as a tough matchup at the Saints, this is a situation to avoid if you can. New Orleans has allowed just one touchdown to a running back on the ground since Week 5.
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Scarbrough should continue to operate as the main running back for the Lions, and he has either 80 rushing yards or a touchdown in three games in a row. But he hasn't scored in the past two games and has no catches in his three appearances with the Lions on just one target. He's an OK flex play in non-PPR leagues, but I would avoid him in PPR leagues, even though the Vikings were just gashed on the ground by the Seahawks in Week 13. I'm expecting the Lions to be chasing points this week on the road, and Scarbrough might not be involved much in the second half.
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Mack is expected to return in Week 14 after being out for the past two games with a broken right hand, but I'm hesitant to start him this week against the Buccaneers. He could be limited with his touches, especially in the passing game, and we know he hasn't been much of a receiver this year to begin with (he has 12 receptions for the season). Nyheim Hines, Jordan Wilkins and Jonathan Williams could also get touches, and Tampa Bay comes into Week 14 allowing the fewest Fantasy points to opposing running backs for the season. I would use Mack as a flex in non-PPR leagues and try to avoid him in PPR.
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One of the biggest disappointments for me this season was Jones in Week 13 at Jacksonville. I expected him to have a huge game, but he was benched in favor of Peyton Barber after Jones failed to pick up a blitz. Barber scored two touchdowns against the Jaguars, and Jones finished with six carries for 8 yards and no touchdowns. He's just too risky to trust after having single digits in touches in two of his past three games. Maybe he does well against the Colts, who just got beat up by Derrick Henry in Week 13. Or maybe Barber is once again the lead running back in Tampa Bay. I'm keeping Jones on my bench, likely for the rest of the season.
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Bust Alert
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I'm torn on McCoy this week if Damien Williams (ribs) and Darrel Williams (hamstring) are out at New England. If that happens then McCoy could be looking at a decent workload, with rookie Darwin Thompson mixing in as well. And every time Damien Williams has been hurt or out – it's happened four times this year – McCoy has scored at least 12 PPR points. But he's been touchdown dependent in doing so the past two times it's happened in Week 11 against the Chargers and in Week 13 against Oakland. He scored in both of those games, but he had 11 touches or less in each outing. And this week he's facing a Patriots defense that has allowed just two touchdowns to opposing running backs all season. I'll use McCoy as a flex option, but I'm concerned his production could be minimal if he doesn't find the end zone.
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START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Wide Receivers
Start 'Em
Welcome back, Alshon. That was fun to see last week at Miami when Jeffery came back from a two-game absence with an ankle injury and had nine catches for 137 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets. Hopefully that kind of attention from Carson Wentz continues, especially this week against the Giants, who allow the second-most Fantasy points to opposing receivers. And Jeffery has three touchdowns in his past three meetings with the Giants.
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Woods still hasn't caught a touchdown this season, but that hasn't mattered over his past three games. He has at least six catches and 95 yards in three games in a row, and he just had a monster performance in Week 13 at Arizona with 13 catches for 172 yards on 19 targets. It would be nice if he started to find the end zone, but his floor of nine non-PPR points and 15 PPR points have been solid over this three-game stretch. He's also scored at least 11 PPR points in four of his past five games against the Seahawks coming into Week 14.
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