WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! This is what it’s all about. This is what we play for. Now begins
the final chapter of the 2018 fantasy season as we all chase that coveted
championship trophy. While it may seem obvious, playing the guys that got you
to this point is most recommended, sprinkled with a few matchup starts to take
you over the top. Over thinking your roster normally will become your undoing
leaving you filled with regret. With that said, we can always find those
players that should be able to lift you to victory, and we feel we have found
those players heading into week 14. Good luck this week as we are with you in
your battle for supremacy. Let’s get to it…
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START - GET THEM IN YOUR LINEUP
Quarterbacks:
Philip Rivers (LAC)
Without much questioning, the Chargers and Philip Rivers should be
able to make quick work of the faltering Cincinnati Bengals this weekend
leaving most of their offensive players on the stat sheet. The Bengals give up
the most to fantasy quarterbacks and will have little answer to what LA will
bring to the table. Over the last three weeks, Rivers has been a safe bet to
garner 20-25 fantasy points making the potential for this week’s contest to
perhaps hit the 30 point mark depending on league scoring. Philip will carry
your team to the next round with this matchup.
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT)
While the Steelers travel to Oakland to face the Raiders, the
matchup on paper is glorious for Ben to help get your squad to the next round
of the playoffs. Losing James Conner could be felt early on, especially if
Jaylen Samuels can’t muster solid production. Our concern with Ben and the
Steelers is that they tend to play down to the level of their competition which
could result in lower production and fantasy points. While we are always weary
of that scenario, we will buck that notion and endorse Big-Ben verse a team
that hemorrhages points to quarterbacks.
Jared Goff (LAR)
Seeing Jared Goff on our start list could be puzzling to some as the
Rams travel to Chicago to face off against one of the best defensive groups in
the NFL. The Bears give up the 2nd fewest to quarterbacks but we
feel Coach McVay will have Jared ready to strike. Todd Gurley should see a
healthy dose of touches in this one to spread out this Bears defense opening up
lanes where their normally isn’t any. This play could go sideways, but we feel
completely comfortable in starting Goff this week in a very tough matchup.
Running Backs:
Mark Ingram (NO)
As the Saints failed to deliver last week in basically all offensive
facets, we have the feeling that anger and frustration from that performance
will feed this machine and take it out on the Bucs defense. With added
motivation staring New Orleans right in the eye, Tampa Bay gives up the 5th
most to fantasy runners leaving this a prime contest for Ingram to get back on
track. Drew Brees and company should have little issue exploiting Tampa with at
minimum, 35 points on the scoreboard.
James White (NE)
While Sony Michel should be a great starter as well this week, James
White’s upside in PPR formats should provide a great deal of production yet
again. Miami has been awful at stopping the run this season and will struggle
to stop the Patriots two-headed monster this Sunday. This Pats offense has been
very consistent this season at feeding their running backs with carries and
short passes. The Fins give up the 7th most to fantasy running backs
and we will undoubtedly see James White continue his career fantasy season.
Jeff Wilson (SF)
This start finds itself more in the speculative category as
potential isn’t necessarily a certainty. The 49ers will error on the side of
caution with Matt Breida again this week as he nurses that injured ankle. Jeff
Wilson filled in masterfully last week verse the Seahawks and should again see
a multitude of touches against the Broncos. On paper, most wouldn’t feel that
this is a glorious matchup as Denver gives up middle of the pack numbers to
fantasy runners. With that said, Wilson should be able to find room to gain
chunk yards while catching passes out of the backfield. It always scary using a
fill in back for the fantasy playoffs, but the upside is decent here for
Wilson.
Gus Edwards (BAL)
The Baltimore Ravens continue to move forward with Lamar Jackson as
their starting quarterback and Gus Edwards to handle the load on the ground.
Having a great matchup against the Chiefs who give up yards in bunches to
pretty much all offenses; Edwards should get all the carries he can handle. As we
preach this start for week 14, the return of Kenneth Dixon could place a shred
of doubt in our minds that touches could be stolen based on production. Still,
Kansas City should be in tough verse one of the best defenses in the NFL
leaving plenty of opportunity for Gus to run free.
Wide
Receivers:
Amari Cooper (DAL)
Seeing the Cowboys become a completely different offense once Amari
Cooper flew into town, we absolutely love the prospects of him having another
solid day in an important showdown. All Cowboys receivers should be licking
their chops for this contest as the Eagles still find themselves extremely
shorthanded at the defensive back position while giving up the 3rd
most to fantasy receivers. This Dallas offense starts and stops with Zeke
Elliott, but this week could showcase Cooper once again.
Courtland Sutton (DEN)
With a devastating blow seen during the week of practice, the
Broncos lost their top receiver Emmanuel Sanders for the season to a torn
achilles. Sanders has been a fantasy darling based on value of where he
could’ve been drafted this offseason. Now moving forward without Sanders,
rookie Courtland Sutton is now fully entrenched as the main weapon in the pass
game and should eat up targets from Case Keenum. Having a great matchup for the
next three weeks, Sutton starts off verse the 49ers who give up the 8th
most to players at the position and should have a very good day. Touchdown
upside has been his ceiling for most of the season, but with these new
circumstances, he could see low end WR-1/2 numbers moving forward.
Curtis Samuel (CAR)
The Panthers Curtis Samuel seems to have found his place in this
offense in his second season being used more frequently these last several
weeks. With Greg Olsen now lost for the season, Samuel should be utilized that
much more with short passes over the middle to create space for his teammates.
Going up against the Browns who give up the 11th most to receivers,
Cutis has a great opportunity to exploit lesser coverage. Carolina is in a must
win situation and Samuel could challenge for the team lead in receiving
statistics this week.
Tight-Ends:
Vance McDonald (PIT)
Something is screaming out to us to recommend Vance McDonald to have
a very solid day against the Raiders. Giving up the 3rd most to
players at the tight-end position, we could see giant numbers transpire much
like what they gave up to the Chiefs Travis Kelce a week ago. While Vance is
obviously not in the same stratosphere as Travis Kelce in terms of ability, we
could see one of the best days in his young career as Ben could look to Vance
early and often. This play will rest on the efficiency of the run game, as
recreating it with short pass plays could be on the agenda. We absolutely love
this play this week.
SIT - LEAVE
THEM ON THE BENCH
Quarterbacks:
Matthew Stafford (DET)
The Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford have once again
underperformed to the point that more questions will raise this offseason to
the direction this team should move. Matthew has only been able to muster two
games over 20 fantasy points this season with hitting 10 or fewer points on
four occasions. Facing the Cardinals this week in Arizona gives us little faith
that he’ll be able to right this ship. If you are forced to play Stafford this
week, we would advise against it and recommend moving in another direction.
Matt Ryan (ATL)
While the Falcons Matt Ryan has seen some very sound performances
this season, the overall dysfunction of this team is leaving us to place him on
the bench this week. Playing on the road is never a positive to the Falcons let
alone travelling all the way up North to Lambo-Field. Matt could provide a
decent showing anywhere from 16-22 fantasy points this week, but the great fear
that his play could turn into a bust on fantasy playoff opening weekend, we
shall leave him on the bench and look for better options.
Running Backs:
Spencer Ware (KC)
The Kansas City Chiefs
have fallen in another direction due in part to injuries and unforeseen
circumstances. Forcing to release star Kareem Hunt has left Spencer Ware as the
main benefactor. This week however we caution the start of Ware as the Chiefs
face the toughest run defense in the NFL and should struggle to gain large
amounts of yardage. The one bright spot in keeping Ware in the lineup would be
the amount of attempts seen from the goal line potentially lifting his day. We
are fearful of this play given what’s on the line if he misses.
Isaiah Crowell (NYJ)
While on paper the
stats indicate that the Bills give up loads to opposing running backs on a
weekly basis, playing the Jets Isaiah Crowell should be a regrettable choice
after the conclusion of the game. Buffalo has played better on defense this
season then most believe as their shortcomings on that side of the ball came
solely from an anemic offense. The amount of time the Bills defense has been on
the field in contests is the reason yards are piled up. With Josh Allen having
recent success, it allows the defense to remain fresh stopping those large
gains. We will keep Isaiah on the bench this week.
Marlon Mack (IND)
As the Fantasy
community continues to lift up Marlon Mack, we still can’t get on board with
the average to above average skillset. We had Mack on our must bench list last
week and will again for the first week of the playoffs. Seeing another
difficult matchup against the Texans, we feel Mack will get bottled up and
struggle to produce. Again mush like Spencer Ware’s evaluation, Mack could find
his way into the endzone on a gaol line carry, but we’ll hedge our bets and not
even attempt the high risk.
Wide
Receivers:
Tyler Boyd (CIN)
It’s very unfortunate that Tyler Boyd and his career season will be
all for not as we enter the last quarter of the season. Seeing Andy Dalton and
AJ Green head to injured reserve, the prospects of Boyd to continue this pace
will fall off the radar. Having a rookie quarterback throwing the ball while
not having the luxury of Green pulling greater coverage to his side, Tyler will
struggle to amass the type of production warranting a starting role on your
playoff team. The upside here is that Boyd will see the lion share of targets
come his way, but we really question if he can do anything with them at this
point.
Doug Baldwin (SEA)
As the Hawks continue to roll, Doug Baldwin seems to becoming more
of a secondary piece in this offense behind the dedication to the run game and
providing more targets to his teammate Tyler Lockett. Going up against the
Vikings on Monday Night Football, Doug should see decent levels of usage, but
we truly fear the bust potential in starting him in such an important week.
Minnesota gives up the 5th fewest and will look to be lights out to
keep their playoff hopes alive. Great deal of risk here in our minds.
Nelson Agholor (PHI)
The Eagles Nelson Agholor has been a PPR machine this season with
nothing outside of that happening. Not seeing a single 100 yard contest while
only hitting the endzone once this season, Nelson can’t be trusted to generate
anything more than 5-10 fantasy points in PPR formats. Facing the Cowboys who
have found their stride on the defensive side of the ball, and having Golden
Tate basically playing the same role on this offense, we are happy to suggest
keeping him on the bench for the rest of the fantasy playoffs.
Tight-Ends:
Cameron Brate (TB)
Normally we would have no issue suggesting Brate as a start with
touchdown upside, but facing the Saints defense and one thing they do extremely
well (cover tight-ends), we have no choice but to sit him. Jameis Winston will
be looking to his plethora of talented receivers before Brate is considered,
but should get at least one shot on the goal line in a play action pass
attempt. Brate has high risk going into this contest.
POTENTIAL BIG
DAY – ALL ABOUT THE RISK/REWARD
Quarterbacks:
Kirk Cousins (MIN)
The Vikings Kirk Cousins has been something of a letdown sprinkled
with high notes this season. The issue at hand appears now that we really don’t
know what version of Kirk we will get on a weekly basis. It’s our contention
that Minnesota realizes the situation they are in and will put their best foot
forward on Monday in primetime. The Seahawks recently gave up a mile of yardage
to the 49ers and should have issues in their own right stopping the multitude
of talents on this Vikings club. 20 points should be the floor with potential
for much more.
Jameis Winston (TB)
The Tampa Bay Bucs over the last couple weeks have taken the
training wheels off and are just playing football. After coming back to action
from being benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Winston has been very
consistent putting up solid numbers. Facing the Saints will undoubtedly test
their resolve forcing the Bucs to pass more to keep up with Drew Brees and the
high flying offense of the Saints. New Orleans is top five worst in the league
surrendering points to the quarterback position leaving Jameis a very
attractive play.
Running Backs:
Justin Jackson (LAC)
With news that Melvin Gordon is still struggling with his knee
injury and Austin Ekeler having popped up on the injury report, Justin Jackson
is poised and prime to show NFL teams they passed on the wrong guy in this past
draft. Jackson is a talented runner that will have no issue finding holes to
the outside on the Bengals defense which allowed the Broncos to carve them up
something fierce last week. Cincinnati gives up the most points to fantasy
running backs and will try their best to stop a straight disaster this weekend.
This play has little bust factor in our minds and should be played in every
league.
Dalvin Cook (MIN)
Since returning to form, Dalvin Cook has been playing extremely well
and should again have a featured role in a must win contest on Monday Night
Football. Facing the Hawks who give up middle numbers to running backs, there
is small risk that his performance may not be fully achieved with great
success, but we’ll roll with Dalvin believing he will turn heads in primetime.
Witnessing the amount of production Cook has been able to create with only
hitting 10 carries in each of the last four games, coach Zimmer would be
inclined to force feed his star back in this contest which may be the case.
Great potential for Cook to generate 20 fantasy points to close out week 14.
Jaylen Samuels (PIT)
The Steelers found more misfortune last week losing their starting
running back James Conner for possibly the next couple weeks to an ankle
injury. Next man up (Jaylen Samuels) will get his opportunity to carry the load
on the ground to help keep this offense moving. The Raiders give up the 11th
most to players at the position and should be hard pressed to make many stops
defensively. Interesting conversations with our colleagues has some wondering
if the Steelers can in fact turn out another running back in their system that
seems to not miss a beat at the position. There is bust potential in this play
as expectations are riding high. Samuels should at least find the endzone in
this one.
Wide
Receivers:
Josh Reynolds (LAR)
Even Cooper Kupp had weaker days in this Rams offense, and giving up
on Josh Reynolds after last week’s abysmal showing wouldn’t be the best thing
to do. The entire Rams offense appeared flat last week coming off the bye which
isn’t common, this week vs the Bears, Reynolds will have to be on point to help
create those mismatches. The Bears are a great defensive unit that will have to
focus on Gurley, Cooks, and Woods eventually daring Jared Goff to find Reynolds
in bunches to get those touchdowns. This is a high risk, high reward play this
week, and if you can stomach the stress, he could deliver.
Antonio Callaway (CLE)
The Browns at home are a much better team than on the road which is
a given with a rookie quarterback under center. The Browns will have their ups
and downs as any young team requires experience to learn how to win tough
games. Hosting the Panthers, Antonio Callaway should have a big role spreading
out the defense in hopes to limit their 8-man boxes. The Panthers defense has
been a great weakness this season as they give up points in great amounts to
receivers. Bust factor is high with deep touchdowns being the reward.
Chris Godwin (TB)
With Desean Jackson fallen out of favor with the Tampa coaching
staff, Chris Godwin and Adam Humphries have played very well now that the team
finally realizes they have stud pass catchers on this club. This game could
literally be a shootout leaving more than one Bucs receiver having a very solid
day and Godwin could really be the X-Factor. Whenever the Bucs provide 5 or
more targets in his direction, good things transpire. An endzone trip isn’t out
of the question for a second straight week.
Tight-Ends:
Matt LaCosse (DEN)
Much like the Sutton evaluation, the Broncos
are now supremely shorthanded and will require all on offense to step their
game up. It will be seen early how valuable Sanders was to this team, but the
potential to adjust their offensive system to use Matt LaCosse more should be a
no brainer. LaCosse is an average player with fairly good skill and has proven
to make plays when given the opportunity. He is a very sneaky sleeper play this
week to garner at least 4 to 5 receptions for around 50 to 60 yards and a
touchdown verse the 49ers who struggle to stop tight-ends.
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