Quarterbacks
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Tyrod Taylor, BUF at PHI – Taylor has put together two consecutive solid performances in the last two weeks. He has scored over 25 fantasy points in each of the last two games. In that span, he has thrown for 502 yards, rushed for 74 yards, and has seven total touchdowns (one was a rushing touchdown). He has not thrown a pick since Week 4. The Eagles secondary is one of the league’s worst. They’re allowing 272.6 passing yards per game and have surrendered 28 passing touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks have also scored three rushing touchdowns against the Eagles. That’s worth noting because Taylor has scored three rushing touchdowns and is averaging 6.3 runs per game this season. The Eagles have surrendered three or more passing touchdowns in four of their last five games and quarterbacks have scored an average of 26.2 fantasy points per game in those five games.
Other Starts
Blake Bortles, JAC vs. IND
Jameis Winston, TB vs. NO
Russell Wilson, SEA at BAL
Andy Dalton, CIN vs. PIT
Sleeper Alert: Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ vs. TENN
Sit Em
Derek Carr, OAK at DEN– Carr has been up and down as of late and has a tough matchup ahead of him. He plays the Broncos which is the league’s best pass defense. Quarterbacks average 216.8 passing yards and 10.5 fantasy points per game against the Broncos. They have surrendered just 13 touchdowns and only three quarterbacks have thrown for multiple touchdowns against them, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck being two of them. In five home games, they’ve allowed just five touchdowns and that includes Tom Brady’s three touchdown game. They prevented both Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers to throw touchdowns in Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Needless to say, they are as stingy as it comes. The last time that Carr played against the Broncos he threw for 249 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while scoring only 11.68 fantasy points. Not many quarterbacks have flourished versus this defense, so it’s tough to trust Carr this week, especially if you’re in the playoffs.
Other Sits
Matt Ryan, ATL at CAR
Philip Rivers, SD at KC
Teddy Bridgewater, MIN at ARI
Sam Bradford, PHI vs. BUF
Bust Alert: Marcus Mariota, TEN at NYJ
Running Backs
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Jonathan Stewart, CAR vs. ATL – Stewart has carried the ball 20 or more times in each of the last eight games. In that span, he’s averaging 86.8 rushing yards per game and has scored four touchdowns. He isn’t a back that’s involved in the pass game, but does have seven targets and six catches in his last two games. This week he faces off against one of the worst run defenses in the league, the Falcons. Opposing running backs are averaging 91.8 rushing yards per game against Atlanta and have scored 13 rushing touchdowns, which is the most allowed by a defense this season. Running backs are also averaging seven receptions and 56.8 receiving yards against the Falcons. This is a good spot for Stewart and he should continue to see a heavy workload against a subpar run defense.
Other Starts
Lamar Miller, MIA vs. NYG
Doug Martin, TB vs. NO
T.J. Yeldon, JAC vs. IND
David Johnson, ARI vs. MIN
Sleeper alert: Shaun Draughn, SF at CLE
Sit Em
Latavius Murray, OAK at DEN – Murray finally put together a solid game last week after failing to score double digit fantasy points in four straight games (standard leagues). He ran for 86 yards and a touchdown. He also caught four passes for 11 yards. This week he has a tough task as he’s on the road against a good defense. The Broncos aren’t as tough against the run as they are against the pass, but they’ve only allowed only one 100+ rushing yard game to running backs this season. They’re allowing 73.2 rushing yards per game and 3.22 yards per carry. The last time these two teams played, Murray carried the ball 13 times for 39 yards and caught three passes for 13 yards. He scored fewer than six points in standard leagues and nine points in PPR formats. It’s tough to trust him on the road against a tough run defense.
Other Sits
DeMarco Murray, PHI vs. BUF
LeGarrette Blount, NE at HOU
C.J. Spiller, NO at TB
Darren McFadden, DAL at GB
Bust Alert: Javorius Allen, BAL vs. SEA
Wide Receivers
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Mike Evans, TB vs. NO – Evans has caught five or more passes in four of his last five games. In that span, he’s averaging 92.8 yards and six catches per game, and has scored two touchdowns. He averages 10 targets per game, but has averaged 11.2 targets in the last five. The Saints are arguably one of the worst defenses in the league. They surrender 11.3 receptions, 159.5 receiving yards, and 24.3 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers. They’ve allowed at least one receiving touchdown in all but one game this season and 20 for the year. Evans is an elite talent that should be able to capitalize in a plus matchup like this one.
Other Starts
Doug Baldwin, SEA at BAL
Jarvis Landry, MIA vs. NYG
Eric Decker, NYJ vs. TEN
Sammy Watkins, BUF at PHI
Sleeper Alert: Allen Hurns, JAC vs. IND
Sit Em
Amari Cooper, OAK at DEN – I just noticed that I’m fading the entire Oakland offense. After all, they have an implied point total of 18 points. The Broncos have only allowed one receiving touchdown to opposing receivers this season. ONE! They’re allowing just 106.7 receiving yards, 9.1 receptions, and 9.6 fantasy points per game. In the last five games, they’ve held receivers to less than four fantasy points in three of those games. Cooper has struggled against tough defenses for most of the season. The last time he played against the Broncos he caught four passes for 47 yards. I understand that it may be difficult to bench him in some of your leagues, but this is a very bad matchup and he could struggle to much done.
Other Sits
Kamar Aiken, BAL vs. SEA
Stephon Diggs, MIN at ARI
DeSean Jackson, WAS at CHI
Kendall Wright, TEN at NYJ
Bust Alert: Julio Jones, ATL at CAR (you obviously can’t bench him, but temper your expectations)
Tight Ends
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Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TB vs. NO
Scott Chandler, NE vs. HOU
Julius Thomas, JAC vs. IND
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Ben Watson, NO vs. TB
Charles Clay, BUF at PHI
Zach Ertz, PHI vs. BUF
Defense
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Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders
Sit Em