Week 15 Start Em, Sit Em

Armando Marsal

Fantasy Writer

Quarterbacks

Start Em

Matt Ryan, ATL vs. PIT - Ryan has put together a couple of good games in the last two weeks. He's thrown over 300 yards in each of his last two games, and has six touchdowns and two picks. In six home games, he's thrown for 1,867 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. If you've read some of my previous articles, you should know that Ryan plays well at home. This week, not only is he playing in Atlanta, but he also has a favorable matchup. The Steelers have allowed two or more touchdown passes in each of their last seven games. For the season, the Steelers have surrendered 26 passing touchdowns, and are giving up 17.5 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. There's no reason to think Ryan will cool down this week. The only concern would be if Julio Jones is inactive, but even then, Ryan should still find success through the air.

Other Starts

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT at ATL

Eli Manning, NYG vs. WAS

Jay Cutler, CHI vs. NO

Matthew Stafford, DET vs. MIN

Sleeper Alert: Kyle Orton, BUF vs. GB

Sit Em

Colin Kaepernick, SF at SEA - Talk about a disappointing season thus far for Kaepernick. What's worse is that he will face the number one pass defense in the league this week, a defense he's been unable to do much against in his career. In four games he's started against the Seahawks, Kaepernick has two touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's only thrown for more than 200 yards in one of those games. In addition to his inability to play well against the Seahawks, he's struggled this entire season. In the last six games, he's scored fewer than 15 fantasy points and hasn't thrown for more than 256 yards in a single game. The Seahawks have been stout against the pass this season. They've held quarterbacks under 150 passing yards in their last four games. That includes a game in San Francisco against Kaepernick. I wouldn't trust Kaepernick in a starting lineup during the fantasy playoffs.

Other Sits

Ryan Tannenhill, MIA at NE

Andy Dalton, CIN at CLE

Ryan Fitzpatrick, HOU at IND

Joe Flacco, BAL vs. JAC

Bust Alert: Mark Sanchez, PHI vs. DAL

Running Backs

Start Em

Joique Bell, DET vs. MIN - I liked him last week, and like him this week. In the last two games, Bell has scored four touchdowns and has totaled more than 100 all-purpose yards in each of those games. With or without Reggie Bush in the picture, Bell is clearly the best back in the backfield at this time. This week he has yet another promising matchup against the Vikings defense. In the last four weeks the Vikings defense has allowed more than 100 rushing yards per game. They are yielding 18.7 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Bell is on a heater right now, and it's going to take more than a mediocre defense to stop him.

Other Starts

Justin Forsett, BAL vs. JAC

Mark Ingram, NO at CHI

C.J. Anderson, DEN at SD

Isaiah Crowell, CLE vs. CIN

Sleeper alert: Alfred Morris, WAS at NYG

Sit Em

Tre Mason, STL vs. ARI - After his monster game against Oakland in Week 13, Mason came back to reality last week. He rushed for 66 yards on 20 carries and caught no passes. The only positive thing from his stat line is the amount of carries he received. That won't matter this week as he will face a stingy Cardinals run defense. The Cardinals are giving up the second fewest fantasy points per game to opposing backs (12.2). They've allowed just six rushing touchdowns this season and fewer than 100 rushing yards per game. Mason has averaged fewer than four yards per carry in five of his last six games. Keep in mind, he received 14 or more carries in each of those games. There's a good chance we will see another subpar performance out of Mason this week. I wouldn't consider him in a week where it's a must win for most people.

Other Sits

Reggie Bush, DET vs. MIN

Frank Gore, SF at SEA

Matt Asiata, MIN at DET

Trent Richardson, IND vs. HOU

Bust Alert: Ryan Mathews, SD vs. DEN

Wide Receivers

Start Em

Alshon Jeffery, CHI vs. NO- Now that Brandon Marshall is out for the season, Jeffery officially is the team's No. 1 wide receiver. He was putting up better numbers than Marshall in recent weeks anyway, but with Marshall out, Jeffery should see even more targets. He has scored a touchdown in five of his last six games, and has six touchdowns in that time frame. He has a great matchup ahead of him as he'll take on the Saints, who haven't played good defense for just about the entire season. The Saints have allowed at least one receiving touchdown in all but two games this season. Over the last five weeks, they have allowed six touchdowns and 150 or more receiving yards in four of the games. Jeffery should see his role increase and should have no trouble getting the job done against the Saints.

Other Starts

Mike Evans, TB at CAR

Kenny Stills, NO at CHI

Kelvin Benjamin, CAR vs. TB (assuming Cam Newton is active)

Roddy White, ATL vs. PIT

Sleeper Alert: Sammy Watkins, BUF vs. GB

Sit Em

Michael Crabtree, SF at SEA - I consider Crabtree a bust this season. He's caught 60 passes for 633 yards and just four touchdowns. This week he faces the Seahawks, a team he has struggled with throughout his career. In nine games against them, Crabtree has not scored a touchdown. He's also failed to go over the century mark in any of those games. In their last meeting a couple of weeks ago, he caught three passes for 10 yards. The Seahawks have shutdown opposing receivers. They've allowed just five receiving touchdowns, and are giving up just 13.8 fantasy points per game. Out of the five touchdowns allowed, only two have been in Seattle. This is as tough of a matchup as any receiver will get, so if you can, steer away from him this week.

Other Sits

Larry Fitzgerald, ARI at STL

Eric Decker, NYJ at TEN

Mohamed Sanu, CIN at CLE

Andre Johnson, HOU at IND

Bust Alert: Mike Wallace, MIA at NE

Tight Ends

Start Em

Delanie Walker, TEN vs. NYJ

Martellus Bennett, CHI vs. NO

Dwayne Allen, IND vs. HOU

Sit Em

Kyle Rudolph, MIN at DET

Marecedes Lewis, JAC at BAL

Zach Ertz, PHI vs. DAL

Defense

Start Em

Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers

Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings

Sit Em

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts

Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers