Week 16 Start Em, Sit Em

Armando Marsal

Fantasy Writer

Quarterbacks

Start Em

Matthew Stafford, DET at CHI - Stafford is coming off a subpar performance against the Vikings, but is looking to bounce back this week. He faces the Bears who have been just awful on the defensive side of the ball this season. They've allowed the most passing touchdowns (33), and are giving up 19.6 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. The Bears allow 277 passing yards per game, which is second most in the NFL. In their last two games, the Bears have allowed six passing touchdowns and 580 passing yards. These two teams faced off in Week 13. In that game, Stafford threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns. In their last four meetings, Stafford has actually played solid against the Bears. He's thrown nine touchdowns, three interceptions, and 1,123 passing yards. You should have no concerns plugging him into your lineups this week.

Other Starts

Mark Sanchez, PHI at WAS

Matt Ryan, ATL at NO

Tom Brady, NE at NYJ

Tony Romo, DAL vs. IND

Sleeper Alert: Alex Smith, KC at PIT

Sit Em

Philip Rivers, SD at SF - Since his awful performance in Miami in Week 9, Rivers has been in a bit of a funk. His only good game came against Baltimore, which is one of the worst pass defenses. This week Rivers heads to San Francisco to take on the Niners defense that has been solid against opposing quarterbacks, especially at home. Since allowing four touchdowns to Jay Cutler in their first home game, the Niners have surrendered just three passing touchdowns in their last five home games. In his last six games, River has thrown seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has failed to throw over 200 yards in four of those games. After a promising start to the season, he hasn't played well as of late. I'm not plugging in a quarterback that is struggling and has a tough matchup in my championship game.

Other Sits

Kyle Orton, BUF at OAK

Eli Manning, NYG at STL

Jimmy Clausen, CHI vs. DET

Cam Newton, CAR vs. CLE

Bust Alert: Peyton Manning, DEN at CIN

Running Backs

Start Em

C.J. Anderson, DEN at CIN - The Broncos handed over the keys to Anderson a couple weeks back, and he has not looked back since. His worst game since Week 10 came in last week's matchup against the Chargers where he totaled 96 yards. Since Week 10, Anderson has scored six touchdowns and has scored more than 19 fantasy points (ppr format) in all but one game. This week he faces the Bengals who have been susceptible against the run. They're allowing 20 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, and have surrendered 14 rushing touchdowns, including three in the last three games. The Bengals allow 124.8 rushing yards per game. Anderson should have no trouble getting back on track this week. The Broncos have become a run first team, and he's benefiting the most from it.

Other Starts

Mark Ingram, NO vs. ATL

Fred Jackson, BUF at OAK

Joique Bell, DET at CHI

Jonathan Stewart, CAR vs. CLE

Sleeper alert: Tre Mason, STL vs. NYG

Sit Em

Jeremy Hill, CIN vs. DEN - Hill is coming off of a huge game against the Browns, but this week the matchup gets tougher for him. He faces the Broncos which may be surprising to some allow the fourth fewest fantasy points per game to opposing backs (12.2). They have only allowed one 100+ rushing yard game this season, and are allowing the second fewest rushing yards per game (71.6). The Broncos have allowed just six rushing touchdowns this year, but what's most impressive is that they've allowed just one since Week 6. Another thing to take into consideration is that Giovanni Bernard is still part of this backfield and could cut into Hill's workload at any given moment. It's the championship week for many fantasy owners, and Hill's matchup is not one I like, therefore I'd try to fade him if you can.

Other Sits

Rashad Jennings, NYG at STL

Latavius Murray, OAK vs. BUF

Isaiah Crowell, CLE at CAR

Chris Johnson, NYJ vs. NE

Bust Alert: Marshawn Lynch, SEA at ARI

Wide Receivers

Start Em

Randall Cobb, GB at TB- The Packers offense struggled last week, but Cobb still managed to catch seven passes for 96 yards. This week the matchup is much better for everyone on the Packers offense, as they play the Bucs defense. The Bucs have allowed 18 touchdowns to opposing receivers. They are also allowing 24.4 fantasy points per game, and surrender 263.9 receiving yards per game. The Bucs have allowed a receiving touchdown in four consecutive games. That steak will likely not come to an end this week. Cobb hasn't scored a touchdown in five straight games, and has been somewhat inconsistent in recent weeks, but I'm expecting him to get back on track this week, and take full advantage of the matchup. The Packers are playing to win their division, so they should come out on fire.

Other Starts

Julian Edelman, NE at NYJ

Mike Evans, TB vs. GB

Jeremy Maclin, PHI at WAS

Roddy White, ATL at NO

Sleeper Alert: DeSean Jackson, WAS vs. PHI

Sit Em

Sammy Watkins, BUF at OAK - Watkins has been hit or miss, and there have been more misses than hits as of late. Not to mention, he doesn't have a favorable matchup this week. The Raiders have actually defended well against receivers. They are giving up the third fewest fantasy points per game to opposing receivers (16.6). They've allowed just nine receiving touchdowns, and have not allowed a receiver to score a touchdown in the last four games. Watkins has scored fewer than seven points six times, in the last seven games. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8 and has caught more than four just once in the last seven games. He's a boom or bust play, and that's not something I'm looking for when I'm setting up my lineup during the championship week.

Other Sits

Eric Decker, NYJ vs. NE

Michael Crabtree, SF vs. SD

Mohamed Sanu, CIN vs. DEN

Larry Fitzgerald, ARI vs. SEA

Bust Alert: Josh Gordon, CLE at CAR

Tight Ends

Start Em

Dwayne Allen, IND at DAL

Travis Kelce, KC at PIT

Jason Witten, DAL vs. IND

Sit Em

Mychal Rivera, OAK vs. BUF

Owen Daniels, BAL at HOU

Charles Clay, MIA vs. MIN

Defense

Start Em

New England Patriots at New York Jets

Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders

Sit Em

Indianapolis Colts at Dallas Cowboys

Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles