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Week 14 Start Em, Sit Em

As you head into the playoffs it's win or go home for just about everyone. With that said, Armando has provided some of his starts and sits for this week to help fantasy owners get a win.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Armando Marsal

Fantasy Writer

Quarterbacks

Start Em

Matthew Stafford, DET vs. TB - Stafford had a good game on Thanksgiving Day. He threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns. He should carry that momentum over to this week against the Bucs defense that has been vulnerable against opposing quarterbacks. The Bucs have allowed 300 or more passing yards and two or more touchdowns in four of their six road games. They are giving up 16.1 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Stafford is averaging just under 300 yards per game at home. His job is easy this week, just throw the ball to Calvin and good things will happen. Don't hesitate to get him in your starting lineup this week.

Other Starts

Tony Romo, DAL at CHI

Russell Wilson, SEA at PHI

Ryan Tannenhill, MIA vs. BAL

Jay Cutler, CHI vs. DAL

Sleeper Alert: Colin Kaepernick, SF at OAK

Sit Em

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT at CIN - Big Ben is having a good season, but almost all of his success has come when he plays in Pittsburgh. Of his 26 passing touchdowns, only six have been in road games; and of his eight picks, five have been on the road. It's apparent he struggles on the road. The Bengals have been much better defensively against the pass than they have been against the run. They actually allow the seventh fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks (12.9). The Bengals have allowed just one passing touchdown in the last four games, and have held quarterbacks to less than 15 fantasy points in five of their last six games. A quarterback that has struggled on the road going up against a defense that has played phenomenal against the pass is recent weeks, is not what I'm looking for in the first round of the fantasy football playoffs.

Other Sits

Josh McCown, TB at DET

Joe Flacco, BAL at MIA

Matt Ryan, ATL at GB

Drew Stanton, ARI vs. KC

Bust Alert: Mark Sanchez, PHI vs. SEA

Running Backs

Start Em

Mark Ingram, NO vs. CAR - The last four times that Ingram received 20+ carries, he's rushed for more than 100 yards three times. The only game he struggled in was against the league's best run defense. In fact, Ingram faced the Panthers in Week 9. In that meeting, he rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers have been getting burned by running backs for most of the season. They give up 18.8 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs and have allowed 11 rushing touchdowns. Granted, in recent weeks they've held running backs to fewer than 80 yards, but it was against Steven Jackson and Matt Asiata, who haven't been all that great this season. Ingram should have no trouble running against the Panthers this week.

Other Starts

Rashad Jennings, NYG at TEN

Frank Gore, SF at OAK

Joique Bell, DET vs. TB (keep an eye on Reggie Bush's status)

Eddie Lacy, GB vs. ATL

Sleeper alert: Jonathan Stewart, CAR at NO

Sit Em

Doug Martin, TB at DET - Martin led the team in carries last week with 18 carries. Second to him was Charles Sims who received just five carries. Moving forward it's likely that Martin will be the team's lead back. Last week he rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown. It was a good bounce back game, after putting up an 11-27-0 stat line in his first game back from ankle injury the previous week. Even though he is expected to get the bulk of the carries, Martin still has a tough matchup ahead of him. The Lions are one of the better defenses against the run, especially in Ford Field. At home, the Lions haven't allowed a touchdown since Week 1, and have not allowed a 100 yard rushed all season. In fact, they've only given up more than 100 rushing yards in one game this season. I'm not going to let that last game with a touchdown influence any decision, I'm sitting Martin against a tough Lions D.

Other Sits

Alfred Morris, WAS vs. STL

Latavius Murray, OAK vs. SF

Matt Asiata, MIN vs. NYJ

Chris Ivory, NYJ at MIN

Bust Alert: C.J. Anderson, DEN vs. BUF

Wide Receivers

Start Em

Mike Wallace, MIA vs. BAL - Wallace is coming off a nice game against the Jets where he caught six passes for 69 yards. The even better news is that he was targeted 11 times. He also dropped a touchdown. This week he faces the Ravens defense that has been getting smoked by receivers this year. They have surrendered eight receiving touchdowns in the last four games. Not to mention, the Ravens allow 27.4 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers. This would be a good week to redeem himself for dropping that touchdown against the Jets last week.

Other Starts

Kelvin Benjamin, CAR at NO

Kenny Stills, NO vs. CAR

Odell Beckham Jr., NYG at TEN

DeAndre Hopkins, HOU at JAC

Sleeper Alert: Charles Johnson, MIN vs. NYJ

Sit Em

Jeremy Maclin, PHI vs. SEA - It's going to be a tough day for Maclin who will face the best pass defense in the league. The Seahawks have allowed just one receiving touchdown in the last eight games, and only four for the season. They are allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing receivers (14). In the last four games, Maclin has only scored one touchdown, and gone over 100 receiving yards once. I'm expecting him to see a lot of Richard Sherman this week, and not many receivers get the best of him. It could be tough to sit a receiver like Maclin, so if you decide to start him, temper your expectations. However, I'd steer away.

Other Sits

Steve Smith, BAL at MIA

Martavis Bryant, PIT at CIN

Sammy Watkins, BUF at DEN

Pierre Garcon, WAS vs. STL

Bust Alert: Mike Evans, TB at DET

Tight Ends

Start Em

Delanie Walker, TEN vs. NYG

Jordan Reed, WAS vs. STL

Martellus Bennett, CHI vs. DAL

Sit Em

Heath Miller, PIT at CIN

Owen Daniels, BAL at MIA

Zach Ertz, PHI vs. SEA

Defense

Start Em

San Francisco 49ers at Oakland Raiders

Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sit Em

Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos