10 Things to Know for Week 14 #FantasyFootball

Aaron Jones only played one more snap than Jamaal Williams, but Mike McCarthy is gone.

It’s finally over. McCarthy and his terrible play calling and personnel decisions are finally leaving the Packers. Aaron Jones was lined up to destroy the Cardinals terrible run defense last week. Yet for some reason he basically split snaps with Jamaal Williams. What more was McCarthy looking to see from Jones? Why did he wait to make him the feature back for so long and then take it away from him? This likely wasn’t the only reason McCarthy was fired, but it definitely was apart of it. Jones gets the Falcons this week who have been destroyed by running backs and look for Jones to be a solid RB1.

Jaylen Samuels has TE eligibility in Yahoo leagues.

Samuels played more of an H-back in college. He never carried the ball more than 78 snaps during a season. For some reason, this had led to him being listed as an RB and a TE in Yahoo leagues. Tight ends have been brutal for fantasy this year and being able to play the Pittsburgh Steelers starting running back as your tight end could be a major upgrade for your team. I would much rather play Samuels over Cameron Brate, Chris Herndon, or even Austin Hooper.

Philip Lindsay might have the best playoff schedule of any running back.

Lindsay exploded this past week for 157 yards and two touchdowns and he might just be getting warmed up. The Broncos defense has been stashed for weeks because of their juicy playoff schedule and the same applies for Lindsay. He gets the 49ers, Browns, and Raiders over the next three weeks. All of those teams are bottom half teams against the run, and all are teams where the Broncos could be leading. Lindsay isn’t getting the credit he deserves this year and should be looked at as a top RB1. All Lindsay owners must roster Royce Freeman as a handcuff if he is available.

Justin Jackson is Melvin Gordon’s replacement until Gordon returns.

Everyone thought Austin Ekler would be Gordon’s fill in during his injury. The Chargers tried to feature him that way but it just didn’t work. However, Jackson got more usage later in the game and ran very well. He had eight carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. Philip Rivers even talked him up after the game. Ekler may just be one of those players that is more effective when used less and that’s fine. Jackson should be more of the workhorse with Ekler being used in his usual role with a little more usage until Gordon returns. A game against the Bengals in Week 14 could be huge for both backs.

Spencer Ware is not as good as Kareem Hunt, but he is getting his usage.

When the news dropped that Hunt was being cut from the Chiefs, Ware immediately came to everyone’s mind. Hopefully Hunt owners already owned Ware, but if not hopefully another smart team did. Ware wasn’t super effective in Week 13. He scored a touchdown and ran for 47 yards. Ware isn’t nearly as good of a player as Hunt and that is okay. Being on the Chiefs high powered offense is what matters. As long as Ware remains the goal line back he will be fantasy relevant. He might not deliver the top five RB weeks as Hunt could, but he should be at least an RB2 with high upside every week. The Chiefs added Charcandrick West as depth, but I don’t expect there to be a three-way timeshare in the offense.

Chris Godwin averages 19 PPR points per game when DeSean Jackson does not play.

Godwin is a good football player. He shows it everytime he is used more in the offense. That seems to mostly happen when DeSean Jackson is not on the field. Well, Jackson is likely to be out for the rest of the season now which means this is Godwin’s chance. In 24 games with Jackson playing Godwin averages 2.8 receptions 0.17 touchdowns and 37 yards. In 3 games without Jackson playing Godwin averages five receptions, 0.67 touchdowns, and 103 yards. The Buccaneers will always be passing because their defense gives up points. Even in some tough matchups with the Saints, Ravens, and Cowboys Godwin could be a WR2/3.

Over the last three weeks Josh Allen is the QB13.

That headline might not seem all that impressive. That is until you remember Allen has only played in two games the past three weeks and everyone else above him has not named Patrick Mahomes. Allen is doing enough through the air to give him a floor. He is also rushing for 234 yards in his last two games. That alone is greatly increasing his fantasy value. He is third on the whole year in QB rushing even though he has only played in eight games. Allen is a worthy start in Week 14 against the Jets for QB needy teams.

Matt Ryan has a 117.6 QB rating in a dome vs. 94.6 outdoors.

The Falcons offense has struggled recently. They haven’t scored more than 19 points in the past four weeks. Those looking at the Packers matchup and thinking they have a high scoring shootout on their hands may be mistaken. Ryan greatly struggles with playing outdoors and away from the Mercedes-Benz dome. Green Bay is known as one of the toughest outdoor places to play. The Falcons will hopefully get some kind of ground game going to make their offense more balanced because this isn’t set up for a great game from Ryan. The Packers could always get up big, but we haven’t seen them do that either much this year.

The Titans running game should not be touched in Week 14 for fantasy.

The Titans can’t seem to get any kind of stability in their backfield this year. Dion Lewis looked like he was taking over a couple weeks ago, but this past week Derrick Henry out snapped him. Neither was very effective. Now they get the Jaguars defense who seemed to get back in their groove last week. The Jaguars are the number one team against running backs over the past six weeks. I hope you have another option for your fantasy playoffs because this Thursday night game might not be a great start for anyone playing in this game not named Leonard Fournette.

The Vikings offense will rebound in Week 14 against the Seattle defense.

Going up against the Seahawks defense used to be intimidating in the past. The Seahawks are bottom 10 team against QBs, RBs, and WRs. The only position they are decent against in fantasy is tight ends and they are only ranked 12th in that position. We could see a redemption game from Cousins with his favorite targets Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Maybe even Dalvin Cook flashes some of the big play ability we saw last year and early in the season. Last week Kirk Cousins and the Vikings did not look great against the Patriots, but Week 14 will be a bounce-back game. I expect we see the over on the 45 point over/under.

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