Fantasy Football Week 14 Preview

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 14 Preview, the massive piece that dives into every game this coming weekend!  We have made it to the fantasy playoffs and the glory is just on the horizon.  These last three weeks are crunch time.  The home stretch.  Let’s jump into the preview and win you your matchups.

Panthers at Browns

Cam Newton has me worried.  His shoulder injury seems to be flaring up and he even stated that he “cannot confirm or deny” that he will need surgery again.  This is a situation to be in, but it’s hard to believe that the Panthers would risk him if it wasn’t as bad as we think.  This theoretically should help the receivers running the short and intermediate routes, as Newton will likely not air it out with a banged up shoulder.  I’m bumping up D.J. Moore, Christian McCaffrey (duh), and Ian Thomas is a streamable tight end option.

The Browns were one of the hottest teams prior to last week.  The reason for their success was their ability to attack opposing defenses with their running backs.  Houston is a top-tier defense against running backs, so this offensive collapse should have been expected.  The Panthers are also stout against opposing running backs, so we could see a gameplan centered around Jarvis Landry again.  Fire him up with Baker Mayfield, and if David Njoku is fully healthy, he’s a top streamer at TE as well.

Ravens at Chiefs

This Chiefs defense just gave up 30 points to the Raiders, so Lamar Jackson might have an explosion game.  Arrowhead is a tough place to play, but we’re on Jackson for his rushing ability.  He’s either rushed for over 100 yards or a touchdown in each of his three starts and I would trust him again.  You can’t rely on any of the receivers on the team, but Gus Edwards is a decent play.  He has absolutely no passing game floor, but he has gotten 20 carries two games in a row and could easily find the end zone in this scoring environment.

The Chiefs at home are always a full go.  Nobody will be able to handle Tyreek Hill‘s speed.  Travis Kelce is my top overall tight end.  The only guy I wouldn’t start is Spencer Ware.  He had a minimal role in the passing game last week and was inefficient.  I would let him grab some bench this week and then fire him up next week.

Colts at Texans

I think this game has serious shootout potential.  It will be indoors, division rivals, and two defenses that aren’t equipped to stop the two offenses.  For the Colts, Andrew Luck has been the least pressured QB in football.  Luck should have plenty of time to throw, and he’ll be targeting Eric Ebron all game.  He’s thrived when he’s had the TE role to himself, and I see him dominating in this game.  T.Y. Hilton has been banged up with a shoulder injury, so monitor his status until lock.  If he’s active, then he is a top-10 play for me.  Marlon Mack is a bit of a fade, so I’m rolling with Nyheim Hines.  He played a majority of the snaps last week and caught 9/9 targets.

The Colts pass rush hasn’t scared anybody this season, but their star linebacker Darius Leonard has.  He’ll be able to limit Lamar Miller, but every other Texan is a solid start.  Nobody can guard DeAndre Hopkins on the Colts and he’s an easy stack with DeShaun Watson.

Patriots at Dolphins

The Patriots have lost in Miami five of the last six times.  I don’t think that happens here, but it is concerning.  The good news is that the Dolphins will be without Xavien Howard, so Josh Gordon is a fringe-WR1 for me.  I also like Sony Michel, as they should be leading and he’ll likely see 20 carries.  The entire upside of the backfield is capped with Rex Burkhead back in the mix, though.

Kenyan Drake is only producing with touchdowns and he hasn’t seen 15 touches in a game since Week 6.  It really is unbelievable.  Kenny Stills made some plays after complaining last week, so it was nice to see he is still alive.  I think he’s the only receiver that can be trusted, and even that would be risky.  I don’t really want any part of the Dolphins.

Giants at Redskins

Both of these teams have suffered brutal injuries as of late.  The Giants placed safety Landon Collins on IR, so they are even more susceptible to opposing tight ends.  Jordan Reed stands out as a strong play.  I also like Chris Thompson.  He looked bad last week, but they are desperate for playmakers in the passing game, and Thompson has talent.

The Giants offense is reasonably healthy.  Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley are must-starts, and Evan Engram is coming back from injury.  D.J. Swearinger has been excellent this season, but Engram is a tremendous athlete and should make a splash in his first game back from injury.  Eli Manning is a serviceable streamer, but the Redskins still have a decent enough pass rush.  That is something that we’ve seen him struggle with tremendously.

Saints at Buccaneers

This game looks great on the surface, but it’s a trap.  It’s outdoors, should be raining, and smart money has been betting the under.  These are all a recipe for disaster.  I expect the Saints to bring their running game and try to control the pace.  Their defense has been truly exceptional lately, and the weather+Jameis Winston will lead to turnovers.  Drew Brees and Michael Thomas are safe, but they won’t need to go off to get the win.

Mike Evans dominated the first matchup with Marshon Lattimore, but I don’t see that happening again.  I’m all over Chris Godwin with his matchup against Eli Apple.  DeSean Jackson should be out again, giving Godwin a full snap-share.  You can’t trust Peyton Barber with how well the Saints have been stopping the run.

Falcons at Packers

The Falcons disappointed in a big way last week.  Julio Jones injured his hand early in the game and then couldn’t get anything going against Jimmy Smith.  The pass rush got to Matt Ryan and Tevin Coleman only got nine touches.  The bottom has completely fallen out on this offense and I don’t know if they’ll bounce back on the road.

The Packers got bullied by the Cardinals at home last week, but Mike McCarthy is finally gone.  I expect Aaron Jones to go back to a 90 percent opportunity share and he is a top-5 play against the Falcons.  Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are an unstoppable duo, and maybe MVS can get back into the mix against the Falcons weak secondary.  I would have to be desperate, but he’s a solid play.

Jets at Bills

The Bills waxed the Jets the last time these two teams met.  I think more of the same will happen.  The Bills are a legit top defense in this league, so It would hard to trust any of the Jets.  Sam Darnold should be back, but I think this is better for the Bills.  He’s thrown 23 interceptable passes this season.

I’m trusting LeSean McCoy in this one.  He had his best game of the season against them in Week 10, so I’m hoping he can repeat the performance at home.  If you want to be contrarian, I’m into a Josh Allen/Robert Foster DFS stack.  Foster will be a full-time player now with Kelvin Benjamin gone and he is very, very fast.

 

Bengals at Chargers

With A.J. Green injuring his foot again, the Bengals offense is officially done.  Joe Mixon and Tyler Boyd are the only usable players, but when an offense is truly so bad it is difficult to trust any players from them.

Keenan Allen obliterated the Steelers out of the slot and he should do the same against the Bengals.  This is a historically bad defense and Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson should be able to run free in the second half.  I like Jackson a little bit more, just because of how well he ran against the Steelers last week.  We could see his passing role expand, as he was an excellent receiver in college.

Broncos at 49ers

The Broncos season is done with Emmanuel Sanders‘ injury.  He was their most consistent weapon in the receiving game and it will be difficult to sustain drives without him.  They also lost Chris Harris to a broken leg, so their defense is weakened as well.  Courtland Sutton should see a higher target share, but his efficiency is really bad.  Phillip Lindsay is the only guy I would trust here.

The 49ers are getting Marquise Goodwin back and I think that will be the key here.  His ability to stretch the field is what the team has been missing in the last two weeks.  George Kittle will have extra YAC room with safeties being occupied by Goodwin, and Jeff Wilson showed a solid passing game role.  49ers could easily upset this team at home.

Eagles at Cowboys

This game has massive playoff implications for real football and fantasy football.  I think this game is an easy target in DFS.  I’m confident in Golden Tate in the slot.  Alshon Jeffery will occupy Byron Jones on the outside, so he’ll likely struggle.  Jeffery hasn’t put together a good game in over a month.  Zach Ertz is an easy top-2 tight end.  He and Tate are both thriving in their own roles without stealing too much from each other.

Ezekiel Elliot dominated the Eagles on the road the last time these guys played.  His passing game involvement has boosted his floor and ceiling and he should be able to put up elite numbers again.  Amari Cooper busted the last time these two teams played, but he’s still in a great spot.  You’ll probably be able to get him at low ownership in DFS.

Steelers at Raiders

Jaylen Samuels has feature-back size and great pass-catching ability.  I could easily see him getting 20+ touches and close to 10 targets in the passing game.  Antonio Brown is a stud as always, and Juju is a top-tier play as well with his matchup against Nick Nelson in the slot.  Big Ben usually struggles on the road, but against this defense, I think he’ll be okay.

The Raiders managed to put up 30 points on the Chiefs somehow.  I really don’t think that will happen again, but Derek Carr is literally a zombie.  Right when you think he’s dead, he explodes for a big game.  He has very few weapons and they just signed C.J. Anderson to replace Doug Martin, so there won’t be any explosive running game to lean on.  Easy fade.

Lions at Cardinals

The Cardinals are traveling back home after upsetting the Packers on the road.  I love their defense as a streamer, as the Lions literally don’t care about anything anymore.  Pressure will get to Matthew Stafford and he’ll be forced into turnovers.  David Johnson is an easy play even after getting vultured by Chase Edmunds.  He still saw over 20 touches and the Lions can’t stop running backs.

Kerryon Johnson doesn’t look like he’s playing again, so the Lions will have to rely on Kenny Golladay for all their offensive production.  Bruce Ellington will keep seeing 8-10 targets, but his routes are three yards down the field so he might not even reach 50 yards.  There is really nobody you can rely on.

Rams at Bears

The Bears are an excellent defense, but the Rams are a dominant offense.  You’re starting any Ram despite the “bad” matchup.

The Rams defense has been great with Aquib Talib in the lineup.  Marcus Peters is not a shadow guy, so Talib covers some of his deficiencies.  Aaron Donald cannot be stopped and he can wreck this game.  It’ll be interesting to see how well Mitchell Trubisky can hold up against the pass rush.  I don’t think he’ll be running around like he usually does and that really hurts his floor.  They should utilize Tarik Cohen in the short passing game again to mitigate the pass rush.  The Bears offense is risky as a whole.

Vikings at Seahawks

This is another massive NFC playoff picture game.  Whoever wins this will likely sneak into the wild card spot and upset a very good NFC team in January.  Russell Wilson has been a touchdown machine.  His receivers are seeing fewer than 10 targets yet are all scoring touchdowns and have high catch rates.  It’s theoretically unsustainable, but it’s been sustained so far.  I wouldn’t trust any of the running backs from Seattle.

Seattle has big and physical corners, but Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are truly elite route runners.  They’ll leave these corners in the dust on double moves.  Dalvin Cook has been elusive and has seen passing game work, but the run blocking has been so bad that he needs to break four tackles just to get to the line of scrimmage.  He’s a lower end running back starter for me.  Kyle Rudolph has seen a bump in volume as of late.  It should continue and he’s a solid streamer at tight end for me.

That’s all for this week!  Best of luck in your playoff matchups.  Bring home the bacon and cash in those home leagues!  See you all next week.

 

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