This is it! Except for the dumb leagues that play into Week 17, this is the last week of the regular season. I hope that you all have clinched a playoff berth, but for those of you who haven’t yet, let’s check out who has the favorable and unfavorable matchups for this week. There’s nothing more to sugarcoat, I’m not going to fluff this anymore, let’s just get to the players! Good luck to you all and hope to see you back here next week looking for who you should start in the playoffs!
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Fantasy Football Start and Sit Week 13
Quarterbacks
Start: Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts. While he hasn’t achieved the success he had last season, Fitzpatrick hasn’t been as bad the past couple of weeks. He certainly is not looking like the guy who threw six picks earlier this season. The Colts have been gashed as much as any pass defense in the NFL this season, and I expect Fitzpatrick to be able to duplicate or improve upon his stats that he had on Sunday against the Patriots.
Sit: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks. Newton did well against an awful Raiders pass defense last week, but let’s face it this team is done. And I hate to do this, but I am going to question the motivations of Cam Newton when he knows there are no playoffs in his future. Couple that with the fact that the Seahawks are gonna be pissed after blowing the game to the Buccaneers last week and will have their raucous home crowd on their side. I think Cam will make numerous mistakes and fail to top 225 yards with more picks than touchdowns.
Running Backs
Start: Devontae Booker, Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars. I know, I know. Devontae Booker has been a little disappointing since he took over as the lead back for the Denver Broncos. However, when it comes to fantasy football, opportunity is huge for predicting success and Booker is definitely getting the volume. He has had 24 rushing attempts in each of his last two games and I think he may be poised for a breakout this week. The Jags defense is fourth against the pass, but middle of the pack against run, and with Denver’s quarterback, Trevor Siemian banged up and ruled out for this one, I think Booker with be leaned on heavily. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he saw his first 100 yard game and chipped in a score and I’m high on Booker in both season long and DFS games this week.
Start: Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers. The Niners run defense hasn’t been quite as bad as it was earlier in the year, holding Jay Ajayi and David Johnson to under 70 yards on the ground. However, both Saints backs and LeGarrette Blount both gashed them and they are still giving up a shocking amount of touchdowns. Howard has held on to the majority of the carries even with the Bears backfield healthy, and he should have his first 100 yard game in three weeks. I also expect him to break his three game scoreless streak as well.
Sit: Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens. While he continues to produce fantasy points, the legend of Jay Ajayi has started to cool down some. Apparently he can’t turn water into wine and solve world hunger and run for 200 yards a week. His owners had to be extremely disappointed with his 45 yard outing last week against the putrid 49ers. He now faces the Ravens who are among the best run defense, and the sledding is getting tougher for Ajayi as teams are figuring out that the pass game isn’t very good and they can focus on Ajayi. Add in the fact that three of his starting lineman are injured and this doesn’t look like a good game for him.
You should sit Jay Ajayi this week, plus other RB #FantasyFootball advice for Week 13 https://t.co/JloxnG96K9 pic.twitter.com/BsCS6xdFv4
— Athlon Sports (@AthlonSports) December 2, 2016
Sit: Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers. Much to my surprise, Rawls has been less than impressive in his two games since returning from injury. I know that Seattle was behind early, but it wasn’t that much of a deficit. The Seahawks offense looks out of sorts, and I am not sure that improves against the Panthers. For all of the Panthers trouble, it sure isn’t their run defense fault as they haven’t allowed a 100 yard rusher since Jacquizz Rodgers on October 10th. Rawls is likely still kicking off rust and isn’t fully 100% and shouldn’t be counted on this week.
Wide Receivers
Start: Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions. Thomas has pretty much become a must start as he has had five catches or more in every week since their bye but one and that was against the Broncos. In PPR leagues he has scored double digit points in every week but two, and this looks like it should be another one. The Lions pass defense has been decent as of late, but they haven’t exactly been facing good offenses. The Saints are at home this week, which means that this one is going to be a shootout and to see Thomas score twice again this week would not be a surprise at all.
Start: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons. Hill is certainly living up to his nickname the Freek as he was able to score on the ground, through the air, and on a punt return. His role has expanded greatly in the last five weeks, from once being a return man without much in the pass game to nearly the focal point of the offense. I’m not even a little worried about Jeremy Maclin coming back and taking his role. Look for Hill to have another seven catches for at least 85 yards and a score against a suspect Falcons pass defense.
Close but no cigar is how we have felt too many times as Allen Robinson has disappointed us
Sit: Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Denver Broncos. I was a huge fan of Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson coming into the season, and they have disappointed me greatly. Robinson was coming around with a touchdown in three straight games, but came crashing down to earth with his two catch, 24 yard “effort” last week. In Week 13 they face the Broncos who are among the best pass defenses in football. As a Robinson owner I wish I had a sunnier outlook but I’m expecting no more than 50 receiving yards and no scores.
Sit: DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins vs. Arizona Cardinals. Jackson has scored in two straight, and had a great game last week against the Cowboys with 118 yards and a touchdown. However, he has only topped 60 receiving yards three times this year, and has been very touchdown dependent. That’s not good news against Arizona who has allowed very few passing touchdowns this week. I do not expect either Kirk Cousins or DeSean Jackson to erupt this Sunday like they did on Thanksgiving.
Tight Ends
Start: C.J. Fiedorowicz, Houston Texans vs. Green Bay Packers. This might be slightly more to a PPR league player than standard, but either way I still think Fied does well. He has had four catches or more in every game but one since Week 3, and has become more of a focus of the terrible Brock Osweiler. The Packers have been very generous to tight ends all season long, and I am looking for 75 yards and a score from him this week.
Sit: Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers vs. Houston Texans. Just when you got excited about Cook, he let you down in a big way. The big tight end had six catches for 105 yards and a score in Week 11, but was only good for a single catch and seven yards last Monday night. Not only do I think it was a one week wonder for Cook, but the Texans are averaging allowing under 50 yards per game to tight ends.
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