You have lineup questions. We have answers. At least we hope. Start 'Em & Sit 'Em has helped fantasy managers for years make those pressing lineup decisions. And you know what is a good decision? Starting Patrick Mahomes. But that's too obvious, so you won't see that here. Instead here are some of the most-pressing questions. And, if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings right here.
Start 'em
I really thought the Eagles were going to be one of the dominant teams in the NFC this season. Now you’re streaming defenses against them. Life in the NFL can move pretty fast. I don’t believe it’s all Carson Wentz’s problem. And I wish I could remember who to credit for the suggestion on Twitter that Wentz would be the Colts quarterback next season, because I love the thought of that. In the meantime, I’m rolling with the Saints because the Eagles have allowed 4.4 sacks per game and are giving the ball away at a 1.8 clip on the season. I hope Jalen Hurts does well. I loved him in the draft this year (you can see it on my IG). I don’t like this matchup for him.
Hey, I thought the Broncos would be a lot better this season, too. Especially after the way they finished last season. But like the Eagles, there have been some injuries that have held them up a little bit. And Drew Lock not progressing as we’d like. The Broncos have allowed 9.8 fantasy points to opposing defenses this season. They have averaged more than two turnovers per game. And they don’t put a lot of points on the board (18.8).
This is the biggest game in years for the Cleveland Browns. The win over the Titans was relatively surprising. Alright, people were talking (expletive) on the Browns and they really put it to them. Although, if I’m being completely honest with you, I sort of worried for the Browns to close that one out. Now. I like the Broncos for the playoff schedule that includes the Jets and the Giants. Though the Giants aren’t quite the pushover they were a few weeks ago. But still. I also don’t hate the Browns this week. The Ravens have allowed just over six points per game to opposing defenses over the last month. So it’s not terrible. Not great. But we’re playing for other weeks.
No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing defenses than the Bears over the last month. Coming in over 13 points per game. The best part of this is that you can roll the Texans into the following weeks, as their schedule includes the Bengals in Week 16 if you’re looking for a defense to stash. I’m sure you’ve all seen the video clip of the Bengals attempting to block an opposing pass rusher. And by attempting to block, I mean just waving at the dude.
The 49ers have allowed close to 12 fantasy points to opposing defenses this season. Obviously that was on full display on Monday night. (And I know this is a quick aside, but I want Monday night doubleheaders to be a thing moving forward. It’s awesome.) The Football Team is no joke. Which was also on full display Monday. Well, sort of. But we’ve said all along the FT defense was the strength of the team. Especially up front. I’m sure it was widely dropped heading into the game against the Steelers. Time to go pick it up again.
I know, I know. The Lions are back in the playoff hunt. And Darrell Bevell is such an amazing story. But while I will congratulate them for one win over the Bears after a historic meltdown, this is still a team you want to stream against. And the Packers have done really well recently. And if you picked them up last week to play the Eagles (still seems weird to say), please stick with them.
Sit 'em
It’s the playoffs. I hope you’re paying attention. My biggest thing here is that I don’t want it to slip your mind that you picked up the Dolphins last week to go against the Bengals. Because you need to drop them immediately. Even if your waivers haven’t started yet. Just preemptively drop them from your roster.
Here I was lecturing you about making sure the Dolphins were released from your squad. And I was still sitting here holding on to the Vikings. Obviously a great matchup last week against the Jaguars. But I don’t want anything to do with them against the Buccaneers this week. If I wasn’t a Bears fan, I would think about keeping them on the bench (not releasing them) for the game in Week 15.
Again, the Raiders aren’t likely one of those defenses you are looking at on the wire this week. But there are people who streamed them against the Jets and I just wanted to make sure that you sent them back out into the wild. I’m not even sure there’s a reason to play them at any point in the future. Although let’s see how the Chargers (their Week 15 opponent) respond this week. Which reminds me …
I know that a lot of people might want to chase the fantasy points because of what the Patriots did to this team last week. But let’s not go down that road. I mean, I don’t mind them as a contrarian daily pick in some matchups, because I don’t have a lot of confidence in this Chargers team. Or at least the coaching staff that just looked outclassed on Sunday. An NFL game should never get that bad.
