Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the weekly NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Sleeper alert features an under-the-radar player who could produce good numbers. Owners beware features a regular fantasy starter who could fail to meet expectations based on the strength of his opponent. All starts and sits are based on standard scoring leagues. Obvious fantasy starters like Aaron Rodgers and LeSean McCoy will not be featured. For your final lineup decisions, check our lineup rankings.
Byes: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis
Start 'Em
Over the last two weeks, Stafford has scored a combined 19.08 fantasy points. A total of 12 quarterbacks had more points than that ... on Sunday. Still, I am holding out hope that Stafford will rebound in what is a favorable matchup against the Jets. He's also thrown for a combined six touchdowns in his last two road games vs. AFC teams.
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This start 'em comes with a warning label ... Kaepernick has a great matchup this weekend against the Eagles, who have surrendered eight touchdowns and the second-most fantasy points to field generals this season. Just keep in mind that in his last five home contests, the Nevada product has recorded one or fewer touchdowns four times.
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Rivers has been dyn-o-mite at home (forgive the Good Times reference), throwing for three touchdown passes in three of his last four contests at Qualcomm Stadium. If that weren't enough to start him, also consider that Rivers is facing the Jaguars this week. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
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The Buccaneers have allowed 18-plus fantasy points to quarterbacks in two of its first three games of the season, which makes Roethlisberger a nice option in Week 4. Here's another reason to like Big Ben ... he's thrown for 995 yards (331.6 YPG) and a combined nine touchdowns in his last three home games against NFC foes.
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Yes, we are going deep here my friends. But with six teams on a bye, you have to dig a little deeper to set your lineup. That's why I'm listing Flacco, who is a better quarterback at home than he is on the road. In fact, he's thrown for 245 or more yards with a combined seven touchdowns in his last three home games against NFC teams.
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Sit' Em
This one has nothing to do with the matchup, because Brady has had good matchups the past two weeks and been unable to exploit them. In fact, he's averaged 10.96 fantasy points in his first three games. That's among the worst totals in the NFL for No. 1 quarterbacks. One has to wonder if Brady's best statistics are in the rearview mirror.
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Smith has been close to putting up some good stat lines, but he turns the ball over too much. Couple that with a matchup against the Lions, and he's not someone to trust in Week 4. Over the first three weeks, their defense has allowed a mere three touchdown passes and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
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I liked Tannehill as a potential sleeper last week, but he failed to meet expectations. He's now failed to score more than 14 fantasy points in his three games thus far, and he's no lock to improve against the Raiders at Wembley Stadium. Oakland has surrendered an average of just 12.92 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year.
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Despite what looked like a tough matchup on paper, Smith still produced three touchdowns and 19.14 fantasy points last week in Miami. That's no guarantee for future success, however. He faces a difficult matchup against the Patriots, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points (7.85 PPG) to opposing signal-callers after three weeks.
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With six teams on a bye in Week 4, most fantasy owners should start Newton unless they're deep at quarterback. Just keep in mind that this weekend's matchup in Baltimore is a difficult one. In their last 10 home games, the Ravens have held opposing quarterbacks to one or fewer touchdown passes seven times. That's a telling statistic.
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Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to _**@MichaelFabiano**_ or send a question via **Facebook**!
