Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate weekly look at NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Fantasy superstars such as Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey will not be featured in this column. All player matchups are based on a PPR scoring system. For your final starting lineup decisions, check my weekly fantasy football lineup rankings.
Byes:Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans
Start 'Em
Start of the Week
Minnesota's defense put up a stinker in last week's win over Dallas, but it's a strong play based on an upcoming home matchup against Brandon Allen and the Broncos. Their offense has averaged the fifth-fewest points in the NFL and allowed 19 sacks this season.
The Rams defense has scored 19 or more points in two of its last three games, and this week's matchup against the Bears and Mitchell Trubisky will make them a solid option once again. This could end up being a defensive struggle, so start the Rams in this contest.
The defensive matchups continue to be positive for opponents of the Dolphins, which makes the Bills one of the week's best options. The last time these two teams met (Week 7), Buffalo had 11 fantasy points. This Bills unit should be a top-10 fantasy option once again.
The Jets defense is coming off a 19-point performance in a win over the Giants, and this week's matchup against rookie Dwayne Haskins makes it streamable once again. In fact, defenses have averaged the fifth-most fantasy points against the Redskins this season.
Start 'Em:Saints D/ST at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 49ers D/ST vs. Arizona Cardinals
Sleepers:Raiders D/ST vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Redskins D/ST vs. New York Jets
Sit' Em
Sit of the Week
The Texans defense scored an impressive 19 fantasy points in the game before a bye week, but I wouldn't chase that production in Week 11. That's due to a bad matchup in Baltimore, as defenses facing Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have averaged 3.2 fantasy points.
Denver's defense has scored a combined 11 fantasy points over its last three games, and a matchup in Minnesota doesn't bode well for a change in that trend. Opposing defenses have averaged one takeaway, 1.7 sacks and the third-fewest points versus the Vikings.
Philadelphia's defense has struggled to score fantasy points, and that won't change when the Patriots come to town. New England has allowed an average of fewer two sacks and committed just 10 turnovers this season, so the Eagles are a hard fade this week.
The Falcons defense (shockingly) had 10 fantasy points versus the Saints last week, but that shouldn't be an indication to stream Tampa Bay. Overall the position has averaged fewer than five fantasy points per game against Drew Brees and his offense this season.
Sit 'Em:Chargers D/ST vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Mon.), Lions D/ST vs. Dallas Cowboys
Busts:Ravens D/ST vs. Houston Texans, Jaguars D/ST at Indianapolis Colts
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. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!
