Seven quarterbacks tallied 29 or more points, with Carolina’s Cam Newton leading the way. He was our DFS start of the week and he didn’t disappoint with 36.14 points on five touchdowns and 380 total yards.
He wasn’t the only quarterback to go for big numbers. Marcus Mariota, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Blake Bortles and Tom Brady all registered final totals in the 30-point range. Tyrod Taylor just missed out on the 30-point party with 29.24 points.
With the playoffs beginning this week for fantasy football leagues, now’s the time to pay attention to matchups. Here’s our start ’em, sit ’em guide for quarterbacks in week 14.
Daily fantasy start of the week
Russell Wilson vs. Baltimore Ravens
We’re throwing in the white towel. We’ll stop doubting Seattle and Wilson.
We benched Wilson last week against the Minnesota Vikings. That didn’t turn out well. Other than Newton, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter quarterback than Wilson.
Look at his fantasy totals in the previous three weeks. He’s gone for 25.40, 35.20 and 34.06. Those totals have been spurred on by 11 touchdown passes against zero interceptions. We don’t care who he’s faced…those are big time numbers.
We’re a bit worried about the Seahawks going back-to-back road games, and traveling to the East Coast, but we’re comfortable in starting Wilson in DFS. The Ravens allow 243.9 yards per game against the pass, and have allowed 22 touchdowns, compared to only four interceptions.
Wilson has been masterful at not turning over the ball lately, so that should play into your hands when starting him this week. We know Baltimore was good against Ryan Tannehill last week, but we’ll chalk that up more to the Dolphins’ new approach to running the football than the Ravens suddenly getting better against the pass.
Don’t pass on Wilson this week on the road.
Start
Jameis Winston vs. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans pass defense is dreadful. The all-time record for touchdown passes allowed in a season is 40. The Saints, with four weeks remaining, have allowed 35.
We don’t care who’s lining up at quarterback against the Saints anymore. Whoever is slinging the ball on Sundays against the Saints, they’re a sure bet.
Here’s some food for thought. The Saints allow a 67.5 percent completion percentage per game, the fifth-worst mark in the NFL. They allow 8.7 yards per completion, a 116.6 QBR and have given up 35 touchdown passes, all the worst stats in the NFL.
Oh, and they allow 287.3 yards per game through the air, second-worst only to the New York Giants.
That defense isn’t magically getting better this week and Winston continues to prove that he may be a top-tier quarterback in the NFL. He went for 18.58 fantasy points on Sunday against Atlanta, throwing for 227 yards and registering two total touchdowns. In his previous three games, he has eight touchdowns, compared to two turnovers.
He’s not going to light up the stat sheet with yards passing, but his ability to run and pass for touchdowns, escalates his fantasy value.
Blake Bortles vs. Indianapolis Colts
This isn’t the same old Jacksonville Jaguars. Sure, that record still isn’t pretty, but the offense is moving the ball up and down the field.
And Bortles is one of the main reasons for the success.
He’s gone for 22.46 and 32.78 fantasy points respectively in the previous two weeks. Those numbers came against bad pass defenses against San Diego and Tennessee, but Bortles still delivered.
He has seven touchdowns and one interception in this last two weeks. He’s not just touchdown dependent. He’s gone over 240 passing yards in four of the past five games.
That trend of plenty of passing yards should continue this week. The Colts have allowed the third-most passing yards per game at 280.4, and have allowed 24 passing touchdowns, the fifth-most in the NFL.
One of the reasons why the Colts struggle so much against the pass is the lack of a pass rush. Indianapolis has 19 sacks this year, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
Bortles will continue his string of high production games this week against the Colts.
Daily fantasy sit of the week
Matt Ryan vs. Carolina Panthers
We’re not sure if Ryan is still starting on your season-long fantasy team, but he shouldn’t get the nod on your DFS team.
He’s been below-average this season, and has been one of the biggest busts this season recently.
In the last three games, he’s gone for 17.90, 9.10 and 13.16 fantasy points. He has six interceptions compared to five touchdowns during that span. He’s not moving the ball efficiently and the Falcons can’t do anything on offense without an explosive running game.
With the running game not near as productive as early in the season, Ryan has struggled mightily.
That’s a bad sign this week with Carolina looming. Don’t worry about last week’s performance against New Orleans. That was party due to that game being a perfect opportunity for the Saints and the Panthers coming off an emotional high from the Dallas win.
The Panthers will be themselves again this week and shut down Ryan and the Falcons.
Sit
Phillip Rivers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
We’re sitting Rivers again this week and that benching may become permanent.
It was a good ride with Rivers this season. He was one of the best options in the early going, but injuries have ravaged that offense, eliminating Rivers’ ability to produce any fantasy points.
He lost pretty much all of his starting wide receivers and that running game has not gotten on track at all this season.
Rivers went for 6.08 fantasy points last week against Denver. We noted last week his struggles against top-10 defenses, and he’ll have that opportunity again this week against a top-tier defense.
The Chiefs can get after the quarterback, with 34 sacks this season, which will pose a problem for Rivers and the Chargers. The last time Rivers faced the Chiefs, he went for 178 yards passing and one interception.
We don’t anticipate much improvement this time.
Kirk Cousins vs. Chicago Bears
Cousins on the road compared to at home is a different person.
On the road this season, Cousins’ highest point total is 14.64 fantasy points. Mired in that five-game sampling is three times where he’s registered single digit fantasy points.
At home, he hasn’t gone for less than 20 fantasy points since week 2.
Maybe it’s his lack of ability to sleep in hotel beds, or maybe he’s home-sick, but for some reason, he’s a different player on the road.
And against the Bears, that should show, since Chicago has done a quality job against the pass this season.
The Bears are second-best in yards allowed with 210.8 yards allowed through the air. They’ve given up 21 touchdown passes, but we anticipate the Redskins to feature the run more than the pass, much like many other teams.
Teams only attempt 32.8 passes per game against the Bears, the fourth-fewest attempts per game in the NFL.
It should be a close game, but we’re not betting on Cousins to have a stellar fantasy performance.
